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To start, Happy New Year from all of the Executive Leadership of Texas JSA. 2007 was full of successes on both the Sate and Chapter level and we look forward to seeing more during 2008. As Winter Congress nears, I am happy to announce that Texas is going forward with plans to amend our State Constitution. After the jump I have posted amendment proposals from our Senator, it should be an exciting meeting of the legislature! I am so excited to go forward with this project and proud that I have the opportunity to leave a legacy on Texas JSA. If you are interested in knowing more, feel free to email me!
ARTICLE I – Name (Sam Liebl) The name of the state to which this constitution applies shall be known as the Texas Junior State of America. It shall consist of the geographical boundaries of the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. It may also be referred to as the Texas Junior State. ARTICLE II – Purpose (Sam Liebl) Section 2: Members of the Texas Junior State shall have:a. The right to be represented on all issues of the Texas Junior State through direct vote, and chapter leadership, and the Legislature. ARTICLE II – Purpose (Elliot Kaufman) Section 2: Members of the Texas Junior State shall have:a. The right to be represented on all issues of the Texas Junior State through direct vote, chapter leadership, and the Legislature. ARTICLE II – Purpose (Bhargav Srinivasan) Section 1: e. Subject to the preceding paragraph, active membership in the Texas Junior State shall be open to any person of high school age. (is this our intent? Must they be ENROLLED in high school) Section II e. The rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution for every citizen of America. (We do not have jurisdiction to give this if they are not citizens, it would seem. Am I misunderstanding?) ARTICLE III - The Chapter (Claire Goodrich) Section 1: A chapter of the Texas Junior State may be formed by a minimum of eight students who have paid their annual membership tax, as determined by the Council of Governors, and any other dues deemed necessary by the chapter or the Texas Junior State government. (and any other dues deemed necessary by the chapter or the Texas Junior State government.)-remove this clause ARTICLE IV – Regions (Elliot Kaufman) Section 1: The Texas Junior State may be divided into various regions of whose exact boundaries shall be defined by The Governor with a two thirds vote of the State Senate. Section 7: Each region will be responsible for electing two senators to serve on the State Senate of the Texas Junior State. ARTICLE IV – Regions (David Vreeland) Section 7: Each region will be responsible for electing two senators to serve on the State Senate of the Texas Junior State. ARTICLE IV – Regions (Claire Goodrich) Section 7:Each region will be responsible for electing three senators to serve on the State Senate of the Texas Junior State.(We should amend it to only two senators-to make the position more effective.) ARTICLE IV – Regions (Sam Liebl) Section 7:Each region will be responsible for electing two senators to serve on the State Senate of the Texas Junior State. ARTICLE V – Leadership (Sam Liebl) Section 4:No member of the Governor’s appointed cabinet or of the State Legislature shall serve on more than one state committee unless otherwise specified in the constitution. ARTICLE VI - The Governor (Elliot Kaufman) Section 3: The Governor may eliminate any cabinet position or department he or she deems necessary with a majority vote of the senate, but a brief, written explanation must accompany that decision. a. If not at a caucus senator votes may be reached using any medium of communication, however there must be at least a quorum. b. The replacement of the position shall be appointed be the governor. This proxy cabinet member shall remain in their position only until the next duly constituted senatorial caucus meeting, at which time he or she must be approved by a simple majority of the members attending the senatorial caucus meeting Section 4: The Governor shall maintain a productive line of communication with the Texas Junior State Legislature. a. The Governor may, within thirty days of passage, veto any piece of legislation passed by the Legislature. Any veto must be accompanied with a brief, written explanation addressed to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and all sponsors of the vetoed legislation The veto may be overridden by a two thirds vote of the state senate. b. If the Governor should fail to address legislation within the allotted thirty days, the legislation shall be passed into law without the Governor’s signature. Section 5: c. See that the decisions of the Legislature are faithfully carried out. d. Call the Legislature to emergency session should he or she deem necessary. ARTICLE VI - The Governor (David Vreeland) Section 5:The Governor shall: e. Be responsible for drawing up the annual State Budget, which shall be sent to the State Budget Committee for revision and approval with a simple majority. ARTICLE VI – The Governor (Bhargav Srinivasan) Section 3: The Governor may eliminate any cabinet position or department he or she deems unnecessary, with written explanation and consultation with all other executive staff members. Section 5: f. Attend and oversee all state-wide conferences. ARTICLE VI - The Governor (Sam Liebl) Section 2: The Governor may create, fill, or eliminate any department or cabinet position he or she deems necessary and proper for the success of the state. A written explanation must accompany any such decision and be made public and available to all members of the Texas Junior State . with the consent of a simple majority of the entire State Senate. If confirmation of a cabinet position and/or cabinet official is denied, then a brief, written explanation must accompany the decision of the Senate. Section 3: The Governor may eliminate any cabinet position or department he or she deems necessary, but a brief, written explanation must accompany that decision. Section 5: The Governor shall: a. Be principally responsible for the well being and success of the Texas Junior State of America at the state-wide, regional and chapter level. ARTICLE VII - The Lieutenant Governor (Elliot Kaufman) Section 5: The Lieutenant Governor shall serve as the Vice-Committee Chair of the State Budget Committee. ARTICLE VII - The Lieutenant Governor (Sam Liebl) Section 2: The Lieutenant Governor shall: e. Appoint a President Pro Tempore before the first state convention of the school year. No approval of this appointment is required. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate holds the right to vote on the Senate floor. Section 5:The Lieutenant Governor shall serve as the Vice-Committee Chair of the State Budget Committee. (Unnecessary and redundant. See Article XI Section 3) ARTICLE VIII - The Speaker of the House (Elliot Kaufman) Section 2:The Speaker of the House shall: g. Be responsible for drawing up the annual State Budget, subject to simple majority approval of the State Budget Committee. Section 5: The Speaker of the House shall serve as Committee Chair of the State Budget Committee. ARTICLE VIII - The Speaker of the House (David Vreeland) Section 2: The Speaker of the House shall: d. Serve as Chair of the Platform Education Program (do we have this??) for the Texas Junior State, and publish the official opinions of the House of Representatives involved with the program and the issues that lie therein. ARTICLE VIII - The Speaker of the House (Sam Liebl) Section 2:
The Speaker of the House shall:
d. Serve as Chair of the Platform Education Program for the Texas Junior State, and publish the official opinions of the House of Representatives involved with the program and the issues that lie therein.
