Constitutional Proposal

We the people of the United States, in order to decentralize political powers of the federal government, to reduce wasteful federal spending, to strive for greater accountability of government, to present a more complete enumeration of rights, to improve economic stability, and to reduce involvement in foreign conflicts, do hereby repeal the Constitution of the United States as ratified in 1791, and do ordain and establish this replacement Constitution for the United States of America.

·                     ARTICLE I:  Federal legislative power shall be divided among a series of councils, and each federal council shall have authority over and only over those departments and agencies assigned to them.  Each state shall be free to choose its own method for appointing council members and be responsible for any salaries paid.  States shall be free to choose to appoint as few as zero or as many as three delegates to each council.  If at any time, a particular state has not appointed a representative to a particular council, where a decision affecting said state is imminent, that state's chief executive may act in person or by proxy as temporary council member.  No one person shall be permitted to serve on more than one council at the same time.  Each council shall be free to determine its own legislative process, unless herein stated otherwise.  Any council member found to be accepting bribes or emoluments shall be removed immediately and banned from holding a seat on any federal council for at least ten years.  Facilities and offices for council members shall not be extravagant.  No federal council shall pass any law which does not directly pertain to its own described purpose, and no federal department or agency shall attempt to enact or enforce laws which are not defined by the council to which it is subordinate.  Those states where offices of federal councils or departments subordinate to federal councils are located shall not attempt to use such positions to unfairly influence decisions of said councils or departments.

·                     THE FINANCIAL COUNCIL shall be responsible for collecting funds from the states, as needed, and as they are able to pay, and distributing those funds to the various federal programs, projects and departments as needed, as well as providing financial aid to those states in need, and overseeing all national social security and other national public welfare systems.

·                     This Council shall oversee the printing and banking of money and all other departments related to such.  No money shall be printed which is not backed by coin or bullion, or by some similar commodity.

·                     This Council shall not place conditions on any state, federal council, or subordinate federal department under threat of withholding funding.

·                     Each state shall be free to determine its own means of revenue with certain limitations.  No property taxes shall be applied to non-commercial land.  No income taxes shall be applied to salaries, wages, gifts, tips, or unemployment compensation.  No sales taxes shall be applied to food, medicine, or basic essentials.

·                     No direct federal taxes shall be applied to the people.

·                     All social security and other public welfare payments must be guaranteed by sufficient funds held in reserve, and no public welfare funds shall be borrowed from or borrowed against.

·                     The Financial Council shall have authority to legislate and enforce antitrust regulations, to cancel debts where necessary, and to regulate and insure banking and lending institutions to ensure honest and fair dealings.  This does not preclude states from passing additional regulations.

·                     THE CIVIL RIGHTS COUNCIL shall serve to protect the freedoms of all persons in the United States, whether they be permanent residents or foreign visitors, placing appropriate limitations on state powers where necessary, shall oversee those departments relating to fair treatment of workers and consumers, and shall oversee and maintain the federal court system.

·                     All public elections conducted in any state shall abide by certain rules, which shall be enforced where needed by the Civil Rights Council.  These rules are as follows.

·                     No state shall set its legal voting age higher than eighteen years.

·                     No poll taxes or registration fees shall be applied.

·                     Absentee ballots shall be made unconditionally available.

·                     No person shall be denied the right to vote on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion, income, education or any other superficial criteria.

·                     Elections between three or more choices shall be conducted in a ranked-choice manner.

·                     No official in any one state shall be permitted to attempt to influence the outcome of any election held in a different state.

·                     The Council may pass additional rules to ensure fairness and transparency in elections, to regulate campaign financing and conduct, and to discourage organized attempts to influence elections across multiple states.  States shall be free to self-regulate election procedures where no existing federal rules apply.

·                     All legislatures, police, courts and prisons in any state shall abide the following limitations on power with regard to crime and punishment:

·                     No bills of attainder or ex post facto laws shall be passed.

·                     Persons shall be secure in their homes, persons, vehicles, papers, communication lines, data and effects against unwarranted searches, seizures, or surveillance, and no warrants shall be issued without probable cause, and particularly describing the places to be searched or surveyed, and the persons, data and things to be seized.

