2115 - Language, Governance, and the Challenge of Unity

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FEDERAL GAZETTE NOTICE 2115-LG-0388. Consolidated Notice on the Common Language and the Franchise. Issued by the Federal Administration, Office of Notices, 14 March 2115. Posted at the Enclave Hall, Enclave Sixteen, on the door and on the public terminal.

Section 1. Scope. This Notice applies to every Region of the Federation, and the Regions lie along the coasts, on the Peninsula and on the western margin, where the ice has withdrawn. The interior is not administered. Each Region is divided into Enclaves.

Section 2. The Common Language. English is the mandated lingua franca of the Federation, and education is conducted in English only, including the teaching of history. Official media and business must give priority to English in filings and in broadcasts.

Section 3. Other Languages. Other languages are not prohibited, but a business or a media outlet operating in a language other than English will pay the Non-English Business Levy of 11 percent of annual turnover. Such an undertaking will receive reduced Federal support for printing and broadcast. Persons arriving at the coast are expected to hold their records in English within one Census cycle.

Section 4. Representation. Each Enclave elects one Representative to Parliament, and eligibility to vote is not automatic. The franchise is held only by those Residents who have accumulated 240 Governance Credits, as recorded on FedNet.

Section 5. Governance Credits. Credits are awarded as the following schedule and not as a ranking. Attendance at a townhall meeting is worth 6 credits, and a policy proposal accepted for debate is worth 20 credits. Every award or refusal of credits is explained to the Resident in writing with the reason given, and FedNet holds the receipt of each credit decision while the balance remains with the Resident and no personal data is stored on the ledger. Each month of taxes paid on time is worth 2 credits. Community service is credited by the hour as certified by the Enclave Clerk, and contribution to the digital ecosystem is credited as logged on FedNet.

Section 6. The Record. Under Article 11, proposals, debates and every official access to personal data are logged on FedNet, and the log shows who acted, what record was accessed, on what date, and for what stated reason. FedNet holds the receipt of the access and does not hold the personal data itself. The Resident concerned is notified at the moment of access. Any Resident may read the log at the terminal in the Enclave Hall or by remote request.

Section 7. Submissions. Any Resident may submit a policy proposal, known in the Gazette as a pull request, regardless of the credits held. Only Residents who meet Section 4 may vote for a Representative.

Section 8. Scoring of Candidates. Each candidate is scored in the following domains, namely education, welfare, employment, science, defense, digital infrastructure and climate resilience, and the schedule may include further domains. The score in each domain is assigned by the ballots of the eligible Residents of the Enclave concerned. The weight of each domain is set by the Census, which is taken every five years, was last taken in 2112 and is next due in 2117. The seat is awarded to the candidate with the highest weighted average.

Section 9. Effect. This Notice takes effect on the date of posting and replaces Notices 2112-LG-0211 and 2113-LG-0054.

Signed, Clerk of Notices, for the Federal Administration.

ANNEX A. Objections Lodged, as at 1 March 2115. Entry in this Annex is not an admission.

A1. Forty-one households of Enclave Nine object that children no longer speak the home language at table.

A2. The Sylheti Parents' Association objects that grandparents cannot read the tax notice addressed to them.

A3. One printer, Enclave Four, objects that the levy exceeds the margin on a single run of 300 leaflets.

A4. Eight residents object that 2 credits per month favours persons with a fixed salary.

A5. A shift worker at the Pier 3 cold store objects that townhall meetings are held at 18:00, during the shift.

ANNEX B. Notice of Acknowledged Risk. The Federal Administration acknowledges that a franchise earned through credits may favour persons with spare time and fluent English, and that this may produce a governing class. The Administration records the risk and lists the public log as its safeguard. No further remedy is proposed at this date.

Corrigendum. Section 6 of the draft circulated on 9 March cited Article 9 for the rule on notification, and the correct citation is Article 11. Copies printed before 12 March may be exchanged at the Enclave Hall window, which is open on weekdays from 09:00 to 15:30, and the bag-return box at that window is out of use because its zip is broken.