The Quentinian House of Representatives

The United States of Quentin House of Representatives
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: "Government Acts Only for the People"
Composition
Members	20 representatives, two from each state
Demonym	Quentinian Representative
History
Constitution Ratified	January 31st, 1834
First Session Held	February 7th, 1834
Leadership
Location	Mechanicsburg Green Representatives Chamber
Type	Lower House
House Moderator	Faneur Johnson
Majority Party Leader	Kindy Chuteski
Minority Party Leader	Sorrel Patton
Minority Party Leader	Jessie Puller
Elections
Last Election	January 1st, 2020
Next Election	January 1st, 2022
Party Composition	50% Mild RePublican 35% Fundamentalist 10% Environmentalist 5% Freelance
Requirements
Minimum Age	21 years
Election Requirement	Elected by Statewide Majority
Website	usqcongress.gov.nwd/houseofreps [1]

The United States of Quentin House of Representatives is the lower house of the United States of Quentin Congress, which is the bicameral legislature of the United States of Quentin and its federal government. Along with the upper house of Congress, the House of Bureaucrats, the House of Representatives works to create legislation for the federal government under the country's Constitution, which was ratified in 1834.

The Constitution includes the House of Representatives and its duties in Article II of the document. The House of Representatives is composed of 20 representatives, with two representatives representing each state in its entirety. This means that each election year, there is a statewide election, with the two highest vote receivers becoming the two representatives for the respective state. Each representative serves a term of two years, with an age of 21 and citizenship being necessary for membership. The Quentinian House of Representatives Moderator presides over the House, though the moderator is not elected and does not hold a vote except in the case of a tiebreaker.

The House's main responsibility is creating bills and laws that create the federal law of the United States of Quentin. Additional powers include powers of impeachment against members of Congress and the power to debate and set the budget for each year, in cooperation with the GTNEC. The House meets in the Quentinian Capitol Building in Mechanicsburg, GA, in the Green Representatives Chamber.

History

Created in 1834 by the ratification of the nation's Constitution, the House of Representatives was created as the lower house of the Quentinian Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. The nation had just declared independence from the Republic of Megatridimensional Order in 1823, and after the Quentinian War for Independence needed a legislature for the new nation. The signers of the document created the House to represent the people from each state, as well as have equal representation in the government, as opposed the House of Bureaucrats with varied representation. The main purpose of the new legislature, like that of the Territorial Assembly, was to be to create laws and acts necessary for the maintenance of the country and for its prosperity.

First convened in February of 1834, the House established numerous rules and regulations in its first session. The document establishing these regulations was written at the first session, and is called the Quentinian Representative Procedure. Historically the House has been largely controlled by the Mild RePublican Party as compared to the House of Bureaucrats and other legislative institutions, however majorities from all three other major parties has occurred in the House. The Freelance Party has gained a House majority in three elections across its history.

Membership

Composition

The Quentinian House of Representatives is composed of two representatives from each state, for a total of 20 representatives. Additionally, there are four territorial delegates from the four federal territories. Though the delegates are non-voting members, they are included in debate and other considerations.

Eligibility

The Constitution, in addition to providing provisions for powers and responsibilities, also presents numerous requirements to become a member of the House. These are: 1) A candidate must be 22 years or older on Quentinian Inauguration Day, which is January 1st, 2) They must have been a Quentinian citizen their entire life, 3) They must be born in and continue to live in the state they hope to represent in the House, and 4) They need to have passed a Quentinian Suffrage Test.

The power of enforcement of membership for new representatives is less strict than membership evaluation for a bureaucrat, however it is still strict compared to other countries, with a full evaluation done by the judicial branch based on their Constitutional eligibility as well as any criminal history. This information is released to the public prior to the election, and the judicial branch has the authority to declare any representative ineligible for membership based upon the requirements.

Power and Constitutional Responsibilities

The powers and responsibilities of the House of Representatives can all be found in the Constitution, but the main one of these responsibilities is the creation, debate, and passage of new federal acts and laws. A bill can be brought up by any representative when the House is in session, and the bill must have the signatures of at least two other representatives for it to be brought up for a vote on the floor. Once that bill is brought up, it must be presented by the signatories, along with the effects of the bill, supposed benefits of the bill, and any other necessary approvals for the bill to pass. Then it is brought up for debate, and after all representatives are satisfied with the debate, or four hours have passed, the bill is brought up for vote. The bill needs a simple majority to pass, today being a total of 11 representatives.

