Parliament Act 2017
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Parliament Act 2017 is an Act of the Parliament of Palmshire, passed during reign of King Legion I, that constituted a major revision and consolidation of the rules governing the Parliament.
Legislative History
To be written.
Text of the Act
Parliament Act 2017
Long Title
- An Act to reform and consolidate the Parliamentary procedures and rules.
Preamble
- Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1 - General Provisions
Introduction
- (1) WHEREAS the Parliament of Palmshire has found that the various legislations governing the said body in a general want of improvements. The Parliament, therefore, has found it necessary to remedy this situation.
Repeal
- (2) Parliamentary Quorum Act, enacted in 2016, shall be repealed in its entirety.
- (3) Parliamentary Calendar Act, enacted in 2016, shall be repealed in its entirety.
- (4) Parliament Act of 2011 shall be repealed in its entirety.
- (5) Parliament Act of 2012 shall be repealed in its entirety.
- (6) Parliament Acts Amendment, enacted in 2015, shall be repealed in its entirety except for Section 2.
Short Title
- (7) This Act may be cited as “Parliament Act of 2017”.
Section 2 - Calendar
Sittings
- (1) The Parliament shall meet at least once a month during a session beginning on first Friday of September and ending on first Friday of May. The Parliament shall then meet at least twice during a session beginning on second Friday of May and ending on last Friday of August.
- (2) The Parliament may be recalled for a sitting on a date appointed between the sittings at a request of the Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition if the circumstances warrant it, subject to an approval by the Speaker.
- (a) The date to be appointed for such a sitting must be made no earlier than two days after a notice is given.
Terms
- (3) The Parliament shall have a term no longer than six month, unless dissolved earlier by the Sovereign, upon which it shall be dissolved by the same no less than a day prior to the expiration.
- (a) The term shall commence the Friday after the general election have been concluded.
- (4) In cases of the Parliament being dissolved, a general election shall be held to elect a new Parliament.
Committee
- (1) A committee, styled the General Committee, shall be established with the Speaker of the Parliament chairing it. The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition shall be members of this committee.
- (2) The committee shall be empowered to decide on whether to delay the Parliament sitting to the next Friday if the circumstances warranted it.
Section 3 - Qualifications and Quorum
Qualifications
- (1) The House of Commons shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own members, styled the Members of Parliament.
- (2) The House of Lords shall be the Judge of the Qualifications of its own members, styled the Lords of Parliament.
Quorum
- (3) Three Members and/or Lords shall constitute a quorum to do Business but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day.
Restrictions on Setting Quorum
- (4) Quorum may not be set to a number lower than three and must be in an odd number.
Section 4 - Agenda
Bills on Agenda
- (1) A Member or Lord may put in no more than four bills on the agenda for the next Parliament sitting.
- (a) The restriction may be waived for each additional bill by an unanimous agreement among the members of the General Committee for the next sitting.
Bills not on Agenda
- (2) A Member of Lord may introduce no more than two bills not on agenda during the sitting.
- (a) No bills not on agenda may be accepted for a reading unless at least three Members and/or Lords vote for it to be brought up for a floor debate and vote.
Order of Business
- (3) The regular order of business (unless varied by the application of other rules and except for the disposition of matters of higher precedence) shall be as follows:
- (a) Election of the Speaker at a beginning of the parliamentary term, when office falls vacant, or is about to be
- (b) Election of the Deputy Speaker at a beginning of the parliamentary term, when office falls vacant, or is about to be
- (c) Speech from the Throne at a beginning of the parliamentary term
- (d) Debate on Speech from the Throne at a beginning of the parliamentary term
- (e) Prime Minister’s announcement of the Cabinet at a beginning of his/her term in office.
- (f) Prime Minister’s announcement of a change in Cabinet
- (g) Prime Minister’s Questions
- (h) Bills
- (i) Motions (non-binding resolutions and motions to amend parliamentary rules)
- (j) Adjournment debate
Topic for an Adjournment Debate
- (4) The topic for an adjournment debate at the end of each Parliament sitting shall be chosen in a rotation in the following order by:
- (a) The Speaker
- (b) The Prime Minister
- (c) The Leader of the Opposition
Organization of Government and Opposition Business
- (5) Leader of the House of Commons shall be responsible for organizing the Government business and to provide time for non-Government business.
- (6) At least one bill or motion originating from His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition must be provided a place on the agenda for the next sitting if and when a Member or a Lord belonging to the His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition requested a slot on the agenda for their bill prior to the sitting.
Section 5 - Speaker and Deputy Speaker
The Speaker
- (1) The Speaker shall take the Chair on every legislative day to which the House last adjourned to and immediately call the House to order.
Election of the Speaker
- (2) The Speaker shall be elected at the commencement of each Parliament from among the Members and Lords.
- (a) Whoever secured the most votes of all candidates shall be declared elected as the Speaker.
- (b) If the vote for all candidates are equally divided, the Leader of the House of Commons shall cast a vote to decide the election.
Qualifications and Restrictions
- (3) No Member or Lord may be a candidate for an election of the Speaker unless they shall have served at three month and attended the same amount in their lifetime.
- (a) Any Members or Lords having been elected or appointed, respectively, prior to the commencement of this Act shall be exempt from this requirement on the account of lack of records.
- (b) Attendance shall be henceforth recorded for each Member and Lord by the Clerk of Parliament.
- (4) No Member or Lord may be a candidate if they held an office of Crown (i.e. Cabinet) or are a member of the Shadow Cabinet (including but not limited to a Leader of the Opposition).
- (5) No Member or Lord may be declared a candidate unless they shall have been nominated by at least another Member or Lord and that they have accepted the nomination.
Duties
- (6) The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum and, in case of disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, may cause the same to be cleared.
- (7) The Speaker shall decide all questions of order.
Vacancy
- (8) Upon a vacancy of the Speaker’s office during the term of a Parliament in which it occurred, an election for the Speaker shall be held at the next sitting.
- (a) Deputy Speaker or, if former is vacant, the Clerk shall take the Chair during the vacancy and preside over the election.
- (9) A Member or Lord may make a motion to declare the Speaker’s throne vacant.
- (a) The Speaker may not refuse this motion immediately.
- (b) The motion must be seconded and thirded before proceeding to a floor vote.
- (c) This motion may not be made more than once during a Parliament.
Deputy Speaker
- (10) Deputy Speaker shall take the Chair if the office of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is unable to attend.
- (11) The election and the office of Deputy Speaker shall be subject to the same rules as provided for the Speaker above.
Section 6 - Miscellaneous
Rules
- (1) The Parliament may adopt the rules of its proceedings, upon which all provisions of this Act shall cease to take effect except for the Section 1 of this Act.
Adoption of the Rules
- (2) Rules may not be adopted unless a quorum of at least five Members and/or Lords are present and shall be adopted by a majority of votes.
Clerk - Restrictions
- (3) No Member or Lord may be made a Clerk of Parliament at the same time.
- (a) Clerk shall be appointed by the Speaker unless the Parliament shall adopt a motion calling for an election of the Clerk henceforth.