Senate of Imperium

The Senate of the Empire is the lower house and de facto primary chamber of the Parliament of the Empire, which, along with the High Council of the Empire - the upper house - constitutes the legislature of the Empire. The Senate meets in the Palatium Senati at the historic center of Magium.

The Senate is an elected body consisting of 624 members known as senators. The senators are appointed by legislatures of each province-level entities to represent the entity, and hold their seats during a period defined by them.

Although the Senate of the Empire has legislative power, as does the High Council, it does not formally possess the right of application, as most regional legislatures of the entities of the Empire do; except in situations where, according to the Imperial Laws, the Senate has the authority to use this right (mainly in case of war, rebellion against imperial power or violation of the constitution). The main responsibilities of the Senate include: propose, discuss and approve laws and constitutional regulations of the Empire, elect the Emperor, promote participation and citizen interest in government, and develop regulations at imperial level with respect to human rights, the democratic system, peace, security and equal rights.

The Senate, having supremacy over the other branches of the government, is responsible for the administration of the Empire. The ministers of the Epistalma and the Consul Plebeius, head of government of the Empire, have to be part of the Senate, and are accountable for their decisions and actions to this institution. In the same way, it has the authority to dissmiss the government if necessary, and to form a new government with a new Consul Plebeius, who must be the senator that is the new leader of the party with the most seats in the Senate.

Current party standings
The party composition of the Senate at 1 January, 2021:

Qualifications
The Promulgatio Popularis sets four qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 20 years old; (2) they must have born in the Empire; (3) they must be inhabitants of the province-level entities they seek to represent at the time of the election; and (4) they must meet all the requeriments established by the state senate from where they came from. Although each province-level entity has the authority to set qualifications for their senators in the Senate, as well as the regulations of the election process and legal eligibility; they do not have the power to elect candidates without meeting the qualifications established by the Promulgatio Popularis.

The Senate and state senates (not the judiciary) are the sole judges of a senator's qualifications. The IV Imperial Law disqualifies as eligible for senator any person who, despite having complied with the qualifications, has committed an act of sedition, rebellion or treason to the government of the Empire or its local government while he/she was a local or imperial official, or a citizen without any political office.

Elections and term
Senators are elected by the state legislatures of the province-level entity that it represents, and not by popular elections. Nevertheless, senators (according to Promulgatio Popularis) have an obligation to work for the benefit of the population they represent, who elect the state legislatures that nominate them.

Term
Each state legislature has the responsibility to determine the term length of all the senators that represent their province-level entities. The term length must be, according to the Constitution of the Empire, between 1 and 10 years, and its duration can be modified while the senator is in office, as long as it is not less than the time in which he/she has held the office. Once the senator term finishes (or leave the charge before the term ends by resignation, dismissal or other situation), the term can be modified at the pleasure of state legislatures for the next senator, following the constitutional regulations.

A senator's term may end at any time of the year, which causes the composition of the Senate to vary constantly. The Imperial Laws require that, in case a senator term finishes on 16 July (joint evaluation session of Epistalma and Consul Plebeius), 14 August (inaugural session of the Senate and for the election of the Princeps or Domina Senatus) or 20 November (joint session for the Imperial Speech), the new senator takes office before these sessions of the Senate are held. There is no constitutional limit to the number of terms a senator may serve, but state legislatures have the right to define them.

Elections


Each state legislature has the power to define the date to held the elections to the Senate, which must be at least 1 week before the end of the current senator's term. Senators are chosen by state legislatures (which are elected by the people by direct vote) to represent their respective province-level entity in the Senate; the Constitution of the Empire defines that the number of senators have to be 1/4 of the seats of state legislatures. Seats in state legislatures are defined by population size; therefore, if its structure is modified due to a demographic increase, new senators must be appointed to comply with the constitutional requirements.

The senators of a province-level entity can all belong to the same party (party plurality) or they can be distributed according to the party composition of the state legislatures (party distribution); the distribution of Senate seats by party depends exclusively on state regulations, but party plurality or party distribution must be employed. There are some province-level entities where the election of independent candidates is allowed, at the pleasure of the state legislatures (independent nomination). The choice of independent candidates may also be related to the existence of independents in the state legislature, following a process similar to party distribution (distribution without affiliation).

In the province-level entities in which there is a low number of senators (between 3 and 6), and if the absolute majority in the votes to approve the election (50% or more) is not reached, the 2 most voted candidates (to occupy 1 seat) will go into a runoff for selection. In the event that none of the 2 candidates in the runoff obtain an absolute majority, new candidates are chosen and the election is held again. The runoff process generally does not exist in province-level entities with a greater number of senators (7 or more), because it would take more time to evaluate each case, which is why senators are generally elected by simple majority in those provinces.

Vacancies
Vacancies in the Senate are presented, according to the Promulgatio Popularis, when the senator dies, resigns or is removed before the end of its term and it must be filled as soon as possible by a special election held by the state legislature from the province it represents. The Constitution of the Empire establishes that vacancies cannot last more than 1 week, to avoid the loss of representation in the Senate of province-level entities (especially those with a small number of senators).

While there is a vacancy, the Senate may not approve any law or constitutional regulation that requires the usual approval of whoever occupies the vacant seat. Although the right of application in each province-level entity rests to the state legislatures, the approval of a law affecting the entity in the Senate is a sole responsibility of the senator, according to the Constitution. Despite this, any other law that does not involve the entity with the vacant seat can be passed without problems.

Filling a vacancy in the Senate always is priority for state legislatures. The special elections are so important that they can interrupt any discussion or session that is not a priority, and in case of not being able to interrupt it, it is carried out immediately when the priorital session finishes. Unlike elected senators (elected by the end of the current senator's term), designated senators (elected in special elections) take office immediately upon approval by the state legislature of their victory, with the aim of filling the vacancy as soon as possible.

Oath
The IV Imperial Law requires that senators take an oath to support the Constitution and be loyal to the Empire. This same text pre-wrote the following oath for all imperial officials (except Consul Plebeius) including senators: "I ___ ___, do solemny affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Empire, same as Imperial Laws, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will prioritize the interests of the population over mine; that I will never lose my loyalty to the Empire, maintaining true faith and loyalty to the laws; that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter; and that I will never betray, rebel, or commit sedition against the Empire or any state government. Eternal glory to the Empire and their great people!"

Salary and benefits
The Promulgatio Popularis prohibited the giving of a salary to senators, argumenting that "the honor of serving the Empire and its great inhabitants as senator is the greatest privilege that can be given to a person and should not be paid". Senators do not have any restrictions on having their own businesses (as long as they do not violate the laws on them).

Despite the salary prohibition, the Senate presents to the senators some benefits for the duration of their term, in reward for their service to the Empire but many senators can voluntarily reject the aid. Rejection of the aid, especially among very wealthy senators, is considered honourable. In the personal and family sphere, each senator is given an apartment, personal vehicle and the necessary supplies to live with its inmediate family in Magium, the city where the Senate is located. Similarly, the senators' children of school age are granted a full scholarship to study at Magium schools, for which they are granted all the corresponding resources and payments to study.

In addition, senators and their families are guaranteed complete health insurance, 2 bodyguards (for the senator), exemption from payment of basic and digital services (internet, telephone services and cable or satellite television), and a retirement plan that includes a monthly attendance bonus (whose amount, duration and delivery depend on the personal income of each senator). No public official (including senators, members of the High Council and the  Emperor) is exempt from paying their taxes based on their personal income.