Senate of the Allied States

The Allied States Senate (A.S.S) is the unicameral legislature of the government of the Allied States. The Senate meets in the north wing of the Allied States Capitol in New Bay City FAC. Senators are chosen through direct election. Each state or province in the Allied States is required to have twenty at-large Senators representing the state as a whole. The Senate has 302 seats, with Guam having two Representatives. The Presiding Senator of the Allied States, Trevor Prince, is the presiding officer of the Senate, as well as second in the presidential line of succession, after the Vice President.
== History ==
Before 12 February 2011, the Senate was modeled exactly after the previous United States legislature. The Allied States Congress was bicameral and thus consisted of an upper and lower house, the Senate being the former and the House of Representatives being the latter. Each state had one Senator and multiple Representatives, depending on how many congressional districts needed representatives. During this time, Congress met in convention centers or other venues because of the lack of a suitable capital. The Speaker of the House was the leader of the House of Representatives and the Vice President was seen as the chairman of the A.S.S.
In early February of 2011, talks began about forming a unicameral legislature. These discussions lasted less than two weeks, and on the 12th, the Congress passed a bill dissolving the entire legislature and forming a new, unicameral Senate. Over the next few weeks, it was decided that each state, regardless of population, will have 50 elected Senators.
In May 2012, when Canada officially joined the Allied States as an incorporated territory, its six provinces became political divisions of the Allied States. Thus, the Allied States now consisted of nine states and six provinces, both requiring representation. If the 50-Senator policy remained, the Senate would have now consisted of 750 members, thus it was taken down to 20 per state or province. The Allied States Senate now consists of 302 seats, with the Territory of Guam having two Representatives.
== Permanent committees ==
These committees exist on a permanent basis and many of them meet monthly to discuss their respective legislative areas. However, special or temporary committees can be formed, usually by the Presiding Senator or under executive order, to investigate or preside over certain issues. Notable examples are the Post-Coup Committee and several Oversight Committees assigned to specific government departments.
*Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
**Subcommittee for General Farm Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management
**Subcommittee for Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources
**Subcommittee for Employment, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation
**Subcommittee for Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, Marketing and Agriculture Security
**Subcommittee for Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
**Subcommittee for Conservation, Energy, and Forestry
**Subcommittee for Department Operations, Oversight, and Credit
**Subcommittee for Nutrition and Horticulture
*Committee on Armed Services
**Subcommittee for Emerging Threats and Capabilities
**Subcommittee for Readiness and Management Support
**Subcommittee for Seapower and Projection Forces
**Subcommittee for Military Personnel
**Subcommittee for Oversight and Investigations
**Subcommittee for Tactical Air and Land Forces
**Subcommittee for Veteran Affairs
*Committee on International Relations and Cooperation
**Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs
**Subcommittee for Middle Eastern Affairs
**Subcommittee for African Affairs
**Subcommittee for Asian and Pacific Affairs
**Subcommittee for International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues
**Subcommittee for European Affairs
**Subcommittee for International Development
**Subcommittee for Oversight and Investigations
**Subcommittee for Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
*Committee on Homeland Security
**Subcommittee for Border and Maritime Security
**Subcommittee for Emergency Preparedness and Response
**Subcommittee for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection
**Subcommittee for Counterterrorism and Intelligence
**Subcommittee for Oversight, Investigations, and Management
**Subcommittee for Transportation Security
*Committee on the Judiciary
**Subcommittee for Administrative Oversight and the Courts
**Subcommittee for Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
**Subcommittee for the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
**Subcommittee for Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
**Subcommittee for Privacy, Technology and the Law
*Committee on Science, Space and Technology
**Subcommittee for Space and Aeronautics
**Subcommittee for Technology and Innovation
**Subcommittee for Research and Science Education
**Subcommittee for Investigations and Oversight
**Subcommittee for Energy and the Environment
*Committee on Government Oversight and Reform
**Subcommittee for Labor Policy and the Federal Workforce
**Subcommittee for Government Organization and Efficiency
**Subcommittee for Budget and Government Spending
**Subcommittee for the Federal Administrative Center and the National Archives
*Committee on Miscellaneous Affairs
**Subcommittee for Culture and Religion
**Subcommittee for Indian Affairs
**Subcommittee for Senatorial Discipline
== Procedures ==
=== Bills and resolutions ===
Ideas for legislation can come from many areas, including members, lobbyists, state legislatures, constituents, legislative counsel, an executive agency such as the president or cabinet officer or executive agency, and the usual next step is for the proposal to be passed to a corresponding committee for review. Usually only Senators and committees proposed laws.
=== How bills become laws ===
*Proposal stage: Any member of Senate, a committee or other aforementioned areas propose a bill, which is given to a clerk of the corresponding committee. If a committee as a whole proposes a bill, it skips the review stage. Anyone but an entire committee or a senator needs a senator to sponsor their bill.
*Review stage: The corresponding committee reviews the bill and edits any grammatical errors or vague parts. Usually, if the bill is proposed by a civilian or an entity which does not know the format of a bill, the committee corrects it. The original message may not be changed.
*Committee voting stage: The committee will after the review stage vote on the bill. If one quarter of the committee members vote in favor of the bill, it has passed the voting stage. This stage is to ensure Senate does not have to meet too frequently and that bills proposed for recreational purposes don't pass.
*Waiting stage: If the bill was proposed by a civilian or similar entity, the bill waits for Senate to meet again. If it was proposed by a senator or committee, the Senate has to meet at its earliest convenience to vote on the bill.
*Senate voting stage: In the session of Senate, which takes place once every month, the bill will be read aloud by the Presiding Senator (as well as the Majority- or Minority Leaders, depending on the length of the bill), and a copy will be handed to each of the 300 Senators and 2 Representatives. Once complete, the Presiding Senator will tally the votes (each Senator on his turn should yell aloud "Yay" or "Nay").
*Law stage: If the majority of votes are in favor of the bill, it becomes law in exactly two days' time, allowing for it to be printed and the President to sign or veto it. If vetoed, the bill is sent back to Senate and voted on again (the President may amend it before sending it back) in its new form. This time, the Senate requires one third of the votes for the bill to become law.
== Privileges and pay ==
The Senate is allowed to pass bills on the amount of payment each Senator receives per month. To ensure the Senate doesn't keep on raising their pay, the President must approve or turn down every senatorial pay bill. The same is done with privileges. The Senate enjoys no special privileges unless a bill detailing said privileges passes and gets approved by the President.
== Residence and availability ==
Senators have the option of living in Congressional Hall, an apartment building in Downtown New Bay City designated especially for that purpose, if they do now own a second home in New Bay City or represent Texas. Whatever the case, Senators must be in the capital every second week, for the entire week. They are also expected to be present in the state they represent, thus, most Senators do so in the weeks they are allowed to be away, when they return to their families.
== See also ==
*List of Allied States federal legislation
*Law and justice in the Allied States
*Government of the Allied States
*Constitution of the Allied States
Category:Government