Article II: Offices and Powers

Section 1. President

a. The President shall serve a term of six months. Terms shall begin either January 5th or July 5th.
b. The President shall be chosen through an election process run by the AB, to conclude on AB-designated days in November (for terms starting in January) and May (for terms starting in July). All players who are not members of the AB shall be eligible to run for their party's nomination, or they may run as an independent. The election process shall be designed as a simulation of the American electoral process, including a primary campaign and ending with a simulated popular election and a vote in the Electoral College.
c. The President shall appoint an Attorney General and Supreme Court justices, which shall be approved by the House. The President may choose to appoint other Cabinet and executive officials, which shall be subject to House approval if their real-life counterparts are subject to Senate confirmation.
d. Any unannounced absence of more than fourteen (14) consecutive days by the President shall be considered a resignation on the part of the President.

Section 2. The Vice President

a. The Vice President shall be elected on a ticket with the President and shall be chosen through the election process outlined in Section 1(b).
b. Any unannounced absence of more than fourteen (14) consecutive days by the Vice President shall be considered a resignation on the part of the Vice President.

Section 3. The Speaker of the House

a. The Speaker shall be chosen in election by all sitting members of the House Majority.
b. The Speaker shall appoint a Speaker Pro Tempore and no less than four (4) Deputy Speakers, who shall assist the Speaker in the supervision of House activity and business, within ten (10) days of taking office or a vacancy.
c. The Speaker shall appoint a House Clerk within ten (10) days of taking office or a vacancy.
d. The Speaker shall have the power of ombudsman on the House Floor.
e. The Speaker shall formulate Rules of Decorum to govern behavior on the House Floor, in the Voting Booth and on House committees. The Speaker may call any member of the House to order for violating these Rules.
f. The Speaker shall enforce the AGS Rules of Order on the House Floor and the Voting Booth. The Speaker may call any member of the House to order for violating these Rules.
g. Any unannounced absence of more than ten (10) consecutive days by the Speaker shall be considered a resignation on the part of the Speaker.
h. The Speaker has discretion over which House business and activity the Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers may preside; however, the Speaker must let the Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers participate in some aspects of House management, as the Speaker cannot prohibit them from such duties completely.
i. All appointments made by a Speaker will expire at the end of his/her elected term, but shall remain in effect upon a resignation or removal until a new Speaker is elected.

Section 4. Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers

a. The Speaker shall appoint the Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers at the beginning of his/her term.
b. The Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers shall preside over House business and activity under the Speaker's authority.
c. Deputy Speakers may open new debate and voting threads and may preside over those threads. The Speaker or the Speaker Pro Tempore may assume the gavel and preside directly over a debate or voting thread opened by a Deputy Speaker, but Deputy Speakers may not assume the gavel over threads opened by other Deputy Speakers.
d. The Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speakers may call members of the House to order for violations of decorum, AGS Rules or Rules of Order.
e. The Speaker Pro Tempore shall become Acting Speaker when the position of Speaker becomes vacant.
f. The House Majority shall elect a new Speaker no less than thirty (30) days after the Speaker Pro Tempore becomes Acting Speaker.


Section 5. The Clerk of the House.

a. The Clerk shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House at the outset of his/her term and upon a vacancy in that office.
b. The Clerk shall supervise the operation of the Office of the Clerk, whose duties include:

-welcoming and directing new members;
-updating the roster of House, Supreme Court and Executive Branch members no less than once each month;
-ensuring that no district is represented by multiple representatives and that all representatives represent existent districts;
-assign numbers to all proposed legislation and forward legislation to the appropriate committee in a timely fashion;
-opening, closing and supervising Roll Call;
-tabulating the total number of eligible representatives from each party who have signed into Roll Call;
-recording which parties and independent members have joined into House Coalitions;
-certifying a majority of eligible House members as a presumptive House Majority;
apportioning committee seats to the House Majority and Minority not less than seven (7) days after the presumptive House majority has been certified;
and recording the status of bills and the AGS Code in the Thomas legislative database forum.

c. The Clerk shall appoint one Deputy Clerk within ten (10) days of taking office, and shall assign duties to Deputy Clerks.
d. Any unannounced absence of more than ten (10) consecutive days by the Clerk shall be considered a resignation on the part of the Clerk.

Section 6. Deputy Clerks.

a. Each recognized political party (including the Independent and Unaffiliated Caucus) shall provide the Office of the Clerk with one Deputy Clerk. The Clerk of the House shall also appoint one Deputy Clerk.
b. Deputy Clerks shall assist the Clerk of the House in performing his/her duties.
c. Any unannounced absence of more than ten (10) consecutive days by a Deputy Clerk shall be considered a resignation on the part of a Deputy Clerk.


