National Assembly (Caphiria)

The National Assembly of Caphiria is one of the four chambers of the Corcillum, the  of the Imperium of Caphiria.

The composition and powers of the National Assembly are established by Proclamation V of the Constitution of Caphiria. The National Assembly is composed of 1,000 consuls, each serving single five year terms. Consuls are elected by political districts called curia, representing an equal proportion of the population. The Tribunal Assembly reallocates curiae based on the results of the national census every lustrum. As of the 2020 census, there are 785,178 curiae.

The National Assembly functions as the "lower house", being responsible for the adoption of all laws as well as any amendments to the Constitution of Caphiria, and setting the Caphirian national budget. The National Assembly is also nominally responsible for the oversight of the Ministries of Caphiria, with each ministry having a corresponding committee. The presiding officer is the First Consul - the designee of the Imperator, and is considered to be the most senior officer of the Corcillum. A second officer, the Proconsul Maioris (Majority Speaker of the Assembly), is elected by the members of the National Assembly and serves as the floor leader of the assembly. The Proconsul Maioris is also assigned a number of specific responsibilities and duties which make it one of the most sought-after positions.

History
The National Assembly was created with the current Constitution of Caphiria as a replacement for the earlier plebeian assembly, which formed in the earliest days of Caphiria as the representative bodies of each of the original tribes which settled Caphiria. As each tribe had one vote, the body was initially created as a popular body but fell into obsolescence as tribal leaders were subverted first by the Senate and then by the first Imperators. With the establishment of the Great Landsmeet in Urcea during the medieval period, the resurrection of the plebeian assembly was a popular idea which receded following the XXXX CIVIL WAR XXXX. The plebeian assembly last fully met in 1640, and was replaced by the directly representative National Assembly in the 19th century.

Qualifications
There are numerous qualifications and prerequisites in order for eligibility to become a Consul. Article IV, Proclamation 9, of the Constitution, sets three primary prerequisites: (1) they must be at least 35 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the Imperium for at least twenty years; and (3) they must have held at least four separate public offices (i.e. cursus honorum). This set of prerequisites is commonly known as the "36/20 rule" among aspiring politicians.

Elections
Consular elections happen every lustrum (five-year-period) and are chosen by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage. Consuls are elected by "consular districts", a constituency of proportional representation based on census data. Because of this, the total number of Consulships can change in each election and it is specified when writs of election are issued. The Constitution of Caphiria outlines a "minimum representative quota of: 200 pairs of Consuls per 550,000 Citizens, 100 pairs of Consuls per province, and 50 pairs per Possession.

There is no limit to the number of candidates at the start of a consular election. When the first round of voting begins, each citizen will vote for one of the candidates. Abstaining is only an option for those who do not attend the assembly, and that option is strongly discouraged by social pressures. Whichever candidate receives the least votes is booted from the running. Successive rounds of voting dwindle the number of candidates down to two for a final vote where the patrician with the majority of votes becomes Consul for their curia. Few elections have ended with the winning candidate receiving less than 280,000 out of 550,000 votes. Non-voters are viewed with a certain stigma by Caphirian society for failing to participate in its self-government and further discouraged by revoking the privilege of formally voicing complaints to the elected Consul. After the General Election, seats are assigned to the electoral lists in each consular district using the D'Hondt method in each district separately; parties receive seats in approximate proportion to the number of votes each received in the district. A strictly proportional system would result in fractional seats. The D'Hondt method resolves this by favoring parties receiving larger votes.

Parties that are not already represented in the election or Assembly are required to collect signatures to support their candidacy to be able to run in the election. One-tenth of a percent of those registered to vote in a consular district are required to be on the ballot and each citizen can sign only once for a party candidacy.

Term
Consuls serve single five-year terms beginning on the last Monday in January following the election earlier that month. The Constitution requires that vacancies in the National Assembly be filled with a special election that must occur no more than 60 days from the vacancy, and the term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original members' would have expired.

The Constitution permits the National Assembly to expel a member with a two-thirds vote, which has only occurred twice in modern Caphiria. The National Assembly also has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand of a member requires only a simple majority, and does not remove that member from office.

