Difference between revisions of "Senate of Sarenium"

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| background_color  = firebrick
 
| background_color  = firebrick
 
| name              = Senate of Sarenium
 
| name              = Senate of Sarenium
| legislature      = [[155th Parliament of Sarenium]]
+
| legislature      = [[159th Parliament of Sarenium]]
| coa_pic          =  
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| coa_pic          = SenateLogo.PNG
 
| coa_res          =
 
| coa_res          =
 
| coa_alt          =  
 
| coa_alt          =  
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| house_type        = Upper house
 
| house_type        = Upper house
 
| body              = Parliament of Sarenium
 
| body              = Parliament of Sarenium
| term_limits      = 45 Appointed by President; 60 elected by constituents.
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| term_limits      = None
 
| new_session      =  
 
| new_session      =  
| leader1_type      = Speaker of the Senate
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| leader1_type      = President of the Senate
| leader1          = [[Tim Barlow]]
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| leader1          = Delores Vaughn
| party1            = [[Conservative_Party_of_Sarenium|Conservatives]]
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| party1            = Independent
| election1        = August 1st, 2016
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| election1        = 17 September 2022
| leader2_type      =  
+
| leader2_type      = Principal of The Senate
| leader2          =  
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| leader2          = William Spades
| party2            =  
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| party2            = Independent
| election2        =  
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| election2        = 10 February 2022
 
| leader3_type      =  
 
| leader3_type      =  
 
| leader3          =  
 
| leader3          =  
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| leader4_type      =  
 
| leader4          =  
 
| leader4          =  
| party4            =
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| party4            =  
 
| election4        =  
 
| election4        =  
| leader5_type      =
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| leader5_type      =  
| leader5          =
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| leader5          =  
| party5            =
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| party5            =  
| election5        =
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| election5        =  
| members          = 105
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| members          = 494
| structure1        = SarenSenate.png
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| structure1        = 494Senate.PNG
 
| structure1_res    = 250px
 
| structure1_res    = 250px
 
| political_groups1 =  
 
| political_groups1 =  
Government
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* {{colorbox|#D7DAEA}} Appointed: 228 Senators
* {{colorbox|#0000ff}} [[Conservative Party of Sarenium|Conservative Party]]
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* {{colorbox|#97A7AE}} Elected: 266 Senators
Opposition
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* {{colorbox|#ff0000}} [[Labor Party of Sarenium|Labor Party]]
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Crossbench
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* {{colorbox|#009900}} Greens
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* {{colorbox|#ffff33}} Sarenium United
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* {{colorbox|#999999}} Independents
+
  
 
| term_length      = Various
 
| term_length      = Various
  
 
| voting_system1    = Preferential System
 
| voting_system1    = Preferential System
| last_election1    = [[Saren Federal Elections, July 31st 2016|31 July 2016]] Full Senate (Double Dissolution)
+
| last_election1    = [[Saren Federal Elections, 2024|17 August 2024]]
| next_election1    = [[Saren Federal Elections, February 11th 2017|11 February 2017]] Full Senate (Double Dissolution)
+
| next_election1    = [[Next_Saren_Federal_Elections|Next]]
 
| redistricting    = SEC
 
| redistricting    = SEC
 
| session_room      =  
 
| session_room      =  
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| website          =  
 
| website          =  
 
}}
 
}}
 
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The '''Saren Senate''' is the [[upper house]] of the [[bicameral]] [[Parliament of Sarenium]], the [[lower house]] being the [[House of Commons of Sarenium|House of Commons]]. There are a total of 494 senators: 26 from each of the states. 12 of those are appointed by the [[President of Sarenium|President]], on advice of the [[Prime Minister of Sarenium|Prime Minister]] and the remaining 14 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 twelve-year term or resign at an earlier stage.
The '''Saren Senate''' is the [[upper house]] of the [[bicameral]] [[Parliament of Sarenium]], the [[lower house]] being the [[House of Commons of Sarenium|House of Commons]]. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, Article II of the [[Constitution of Sarenium|Saren Constitution]]. There are a total of 105 senators: 7 from each of the states. Three of those seven are appointed by the [[President of Sarenium|President]], on advice of the [[Prime Minister of Sarenium|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.
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[[Category: Sarenium]]
 
[[Category: Sarenium]]
 
==Powers==
 
==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 of Commons of Sarenium|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.  
+
Any legislative items to be passed by Parliament are often brought up in the House unless a constitutional or protocol related item in which case the Senate is the only house able to be presented before. For a bill to become law or be appropriated, it requires an absolute majority in both houses of Parliament and the President's assent. If the Senate does not pass with an absolute majority (thus failing the bill) then the bill is brought back up within the last scheduled term of Parliament or in the fourteen day legislative cool-off if an early election is called at which time the House either passes the bill with Presidential Assent or the President refuses to provide 'House Prerogative'.
  
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).
+
In other cases, where the House of Commons is expectant of a resilient Senate it has passed legislation with a larger majority (3/5) and thus weakened the Senate's resolve as the bill can be brought back up after the conclusion of that Parliamentary Term (between 2-8 months later) at which time either the House passes the bill on its own with Presidential Assent or once more the President refuses to provide 'house Prerogative'.
 +
 
 +
In cases where the Senate's expected to be greatly more hostile, and the House acquires a 2/3, the bill is passed through the House and brought up in the Senate but fails to garner over 1/3, it is delayed to the conclusion of that Parliamentary term at which time either the House passes the bill on its own with Presidential Assent or once more the President refuses to provide 'house Prerogative'. If the Senate does pass with over 1/3 then the bill is passed and proceeds to the President for Assent which (unless providing House Prerogative) can only be withheld.
  