·                     No person accused of any serious crime shall be denied the right to a fair and speedy trial by an impartial jury of peers.  No person shall be denied the right to legal counsel.

·                     No person, except for officers of the law, shall be forced to give self-incriminating testimony.  No person shall be threatened or coerced into giving a confession.

·                     No officer of the law shall attempt to entrap a potential suspect by encouraging or participating in any criminal act.

·                     No acquitted person shall be prosecuted twice for the same offense.

·                     No convicted person shall be denied the right to appeal where reasonable justification for appeal exists.

·                     No excessive fines or bails shall be imposed.  No cruel or unusual punishments or inhumane prison conditions shall be inflicted.

·                     No person while incarcerated shall be employed in an exploitative manner.

·                     No person shall be forced to complete a sentence for having violated any law that has been repealed.

·                     No person upon having completed a sentence shall be denied the rights of any free person.

·                     No person holding any office shall be exempt from prosecution or enjoy lesser consequences for crimes as a benefit of holding any office.

·                     Any person employed by the court or by law enforcement who is proven to have falsified evidence or knowingly presented false evidence, in addition to any other penalties, shall be permanently removed from public service, and any salaries, benefits or pensions being received by said person shall be immediately discontinued.

·                     Judges shall not be required to impose sentences where unusual or extenuating circumstances give just cause for sentences to be waived.

·                     All persons shall have use of the court to settle any civil dispute in excess of one hundred dollars.

·                     All states shall abide the following limitations on power with regard to general rights:

·                     No law shall require adherence to or practice of any state religion, and no law shall prohibit the free exercise of religion.

·                     No law shall limit or censor the freedom of speech, the press, or artistic expression, except in cases of particularly harmful misinformation or in cases of infringement on privacy or copyright.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the right of the people peaceably to assemble.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the right of adults to keep such weapons which can be reasonably used for the purpose of self-defense, and no regulations on the licensed carry and use of such weapons shall be unfair or unreasonable.

·                     No land or other property shall be confiscated or commandeered from any person without proper cause or without fair compensation.

·                     No person shall be forced into labor except in cases of direct and proportional compensation for criminal damages.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the right of adults to marry or divorce in a manner of their own choosing.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the freedom of bodily autonomy, including but not limited to the right of informed and sound-minded adults to buy, sell or use intoxicating substances, to engage in for-profit sexual activities, to make end-of-life decisions, to terminate pregnancy, or to receive other elective medical procedures.

·                     Laws with respect to the sale of goods or services shall not be intended to create monopolies or to give unfair advantages to businesses with regard to free and fair market competition.

·                     No law shall restrict travel between states, united or foreign, except in cases of criminal investigations or in cases of medical quarantines.

·                     All persons of at least the age of eighteen years shall be considered as adults and having all the rights as such.  The extension of any rights and privileges to persons younger than eighteen years shall be left to the discretion of the states.

·                     No law shall infringe upon the rights of parents or guardians, while in their homes, to raise their children in a manner of their own choosing, except in cases of abuse or endangerment.

·                     States reserve the right to set residency requirements on civic participation, but no separate citizenship status shall be established or required.  No basic rights shall be denied to foreign visitors.

·                     No private companies or agencies shall be employed or coerced by government into violating any right described herein.

·                     All municipalities shall respect these same limitations on power with the exception of those voluntarily participating in privately owned and operated intentional communities.

·                     THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL shall be responsible for appointing ambassadors and overseeing embassies, approving treaties, and deciding terms of warfare.

·                     Each state shall be responsible for its own military readiness.  No central military shall be maintained.

·                     War shall only be declared by unanimous agreement by the Foreign Affairs Council, and such declarations shall particularly describe the purpose and goal of said war.  In time of war, the Council shall appoint a temporary Commander-in-Chief, who will have complete authority over all military divisions, within the terms of said declaration.