Oath
The oath of office for all Consuls is as follows: "I Swear to the Imperator, to the People of the Imperium, to God Himself, that I will always observe and uphold the Law of The Imperium;

I Swear that I will defend and preserve, with all My power, the independence, and territory of the Imperium; that I will protect the freedom of Caphiria;

I Swear I have not promised or given, directly or indirectly, any gifts or presents to any person under whatsoever name or pretext;

I Swear to serve my nation and republic in times of war and peace with integrity and affection, on land, on the sea, and in the air, To abide by all rules and regulations and to obey my superiors, To value more than my life, the honor of service and the reputation of The Imperium of Caphiria;

I Swear that I will faithfully perform all the duties which the office lays upon me and that I keep secret everything which, in relation to my office, is told me confidentially or in which I should see the confidential character, to others than whom I obliged to inform by virtue of my office;

I Swear that I will behave as a civil servant should do, that I will be careful, honest, and reliable, and that I will do nothing that harms the prestige of the office I am holding now, or in the future;

This I Swear, before the eyes of Men, under the eyes of the Lord, with the protection of the Imperator, and for the Love and Glory I give to the Imperium of Caphiria."

Salary and benefits
As of 2020, the annual salary of a Consul is $225,000. Senior leaders earn more: $305,000 for the Proconsul Maioris, and $500,000 for the First Consul. A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless the National Assembly votes not to accept it. The Tribunal Assembly sets the salaries for Consuls, although they must make any salary change to every chamber of the Corcillum and are not allowed to make one-off modifications. Consuls are eligible for retirement benefits after serving for twenty years (4 lustra). Outside pay is limited to 10% of consular pay, and certain types of income involving a fiduciary responsibility or personal endorsement are prohibited. Salaries are not for life, only during active term.

In addition to monetary compensation, Consuls are afforded many other benefits such as a travel allowance of $55,000, are permitted to deduct up to $5,000 of living expenses per year incurred while living away from their consular district, and members of the National Assembly are automatically enrolled in MERLO, Caphiria's retirement system for government employees.

All Consuls and their families have access to Sospitas Nationalis Consilium (SNC), a branch of Caphiria's National Health System for government workers. SNC physicians provides routine exams, consultations, and certain diagnostics, and may write prescriptions. The SNS covers primary care, in-patient care, long-term health care, ophthalmology, and dentistry. Current and former Consuls may also receive emergency care at military treatment facilities.

Consuls are eligible for a Consulship Allowance (CA) to support them in their official and representational duties to their district and is calculated based on three components: one for personnel, one for official office expenses and one for official or franked mail. The personnel allowance is the same for all members; the office and mail allowances vary based on the members' district's distance from Venceia, the cost of office space in the member's district, and the number of non-business addresses in their district. These three components are used to calculate a single RA that can fund any expense—even though each component is calculated individually, the franking allowance can be used to pay for personnel expenses if the Consul so chooses. The Personnel allowance was $800,000 per Consul in 2020. Each member may employ no more than 15 permanent employees. The Consular employees' salary is capped at $95,000.

Additionally, no Consul can be arrested, detained, or summoned by a warrant for an inquiry as the suspect in a criminal case unless permission (simple majority vote) was obtained or they was arrested in flagrante delicto.

Procedure
The agenda of the National Assembly is mostly decided by the Government, although the Assembly can also enforce its own agenda. Indeed, the Constitution guarantees at least a monthly session decided by the Assembly. The items of business, a notice of which is received from the Ministers and admitted by the First Consul, are included in the daily List of Business which is printed and circulated to members in advance.

The period during which the National Assembly meets to conduct its business is called a consular session, of which three occur per year: Sessions typically start from 9 AM to 2 PM and from 4 PM to 7 PM. There are occasions the sittings are continuously held without observing lunch break and are also extended beyond 7 PM depending upon the business before the Assembly. The National Assembly does not ordinarily sit on Saturdays and Sundays and other closed holidays.
 * First Consular Session: January 10 to April 30
 * Second Consular Session: May 15 to September 30
 * Third Consular Session: October 5 to December 10

The National Assembly meets inside the Forum Orumbarca, across from the Forum Magnum where the Senate gathers. At one end of the main chamber is a podium from which the Proconsul Maioris or First Consul presides over the session. The lower tier of the podim is used by clerks and other officials, supporting a total of 7. Consular seats are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern facing the podium and are divided by a central aisle.

Consular sessions are opened with a special prayer or invocation and typically convene on weekdays. They are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television.

The procedure of the National Assembly depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs, precedents, and traditions. In many cases, the Assembly waives some of its stricter rules (including time limits on debates) by unanimous consent. The presiding officer enforces the rules of the National Assembly, and may warn members who deviate from them. The speaker uses a gavel to maintain order. Legislation to be considered by the National Assembly is placed in a box called the hopper. The main chamber has 511 permanent seats and six tables, three on each side. These tables are occupied by members of the committee that have brought a bill to the floor for consideration and by the party leadership. Consuls address the chamber from microphones at any table or seat, or "the well," the area immediately in front of the rostrum.

