EDIT Sunday 2022/09/11: Tabling this bill for now and will re-propose with some changes.

Hi all, I've had this draft sitting on my computer for a few weeks now, and since Des posted her proposal for provincial rule I figured I'd throw this out there to compare and contrast. Better to have both of these discussed and voted on at the same time rather than one after the other. We can also pull the best from both of them.

EDIT: Well I think I misunderstood the provincial consulships proposal. Oh well. Here's the PAA anyway. As far as I can tell the two proposals aren't mutually exclusive.

Revision #1: Removed exemption for New Danzilona Province. Revised rights section to say powers, added "at minimum" to provincial powers.

[TLDR] Occupants in a province can charter a provincial government that expires after a period of time. A governor is elected to lead, and the occupants must declare how they will arbitrate civil and criminal acts that don't fall under federal law. The benefit of this is to allow for binding local consensus for decisions within sub-communities that don't impact the national populace.

Provincial Autonomy Act

An Act, establishing the structure of province-level governments subservient to the federal government of the Free Danzilonan Republic.

Section 1. Territorial Definitions

The Free Danzilona Republic recognizes these provinces within the home claim:

• New Danzilona

• Melia

• Sophia

• Southern Province

• Western Danzilona

The Free Danzilonan Republic recognizes these provinces outside the home claim:

• New Swisston

• Eastern Shining Isles (djotalar na rhayadeht)

The Free Danzilonan Republic recognizes these autonomous member nations outside the home claim:

• None as of passage

The Free Danzilonan Republic recognizes these protectorates outside the home claim:

• Gensokyo【幻想郷】

Section 1.a Exemptions

The Province of New Danzilona is the seat of the federal government, and shall not be eligible for chartership.

The Eastern Shining Isles (djotalar na rhayadeht) falls under the Lighthouse Accords, a treaty between the federal government and the Mery people, and shall not be eligible for chartership.

Section 2. Provincial Government.

Each province shall remain under the sole authority of the federal government except when a charter for that province is accepted by the national citizenry.

The provincial government shall have a governor. The mode of election and duration of their term shall be declared in the charter.

Cities may be chartered within a chartered province. Cities may have only a mayor. If only one city exists within the province, the governor shall also be the de facto mayor of that city. No entities other than a city may be chartered within a province.

The governor may be removed from office by a unanimous vote by the ministers of the federal government. If the governor is removed, the people of the province shall elect a new governor by the manner according to the charter.

Section 2.a Provincial Powers

Provinces established through a charter shall have at minimum these powers:

• The power to pass and enforce laws and maintain order within its borders

• The power to arbitrate disputes within its borders

• The power to prosecute any civil or criminal act within its borders that violates provincial law

Section 2.b Provincial Limitations

The Free Danzilona Republic reserves these power for itself:

• The power to arbitrate all disputes between provinces

• The power to prosecute all civil or criminal act within its borders that violates federal law

• The power to enter into trade, mutual defense, or any other type of treaty or agreement with outside sovereign states

Section 3. Provincial Charter Requirements

The charter must, at minimum:

• Declare the province it seeks to charter.

• Declare the term length, removal method, and mode of election for the governor.

• Declare the mode of criminal arbitration.

• Declare the mode of civil arbitration.

A charter must be signed by two thirds of the occupants of the province, where there are three or more occupants in total, before it may be voted upon by the national citizenry.

Section 4. Provincial Charter Acceptance.

The charter shall be accepted upon a simple majority vote by the citizens of the Free Danzilonan Republic.

Section 5. Provincial Charter Expiration and Renewal

The charter shall be valid for a period of two months (sixty days) from the time of acceptance. Upon the expiration of the charter a new charter must be proposed and voted on. The charter may be the same or may have changes if occupants so choose. If no charter is proposed within ten days, the province returns to the sole authority of the federal government.

Explanation

The purpose of having an expiration is that if the population becomes inactive, the provincial authority returns to the federal government. It also allows new sets of inhabitants to choose different terms as time goes on and participation ebbs and flows. An existing charter would be infinitely renewable by the same requirement of two thirds of the inhabitants.

The charter can declare more than is defined if it wants to, such as to establish judgeships for arbitration and such, but the listed requirements would be the bare minimum. Basically they'll have to prove they have a plan for who's in charge, how they're chosen, and the mode of arbitration for civil and criminal disputes (i.e. civil disputes could be resolved by the governor unilaterally, or a majority vote, or some sort of panel, but it has to be decided beforehand). In other words, "if you want state power, you have to tell everybody how you're going to use it". Modes of criminal arbitration are open as far as the federal government is concerned, as the only requirement in the constitution is that if someone is pearled the trial is decided by a majority vote. So if someone hasn't been pearled the Feds have no power.

The advantage of chartering a province is to allow granularity and binding local consensus when it comes to decisions that affect the populace of the province but not elsewhere, and flexibility when it comes to civil and criminal arbitration. Right now, the only way to resolve any dispute within the law is discussion and a vote on the national level. As the community spreads across the home claim, and as we discuss potential expansion and annexation, establishing a template for provincial autonomy is the first step in enabling stable decentralization of powers.