Stormwind House of Commons

The House of Commons (colloq. 'Commons') is a proposed legislative body within the Kingdom of Stormwind. The House of Commons will sit alongside the House of Nobles. Unlike the House of Nobles, the House of Commons will not be made up of lords and ladies of Stormwind’s nobility. Instead, the House will be made up of common-folk appointed among their peers by popular vote.

The House of Commons seats thirty (30) members. These seats are allocated to different regions of the Kingdom of Stormwind. The House of Commons is concerned with the domestic matters of the state and does not become involved in foreign policy.

The campaign for the House of Commons is being spearheaded by Lucy Bell, a union leader, and Casey Stonebridge, a Stormwind Magistrate. The campaign has gained significant popularity in recent weeks and awaits ratification by the House of Nobles.

1.0 Aims and Mission Statement
The House of Commons is primarily concerned with the affairs of the common man.

1.1 Aims:
The aims of the House of Commons are as follows:

- to preserve and protect the Crown and the laws for which it stands

- to introduce, discuss and vote on bills

- to apportion taxes and budgets

- to investigate internal aﬀairs

1.2 Mission Statement:
The mission of the House of Commons is to better represent the Crown and all of its subjects. It is to give to the commoner the forum that he/she requires to discuss the law of the Crown. It is to pass laws that defend the Crown and all of its subjects, including the common folk and the free man. It is to apportion fair taxes amongst the citizenry and quell any unwarranted or unjust consolidation of power.

The House of Commons serves the will of the commoners. It exists to keep check on the ruling class and to do away with unnecessary hostility. The mission of the House of Commons is to ensure the prosperity and security of the Crown and all that the Crown represents.

2.0 Role of the House of Commons
The role of the House of Commons is to maintain the Kingdom of Stormwind and to address domestic aﬀairs of the Crown. The House of Commons is not apportioned the same powers as the House of Nobles. The House of Nobles retains its right to appoint diplomats, secretaries and so forth. The House of Nobles retains the right to declare war. The House of Commons is not concerned with articles of war, peace or geography.

The House of Commoons focuses on domestic issues. The areas of operation for the House of Commons include but are not limited to: trade deals, law enforcement, military housing, education, libraries, social security, immigration and mail. The role of the House of Commons is complementary to the House of Nobles, though it is more concerned with domestic aﬀairs.

3.0 Rules of the House of Commons
The rules of the House of Commons are broken down into two sub-categories: operational and constitutional.

3.1 - Operational Rules of the House of Commons:
(a) Schedule: The House of Commons is to meet on the ﬁrst Saturday of every month. It is to meet in Stormwind Keep at eight (8) Bells Past Noon.

(b) The Agenda: The Agenda is the document that determines the items of discussion for a given session of the House of Commons. The Agenda may be altered and added to up to three (3) days before the open of session, that is the ﬁrst Wednesday of every month. The Speaker of the House reserves the right to approve or deny items of the Agenda. The Speaker is to do this impartially. The major contributor to the Agenda is the Lord of Commons, the leader of the House of Commons. The role of the Agenda is to allow for the best use of time in session, at the discretion of the Speaker.

(c) Voting Rules: All members of the House of Commons are aﬀorded one vote per item, given that the member is present. If a member is not present then a letter of excusal is expected no later than three (3) days after session. Unlike the House of Nobles, there are only two types of bill proposals. The ﬁrst are Laws of Resolution. These laws refer to bills that do not simultaneously aﬀect more than a single city or population centre. These bills require a simple majority vote to pass.

The second refer to Laws of Governance. These laws require two-thirds (2/3) majority vote to pass. These laws often incorporate multiple city-centres or populations at once. These laws also concern the maintenance of law enforcement, military appropriations and other Kingdom-wide interests.

As is the case with the House of Nobles, any member of the House of Commons may make a motion. A motion is a small matter of concern to do with the deliberation at hand. These motions may refer to:

Motion to Reconsider - Sends proposed act on the docket to the Speaker of the House for further investigation until the next meeting of the House.

Motion to Suppress - Silences another member of the House and allows for legislation to move to a vote.

Motion to Amend - Allows a member to propose and potentially vote on amendments to a legislative act.

Motion to Include - An attempt to add an item of consideration to the docket.

3.2 - Constitutional Rules of the House of Commons:
The constitutional rules of the House of Commons refer to rules of manner, ethics and political nature.

(a) Rules on Members:

- The members of the House of Commons must have achieved an age of twenty-one (21) years.

- The members of the House of Commons must be loyal to the Grand Alliance and have been so for seven (7) years.

- The members of the House of Commons must not be active, serving members of any religious institutions.

- The members of the House of Commons must not directly serve any lords or ladies currently serving in the House of Nobles

- The members of the House of Commons must not receive any gifts, income or property that may compromise the integrity of the member

- The members of the House of Commons must not have a violent criminal record, non-violence is permissible if two (2) years have passed since the conclusion of criminal proceedings

- The members of the House of Commons must not be lords or ladies of the House of Nobles, except under the following consideration. Lords and ladies must relinquish their titles for the duration of their service and for a minimum of ten (10) years following their service, should they wish to serve in the House of Commons.

(b) Rules on Sessions:

- Sessions of the House of Commons must run for at least one (1) hour and for a maximum of three (3) hours, unless extended by majority vote, ad hoc

- Sessions of the House of Commons must not have any members of the House of Nobles present or within earshot unless given special decree

- Sessions of the House of Commons must involve a Speaker, a Warden of the House and at least ﬁve members of the House of Commons

(c) Rules on Law:

Any bill passed through the House of Commons must pass the House of Nobles by majority vote for it to become law. Regardless of the type of Law that the bill is introduced as during its session in the House of Commons (Resolution, Governance), the bill need only a simple majority vote in the House of Nobles to be ratiﬁed as Law - when aﬃxed the seal of the Crown.