If the bill passes, it is sent on to the House of Bureaucrats for their approval, and if the House then passes the bill the House of Representatives can move on to other business. However if the bill is rejected by the House of Bureaucrats, then the House of Representatives must bring up the bill again, and review the rejection reason provided by the Bureaucrats, and debate until everyone is satisfied, at a maximum of one hour. Then if at least three representatives vote to override the bill, another vote will be held, which needs a 75% vote to override the rejection from the House of Bureaucrats. If passed, an override will send the bill directly to the President, today being 15 people. Due partially to this override provision and the concern of equal representation, many legislators are currently proposing a major change in the number of representatives from each state.

The House was meant as a place for representatives to discuss issues in their respective states, and communicate with other representatives on the best course of action for those issues. Other minor responsibilities of the House include the ability to impeach a member of Congress, and vote on their expulsion along with the House of Bureaucrats. A 3/4 vote is needed for expulsion. Finally, the House has the combined ability with the Bureaucrats and the GTNEC to set the budget for the year.

Oath of Office and Traditions

Oath

As with most governmental positions in the United States of Quentin, a newly elected representative is required to take an oath of office, called the Quentinian Congressional Oath. This oath was detailed in the Quentinian Representative Procedure of 1834. The oath in its entirety is as follows:

I, (First, Middle, Last Name), do solemnly swear to faithfully serve my home country, the United States of Quentin, as a determined representative of this House, in the defense of the Constitution, the support of justice and tranquility, and the maintenance of the balance of government by the people; I swear on this oath freely, and swear to honor it on the threat of death and eternal punishment; and furthermore swear my loyalty to the people of this nation and no other, on the threat of death and eternal punishment, forever.

This oath is traditionally followed by a Quentinian salute. You need only take the oath once, even if you are reelected, however the majority of new candidates choose to take it again anyways. When they do this the word swear is replaced with renew my oath.

Salary and Benefits

As of 2020, the salary of representatives is around Ð15,000 ($150,000), which is the same as the salary for bureaucrats. The Moderator of the House earns more, as they are expected to show up to every session, earning nearly Ð17,500 ($175,000) per year. The Quentinian Representatives Procedure details that cost of living and inflation changes should take effect every five years, and though Congress has the ability to change salary unilaterally, the Supreme Council ruled in Marine v. Deborah that salary changes do not take effect until the next representative election, to prevent Congress from increasing their salary without accountability. Retirement benefits take effect after serving two full terms.

Some benefits representatives gain include their title, which is "the Honorable Mister/Madame". This is used for representatives when in Congress or when in other governmental positions, however is not required to be used by the media or citizens. Not calling a member "the Honorable" while in session is an offense, and can be punished by the moderator or other presiding official. General media and citizen titles given include Representative or just Mr./Mrs.

Traditions

In a country that values traditions, the House of Representative is no exception, with numerous traditions taking place, many of them voluntary but expected. The first of these is that new representatives are expected to meet with their other state representative, introduce themselves, and have a conversation, which is encouraged by the Constitution to be done regularly the whole term. Another expected tradition for a representative is to place a small piece of paper, a sticker, or miniature flag with their party's logo inside the desk, which the representative with the desk next year, if they are of a different party, will replace. This is part of the reason why, unlike other legislatures around the world, seating in the Green Representatives Chamber is not arranged by party.

A final expected tradition is that the representatives visit and stay in their home state when the House is not in session, to get in touch with the community and come back to the House with a greater sense of their state. Many representatives wear pins of the Quentinian flag on their clothes while in the house, or wear some type of colored clothing to signify their party, such as a tie with the red color of the Mild RePublican Party, the green color of the Environmentalists, or the blue color of the Fundamentalists. Additionally, representatives often wear special pins of articles of clothing to promote certain topics. For example, representatives supporting the statehood of the Kade Islands wear small Kad'dgen flag pins, and supporters of a full democracy in Paladinia have taken to wearing small blue flowers.

Officers

There are multiple special representatives and officials in the House. The main position in the house is the Quentinian House of Representatives Moderator. While the moderator isn't actually an elected representative, they must meet all the requirements of a representative, and are elected by a majority in the House. The moderator handles the requests for people to speak on the floor, brings bills up for debate, counts and announces votes that are in the submission box, and makes other decisions on rules, procedures, and tradition. Additionally, the moderator serves as a House tiebreaker.

There are also Quentinian Representative Minority Leaders as well as a Quentinian Representative Majority Leader. The majority leader has the most power, as they represent the leading party in the House, which is currently the Mild RePublican Party. The majority leader is chosen by their respective party, and have special speaking privileges as well as a large amount of influence on which bills the moderator chooses to bring to a debate. The minority party leaders are less powerful, however are chosen by their respective party and have speaking privileges as well.