Africans Union Charter | Article 75-Province Legislature



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	VII. Province Objects
	Article 75-Province Legislature
75.1	Province Legislature
	All provincial legislative Powers shall be vested in a Province Parliament (Province Congress), which shall consist of one house – a Congress. The Congress shall be comprised of five (5) elected representatives from each Assembly of the appropriate Campus.
	Congress men and women shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years corresponding to the fixed terms of the Province Executive.
75.2	Power of the Congress
	Vested by the Charter, a Province Congress shall have the power to review all bills proposed by the Province Executive and proposed as law, all budgets, expenditure and official planning of the Province Executive.
	The Province Congress shall not have the power to block money Bills required for the general operation and function of a Province Government.
	A Province Congress shall also have the power to commission Province Commissions of Investigation with the power to call any man, woman or person within the state and any information located within the borders of the state to review.
	Vested by the Charter, a Province Congress shall have the power to create new bills and amend existing laws into bills for review.
	The Province Congress shall also have the power to create new budgets for expenditure and financial management of the Province as well as to review the appointments of any person by the Province Executive to a permanent position prescribed by this Charter.
	A Province Congress also has vested by this Charter the power to commission a Province Impeachment for the forced removal of any elected official from the Governor to any position within any branch of government in the state.
75.3	Congress Sessions
	Excepting a provincial election year, every year there shall be four sessions of fixed days corresponding to equal divisions of the year whereby members of Congress are summonsed to attend.
	Each of these sessions shall be named for the season to which they correspond, namely Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring Session. A day within a session when members are summonsed to sit in Parliament shall be called a Province Sitting Session Day.
	A day within a session when members of both houses of Parliament are not summonsed to sit in Parliament shall be called a Non-Sitting Session Day.
	During a year in which a provincial election is to be called, the Province Parliament shall not sit for the Spring session. Instead the last session of Province Parliament before it is dissolved shall be the Winter session.
75.4	Operation of Province Congress
	(a) Life of Parliament
	Parliament shall exist for a fixed period of four (4) years before being dissolved ahead of Province Elections for a new Parliament.
	(b) Office of Speaker of Province Congress (Province Speaker)
	Responsibility for good conduct and control of the Province Congress and the scheduling of business within the chamber shall be vested in the Office of Speaker of Province Congress (Province Speaker).
	The Speaker of a Province Congress shall be an independent role, free from political party preferences. The candidate shall be elected by the new assembly themselves on the first day of sitting of the new parliament after a Province Election.
	(c) Dissolution of Parliament
	Parliament shall be dissolved every four years following that last day of the Winter Session for both houses of Parliament.
	The instrument of dissolution shall be three writs issued by the Governor:
	(i) To the Province Speaker of the Province Congress ordering the chamber to be sealed until a new Parliament is elected; and
	(ii) To the Directors of the Province Board of Directors ordering the government to institute caretaker provisions which forbids the appointment of any new positions, the announcement of any new projects or the commissioning of any new expenditure; and
	(iii) To the superior-general of the University Election Commission requiring the commencement of Province Election provisions for the conduct of a Province Election to elect a new Province Executive Government and Province Parliament (Congress).
	(d) Date of Province Election
	The date of a national election shall always occur within the Spring months, allowing 40 days prior to the date of the election for the official campaign period.
	(e) Formation of new Parliament
	The formation of a new Parliament shall occur within 14 days after the Province Election day following the count and verification of all votes.
	The instrument of formation of a new Province Parliament shall be three declarations from the Superior-General of the University Election Commission:
	(i) To each successful candidate for election to Congress confirming their validity as the rightful representative of their Campus Assembly; and
	(ii) To the successful candidate for election as Governor confirming their validity as the rightful executive to form government; and
	(iii) To the caretaker Governor that the election result has been verified and that writs to summons successful candidates to be sworn into Province Parliament and form the new Province Executive must now be issued.
	Upon receipt of the declaration, the caretaker Governor shall be required to issue writs within seven (7) days for the summonsing to Parliament of successful candidates to form the new Parliament and Executive.
	(f) Quorum
	The minimum number of members (quorum) required to be present within the chamber of Congress to permit the full exercise of its powers shall be two thirds the total number of elected members of that house.
	Congress shall not be permitted to undertake procedures that require a quorum if the total number of members in that House is not equal or greater to the quorum.
	(g) Voting
	Excluding the election of officials, voting in Congress shall be by open vote expressed as either Yes or No to the proposition before the chamber.
	Voting shall always require a quorum and shall follow the standard procedures listed in this Charter.
	Total votes shall be tallied as either Yes, or No to the proposition expressed by the Bill. A higher total number of Yes votes to No votes shall deem the Bill or proposition has been passed. A higher total number of No votes to Yes votes shall deem the Bill or proposition has been defeated.