(d) Rules on Seats:

There are thirty (30) seats allocated to members in the House of Commons. These seats are determined by population of citizenry. The seats are allocated as follows:

- Elwynn Forest, including Stormwind City, hosts ten (10) seats in the House of Commons. These seats are allocated as three (3) to Goldshire, one (1) to Eastvale Lumbercamp and one (1) to Northshire in Elwynn Forest and five (5) to Stormwind City.

- Redridge Mountains hosts five (5) seats in the House of Commons. These five (5) seats are all found in Lakeshire.

- Duskwood hosts five (5) seats in the House of Commons. These seats are allocated as three (3) to Darkshire and two (2) to Raven Hill.

- Westfall hosts five (5) seats in the House of Commons. These seats are allocated as three (3) to Sentinel Hill and two (2) to Moonbrook

- The lands North of Stormwind hosts three (3) seats. These seats are allocated to Andorhal, Ironforge and Menethil Harbor.

- The continent of Northrend hosts one (1) seat. This is the seat of Valiance Keep.

- The continent of Kalimdor hosts one (1) seat. This is the seat of Kalimdor, allocated to Stormwindians of Darnassus.

4.0 Offices of the House of Commons
In all systems of government, certain Oﬃces are required to keep order and security. It is no diﬀerent in the House of Commons. The following is a proposal of the various Oﬃces of the House of Commons.

4.1 Speaker of the House:
The Speaker of the House acts as custodian, adjudicator and mediator of the House of Commons.

(a) Powers and Responsibilities:

- The Speaker is assigned the task of keeping order in the House of Commons.

- The Speaker is assigned the task of approving the Agenda for the session of parliament

- The Speaker is assigned the task of ensuring adequate time is given to each member of the House

- The Speaker is assigned the task of keeping sessions fair and honest

(b) Continuity and Appointment:

The Speaker of the House is to be appointed by the ruling party of the House of Commons. The Speaker must be a senior member of the House of Commons. Should the Speaker be unable to make a session or should the Speaker suﬀer to such a degree as to be unable to carry out their constitutional duty, a letter must be written to the Lord Speaker, requesting that he/she appoint someone in their stead.

4.2 Lord (Lady) of Commons:
The Lord of Commons is the leader of the House of Commons. The role of the Lord of Commons is to introduce bills of the governing majority and submit to the Speaker the Agenda of the session.

(a) Powers and Responsibilities:

- The Lord is obliged to provide items for the Agenda for approval/denial by the Speaker of the House

- The Lord is expected to attend most ceremonial events and sessions of the House

- The Lord is reserved the right to hand to the Lord Speaker the bills passed through the House of Commons for ratiﬁcation

- The Lord is reserved the right to speak ﬁrst and last in all sessions of the House of Commons

- The Lord is expected to appropriate funds and apportion taxation in accordance with the House of Nobles

- The Lord is the only member of the House of Commons who may sit in on the sessions of the House of Nobles outside the gallery

(b) Continuity and Appointment:

The Lord of Commons is often the leader of the major party of the House. He/she is appointed by the ruling majority and must be a senior member of the House of Commons. Should the Lord be unable to attend or suﬀer to such a degree as to be unable to carry out their constitutional duty, a letter must be sent to the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House will inform the ruling majority that a new Lord of Commons is required for continued session.

4.3 Master of Coin:
The Master of Coin is responsible for keeping track of all expenses, revenues and expenditure of the House of Commons.

(a) Powers and Responsibilities:

- The Master of Coin is expected to keep accurate and clear records of revenues and expenditure and any expenses accrued by the House of Commons

- The Master of Coin is to aﬃx his/her signature to all bills that apportion tax or expenditure

- The Master of Coin is to work with the Lord High Exchequer of the House of Nobles to provide clear and accurate record of governmental accounts

(b) Continuity and Appointment:

The Master of Coin is to be appointed by the ruling majority. The Master of Coin must be a senior member of the House of Commons. Should the Master of Coin be consistently unable to enter sessions or suﬀer to such a degree as to be unable to carry out their constitutional duties, a letter of resignation is required to be delivered to the Lord of Commons and approved by the Speaker of the House. The approval or veto of the Speaker is to ensure that no tampering of money or corruption has involved the resignation of the Master of Coin.

4.4 Warden of the House:
The Warden of the House is the only member of the House who may be armed during sessions. The Warden keeps the peace and is in charge of ensuring that all members of the House are following the rules.

(a) Powers and Responsibilities:

- The Warden is expected to keep the peace in the House of Commons

- The Warden is assigned the task of keeping all members of the House safe

- The Warden is assigned the task of investigating any wrongdoing by members of the House and informing the Speaker that impeachment is required

(b) Continuity and Appointment:

The Warden of the House is elected by majority vote of the House of Commons. The Warden is typically a well-respected member of the military or equivalent service. Should the Warden be unable to attend or suﬀer to such a degree as to be unable to carry out the duties of their oﬃce, then a letter is required to be given to the Speaker of the House. The Speaker will appoint a member of the Grand Alliance Military or a member of the Royal Guard to act as a temporary Warden until a new Warden is elected.

5.0 Oath of Commons
The Oath of Commons must be taken by all members of the House and uttered by all members of the House at the opening of each session. The oath is as follows:

”I do solemnly swear (or aﬃrm) that I will support and defend the Kingdom of Stormwind against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the oﬃce on which I am about to enter.”