Section 7. House Majority and Minority Leaders

a. The House Majority Leader shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the House Majority.
b. The House Majority Leader shall assign committee chairs and committee seats to members of the House Majority.
c. The House Minority Leader shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the House Minority.
d. The House Minority Leader shall assign committee chairs and committee seats to members of the House Minority.
e. The House Majority and Minority Leaders may appoint Deputy Floor Leaders and/or Whips to assist in their duties. The Majority and Minority shall each appoint at least one Deputy Floor Leader and one Whip.
f. Any unannounced absence of more than ten (10) consecutive days by the House Majority Leader or Minority Leader shall be considered a resignation on his/her part. The senior Deputy Floor Leader shall assume leadership duties and shall preside over leadership elections in no less than thirty (30) days.

Section 8. Representatives

a. Each member of the House shall have the title of United States Representative.
b. Unless specified as a restriction of office or of punishment, or as specified in AGS Rules, each Representative is entitled to vote on all questions before the House, and in all Committees to which they are duly assigned.
c. Representatives may introduce legislation or introduce amendments to legislation.
d. Representatives assume their duties upon signing in to the appropriate forum
e. Representatives shall serve until they sign out of the House, assume a position upon which concurrent House membership is prohibited, or fail to sign into Roll Call.

Section 9. Attorney General, Cabinet and Executive Branch

a. The President shall appoint an Attorney General to argue the government's position in cases before the Supreme Court.
b. Cabinet members may be removed at the discretion of the President, but nominees must be confirmed by the House.
c. Other Executive Branch positions, such as Press Secretary, Chief of Staff or National Security Advisor, may be appointed by the President, and are subject to House confirmation if their real-life counterparts are subject to Senate confirmation.
d. No member of the Executive Branch may concurrently serve as a Representative.

Section 10. Supreme Court Justices

a. Justices shall serve on the Court for one year, unless they are removed or fail to sign in during Roll Call. Justices may not be renominated for consecutive terms.
b. Justices may not vote or participate in House activity or business while a member of the Court.
c. Justices may not serve as Governors, Senators or Cabinet members while a member of the Court.

Section 11. Senators

a. This Section shall not be operative until AGS shall have achieved sufficient membership to support it and the AB activates it with a 2/3rds vote. It may be deactivated if AGS fails to maintain sufficient membership and 2/3rds of the AB votes to suspend it.
b. There shall be no more than one Senator in AGS for every twenty-five members of the House. The Clerk shall determine the number of total Senators after each Roll Call.
c. Senators shall serve terms of six months. Terms shall begin
either January 5th or July 5th.
d. Senators shall be chosen through an election process run by the AB, to conclude on AB-designated days in November (for terms starting in January) and May (for terms starting in July). The AB shall, through a simulation process, rank the X top vote-getting players, where X is the number of open Governor's seats as determined by the Clerk. Those players shall be elected to serve as Senators.
e. Senators shall have all the powers of Representatives, with a Senator's vote being counted five times for each vote in the full House.
f. Senators may not serve as Cabinet members or as Governors during their term.

Section 12. Governors

a. This Section shall not be operative until AGS shall have achieved sufficient membership to support it and the AB activates it with a 2/3rds vote. It may be deactivated if AGS fails to maintain sufficient membership and 2/3rds of the AB votes to suspend it.
b. There shall be no more than one State Governor in AGS for every thirty-five members of the House. The Clerk shall determine the number of total Governors after each Roll Call.
c. State Governors shall serve terms of six months. Terms shall begin on April 5th or October 5th.
d. Governors shall be chosen through an election process run by the AB, to conclude on AB-designated days in February (for terms starting in April) and August (for terms starting in October). The AB shall, through a simulation process, rank the X top vote-getting players, where X is the number of open Governor's seats as determined by the Clerk. Those players shall be elected to serve as Governor.
e. All players who are not members of the AB shall be eligible to run for governor in their state; primaries may be held if necessary.
f. Governors shall have all the powers of Representatives. Additionally, Governors may sign or veto any bill passed by their state's legislature in real life. They may exercise any powers given to them under their state's constitution, provided those powers do not conflict with AGS Rules.
g. Any unannounced absence of more than fourteen (14) consecutive days by a State Governor shall be considered a resignation on the part of that Governor.
h. Governors may not serve as Cabinet members or as Senators during their term.

Section 13: Media

a. Members may, upon approval by a majority of the AB, serve as members of the news media.
b. Media members may report on events taking place in AGS, but have no authority to introduce events into the sim.
c. Media members may not concurrently serve in any branch of the government.