·                     States may deploy troops and equipment in support of foreign nations, if such nations request assistance, and only with approval from the Foreign Affairs Council.  In such cases, any such use of troops or equipment shall be directed by said foreign nation, and only within the limitations of military actions defined herein.  Approval from the Foreign Affairs Council is not required for states to supply foreign nations with food, medicine or other humanitarian aid.

·                     States shall not be prohibited from using military force in self-defense on home soil.

·                     No troops shall be quartered in any private house.  No person shall be forcibly conscripted.  No tour of duty, in time of peace, shall be extended without consent.  No resignations, in time of peace, shall be denied.

·                     No person, enlisted or civilian, shall be used without their knowledge and consent for medical or psychological experimentation.

·                     Testing of experimental weapons and other military devices shall be conducted in the safest manner possible and avoid unnecessary damage to surrounding environments.

·                     Nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction shall be used only by unanimous agreement of the Foreign Affairs Council, and only as a last resort.  The use of biological or chemical weapons, the use of permanent mines, the torture of prisoners of war, and the deliberate targeting of civilians are all strictly prohibited.

·                     Unwarranted espionage conducted upon foreign powers may not be conducted in time of peace, and no warrants shall be issued except by the Foreign Affairs Council, upon probable cause.

·                     THE SCIENCE COUNCIL shall be responsible for awarding research grants and for overseeing those federal departments dedicated to scientific advancement, to protection of natural resources through industrial and agricultural regulations, and to climate research and protection.

·                     THE HEALTH AND SAFETY COUNCIL shall be responsible for regulating the process of inspecting food and other products, both domestically produced and imported, for consumer safety, shall maintain regulations for safe working environments, and shall, where necessary, enact medical quarantines.

·                     THE TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL shall be responsible for maintaining interstate public transportation systems, safety regulations regarding air and space travel, and the postal service.

·                     THE RECORDS COUNCIL shall be responsible for keeping complete and accurate records of federal actions, laws, proposals, and general information for reference and for posterity, as well as maintaining national archives and museums, overseeing matters relating to patents and trademarks, overseeing the national census, and issuing national awards.

·                     All recorded information shall be freely available to the public, except for that of a highly personal nature or that regarding classified current military operations.  Military secrets shall be declassified in a timely manner once such secrecy can no longer be reasonably justified.

·                     Official public records shall not be removed or destroyed or knowingly placed in jeopardy of being lost, stolen or destroyed.

·                     THE SPECIAL PROJECTS COUNCIL shall be responsible for planning and overseeing all large-scale national improvement projects which do not fall under the authority of any other council or any state, and which require only temporary federal oversight.  This Council shall have authority to choose and employ private contractors and to work with state and municipal authorities as needed.  Completed projects shall be relinquished to the state, municipality or the private sector.

·                     Special projects shall be completed in a timely manner, as circumstances allow.  The purpose and goals of each project shall be decided either by the Council itself, or by an agreement by a majority of states.

·                     Any new technologies developed by the Special Projects Council, which are released to the private sector, shall be considered public domain and freely available.  Special projects shall not be misused to provide unfair assistance to profit-competitive businesses.

·                     This Council shall be responsible for any and all changes to federal holidays, national flags, symbols, anthems or the like, after having been met with approval by direct popular vote.  Such decisions shall not regard any establishment or endorsement of a particular religion or language.  Any lack of formal adoption of new holidays or symbols shall not be misconstrued as a basis for prohibition of spontaneous or local celebrations or adoptions of such holidays or symbols.

·                     ARTICLE II:  Each head of each department subordinate to any Federal Council shall have authority to make executive decisions in such cases where circumstances necessitate immediate action.  Each department shall have the option to veto decisions made by the appropriate council, having stated clear reasons for doing so, for a period of thirty days.  If said Council has not overturned or revised said decision within that time, then said decisions shall be considered final.

·                     Any department head may be removed from office by a decision by the appropriate council for acts of insubordination, for exceeding stated authority, or for other forms of misconduct or mismanagement of said department.

