Difference between revisions of "Senate of Sarenium"

Revision as of 18:48, 16 December 2016

Senate of Sarenium
155th Parliament of Sarenium
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of Sarenium
Term limits	45 Appointed by President; 60 elected by constituents.
Leadership
President of the Senate	Tim Barlow, C Since August 1, 2016
Principal of His Emminent Excellency's Senate	Garry Macintosh, L Since August 1, 2016
Leader of the Government in the Senate	George Brandis, C Since August 1, 2016
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate	Penny Wong, L Since August 1, 2016
Structure
Seats	105
Political groups	Government      Conservative Party Opposition      Labor Party Crossbench      Greens      Sarenium United      Independents
Length of term7	Various
Elections
Voting system	Preferential System
Last election	31 July 2016 Full Senate (Double Dissolution)
Next election	11 February 2017 Full Senate (Double Dissolution)
Redistricting	SEC

The Saren Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Sarenium, the lower house being the House of Commons. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, Article II of the Saren Constitution. There are a total of 105 senators: 7 from each of the states. Three of those seven are appointed by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister and the remaining four are elected by their respective constituents. The elected Senators are elected every six years (with half of them being elected every three years) and the appointed Senators serve either a single-non-renewable eight-year term or resign at an earlier stage.

The Senate is designed to be capable of blocking legislation from the House should it be needed, the Senate can only outright deny the legislation's passage should the house fail to pass a three-fifths majority. If the House does pass a 3/5 (378/630) majority, the Senate can only delay its passage for the next three terms of Parliament before which the President can grant the house the power to pass legislation without the Senate's authority. If the House acquires a 2/3 (420/630) majority, then the legislation can pass with just 1/3 of the Senate (35/105) in approval. A 'refusal to provide Presidential Assent' (on constitutional validity) will only be overrode with a 2/3s majority in the House and a 4/5th majority in the Senate.

Powers

Any legislation to pass Parliament must initially be presented to the Senate in which legislation can be blocked only if it fails to garner 378 votes in the House. Should the Senate block legislation which failed to pass with 3/5s of the Houses votes (and only passed with 1/2), it is blocked and is thus held in deadlock. However, if the House does acquire over 378 votes, the Senate can only delay passage before which the President can allow its passage without Senatorial Consent. The President is however unbound from 'Constitutional Prerogative' and is thus permitted to formally refuse assent and thus fail the legislation on any other reasons. This power to refuse is only exercised in either a delayed legislation or in the event of the President's justification and belief of constitutional invalidity.

Should the House pass legislation with a strong 420 votes, only 35 of the Senators need to be in contention for the legislation to pass and any less will only delay the legislation by 3 terms (Parliamentary Calendar).

Blocking Supply

The Senate's application in the past for blocking supply was notable in the 1876 Constitutional Crisis where a 'money bill' was refused passage by the Senate and resulted in the eventual sacking of then Prime Minister Gough Reagan in favor of a double dissolution. Only supply bills can be used for triggering a double dissolution.

Limitations

With 45 seats of the Senate being appointees with little bedrock need for party affiliation, much debate occurs for the remaining eight needed votes which must come from the big parties assuming the appointed Senators are content. In most cases, the Senate does not block legislation or delay it, however, varying legislation has been forced through deadlock and has been used a trigger for a double dissolution election.

Double Dissolution

The dissolution of the Senate and House at once, such elections can only occur when the trigger is satisfied;

• The legislation must have originated in the House.
• The legislation must have been delayed by the Senate.
• The legislation must be a supply bill 'money bill' (thus exempt from being used for a House-Only bill).
• A second attempt has also failed to pass the legislation.

After satisfaction, the Prime Minister must request that the President dismiss the entirety of Parliament, exempt appointed Senators unless the President chooses to individually withdraw any of the Senators commission to the Senate, with consent of the House.

Empowerment

Empowerment is a term referred to in the constitution to deem the number of votes required from the House of Commons to ensure passage of a bill. There are 4 stages of empowerment for legislative passage; 1/2 in House and 1/2 in Senate = pass. 1/2 in House and under 1/2 in Senate = fail, until Session conclusion (customarily 2-3 years and only applicable for non-appropriation bills). 3/5 in House and under 1/2 in Senate = fail, but delayed by 2 terms of Parliament (usually 1 year and only applicable for non-appropriation bills). 2/3 in House and under 1/3 in Senate = fail, but delayed by 2 terms of Parliament (usually 1 year and only applicable for non-appropriation bills).

Appropriation Bills are not constitutionally relevant unless deemed so by the High Court. Should legislation be failed, then it must return for debate and a re-vote in the Senate after the time according to the empowerment quota. Should the quota be met the second time, legislation passes. However, if the quota fails a second time and legislation is failed then the President is unbound from the 'Veto-Clause' and can either refuse to allow the House a unicameral authority on the bill or provide consent through allowing the House to pass legislation without the Senate. Appropriation Bills are instead brought to the floor again automatically after a period of the remainder of the term.

A famous crisis was the 1807 Estates Tax which garnered 3/5 of the House but just under 1/2 of the Senate, it came back up for a vote six months later. It was refuted once again in a slightly narrower margin, the High Court then ruled that it was not an appropriating document and that no constitutional article referred to taxes on estates being unconstitutional in its 108 page report. This discouraged the President from vetoing the legislation and two weeks later the House passed the legislation on its own with a firm margin of 244 of the 390 House of Commons seats resulting in a passing majority implementing the legislation.

Membership

Under the provisions of Chapter 1 Article II of the Constitution, a Senator who is elected must;

• Not possess allegiance to a foreign power.
• Not hold assets out of Saren soil.
• Not be seen as a breach of the Crimes Against the State Act of 1965.
• Not be held responsible for any acts set forth in the Parliamentary Maintenance Act of 1889.
• Have lived in the state they wish to represent for the past five years.

Elected Senators

Currently, of the sixty elected Senators there are 26 Conservative Senators and 20 Labor Senators. There are also 13 elected independents and 4 United and 7 Greens Senators. The Senators are elected using a preferential quota system. In which, (in a regular election) the quota of first preferences required is 34% of the vote. In a double-dissolution election, that quota is halved to 17%.

Appointed Senators

Appointed Senators are nominated by the Prime Minister and are generally centrist/moderate candidates. Limited to singular 8-year terms, these Senators also elect the President of the Senate from among the elected Senators and counsel the President. Nomination by the Prime Minister is not a constitutional requirement. It is instead a general formality for the President to ensure that the PM is satisfied with the candidates and vice versa. The President can appoint whomever he wishes.

Benefits and Salaries