Interrogo
The first hour of every consular session is called the Interrogo, a period for Consuls to ask questions of ministers on different aspects of administration and government policy in the national and international spheres. Questions may be asked of anything that seems relevant to the interest of national discourse, and those in question must stand and answer for their department's acts of omission or commission.

Questions are of three types—Denotatus (Starred), Trito (Unstarred), and Relicuos (Outstanding). A question of Denotatus is one to which a Consul desires an oral answer in the Assembly and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark. A question of Trito is one which is not called for oral answer in the Assembly and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. An answer to such a question is given in writing. A minimum period of notice for starred/unstarred questions is 10 clear days. If the questions given notice are admitted by the First Consul, they are listed and printed for an answer on the dates allotted to the Ministries to which the subject matter of the question pertains. A question of Relicuos is exempt from the period of notice as it relates to matters of urgent public importance. However, the question may only be answered if the First Consul (and respective Minister) is prepared to answer it at shorter notice, typically at the end of the interrogo.

Meridies
The time immediately following the Interrogo is known as the Meridies as it starts at around 12 noon (hence the name) and members can, with prior notice to the First Consul or Proconsul Maioris, raise issues of importance during this time. Typically, discussions on important Bills, the Budget, and other issues of national importance take place. Consuls will also take up miscellaneous items of work, such as of one or more of the following: Adjournment Motions, Questions involving breaches of Privileges, Papers to be laid on the Table, Communication of any messages with the rest of the Corcillum, Intimations regarding Prime Minister's assent to Bills, Calling Attention Notices, Matters under Rule 818, Presentation of Reports of Parliamentary Committee, Presentation of Petitions, miscellaneous statements by Ministers, Motions regarding elections to Committees, Bills to be withdrawn or introduced, etc.

Primaria
Primaria is the main business of the day, which may be consideration of a Bill or financial business or consideration of a resolution or a motion. Because the nature of the Primaria changes constantly, there is no universal operating procedure but there are broad guidelines for some of the broader topics, such as debating and voting and legislating.

Lex condicio
The first stage of legislature is the lex condicio (law proposal). A law proposal is a document divided into three distinct parts: a title, the compage, and scrutinium. The compage describes the arguments in favour of a modification of a given law or new measurements that are proposed. The scrutinium is the normative part, which is developed within articles. A proposal for a law can originate from the Government or from another chamber of the Corcillum. Certain laws must come from the Government, including financial regulations.

The law proposals may pass through the National Assembly and Senate in an indifferent order, except for financial laws which must go through the Assembly first, or territorial organisational laws or laws for Caphirian citizens living in foreign countries, which must first pass through the Senate.

Before legislation reaches the floor of the Assembly, the Legislative Rules Committee normally passes a rule to govern debate on that measure (which then must be passed by the full Assembly before it becomes effective). For instance, the committee determines if amendments to the bill are permitted. An "open rule" permits all germane amendments, but a "closed rule" restricts or even prohibits amendment. Debate on a bill is generally restricted to one hour, equally divided between the majority and minority parties. Each side is led during the debate by a "floor manager," who allocates debate time to members who wish to speak. On contentious matters, many members may wish to speak; thus, a member may receive as little as one minute, or even thirty seconds, to make his/her point.

During the discussion of the proposal, the Assembly and Senate can add, modify or delete articles of the proposal. The text is thus amended. Amendments proposed by a parliamentarian cannot mobilise further public funding. The Government has to right to ask the Assembly to pronounce itself in one vote only with the amendments proposed or accepted by the Government itself. The proposal of laws will be examined succinctly by the two chambers of Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) until the text is identical. After two lectures by the two chambers (or just one if the Government chooses to engage an acceleration of the text adoption, which can happen only in certain conditions) and without any accord, the Prime Minister or the two presidents of the chambers, conjointly with first, can convoke a special commission composed by an equal number of members of Consuls and Senators to reach a compromise and propose a new text. The new proposition has to be approved by the Government before being re-proposed to the two chambers. No new amendments can be added except on the Government's approval. If the new proposal of law fails to be approved by the two chambers, the Government can, after a new lecture by the National Assembly and the Senate, ask the National Assembly to rule a final judgement. In that case, the National Assembly can either take back the text elaborated by the special commission or the last one that they voted for – possibly modified by several amendments by the Senate.

