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This page contains the core text of bylaws or a charter/constitution for Plan 11.

Please note that this core text must be augmented in order to create complete bylaws for an organization. First of all, some types of organizations, such as corporations, may be required by law to address various issues in their bylaws or charter which are not addressed here. Second, this core text purposefully leaves the following key questions unanswered:

The topics in the previous bullet list can be addressed by combining this core text with one of: the for-profit corporation addendum, the non-profit addendum, or the government addendum. However, in your jurisdiction, in order to form valid bylaws or a valid charter, you may still be required by law to address other issues which are not addressed here.

In the following, the phrase the organization refers to the organization in whose charter/bylaws/constitution this text is incorporated.

The bylaws are available as a network of hypertext pages or as a single page.

THE CORE TEXT

Organizational structure

These bylaws define and structure the Organization.

The legislature sets policy by creating rules called "statues". The Legislature is composed of three "houses", which are the Forum, the Elect Commissions, and the Delegate Commissions. The Forum uses direct democracy; the Commissions are small bodies composed of indirect representatives.

The CEO implements policy, with the exception of external affairs, which are handled by the EEO. The CEO and the EEO are appointed by the commissioners.

The Court(s) interprets rules.

The Tribunes investigate, with the aim of checking and restraining powerful elements within the Organization to ensure that the rules are followed.

Contents

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under construction...

How ordinary acts may be enacted

An act other than an act to amend the bylaws may be enacted in one of four ways:

  1. Adoption by one house: It is adopted by one of the three legislative houses, and not vetoed by either of the other two within the first 2 weeks that they are in session after the adoption of the first house.
  2. Adoption by two houses over the objection of the third: It is adopted by two of the three legislative houses.
  3. Adoption by referendum: Some house refers it to the voters as a referendum, and it is adopted in the vote (referenda and initiatives).
  4. Adoption by ballot initiative: The measure is put to the voters by a ballot initiative, and it is adopted in the vote (referenda and initiatives).

Adoption by each house must be in accordance with the proper vote thresholds, which differ according to the type of measure.

By a simple majority, any house may refer any measure to the High Court to inquire about its legality. In this case, the two week "veto clock" is paused until the High Court returns its verdict.

A measure to veto is a standing poll, or main motion without debate, with a simple majority threshold. A successful veto causes the vetoed measure to be scheduled for debate in the house that vetoed; after the debate, if the measure now passes the house that vetoed, in unamended form, then the veto is retracted and the act in enacted (because at this point, two houses have adopted it). Therefore, the initial veto can also be thought of as a delay action.

By a 2/3s vote, any house may create a referendum of any measure, and the referendum is put to the voters.

Prohibited types of acts

The legislature is prohibited from creating or bestowing decorations, awards, or titles of honor, or from using the naming of times or places to call attention to or to honor, or for issuing proclamations, commemorations, recognitions, memorials, or dictating the names or pictures of coins or medals or stamps. The legislature may, however, fund awards which are created and bestowed by the senior tribune.

The legislature may not declare anyone to be guilty of breaking any rule, and may not impose punishment for breaking a rule. In such a situation, the legislature should instead prosecute the offender in the Court.

Definition of a textual length of a bill

In the following, a page of text is defined as 2000 characters (in some alphabet with approximately 26 letters, plus numbers and punctuation). However, parts of a bill which merely strike or eliminate text from existing rules (as opposed to modifying text or adding text) are not counted in this total.

Text quota

Each house of the legislature is associated with a number called its "text quota". Each day, each house's text quota is incremented by 20 pages, until it reaches a maximum of 200 pages. No house may pass any bill which is longer than its current text quota; bills which are "adopted" over quota are not considered to have been adopted, regardless of the views and records of that chamber. Upon the passage of any bill, each house's text quota is decremented by the length of the bill.

Reading time

No bill or amendment to a bill may be debated or voted upon until at least 10 minutes per page, excluding the first two pages, has elapsed after its presentation to the legislative body in the form in which it is to be voted upon (if a bill is presented and then amended, then, providing the time for reading the initial presented form and the amendments are satisfied, no additional time is needed for the amended form of the bill).

This "presentation" may be via posting in a designated spot on the internet and does not necessitate gaining the floor in any house of legislature.

How these bylaws may be amended

The bylaw amendment process may be initiated in one of two ways:

Once initiated, the amendment is placed on the ballot. Two electoral cycles with respect to the amendment are defined as follows: the first cycle begins at the time that the amendment is voted upon, and ends after one electoral cycle duration has elapsed since that time. The second cycle begins at the end of the first cycle, and lasts for one electoral cycle duration past that time.

It succeeds if, in each of those cycles, at least one of these conditions happen:

  1. the amendment gets >3/4 in the referendum
  2. it passes one house with a 2/3 vote, gets 2/3 in the referendum, is not vetoed by more than one house
  3. it passes two houses with a 2/3 vote, not vetoed in any house, and gets a majority in the referendum

The amendment is automatically placed on the ballot for the second cycle if any of the conditions held in the first cycle. Within each legislative body, in order for the amendment to be adopted, it must first be introduced, debated, and voted upon as if it were a new proposal in each cycle. However, if the amendment process was initiated through adoption, then that adoption "counts" as passage in that body in the first cycle.

If, in either cycle, none of these conditions hold, then the proposal dies.

Making an exception

By passing an act with a vote threshold of 2/3, the legislature may make a single, specific exception to the bylaws. This exception cannot have the effect of making it easier to amend or to make an exception to the bylaws. An exception is not counted towards the text quota.

The Forum is a direct-democracy deliberative body composed of all of the voters. It is one of the three legislative houses.

Rules of order

The Forum's rules of order depend on the effective group size. When the effective group size is P or less, simplified rules of order apply. Otherwise, see the Forum's regular rules of order.

The Forum is administered by the Chairs. Vote thresholds