e. Appoint a Speaker Pro Tempore before the first state convention of the school year. Simple majority of the House at the first convention shall approve the Speaker Pro Tempore. The Speaker Pro Tempore holds the right to vote on the full House floor.
f. Establish committees when he or she deems necessary. The Speaker of the House and Speaker Pro Tempore shall hold the right to be official members of all committees and may vote on all legislation thereof. ARTICLE IX - The State Legislature (Elliot Kaufman) Section 4:
The House of Representatives will consist of one member of every chapter as determined by the chapter constitution or as determined by the chapter president if a chapter constitution does not specify. Section 5:
The House will be responsible for creating and maintaining a Platform Education Program, including, but not limited to, the adoption and execution of an official Junior State platform, passed by two-thirds majority of at least a quorum of the House. (Basically statewide leadership’s vision/plan for the year)
Section 6:
The Senate shall be composed of two representatives per region elected by the members of each region at the third convention of the school year. Only one of the two Senators elected to the region may be from the same chapter. ARTICLE IX - The State Legislature (David Vreeland) Section 2:
No members of the state or regional cabinets shall serve in the Senate, and no Senators may be appointed to the state or regional cabinets. Section 6:(do we have this?? I think it’s unnecessary)
The House will be responsible for creating and maintaining a Platform Education Program, including, but not limited to, the adoption and execution of an official Junior State platform, passed by two-thirds majority of at least a quorum of the House. Section 7:
The Senate shall be composed of two representatives per region elected by the members of each region at the third convention of the school year. The Senators may not be from the same chapter.
ARTICLE IX - The State Legislature (Claire Goodrich) Section 2:
No members of the state or regional cabinets shall serve in the Senate, and no Senators may be appointed to the state or regional cabinets. (since many of us are in clear violation of this we either have to make it a known rule or amend-I feel we should make a known rule in order to distribute leadership positions throughout the state) Section 6:
The House will be responsible for creating and maintaining a Platform Education Program, including, but not limited to, the adoption and execution of an official Junior State platform, passed by two-thirds majority of at least a quorum of the House. (this task is already covered by the state wide leadership-therefore its unnecessary) Section 7:
The Senate shall be composed of three representatives per region elected by the members of each region at the third convention of the school year. Only two of the three Senators elected to the region may be from the same chapter. Only two of the three Senators elected to the region may be from the same chapter. (MUST publicize this—everyone should get a chance to assume a leadership position in Texas JSA)
ARTICLE X - The Fair Elections Committee (Sam Liebl)
Section 3:
The FEC shall consist of the State Senators, the Speaker of the House, and the cabinet chief(s) of staff. a. Should any member the FEC and decide to run in an election, he or she resigns their position in the FEC. b. In the case of a resignation or otherwise vacancy of a FEC position, a replacement is to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor and approved by the Governor.
ARTICLE X - The Fair Elections Committee (Elliot Kaufman) Section 3: The FEC shall consist of the State Senators, the Speaker of the House, and the chief(s) of staff. a. Should a Senator be on the FEC and decide to run in an election, he or she resigns their spot in the FEC and are to be replaced by the Lieutenant Governor. b. Should a chief of staff be on the FEC and decide to run for an election he or she resigns their spot in the FEC and are to be replaced by the Lieutenant Governor ARTICLE XI - The State Budget Committee (Elliot Kaufman) Section 4: The State Budget Committee shall consist of:
a. Two senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
b. The cabinet positions of Chief of Staff and Director of Fundraising, as appointed by the Governor (all I did was eliminate “B” and rename C to B) ARTICLE XI - The State Budget Committee(since the state budget committee has never been fully utilized I vote to eliminate it altogether. The Governor takes care of this.) (Claire Goodrich) ARTICLE XI - The State Budget Committee (I vote to keep this—what happens is the Gov writes up a budget proposal, send it to these guys; they amend it as they wish, then send it back to the Gov for final approval.) (David Vreeland)
ARTICLE XI - The State Budget Committee (Sam Liebl)
Section 4: The State Budget Committee shall consist of:
b. Two senators appointed by the Speaker of the House
b. Two House members appointed by the Speaker of the House
d. In compliance with the constitution, no committee member shall be appointed if already serving on another official committee of the Texas Junior State That's all for now! Katherine Kelley
Lieutenant Governor of Texas JSA
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