·                     In the event of a national crisis, the appropriate council may grant the head of the appropriate department, for a limited time, absolute authority to act in response to said crisis, including, where necessary, enlisting the support of other federal departments.  In cases where it is unclear under which federal department's or council's jurisdiction a particular crisis falls, and an agreement cannot be reached among the council members in a timely manner, an appropriate department head may be summarily chosen by the Chief Justice.

·                     All federal departments shall offer equal opportunity with regard to employment, salaries, or promotions.

·                     ARTICLE III:  The Federal Government as created under the United States Constitution of 1791, in order to provide sufficient time for the establishment of the new federal system and ensure a smooth transition of powers, shall continue to function as needed from the time of the adoption of this new Constitution until the scheduled conclusion of the first full presidential term following the ratification of this document.  The offices and holdings of the old federal system shall be disposed of as follows.

·                     The United States Senate, the House of Representatives, and the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, shall be utterly dissolved.

·                     The United States Supreme Court and all other Federal Courts shall continue under the supervision of the Civil Rights Council.  All future Supreme Court Justices shall be appointed by the Civil Rights Council.  The number of Supreme Court Justice positions shall be fixed at nine.  The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the Civil Rights Council, or if left vacant for thirty days, shall fall automatically to the most senior Supreme Court Justice.  No Justice shall be forcibly removed from office without having been given a formal hearing by the Civil Rights Council.  No prior ruling by the Supreme Court shall be overturned without just cause having been presented in writing to the Supreme Court by the Civil Rights Council.

·                     All branches of the United States Armed Forces shall be divided among the various states.  Military units shall serve under the direction of their respective state governments, except in time of war, during which time they shall operate under the direction of a temporary Commander-in-Chief to be appointed by the Foreign Affairs Council.  Troops shall not be deployed onto foreign soil without proper authorization from the Foreign Affairs Council, with the exception of the Peace Corps.  No state shall make war with any other state, and no state shall station its own troops within any other state without permission from said other state.

·                     All federal lands shall be relinquished thusly:  All national parks shall be recategorized as state parks under the direction of the respective states in which they are located.  All federal land registered as being reserved for use by Native American tribes shall be considered as the property of said tribes and considered independent states.  All self-governing integrated territories, including the District of Columbia, shall be considered as states.  All unincorporated island territories currently being held for the purpose of wildlife protection and preservation shall remain as such.  All claims to disputed territories shall be relinquished.  All other federally owned lands shall be relinquished to the states in which they are located.

·                     All other existing federal departments, agencies and commissions, shall be examined by the Special Projects Council to determine the best means of disposition, whether that be to place such departments under the direction of the appropriate Federal Council, to merge such departments with other departments, to divide such departments among the states, to relinquish such departments to the private sector, or to dissolve such departments entirely.

·                     All federal buildings which are no longer needed as a result of this reorganization, shall be given to their respective states to be sold at auction, demolished or repurposed as they see fit.

·                     All federal employees whose services are no longer required as a result of the dissolution of their respective departments, including private contractors, shall be given fair severance compensation.  Pensions for retired federal employees shall continue uninterrupted.

·                     All moneys still owed by the United States, including federal bonds, foreign debts, reparations, military pensions, and all other debts shall continue to be paid until paid in full.  No future federal bonds shall be issued, except in time of crisis.

·                     Any current laws which contradict this Constitution shall be considered null and void.  Any current federal laws which do not contradict this Constitution shall be presumed to be in effect until having been repealed or amended by the appropriate Council.

·                     ARTICLE IV:  Amendments and alterations to this Constitution, including the creation of additional councils, shall only be made by unanimous agreement of all states.  Creation of new departments or agencies subordinate to existing councils shall neither be redundant nor exceed the domain of such councils, and any effort to increase or decrease the number of subordinate departments may be prohibited by the Supreme Court on this basis.

·                     ARTICLE V:  Any state wishing to change its borders, divide into smaller states, combine with other states, change its system of government, or secede from the United States, shall not be prevented from doing so, provided that all parties directly involved in such decisions have reached an agreement, and that such decisions are approved by popular vote in the affected areas.  If any state secedes from the United States, all federal services in said state shall be discontinued, with the exception of any financial aid being received, which shall be evaluated and determined on a case-by-case basis.