Constitution of Florencia (2002)

The Constitution of Florencia of 15 June 2002 was the organic document of Florencia province from its promulgation until being amended in whole on 15 November 2011.

The document was drafted by Art Verbotten and approved by the citizens of Florencia. Due to the amending of the Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa, some provisions of the 2002 Constitution of Florencia, relating to electoral procedures, were invalidated.

Furthermore, while the Constitution was nominally in effect during the years 2004-2011, its text was unavailable to the citizenry of the Kingdom, so the operation of the province was not technically in accordance with the document. Specifically, membership in the Nimlet was assigned proportionally by political party vote, which resulted, among other things, in the inadvertent violation of Article XI.6, a fact that allowed Governor Ma la Mha to unilaterally declare the amending of the 2002 Constitution with that of 2011.

The full text of the Constitution of 2002 appears below.

Preamble

We continue to be pioneers.

A blind imperialist land grab in 1982 gave us the place that we now call home. Mussolini province was established and a constitution was ratified even though no Talossan even lived within its boundaries.

In 1990 the first Talossan settled the southern canton of Mussolini which was named Florencia, in honor of the former royal head of state King Florence. The settler found the area to be different from the northern half of the province with a character all its own. Relationships developed with the local Cestours, and what had seemed to be a Talossan frontier 6 months before was now turning into a home. Things began to take root and along with them came change.

In 1996 we moved out of the shadow of what we found to be antiquated and established the right to operate on our own terms. We struggled with dark forces which sought to upset the balance in the kingdom and leave a mark on our new homeland, yet we prevailed.

Now with heads held high, and beliefs held strong, we adopt this new constitution for the Province of Florencia in order that we may continue to preserve life, liberty, and the safeguard of law. The articles contained within shall prevail over all provincial laws preceding them. As Talossa is more than just the sum of its parts, so too is this province.

Viva la Florencia!

The Articles

The Province of Florencia

Article I. Name.

We proudly name our province “Florencia” or in proper Talossan “La Provincù Florencia”.

Article II. Territory.

The province lies within the following confines: From North Avenue running east to Prospect Avenue, from Prospect Avenue southwest to Lafayette Street. Lafayette Street northwest to Farwell Avenue, Farwell Avenue southwest to Brady Street, Brady Street west to Warren Avenue, Warren Avenue north to the Boyleston Street, Boyleston Street north to Cambridge. From Cambridge and Boyleston west to the Milwaukee River, and the Milwaukee River north to North Avenue.

Article III. Claim.

All lands and islands man made or naturally forming in Florencian territorial waters are irrevocably part of the provincial territory.

Article IV. Capitol.

The Provinical Capitol is the “Landmark Building” located on the corner of East Kenilworth and North Farwell Avenue, home of the Landmark Theatre, bar, bowling alley, and corner shop. Should a standing Governor or Senator move within the borders of the Province, their residence would be considered the focal point of the province and reassume the honor of being the provincial capitol. The domicile would then adopt the name “manor” prefaced with the Street name (i.e., Irving Manor),

Article V. Language.

The official language of Florencia is English, with respect and willingness to promote French, Talossan, and Frenglish if necessary.

Florencian Flags and Coats of Arms

Article VI. Flags.

Florencia will have flags, which will have further definition pending the “Governor’s Commission on Flag Creation”. When the flags are created they will appear as “Schedule 1” in this Constitution.

Article VI. Coat of Arms.

Florencia will have a coat of arms, which will have further definition pending the “Governor’s Commission Coat of Arms Creation.” When this coat of arms is created, it will appear as “Schedule 2” in this Constitution.

Article VI. Anthem.

The provincial anthem shall be “Built A Little Empire” by “They Might Be Giants.” It is a reminder of where we came from.

Florencian Government: The Nimlet, Senators, & Governors

Article IX. Governmental Organization

Florencian Government consists of a parliamentary democracy within the federal structure of the Talossan Kingdom. The sole legislative body is the “Nimlet”, which consists of a single house known as “House of Shepherds”, a Governor oversees and advises internal affairs, and a Senator who will represent the province in the Talossan Senäts in accordance with the rules of that governing body as set forth in the Organic Law as ratified by the standing Ziu.

Article X. Duties of the Senator

The Senator of Florencia aside from his duties as laid down in the Organic Law is responsible to his constituency within the province and should maintain dialogue with the Nimlet regarding issues of provincial concern. He shall be given 1 seat in the House of Shepherds in which to cast his vote on any internal legislation. He will also have duties pertaining to provincial elections that are spelled out later in this document.

The Governor of Florencia

Article XI. Duties of the Governor.