	The record, attendance and vote of all members of Congress shall be recorded on the public record.
	(h) Congress session length
	The total length of a Congress session shall be determined by the Province Speaker and shall not be permitted to exceed 14 Ordinary Sitting Session Days in a month. However, the Speaker is permitted to call an emergency session of Congress to a maximum of five days within a month other than Ordinary Sitting Session Days.
	(i) Congress attendance
	The Province Speaker shall be responsible for the issuing of summons to individual Province Congressional representatives for their attendance to Parliament.
	Excepting special leave granted by the Province Speaker due to matters of national security, health or extended personal matters, all Congressional representatives shall be required to attend the Sitting Session Days as listed in the summons.
	Failure of a Province Congress representative to attend five (5) or more Session Sitting Days within one Session shall be deemed a failure to discharge the duties of their office and the Province Speaker shall be responsible for immediately initiating a Congressional Expulsion Motion or a Director Expulsion Motion should the Congressional representative be a Province Superior-General.
75.5	Province Legislature
	A Probationary Province Congress is formed when approval is given to a valid and completed application form including any registration fees by two (2) or more Mayors from two (2) or more probationary or permanent Campus and witnessed by a minimum of sixteen (16) Living Members:
	(i) That each member on the application is a current and valid certified member of the Union and their identities have been verified; and
	(ii) That each member on the application currently resides in the geographic area belonging to the Province currently under provisional administration; and
	(iii) That the Province is not already under probationary or permanent administration; and
	(iv) That none of the applicants have previously applied for the formation of a Province; and
	(v) That all members on the application have sworn an oath to uphold and implement the Probationary Provisional Plan within the first ninety (90) days subject to approval.
	Approval of such an application shall be the responsibility of the University Senate. If no University Senate exists for the particular University then it shall be the responsibility of the Union Senate. If no Union Senate yet exists for the Union then it shall, it shall be the responsibility of Ucadia as temporary administrators.
75.6	Probationary Provincial Plan
	Upon approval of granting the creation of a Probationary Province Congress, the temporary Council must within ninety (90) days Probationary Provincial Plan:
	(i) Elect a Probationary Governor from amongst the community leaders as prime representative; and
	(ii) Elect and appoint a Probationary regional board to support the Governor; and
	(iii) Make peace with any non-Ucadian alien nations still present within the boundaries of the Province by registering within forty (40) days with their appropriate agencies for status as a non-profit charity including a copy of this Charter, appropriate fees and Member lists, board members and all other required documentation; and
	(iv) Open a bank account within forty (40) days with at least two signatories and provide this bank account to the University Executive. If no University Executive exists, it shall be forwarded to Ucadia as the temporary administrators; and
	(v) Provide a copy of the registration papers of non-profit charity status.
	If any of these items are failed to be completed within ninety (90) days, by this Covenant the UniversitySenate, or temporary administrator has the right to revoke the approval of the Probationary Provincial Congress and Executive.
75.7	Formation of a Permanent Congress
	Within two hundred and seventy (270) Days since the formation of a Probationary Province Congress, permanency shall be granted to a Probationary Province Congress providing the following conditions are met:
	(i) That the number of Permanent Assemblies for the Province now constitutes at least two (2) and that total membership of the Region is at least seventy-two (72) living members; and
	(ii) That the Province Congress has held elections and elected a Board; and
	(iii) That no action contravening this Covenant has occurred with the original applicants that would warrant an Internal investigation or their expulsion.
75.8	Disbandment of a Probationary Congress
	If by two hundred and seventy (270) Days since the formation of a Probationary Province Congress one or more of the conditions for permanency are not met, the appropriate permanent University Senate shall have the right to disband the Probationary Province Congress and revoke its status.
	If no permanent University Senate yet exists, it shall be the responsibility of the temporary administrator.
	Upon a disbandment, the persons originally making the application for a temporary Province Congress are not permitted to directly re-apply for a new Province Congress, nor hold office for a period of not less than one (1) year.
75.9	Wind-up of a Permanent Congress
	The wind-up of a permanent Province Congress is when an order is granted by the University Senate for a permanent Province Congress to be wound up, its assets seized, its membership re-allocated or suspended and the Province Congress itself deregistered.
	Such an order is an order of last resort and must be subject to a formal vote of the Senate based only on one or more of the criteria being in existence:
	(i) That the total active membership of the Assemblies within the region of the Province Congress has been less than 72 for twelve months or more; or
	(ii) That the entire Executive has been expelled from University or Union and that the majority of remaining members represent members of their former network; or
	(iii) That the Province Congress is bankrupt and unable to continue to pay its financial obligations with no prospect of independent financial income in the future to meet its ongoing obligations.


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