Upon approval, the proposition may be freely debated amongst the National Assembly for further discussion.

Debate
During a debate, Consuls may only speak if called upon by the presiding officer, but the presiding officer is required to recognize the first Consul who rises to speak. Thus, the presiding officer has little control over the course of the debate. Customarily, the Proconsul Maioris (majority leader) and Proconsul Oppositio (minority leader) are accorded priority during debates even if another Consul rises first. Apart from rules governing civility, there are few restrictions on the content of speeches; there is no requirement that speeches pertain to the matter before the National Assembly.

The bylaws of the National Assembly provide that no Consul may make more than two speeches on a motion or bill on the same legislative day. A legislative day begins when the National Assembly convenes and ends with adjournment; hence, it does not necessarily coincide with the calendar day. The length of these speeches is not limited by the rules; thus, in most cases, Consuls may speak for as long as they please. Often, the National Assembly adopts unanimous consent agreements imposing time limits. In other cases (for example, for the budget process), limits are imposed by statute. However, the right to unlimited debate is generally preserved.

Vote
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. In many cases, the Assembly votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and Consuls respond either "yea" or "aye" (in favor of the motion) or "nay" or "no" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A Consul may however challenge the presiding officer's assessment and "request the yeas and nays" or "request a recorded vote." The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one quarter of the Consuls present.

A recorded vote may be taken in one of three different ways. One is electronically. Consuls use a personal identification card to record their votes at 100 voting stations in the chamber. Votes are usually held in this way. A second mode of recorded vote is by teller. Consuls hand in colored cards to indicate their votes: green for "yea," red for "nay," and orange for "present" (i.e., to abstain). Teller votes are normally held only when electronic voting breaks down. Finally, the Assembly may conduct a roll call vote. The Clerk reads the list of members of the Assembly, each of whom announces their vote when their name is called. This procedure is only used rarely (such as for the election of a speaker) because of the time consumed by calling over five hundred names.

Voting traditionally lasts for, at most, fifteen minutes, but it may be extended by either the Proconsul Maioris or Proconsul Oppositio.

The Proconsul Maioris, First Consul, or other member of Corcillum leadership can submit a law proposal as a referendum if it concerns the organisation of public powers, reforms on the economy, social and environmental measures, or every proposition that would have an impact on the functioning of the institutions. A referendum on the previous conditions can also be initiated by a fifth of the membership of the Assembly, supported by a tenth of the voters inscribed on the electoral lists.

Finally, the laws are promulgated by the Imperator's (or Prime Minister's) signature. The Prime Minister may call for a new legislative deliberation of the law or one of its articles in front of the National Assembly, which cannot be denied.

Consulus Consultum
Once a law is agreed upon with majority support, the bill will be issued by the Proconsul Maioris as Consulus Consultum (By Decree of the Consuls). Once the bill is posted in the Forum Orumbarca, it is brought to the Imperator the day it gets issued. Senators, Consuls, censors, citizens and the Tribune may review the copy posted in the Forum. Since modern times, Consulus Consultum have been posted in the main fora of every provincial capital. More recently, the bills have been available online. Politically aware citizens will be disseminating copies within a day and those who are strongly against enacting the bill may voice their concerns to the Tribune and Imperator through the proper channels.

An absence of objections from the Consulus Consultum indicates that the bill is constitutional. If the Tribune of the Plebs does not veto the decree, then nothing will be heard from him either. All that remains for the bill is to be signed by the Imperator, for it to become enforceable as part of Caphiric Law.

Bills that get rejected by either the Tribune, Censors or Imperator are rendered consultum impotens. If the Consul who presented it still wants the bill to be considered, he must account for any objections offered by whichever of the three parties vetoed the consultum and only then may propose it again as a bill in the National Assembly. There are numerous bureaucratic measures in place to prevent the constant return of a bill from a persistent Consul but these are far too mundane to be worth mentioning.

Committees
A Consul can attend more than one committee if s/he is not a member of Application Committee or Planning and Budgeting Committee. Members of those committees can not participate in any other committees. On the other hand, s/he does not have to work for a committee either. Number of members of each committee is determined by the proposal of the Advisory Council and the approval of the Assembly. Sub committees are established according to the issue that the committee receives. Only Public Economic Enterprises (PEEs) Committee has constant sub committees that are specifically responsible for a group of PEEs.

