Chapter 23: The First Session of the California General Assembly

Chapter 23

The First Session of the California General Assembly

            Republic of California Capitol, Sacramento, CA. Downtown Sacramento was busier than usual on this particular day. Today was to mark the first day of the first session of the California General Assembly. Elections were held across the new country and the 100 member assembly was beginning to take shape. Out of the 50 seats that were set aside for non-state affiliated candidates California took 25 of the seats, Nevada won 10, Washington won 10, and Oregon won 5. The final look of the Assembly ended up with California with 45 seats, Nevada with 20, Washington with 20, and Oregon held 15 seats. Politicians from California held an overwhelming plurality, but not a full majority which means that the other member states could band together to out vote California if necessary. This gave California the largest voice, but not the controlling. As for political party affiliations there were more than just Progressives making up the new Assembly. The Progressive Action Party earned themselves 55 seats in the Assembly, a majority but not a supermajority. Radical Liberals won 27 seats, the Green Party won 12 seats, and the Republican Party won 6 seats. The Peace Party was banned from contesting the elections and all former politicians were blacklisted. Before the start of the official session the Assembly met to elect the Speaker of the Assembly. The vote ended up being unanimous and thus set up a unified government with each party a member of the leading coalition.

            The Assembly started to take their seats for the beginning of the session in the renovated Capitol building. Assembly Majority Leader Scott Kenning took his spot behind the speaker’s podium. Kenning, the former US Senator from California, now represented the state of California in the General Assembly. He earned his spot in the Assembly by taking one of the 5 governor appointed California seats.

“If everyone would take their places we can get started.” People kept shuffling around the aisles to their seats. “To call this session to order I would like to call up the Speaker of the California General Assembly, Mr. Victor Ramos.” Kenning stepped back from the podium and the Assembly hall erupted into applause. The former Governor from Nevada made his way to his place at the podium. He waved his hands to call for quiet.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Ramos tapped his gavel. “I officially call the First Session of the Republic of California General Assembly now open for the conduction of business.” Once again the Assembly erupted into applause and gave a standing ovation. “I would like to thank you for electing me electing me to be the first Speaker of the Assembly. I would also like to thank the new Governor of Nevada, Mr. Jeff Hudson, for appointing me to one of the few assembly seats he is allotted to appoint as Governor. Now before we get started, there is a man who is just dying to talk to you all here. So I would like to introduce the President of the Republic of California, Mr. Michael Stanton.” The Assembly for a third time broke into applause. President Stanton made his way to the front of the hall. He shook Speaker Ramos’ hands and stepped to the podium. Ramos took a seat behind the president and to the right of the National Councilman, Peter Fisher.

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. And a thank you to you all for serving your country in its first legislature. I don’t want to take up too much of your time blabbing away so I will try to make my remarks short.”

“Today, you have the chance to make history. The work that you begin today will shape the future of our new country. I applaud you all for coming together and forming a unified government. It is important at this time to present a strong and unified front in the face of our former oppressors. I applaud the small number of Republican candidates for joining the unified government and not establishing an opposition coalition at this time. We will show the US that we are a strong and capable government.”

“In the vein of working toward the future, I have come here to ask for two things from the Assembly. First, I ask that you pass a military budget that will allow us to maintain our capability to fight the enemy. We are a country that is fighting for our right to existence, so I ask for an unlimited military budget that will keep our troops at full strength. Second, in order to keep our troop levels at fighting strength I suggest passing a new legislation. I suggest passing legislation that would give full citizenship to any non-citizen who serves in the military. California and the west have a large number of undocumented workers who have left their home countries looking for a better life. I say that we give them a chance to realize that better life, by giving them a direct path to citizenship. Let them fight for their new country like all other citizens. I would also suggest creating a path for citizenship to those people who are unable to serve in the military by giving them a chance to work for the military. I will leave you with those remarks and let you get down to your business. God bless the Assembly and God bless California.”

The President stepped down from the Speaker’s podium to yet another standing ovation from the Assembly. On his way out he shook hands with Speaker Ramos and Councilman Fisher, and then proceeded to leave the Capitol with his Secret Service escort. Once the commotion died down Speaker Ramos took his place back at the front of the Assembly.

