Seal of the Second Chamber of Congress
See also: Forum:Second Chamber for current votes.
In Lovia, Congress is the national legislative body and the most powerful branch of government. The Second Chamber is one of the two chambers of Congress, located in the Capitol in Downtown Noble City, in which the Members of the Congress vote bills that originated in the First Chamber. Paradoxically, Lovia does not have a bicameral parliament: there is only one group of MOTCs that both debates and votes the proposals. For the current composition of Congress, see this.
Whereas all national citizens may propose bills in the First Chamber, only Members of the Congress may vote them in the Second Chamber. Article 6 of the Constitution states that "all Members of the Congress are expected to vote on the motion in the Second Chamber". They have three legal voting options: "pro (in favor of the motion), contra (in opposition to the motion) and abstention (the wish not to vote)." Further more, they "have two weeks’ time to cast their vote in the Second Chamber. Voting may be closed earlier if the required majority is reached. The proposer may also choose to lengthen the voting period." Pierlot McCrooke is known to have proposed to alter the voting options, and also include a "neutral" vote, as well as options to vote a proposal back to the First Chamber. These amendments did not pass.
A normal majority ("fifty percent of the valid votes") is required to pass a motion amending the Federal Law. To vote on Constitutional amendments, a special majority ("more than two thirds of the valid votes") is required to pass a amendment. The special majority requirement was lowered from three quarters to two thirds in the 2010 State Reform (Sixth Amendment). All proposals approved by Congress, by the required majority and in due time, must be implemented by the government of Lovia.
It regularly occurs that proposals that originated in the First Chamber are still met with controversy in the Second. Often only during the actual voting, some of the bills' major faults are revealed to some Members of the Congress.
It is not uncommon in Lovia for bills to pass unanimously. One such example was the 2007 Constitution, others were the education acts by King Dimitri or Arthur Jefferson's Alcohol Consumption Regulations Act (Federal Law).
See also[]
 Lovia Congress
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Capitol - Congress - Congressional Journal - Federal Properties - First Chamber (forum) - Inauguration Day - King's Share - Library of Congress - List of political parties in Lovia - Member of the Congress - Member by Right - National Archives - Second Chamber (forum) |