Committee meetings are open to all Consuls, Corcillum members, and other Government representatives as observers. Observers can talk in the committees but can not make amendments proposals or vote. Every Consul (and parliamentary magistrate) can read the reports of the committees. NGOs can attend the committee meetings upon the invitation of the committee therefore volunteer, individual, or public participation is not available. Media, but not the visual media, can attend the meetings. The media representatives are usually the parliamentary staff of the media institutions. The committees can prevent the attendance of the media with a joint decision.

There are four main types of committees: Consular, Supervisory, and Investigative committees.

Consular committee

 * 1) Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform committee
 * 2) Health, family, employment, social works committee
 * 3) Security and Intelligence Committee
 * 4) Science, Education and Culture committee
 * 5) Agriculture, Fisheries and Food committee
 * 6) Foreign Affairs committee
 * 7) Domestic Affairs committee
 * 8) Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy committee
 * 9) National Defence committee
 * 10) Rights of Families, Childhood and Adolescence committee
 * 11) Transportation and Telecommunications committee
 * 12) Industry, Trade and Tourism committee
 * 13) Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare committee
 * 14) Infrastructure Services committee
 * 15) Public economic enterprises committee
 * 16) Justice committee
 * 17) Constitutional committee
 * 18) Latinic Preservation committee

Investigative committee
These committees are established if any investigation into the Imperator, Prime Minister, and ministers occur and approved by the Assembly through hidden voting. Investigative committees are also formed to investigate any internal problem within the Corcillum. There are three types of investigative committees, and are not permanent committees.
 * 1) Investigations committees
 * 2) Ethics and Oversight committees
 * 3) Petitions committees

Supervisory committee

 * 1) Planning and Budget committee
 * 2) Procedure and Privileges committee
 * 3) Application committee
 * 4) Committee on inspection of Human rights
 * 5) Committee on Administration
 * 6) Equal Opportunity for Women and Men Committee
 * 7) Ecological Transition Committee
 * 8) Rehabilitation Committee
 * 9) Drafting Committee
 * 10) Political Institutions Committee

Powers and duties
The majority of the National Assembly's powers are set forth in Proclamation xxx of the Constitution. These are the absolute powers of the Assembly. Non-constitutional laws which grant powers to the Assembly confer minor powers. The latter are not protected by the Constitution and are generally beyond the jurisdiction of the Censors to protect. The Imperator has the right to supercede or disregard the minor powers of the National Assembly.

Only the powers to write and legitimize legislation as well as to spend from the treasury are absolute powers of the National Assembly. Signing treaties, employing diplomats, raising legions or fleets, conscripting citizens for the military, and exiling foreigners are examples of the minor powers granted to the National Assembly over the centuries.

Financial powers
The National Assembly possesses the power to tax the population to support its finances. However, the funds generated from taxation and public guilds is under the control of the entire government, that is the Corcillum, the Ministries and the Imperator. Public spending requires the presence of an aedile, a magistrate with access to government funds. Neither the National Assembly nor Imperator can appropriate the treasury without one. While the aediles are vested with the authority for spending money, they lack the imperium to actually spend anything. The federal budget consists of the planned spending by the government of Caphiria. Funds allocated to provincial governments, dependent nations, government salaries, military salaries, and infrastructure maintenance are detailed in a budget written in January by the Mensarius Superbus (Supreme Financier) of the Ministry of the Treasury. All other expenditure is at the discretion of the Imperator, National Assembly, and Ministries within their respective jurisdictions.

Taxes, tariffs, and duties are solely set by the National Assembly in a process similar to passing bills but without the involvement of the Senate. A modification to one of these sources of income will be proposed by one Consul then the proposal seconded by another. If a majority of the Assembly supports the change in taxes, tariffs or duties then the quaestores, magistrates tasked with employing public workers to collect money owed to the government, change their protocol for the following year.

Administrative powers
Some of the Assembly's non-constitutional powers are: ratification of international treaties, declaration of war against a foreign power, raising armies or navies, commissioning public monuments, military conscription, erecting military facilities, exiling non-citizens, and issuing research grants. Minor powers mirror many of the absolute powers of the Imperator, allowing the Imperium to function in his absence.

One of the most powerful administrative powers the National Assembly has is res publica ereptio. Proclamation xx of the Constitution submits the entire collective property of Caphirian citizens to ownership by the government (i.e. under control of the Imperator). This comes with the essential restriction that no item can be removed from a citizen's possession without returning money equal to its market value and providing a reasonable time frame for its procurement. The constitutional laws outlining this process ensure that the exchange is at least to the financial benefit of the citizen. Furthermore, the Senate must also vote in agreement before this measure is enforced.