“Well that was a heck of a speech. President Stanton gave us quite a bit to think about. I think we all saw the first thing coming, but the second suggestion must have come as a bit of a surprise. So I think we have our work cut out for us today as we also have our regular agenda to get to as well. Let’s get down to it. Let’s move quickly through the first measure, Assembly Bill 01: The California Military Budget Act.” The Speaker got a motion and a second quickly from the floor. After tallying the votes AB01 passed by a vote of 97-2 with the two dissenting votes coming from Republican assemblymen.

“Now let’s get moving onto the measure that might require more debate.  Let’s bring up Assembly Bill 02: The Immigrant Soldier Citizenship Act. Is there any debate on this bill?”

“I would like to speak Mr. Speaker.”

“The Assemblyman from Oregon has the floor.”

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am in full support of the bill. We need something to bolster our military. We are largely outnumbered manpower wise. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but if we want to fight for our survival we must actually do more. We need manpower and this bill will tap into a huge reserve of manpower. This would greatly increase out numbers. I am in favor of this bill and any that give our men and women a fighting chance out on the battlefield.”

“Thank you sir. Now the assemblyman from California has the floor.”

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. I am up here speaking for the Radical Liberal contingent. The Radical Liberal caucus does not support this bill. It puts our new country in a terrible position. It opens our military to the possibility of foreign mercenaries coming into the country and causing tensions. There is no way to track the undocumented workers who will sign up to take advantage of this Act.”

“Pansy…traitor…give our military a fighting chance.” Yells came from all across the Capitol directed at the Liberal assemblyman. Bang. Bang. Bang. The gavel sound echoed through the chamber.

“Quiet! Let the assemblyman speak. He has as much of right to speak as you all do.”

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. The Radical Liberal caucus does not disagree with the spirit of the bill, just in the way we feel it will be handled. We feel it will do more harm than good at this present moment.” As the assemblyman stepped down, the chamber once again erupted in jeers.

Bang. Bang. “We will now bring this up to a vote. We have had too much argument on this bill. I feel everyone is ready to vote.” After tallying the vote the bill passed with a vote of 67-32. The dissenting votes came from the entire Radical Liberal caucus joined by 3 Green Party votes and 2 from the Republicans.

“Now onto our regular agenda. We have to discuss the Idaho situation. As you all should know a group of politicians from Idaho have requested to send a delegation to sit in the Assembly. They have asked for voting rights, but have also said that they would accept a non-voting delegation. Is there any debate on this issue?”

An Assemblyman from California stepped forward. “I do not believe that we should seat any sort of delegation from Idaho at this present time. They are not a proper state of our country. Idaho is a military occupied zone. I believe in our military to defend the progress made in Idaho, but there is always the possibility of the US retaking the territory. And then what? Does the Idaho delegation remain here in Sacramento in exile? Or do they hightail it outta here to run back to their American counterparts. There is just too much risk in allowing a delegation to be seated at this time. As long as Idaho remains a military zone, then the California Assembly shall seek the best interests of Idaho.” The statement received a resounding ovation from the Assembly. It was clear that most of the Assembly felt similarly.

“If there is no further debate, than I feel we can keep moving along with a vote.” The vote was counted by the Clerk of the Assembly. The final tally of votes was 97-2 opposed to seating any kind of delegation from Idaho.

“Now we will move onto the last formal piece of business on the agenda. This business is why the National Councilman, Mr. Peter Fisher, has joined us today. We now discuss adding a seat for Idaho on the Council of Governors. The seat will be filled by General Torrance Grant, the Protector-General of Idaho, and to be replaced by an elected governor at a time when Idaho becomes a full member of the Republic. We will now open to debate. The National Councilman will be given the floor first.”