The Governor of Florencia is the proprietor of the Province and it is his responsibility to maintain its livelihood. Because of this he must have been a Talossan citizen for at least 1 year and have served in the Cosa or held a cabinet position for at least 5 months. The Governor has the following duties and powers:

1. He may legislate on behalf of the province with the Nimlet’s consent.
2. He may amend the Constitution only with majority approval of the Nimlet or by the recommendation of an appointed committee of his choosing consisting of two or more independent members of the Nimlet.
3. He is held accountable for promoting the interests and heritage of Florencia.
4. He is required to sing our sacred anthem, “Built A Little Empire”, as his solemn oath of office.
5. He has the power to veto legislation passed by the Nimlet if he feels that it is unconstitutional or in some way detrimental the health and prosperity of the province.
6. He shall maintain 1 seat in the House of Shepherds, but may only use that vote to resolve “legislative gridlock”.
7. The Governor shall have final judgment on all matters pertaining to internal voting rights within the Nimlet.
8. His signature is required on all bills passed by the Nimlet before they become law.
9. The Governor will also have duties pertaining to provincial elections that are specified later in this document.

The Legislature

Article XII. The Nimlet

The Nimlet shall be composed of all people who have full Talossan citizenship that are assigned to Florencia Province in accordance with the immigration laws of the Kingdom of Talossa. Each citizen shall have a voice in this body as long as they are citizens of the province, unless they are otherwise reprimanded by some official court of the kingdom, by some future established provincial court granted that power, or by their own resolve not to be involved. A citizen who chooses not to vote on legislation presented to the Nimlet may do so on three consecutive occasions after which he forfeits this right. To regain the voting privilege, he must petition the Nimlet to have his voting rights restored. This “non participation forfeiture” clause does not apply to general elections.

Elections

Article XIII. Electorate and Conduct of Elections.

XIII. All Florencian elections will be held under the recognized Talossan principles of the times. All eligible citizens will be contacted and the province as a whole will be responsible for contacting inactive citizens to inform them of their necessity to vote.

The person put in charge of running any given election will be officially given the temporary title of “Election Commissioner”.

At the beginning of each election an updated citizen contact sheet will be distributed to each candidate and the election commissioner in order to assist with the campaigning and contacting of citizens. This list will be assembled and provided by the Governor & Senator of the province.

Senatorial Elections

1. Senatorial elections will be run by the Talossan Secretary of State and follow all guidelines set forth for Senatorial elections by the Ziu. The provincial Governor will assist the SoS with the task of making sure that the election follows any additional election guidelines passed into law by the Nimlet. This clerk cannot be a candidate in that particular election. Senatorial elections will be run for a period of 1 month in which the candidate receiving the largest number of legal votes will be declared the winner.
2. If at the end of the campaign, the top vote getters have an equal number of votes, a “Second Tour” involving only these candidates will be held for the period of 1 week. At this time a citizen may change his vote, but only for one of the remaining candidates. A voter who cannot be contacted regarding any additional tours will be assumed to have recast a vote for his original candidate. If that candidate is not involved in the Second or is eliminated during any following tours that may be needed, the vote is thrown out unless contact is made with the voter to change his choice.
3. If a second tour does not produce a winner, a 3rd tour will be held following the same rules. If the 3rd tour does not produce clear cut winner the King and Queen of Talossa will be asked to cast a tie breaking vote to determine one. We do not want to turn our province into a casino, after all.
4. All time spent on additional tours to determine a Senator will be taken off of the time of the newly elected Senator’s term so as not to disrupt the normal schedule of elections put forth by the Talossan government. Until a winner is declared, the standing Senator will be held responsible for casting his votes in the Senäts in order to maintain the continuity of provincial representation in that house.

Gubernatorial Election

1. Elections for Governor will be run once every year, making adjustments so as not to be in conflict with the Talossan general elections or the Florencian Senatorial elections.
2. A governor may not serve less than 11 months or more than 14 months before calling for a Gubernatorial election.
3. Gubernatorial elections will be run by an election commissioner appointed by the Nimlet, or by the outgoing Governor, and will follow similar guidelines regarding voting and additional tours.
4. The length of the Gubernatorial elections will be 2 weeks.
5. There will be no time deduction from a Governor's term due to multiple tours needed to elect him. The acting Governor will maintain his position until the new governor is sworn in.

The final judgments regarding elections shall come from the office of the Secretary of State for Senate elections, and the appointed election commissioner for Gubernatorial elections.

Article XIV: Rights of Florencians

All civil rights guaranteed by Talossan law shall be upheld by Florencia.

Supreme Law of Florencia

This constitution supercedes all previous constitutions put forth by this province and was officially commuted to law by an official declaration from the Provincial Governor and founder John Eiffler, with consensus approval from her citizens on June 15th, 2002.

Long Live Talossa Viva La Florencia

Governor/Senator John Eiffler