Legislators of the South Pacific
 | This article needs to be updated. (May 2024) |
Legislators are citizens of the South Pacific that serve in the Assembly of the South Pacific, the legislative branch of the Coalition of the South Pacific. Legislators mainly operate on the South Pacific Forums & Discord server, where laws are debated and voted on within the Assembly's forum. The Chair of the Assembly is always a Legislator, as are all their deputies.
Becoming a Legislator
The Charter of the South Pacific requires that all residents may attain legislator status through an application, which is reviewed by a standing commission of legislators, who may grant and revoke legislator status at will. This Commission is called the Legislator Committee, and currently has four members, Roavin, Penguin, Moonstar, and Witchcraft and Sorcery. According to the Assembly guide, any resident is eligible for Legislator status so long as the Committee does not believe they are seeking membership in bad faith, they are not attempting to join the Assembly under multiple nations and/or identities, and the Council on Regional Security does not deem them to be a security risk. Residents can apply for Legislator status in the Welcoming and Registration Centre forum of the South Paciifc forums, in a new thread filling out the Legislator Application, which includes a pledge to uphold the laws of the Coalition. Legislator status grants access to the Legislator's Lounge, a channel in The South Pacific Discord Server.
Losing Legislator Status
The terms of the Charter additionally stipulate that continued legislator status requires active membership and good behavior. The Legislator Committee, which grants Legislators their status, is empowered to revoke legislator status as well. Leaves of Absence may be requested in the Assembly forums via the Legislator Status Updates thread, which is maintained by the Chair of the Assembly and the Legislator Committee. This permits exemptions from Assembly activity requirements for certain Legislators under certain circumstances, protecting them from removal by the Committee for a specified period of time. Later in the Leave of Absence, extentions may be requested, however, no Leave of Absence may exceed one calendar month in length. Legislators who do not apply for a Leave of Absence and miss more than half of the Assembly votes during a calendar month, provided two or more occur, may be removed by the Legislator Committee barring "extrenuous circumstances." No Leave of Absence grants exemption to the residency requirement the Assembly imposes on Legislators. Removals for inactivity take place at the first week of each month, and new Legislators are exempt for the month they joined the Assembly.
Current Legislators
Currently, there are 65 Legislators serving in the Assembly of the South Pacific. The list of Legislators is maintained by the Chair of the Assembly in a spreadsheet containing information about each Legislator - their forum usernames, nation names, discord usernames, the date they joined the Assembly, and their voting record is shown. These records are updated every month, and date back to June 2017, although the format and information provided has changed over the years.