“Thank you sir. I would like to extend my own congratulations to you on becoming the Speaker of the Assembly. You were a great governor and I know that you will do just as fine of a job here in Sacramento as you did in Carson City. But onto the matter at hand. I am here to ask that you pass a resolution confirming the addition of an Idaho seat to the Council of Governors. Myself and the governors have voted and passed 5-0 to allow General Grant to sit on the Council. We feel that if Idaho is under the control of the Republic of California, then they must have a say in the governance. As the executive of Idaho, General Grant is entitled, by the Constitution, to a seat on the Council of Governors. The Council does not make the mistake in giving the general the seat. We are creating a seat for Idaho. As of right now the executive of the state is General Grant. If and when Idaho is admitted into the Republic, and elections for a new governor can take place, then the newly elected official shall take over the seat. I highly encourage the confirmation. Thank you for your time.” The Councilman stepped down and left the floor to the Assembly. A small, polite bit of applause met the Councilman. The Republican caucus led the applause.

“Is there anyone who would like to debate against the resolution?”

“I will Mr. Speaker.”

“The Assemblyman from Nevada has the floor.”

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to encourage the Assembly to vote against this resolution. We are not voting on a seat for Idaho on the Council. If we were Idaho would also be applying for statehood and holding elections for a new government. But no, the military is still occupying Idaho and skirmishes still go on along the border with Montana. Idaho is not in a position for admittance. They are still under military rule and law. This vote isn’t about a seat for Idaho; it is about a seat for the Military. It will undermine the civilian rule of the military. It would give the military a direct political voice and a vote in civilian affairs. Once given a seat there is no given that the General would indeed vacate the seat once asked. I encourage a no vote and keep the military in military affairs and civilians in civilian affairs.” A louder applause came after the Nevada assemblyman’s speech, but not quite a very loud one.

“We will now hold a vote on Assembly Resolution 01, the addition of Idaho seat on the Council of Governors. Please use your electronic devices to vote.” The votes began to be tallied. It was shaping up to be a close vote, with a few voters being able to swing the result in either direction. The Speaker banged his gavel.

“We will extend the voting time on this resolution. It is an important vote and we need to give people some time to think about their vote.” After making the announcement, the Speaker turned into a lobbyist and was trying to turn people’s vote towards passing the resolution. Everyone was trying to convince members of their party to vote as a bloc. The Progressives could pass the resolution if everyone voted together, but they were split. The Speaker tried to rally his party back together.

Looking at the voting screen you could see assemblymen changing their votes. The vote was getting so close that it even justified a call from President Stanton. After 3 hours of rallying voters, the Speaker finally acknowledged that they needed a time limit.

“We will close the voting in 15 minutes.” With the time limit and a new sense of urgency, assemblymen made their last minute pitches for votes. After the voting closed, the votes were officially tallied. The vote came down to 48 in favor, and 51 opposed. The resolution failed with a split vote. 43 Progressives were joined by 5 Republicans in voting in favor. While the entire Radical Liberal and Green Party blocs, 27 members and 12 members, were joined by 11 Progressives and 1 Republican in voting against the resolution. The Republican assemblymen switched his vote at the last second to tip the result.

“The resolution fails. Is there any other business to discuss?”

“Mr. Speaker I would like the floor.”

“The Assemblyman from Washington has the floor.”

“Thank you Mr. Speaker. I and a fellow Assemblyman from Oregon would like to introduce a piece of legislation that could avoid this whole Idaho situation. Our bill would provide representation for Idaho in the Assembly, provide representation in the Council, and would provide a path away from military rule of the territory. We would like to introduce Assembly Bill 03: The Idaho Partition Act. AB03 would extend the Washington/Oregon border eastward into Idaho. The northern part would become part of Washington State and the southern section would become part of the State of Oregon.”

After some minor debate, the Speaker called for a vote. The bill ultimately failed by a vote of 35-64. Washington and Oregon voted as a bloc in favor, and California and Nevada did likewise in opposition.

The Speaker once again took his place at the podium. “If there is no further business, I think we can adjourn the first day of the first session of the California General Assembly." 

Coming Soon: Canada/US relations worsen due to the diplomatic crisis. Radical Liberals debate over their future. Russia meets with California diplomats. Rumblings in New Mexico.

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