The End of Texas
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Appendix III
Constitution of the City-State of Austin
Article I-Executive Branch
1. All executive power shall be vested in a Governor, elected by the voters of the state. He or she shall have the power to appoint a cabinet, heads of agencies, and any board positions as the legislature may approve.
2. All adult citizens of the city-state of Austin shall be eligible to become governor. They must not have a felony record, or be charged with a felony. They must not advocate nor promote secession, separatism, or other acts of treason.
3. The term of the governor shall be four years. No governor shall serve more than two terms. Election times shall be designated by the legislature.
4. There shall be no vice-governors or lieutenant governors. In the event of a governor’s death or incapacity, there shall be immediate elections set by council.
Article II-Legislative Branch
1. The legislature shall be vested in a single body, a council of twelve. They shall have all power to pass city-state laws and to impeach the Governor for crimes.
2. All adult citizens of the city-state of Austin shall be eligible to become council members. They must not have a felony record, or be charged with a felony.
3. The term of the council members shall be four years. Council members may serve as many terms as the public elects them for. Election times shall be designated by the legislature.
4. In the event of a council member’s death or incapacity, there shall be immediate elections as set by the legislature.
Article III-Judicial Branch
1. All city-state judicial power shall be vested in a City-State Supreme Court, as well as Criminal and Civil Courts as the legislature shall designate.
2. All judges are appointed for life by the Governor, subject to approval by the Council and subject to Recall by the voters of the city-state or Impeachment by the legislature.
3. All judges must avoid conflicts of interest. Failure to do so may result in Impeachment, Recall, or possible criminal prosecution or sentencing.
Article IV- City-State Bill of Rights
1. All rights designated by the US Constitution are valid and supported by the City-State of Austin’s Constitution as well, with the following exceptions.
1A. The Constitution of the City-State of Austin takes exception to the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, except for the purpose of the arming of lawful state militias or national guard.
1B. The Constitution of the City-State of Austin takes very strong exception to the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, solely as interpreted by US Supreme Court decisions that grant the right of persons to corporations.
2. All residents of the City-State of Austin who have lived in Austin continuously for more than seven years, or seven years over a period of not more than the last fourteen years, have the Right to Vote in all City-State elections. The City-State of Austin, shall not impede nor deny that right in any way, nor shall any resident, organization, group, business, or institution, whether from within the city-state or from outside of it.
3. All residents of the City-State of Austin have a guaranteed Right to Food, Shelter, and Healthcare. It is illegal to deny these to any human in Austin based on a person’s lack of funds.
4. All residents of the City-State of Austin have the Right to Privacy Including Right to a legal and safe Abortion and Birth Control and the Right to be Free From Laws Repressing Sexual Freedom within the privacy of one’s own home or designated private spaces. The City-State of Austin and all residents and organizations within it shall not impede such rights.
5. All residents of the City-State of Austin have the Right to Freedom from Discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered (GLBT) persons. The City-State of Austin shall make no such discriminatory laws and shall make laws to prevent such discrimination by private parties, individuals, institutions, or businesses. GLBT persons are specifically granted the right to marry and all attendant rights that come with it.
6. All residents of the City-State of Austin have the Right to Language. All may speak the language of their choice without fear of discrimination or reprisal, including but not to limited to any and all American Indian languages, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, German, Hindi, Japanese, Pushtu, Spanish and its local variations, Tagalog, and Urdu. Designation of official languages is expressly forbidden as tending to promote racism, linguicism, and xenophobia.
7. All residents of the City-State of Austin have the Right to Collective Bargaining, and to form and join labor unions for that purpose. The City-State of Austin shall not impede or limit this right, nor shall any resident, business, or other institution or person, whether within the state or from outside.
8. The City-State of Austin shall have Right to Limit the Power of Corporations as it and its residents see fit by acts of legislation.
9. Regressive taxation, defined as any tax that has the less wealthy pay a higher proportion of their income in taxes than the wealthy, is expressly forbidden to be used by the City-State of Austin or any government body or district within it. Penalties and fines shall also be dictated by income level, and shall be paid in proportion to income and assets.
Amendments
1. This constitution may be amended by a two thirds vote of the Council, approval by the Governor, and two thirds vote of the voters.