 
===Blocking Supply===
 
===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 of Sarenium|Prime Minister]] Gough Reagan in favor of a double dissolution. Only supply bills can be used for triggering a double dissolution.
+
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 of Sarenium|Prime Minister]] Gough Reagan in favor of a double dissolution. Only supply bills can be used for triggering a double dissolution. Conventionally, the Senate does not block supply.
  
 
===Limitations===
 
===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===
 
===Double Dissolution===
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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|commission to the Senate]], with consent of the House.
 
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|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 convention 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==
 
==Membership==
Under the provisions of Chapter 1 Article II of the Constitution, a Senator who is elected must;
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Under the provisions of [[Constitution_of_the_United_Republic_of_Sarenium#Article_II|Chapter 1 Article II]] of the Constitution, a Senator who is elected must;
 
*Not possess allegiance to a foreign power.
 
*Not possess allegiance to a foreign power.
 
*Not hold assets out of Saren soil.
 
*Not hold assets out of Saren soil.
 
*Not be seen as a breach of the [[Crimes Against the State Act of 1965]].
 
*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]]
+
*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.
Clause 2 of Article 2 of Chapter 1 applies that in addition to the same requirements applied to MPs, a Senator cannot have served in the [[House of Commons of Sarenium|House of Commons]] within the past Parliamentary session and the current.
+
Appointed Senators are exempted from Clause 2 given that they have been nominated by the Prime Minister.
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===Elected Senators===
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Currently, of the sixty elected Senators there are 26 [[Conservative Party of Sarenium|Conservative]] Senators and 20 [[Labor Party of Sarenium|Labor]] Senators. There are also 13 elected independents and 4 [[Sarenium United (Political Party)|United]] and 7 [[Greens Party of Sarenium|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===
+
A split appointed bench of 5 independents, 15 [[Conservative Party of Sarenium|Tory]] and 15 [[Labor Party of Sarenium|Labor]] Senators.
+
 
+
These appointed Senators have special requirements, unlike regular Senators, their seats can remain vacant but when appointed cannot be dismissed until the conclusion of the entire eight year term. Their [[Commission to the Senate|commission to the Senate]] can be rescinded after six years of service without warning or at the request of the [[President of Sarenium|President]] and with the assent of the [[House of Commons of Sarenium|House of Commons]], in such a case, the vacant seat must be filled within six months or by conclusion of the session of Parliament, whichever is first.  
+
  
President [[Anthony Perales|Perales]] has announced his intention to reappoint Senators (should they be willing to depart) to further balance the Senate.
 
 
==Benefits and Salaries==
 
==Benefits and Salaries==
 +
Senators receive $205,000 annually, the President of the Senate receives $245,000 and the Vice President of the Senate receives $210,000. The Principal of the Senate and Deputy Principal receive equal to the President and VP respectively. The NIA decides the amount of security bolstering required, highly controversial or popular Senators receive greater security allocations whilst newly elected or uncommonly heard of Senators receive somewhat less.

Latest revision as of 22:00, 26 October 2018

Senate of Sarenium
159th Parliament of Sarenium
Type
Type Upper house of the Parliament of Sarenium
Term limits None
Leadership
President of the Senate Delores Vaughn, Independent
Since 17 September 2022
Principal of The Senate William Spades, Independent
Since 10 February 2022
Structure
Seats 494
494Senate.PNG
Political groups
  •      Appointed: 228 Senators
  •      Elected: 266 Senators
Length of term7 Various
Elections
Voting system Preferential System
Last election 17 August 2024
Next election Next
Redistricting SEC


The Saren Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Sarenium, the lower house being the House of Commons. There are a total of 494 senators: 26 from each of the states. 12 of those are appointed by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister and the remaining 14 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 twelve-year term or resign at an earlier stage.

Powers

Any legislative items to be passed by Parliament are often brought up in the House unless a constitutional or protocol related item in which case the Senate is the only house able to be presented before. For a bill to become law or be appropriated, it requires an absolute majority in both houses of Parliament and the President's assent. If the Senate does not pass with an absolute majority (thus failing the bill) then the bill is brought back up within the last scheduled term of Parliament or in the fourteen day legislative cool-off if an early election is called at which time the House either passes the bill with Presidential Assent or the President refuses to provide 'House Prerogative'.

In other cases, where the House of Commons is expectant of a resilient Senate it has passed legislation with a larger majority (3/5) and thus weakened the Senate's resolve as the bill can be brought back up after the conclusion of that Parliamentary Term (between 2-8 months later) at which time either the House passes the bill on its own with Presidential Assent or once more the President refuses to provide 'house Prerogative'.

In cases where the Senate's expected to be greatly more hostile, and the House acquires a 2/3, the bill is passed through the House and brought up in the Senate but fails to garner over 1/3, it is delayed to the conclusion of that Parliamentary term at which time either the House passes the bill on its own with Presidential Assent or once more the President refuses to provide 'house Prerogative'. If the Senate does pass with over 1/3 then the bill is passed and proceeds to the President for Assent which (unless providing House Prerogative) can only be withheld.

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. Conventionally, the Senate does not block supply.

Limitations

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 convention 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;

Benefits and Salaries

Senators receive $205,000 annually, the President of the Senate receives $245,000 and the Vice President of the Senate receives $210,000. The Principal of the Senate and Deputy Principal receive equal to the President and VP respectively. The NIA decides the amount of security bolstering required, highly controversial or popular Senators receive greater security allocations whilst newly elected or uncommonly heard of Senators receive somewhat less.