New Republic Senate

Mockingjay

Her Eternal Excellency
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The New Republic Senate

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Just as the Galactic Senate governs the relationship between the New Republic, the Free Worlds Alliance, and the Independent Systems Consortium, the New Republic Senate governs the relationships between the various worlds of the New Republic. The Senate is based in the Federal District, in the Senate Building, on Coruscant, where the Old Republic and the previous iteration of the Galactic Senate once held session.


History

The modern New Republic Senate can trace its origins back to a political debate prior to the rise of the First Order. Then, fear ran rampant that a strong, centralized government would birth another Emperor Palpatine, and so the freshly minted New Republic Senate sought to strip power away from its Chancellor, even going as far to nearly abolish the position entirely. However, when the New Republic was resuscitated, after the First Order was repelled, within the Free Worlds Alliance, some began to believe that it was the weakness of the government that allowed for the inaction that created the First Order in the first place.

In response, the New Republic Senate was reformed on Coruscant and the position of Supreme Chancellor was restored. The centralization of the Republic government and the newly strengthened Chancellor caused a heated debate within the Free Worlds Alliance; and, when Emryc Thorne proposed a new Galactic Senate to manage the many powerful governments now active in the galaxy, the Republic and the Alliance split into separate governments—one valuing planetary autonomy, and the other a strong centralized federal government.

Structure & Authority

Since hundreds of thousands of planets exist within New Republic Space, the Senate is composed of representatives from each of the New Republic's star systems. These senators are determined by their respective system, either through democratic election or by monarchial appointment. These senators then elect a leader from among them to assume the title of Supreme Chancellor, who acts as the head-of-state, the leader of the military, and the head of the New Republic caucus in the Galactic Senate.

While the power to create local law is left to individual planets and systems, the New Republic Senate and its senators set federal policy that applies on every New Republic world and can indeed overrule local law. Senate sessions are held once every few months; however, a special session can be called to address urgent needs should the Supreme Chancellor invoke one or enough senators vote to call the Senate into session.

Votes pass or fail based upon a simple majority of player Senators. Should a tie occur, the Supreme Chancellor may break the tie with his or her vote, or let the motion die as a tie.


New Republic Senate Hierarchy

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Supreme Chancellor

The Supreme Chancellor is the head-of-state of the New Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces. Additionally, the Chancellor serves as the President of the Senate and presides over each session. The Chancellor is an elected position, chosen from among the ranks of the senators to lead their august body until they either lose an election, resign, or are stripped of office via a "vote-of-no confidence."

The Chancellor wields significant executive authority, possessing the power to direct the agencies of the executive branch via executive order, seal documents whose secrecy are deemed important to the New Republic, and call the Senate into session once every few months. The Chancellor can also call special sessions of the Senate in times of crisis or extreme need.

In the event the Senate loses faith in the current Chancellor before their term ends, a "vote-of-no-confidence" can be called to remove a sitting Chancellor. This involves a call for a vote, which must be seconded by another senator. This initiates a vote of the whole Senate, after which the sitting Chancellor is only removed if the majority of player Senators vote to remove them. Otherwise, their term continues unimpeded.


Speaker of the Senate

Also known as the "Vice Chair" or the "Vice-Chancellor," the Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Supreme Chancellor. The Speaker may be another senator or an independent bureaucrat depending on the Chancellor currently in power. The Speaker's job is to maintain the Senate's order, to recognize senators who wish to speak, and to set the Senate's agenda for a session. Should the Supreme Chancellor be incapacitated or killed before his or her term is expired, the Speaker of the Senate assumes the role of Chancellor until a new one can be elected.


Senator

Any one of the dozens of representatives from among the New Republic's countless planetary systems. Each system is allowed one representative at a time and may choose how that representative is selected in accordance with New Republic election laws. The base requirement is that each Senator be a citizen of their respective systems.

In addition to their legislative roles, Senators also act as important ambassadors both for their home worlds and the New Republic at large. They are often instrumental in peace talks, treaty negotiations, and trade summits, though any document their efforts produce must be voted upon by the whole Senate before it becomes legally binding.

It should be noted that, unlike its predecessor, the Old Republic, the New Republic does not seat representatives of large trading blocs or corporations in an attempt to limit corporate control over New Republic policy.


Intent

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To create a lore article that fleshes out the history, role, and hierarchy of the New Republic Senate. The other political factions have one, so I thought this would be useful for us in the NR too! :D
 
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