Proposed Constitution for the Republic of Alodia

First Section - Bill of Rights

1. There shall be no national religion. All people shall freely exercise their religious beliefs. There shall be no abridgement of the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

2. The right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, shall not be violated. No searches shall be conducted, unless authorized by a duly issued warrant, based upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, clearly and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

3. No person shall be held to answer for a felony, unless indicted by a grand jury. No person shall be tried more than once for the same offense, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law.

4. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

5. Cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted, and no person’s life shall be taken as punishment for any crime.

6. The right of ownership of material goods created and services performed, or goods and services lawfully purchased by money or barter, shall not be violated by taxation, confiscation or any other means. No tax shall be imposed on the production of material wealth, the provision of services or the sale or transport of goods.

7. Access to the bounty of nature, not created by human beings, being necessary to all life, the people’s right to equal access to and enjoyment of the land and natural resources shall be secured. No persons or corporations holding title to land shall be deprived of such land without due process of law, but the rental value of all lands and natural opportunities shall be paid to the community. Land and resource values shall be assessed and collected in a manner prescribed by law. Assessment data shall be updated annually and made public, and landholders shall have the right to appeal their assessments in a court of law.

8. No lawful property shall be taken for public use without just compensation. The rental value of land and natural opportunities, being the rightful property of the community, shall not be construed as the property of any individual or group, and the public collection of such rental value shall not entitle the resource holder to compensation.

9. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights does not deny or disparage others retained by the people. The powers not delegated to the Nation by the Constitution are reserved to the local governing bodies, or to the people.

10. Legislative, executive and judicial powers are vested in the National government and the local governing bodies. Powers not specifically delegated to the national government or to the several states are reserved to the local governing bodies, or to the people.

Second Section - Citizenship

1. All persons born in the territory of the State of Alodia are citizens of the Nation of Alodia. Other residents may become naturalized as citizens, in a manner that shall be prescribed by law.

2. Citizens having reached the age of at least twelve years shall be entitled to vote in all State and Local elections.

Third Section - Legislature

1. All legislative powers shall be vested in a Congress of Alodia, which shall be composed of a House of Representatives and a Regional Council.

2. The House or representatives shall be composed of one hundred members, who are citizens of the Nation of Alodia, and shall be elected by a direct popular vote in the following manner:

The initial election shall be held no longer than six months after the adoption of this Constitution as set forth in the seventh section. In the initial election, the one hundred candidates who receive the greatest number of votes shall be elected. After one year, the twenty-five representatives who received the lowest numbers of votes shall end their term, and twenty-five representatives shall be elected by direct popular vote. After two years, the twenty-five representatives who received the next-lowest numbers of votes in the initial election shall end their term and twenty-five representatives shall similarly be elected. In the third year the twenty-five representatives who received the next-lowest numbers of votes in the initial election shall end their term and twenty-five representatives shall similarly be elected. In the fourth year the remaining twenty-five representatives shall end their terms and twenty-five representatives shall similarly be elected. After the fourth year, all representatives shall serve terms of four years.

3. The Regional Council shall be composed of three members from each regional division, or state, which shall be elected by a direct popular vote within that regional division. No person shall be elected to the regional Council unless he or she is a resident of the state represented, and a citizen of the Nation of Alodia. Members of the Regional Council shall be elected in the following manner.

The initial election shall be held no longer than six months after the adoption of this Constitution as set forth in the seventh section. In the initial election, each state shall elect three members to the council. After two years, members who received the lowest number of votes in the initial election in that state shall end their terms, and each state shall elect one member. In the fourth year, members who received the second-lowest number of votes in the initial election in that state shall end their terms and each state shall elect one member. In the sixth year the remaining members shall end their terms and each state shall elect one member. After the sixth year, all council members shall serve terms of six years.

4. Vacancies in the House of Representatives shall be filled by direct popular election of all voters; vacancies in the Regional Council shall be filled by direct popular election within the state concerned; the timetable for such elections shall be prescribed by law.

5. No person shall be elected to either house of the Legislature if the cumulative amount spent on his or her election campaign, by the candidate or by any organization seeking to aid his or her candidacy, is more than twelve times the mean salary of a wage-earning full-time working citizen during the year immediately preceding the election in question.

6. This Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Nation of Alodia. In recognition that events influenced by history, technological change, and cultural interaction cannot be fully foreseen, the Legislature shall enact such laws as secure, as best may be under changing circumstances, the rights set forth in this Constitution.

7. The Legislature shall submit an annual budget for the Nation of Alodia which, upon approval of the Executive, shall become Law. National expenditures may not exceed the total assessed Rent of natural opportunities in the current year. Each budget shall include such resources as are requested by the Executive, and approved by the Legislature, to be necessary to secure the current assessments as described in section 4,5.

8. Measures passed by a majority of both houses of the Legislature shall be submitted to the Executive for approval. If that approval is denied within two weeks’ time, the measure in question shall become Law if it is approved in two weeks’ time by two thirds of both houses of the Legislature.

Fourth Section - Executive

1. Executive powers shall be vested in the President of the Nation of Alodia. The President shall be elected every four years by direct popular vote. A Vice President shall be elected at the same time, for the same term. Should the President die, the Vice President shall assume the office of President.

2. No person shall be elected to the office of President if the cumulative amount spent on his or her election campaign, by the candidate or by any organization seeking to aid his or her candidacy, is more than twenty times the mean salary of a wage-earning full-time working citizen during the year immediately preceding the election in question.

3. The President shall be commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Alodia. He shall have power, with the advice and consent of the Regional Council, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Councilors present concur; and he shall nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Regional Council, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the Nation, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

4. The President shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the Nation.

5. The President shall deliver to the Legislature, and simultaneously make public, by the first day of each year, a full, current assessment of the rental value of all land and national opportunities within the Nation of Alodia.

6. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the Nation, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes, or gross mental incapacitation. No officer shall be impeached except upon a two-thirds vote of both Houses.

Fifth Section - Judicial

1. The judicial power of the Nation of Alodia shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Legislature may from time to time ordain and establish. The Supreme Court shall consist of nine Justices. Justices shall be nominated by the President and approved by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature. Their terms shall be for life, subject to impeachment as set forth in Section 4,6.

Sixth Section - Amendments

1. Amendments to this Constitution shall be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of the Legislature, and approved by a direct popular vote on the question of Amendment, said amendment having been widely and clearly publicized for a period of at least six months. Questions of Constitutional Amendment shall be considered by the citizens only in the year of Presidential elections.

Seventh Section - Ratification

1. This Constitution shall be presented to the people of Alodia and made universally available. If it is approved by a majority in a direct popular vote, held at least six months after the draft Constitution is made available to the public, it shall be adopted as the Constitution of the Nation of Alodia.