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
Demonym	Representative of the USQ
History
The Constitution of the United States of Quentin Ratified:	January 31st, 1834
First Session Held:	February 7th, 1834
Leadership
Location	Mechanicsburg Reanne Chamber
Type	Lower House
House Moderator:	Faneur Johnson
Majority Party Leader:	Kindy Chuteski
Minority Party Leader	Sorrel Patton
Minority Party Leader	Barbara Keller
Elections
Last Election	January 1st, 2018
Next Election	January 1st, 2020
Party Composition	60% Mild RePublican 25% Fundamentalist 15% Environmentalist
Requirements
Minimum Age	21 years
Election Requirement	Elected by Statewide Majority
Website	usqcongress.gov.nwd/houseofreps [1]

The House of Representatives is one of two houses, along with The House of Bureaucrats, that make up the Congress of the USQ, the main part of the Assembly branch of The United States of Quentin government. The House of Representatives is made up of 2 representatives from each of the country's ten states, totaling 20 representatives.

The House's main responsibility is creating bills and laws that will be beneficial and practical for the country, things that aren't outlined or specified in The Constitution of the United States of Quentin. This is done in the form of each Representative of the USQ bringing up any issues they have in their states, reviewing these with other state representatives and deciding the best course of action, i.e. a bill, law, or resolution. The House meets in The Capitol Building of the United States of Quentin, in a special chamber called The Green Temple Chamber, which is in Mechanicsburg.

History

Created in 1834 by the ratification of The Constitution of the United States of Quentin, the House of Representatives was created to be the lower house of the Congress of the USQ, the legislation branch of The United States of Quentin government, which had just declared independence from the Republic of Megatridimensional Order. The signers of the document created the House to represent the people from each state, as well as have equal representation in the government in opposition to The House of Bureaucrats, as well as draft all the bills and laws that would be necessary for the prosperity of the country.

First convened in February of 1834, the House established numerous things with the first session, in terms of procedure and organization. The document establishing these things was written at the first session, and is called the Quentinian Representative Procedure. Historically the House has been controlled by The Mild RePublican Party, however at times The Fundamentalist Party, The Environmentalist Party, and even The Freelance Party had the majority in the House.

Power and Constitutional Responsibilities

The powers and responsibilities of the House of Representatives can all be found in The Constitution of the United States of Quentin, but the main one of these responsibilities is the creating, debating, and passing or rejecting new federal bills. A bill can be brought up by any Representative of the USQ when the House is in session, and the bill has to have the signatures of at least 2 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, benefits, and any other necessary approvals for the bill to pass. Then it is brought up for debate, and after everyone has spoken what they want to, or 4 hours have passed, the bill is brought up for vote. The bill needs a simple majority to pass, today being a total of 11 people.

If the bill passes, it is sent on to The House of Bureaucrats for their approval, and the House of Reps' work is done if they pass the bill. However if the bill is rejected by the House of Bureaucrats, the House of Representatives must bring up the bill again, and review the rejection reason provided by the Bureaucrats, and debate some more, for 1 hour max, or until everyone is satisfied. Then if at least 3 people want to override the bill, another vote will be held, which needs a 75% vote to override the bill, and send it directly to the President, today being 15 people.

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 take an impeachment proceeding from the House of Bureaucrats against an executive official, if it has been rejected by the Supreme Council, and vote on it. If this is approved by a 3/4 vote, the two Houses can override the previous Supreme Council ruling and pass the decree. Finally, the House has the combined ability with the Bureaucrats and the GTNEC of the USQ to set the budget for the year.

Membership

The Constitution of the United States of Quentin also presents numerous requirements to be elected a Representative of the USQ. These are: 1) A candidate must be 22 years or older on Quentinian Inauguration Day, which is January 1st) They must have been a USQ citizen for their entire life, 3) They must have been born and continue to live in the state they hope to represent in the House, and 4) They need to have completed The Quentinian Suffrage Test.

The power of enforcement of membership for new representatives is less strict than membership evaluation of a Bureaucrat of the USQ, however it is still strict compared to other countries, with a full evaluation done by The Supreme Court of the USQ on past qualifications, crimes, and their eligibility based on the Constitution. This is less thorough than the Bureaucrats, and the results aren't released to the public unless they are requested, with trust being put in the people's hands to know a lot about the candidates that have lived in their state a long time.

Oath of Office and Traditions

Oath

As with most governmental positions in The United States of Quentin, a newly elected Representative of the USQ is also required to take an oath, more specifically the USQ Congressional Oath of Office. The oath in its entirety is below:

I, ____ _____, do solemnly swear (not affirm) to faithfully serve my home country, The United States of Quentin, as a Congress(man/woman) in the House of Representatives, in the defense of the Constitution, the upholding of justice and tranquility, and to maintain the balance of the government by the people; I swear on this oath freely, and to honor this oath on the threat of death as well as a far worse punishment at the hands of God; and I swear to be loyal to this country and no other, on the threat of death as well as a far worse punishment at the hands of God, forever.

This oath is traditionally followed by a Quentinian Respect Gesture and 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.

Traditions

In a country that values traditions, the House of Representative is no exception, with numerous traditions taking place, some voluntary but expected, and others stipulated in the House of Representatives Procedural Charter. 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 Temple 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. Some required traditions by the Procedure document include that the representatives wear a small Flag of The United States of Quentin on their clothes while in the house, as well as wearing some type of colored clothing to signify their party, such as a tie, shirt, or pants with the red color of The Mild RePublican Party, the green color of The Environmentalist Party, or the blue color of The Fundamentalist Party. Colors of other parties can be found on the page Official Quentinian Party Colors.

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, he/she must meet all the requirements of a representative, and is elected by a majority in the House. The moderator also handles the requests for people to speak on the floor, brings bills up for debate and votes that are in the submission box.

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.