Economy Act of 2017 (Silofais)
| Economy Act of 2017 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | AN ACT to regulate commerce and currencies, to control the credit and debt of the State, to ascertain the salaries of some Offices, to lay a tax, and for similar purposes. |
| Short Title | Economy Act of 2017 |
| Enrolled during | 1st National Assembly |
| Sponsor | Select Committee on Economy and Taxation |
| Cosponsors | Delegate Avro Keatings (UPP) |
| Citations | |
| MSLC Citation | Economy Act SIL P 2017 # |
| Legislative history | |
| Considered by | Select Committee on Economy and Taxation |
| Passed by Chamber of Delegates | August 12th, 2017, by unrecorded voice vote |
| Vetoed by President | August 12th, 2017, by President Horatio Eden |
| Notes | |
| Related legislation | Re-Econ Act of 2017 |
| Status: Vetoed | |
The Economy Act of 2017 was a bill submitted to the Silofaisan National Assembly's Chamber of Delegates by Avro Keatings, on behalf of the Select Committee on Economy and Taxation, during the first session of the Assembly.
The act would have...[1]
- Established a capitation tax of $20 in order to pay for the upkeep of a website, to "defray the cost of salaries", and "for other unforeseen expenditures".
- Granted the President, the Chief Secretary, all Delegates, all Senators and all judicial officers each an annual salary of $1 USD.
- Made it a criminal offence to evade or defeat payment of the tax.
- Founded a domestic policy requiring that all expenditures be defrayed with actual revenue or, in other words, prohibiting any debt or credit relating to public tax dollars.
The bill was ultimately vetoed by incumbent President Horatio Eden, and a subsequent attempt to override the veto failed.
Legislative History
National Assembly
The bill was worked on for several weeks during June and July, 2017, by the Select Committee on Economy and Taxation. Keatings formally submitted it on their behalf to the full Chamber on August 2.
At a regular sitting held on August 12, the bill was passed by an unrecorded voice vote and then presented to the President.
President
Following deliberations with the Silofaisan Council of State of which he is the chair, President Horatio Eden vetoed the Economy Act on the 20th of August, eight days later, for the following reasons:
I'm not certain that the tax system this Act would implement is a good idea from a citizenship recruitment standpoint or a financial standpoint, insofar as the appearance of a permanent tax on the citizenry might predispose prospective citizens against joining up at a time when we direly need citizens. The Council of State will investigate an alternative solution and will announce it before the State of the State Address[2] in November. I will happily sign an Economy Act that removes the tax system provisions immediately, and, if we are not able to come up with a solution before the Address, I will sign the current substantive form of the Economy Act, four months before the first debit for the cost of the website.
— Horatio Eden, August 12th, 2017, in a letter detailing his objections to the National Assembly
The bill was then returned to the Chamber of Delegates with the President's objections attached.
Veto Override Attempt
Following the veto, the Daily Micronational, a paper belonging to the President, wrote an op-ed indicating that it believed the Chamber would successfully overturn the veto, citing the "overwhelmingly successful passage [of the bill] out of committee".[3]
The next regular sitting took place on the 27th of August, 2017, when the Chamber ultimately decided to take up an override vote. The vote was taken by roll call, as follows:
Override of the Veto of the Economy Act of 2017 Motion proposed by Speaker Avro Keatings (SKC) Two-thirds majority: 5/7 Source: Chamber of Delegates voting records | ||
| Vote | Members | Votes |
| Yea | Sara K., Caleb F. | 2 / 7
|
 Nay |
Cody M., Zach F. | 2 / 7
|
| Abstain | Avro K. | 1 / 7
|
| Absent | David R., Roberto B. | 2 / 7
|
Having failed to satisfy the constitutionally required two-third majority of the entire membership, the veto was sustained and the override failed. This was the second veto in Silofaisan history to have been successfully sustained, the first being for the Literal Government Transparency Act.
Aftermath
The veto proved to be a controversial one; despite the President's claim that he would find a way to fill the Treasury's coffers by an alternative method, a number of Delegates remained unconvinced. Shortly after the override vote failed, a new bill was introduced that made slight changes to the original, the new one being called Re-Econ Act of 2017; it was subsequently introduced and passed by the Delegates.[4] The President vetoed this bill as well, which the Delegates also failed to override.
References
- ↑ Economy Act (accessed 2nd September, 2017)
- ↑ The State of the State Address, similar to the State of the Union address given in the United States, is an address to the National Assembly that the President is required to give per the Constitution.
- ↑ Silofaisan President Vetoes Economy Act, Citing Concerns Over Tax System, Eden, H. (accessed 2nd September, 2017)
- ↑ Re-Econ Act of 2017 (accessed 2nd September, 2017)