8 February 2023
On the 6th of February, President Jaxson Renny passed two bills that he received from the National Assembly. The most important of which was the "Registration and Regulation of Business Bill" presented by Minister Cooper Norfolk. The bill covers the process of registering businesses in Phillip, the creation of a Ministry with the sole purpose of regulating business, and a ban on labor unions, minimum wage, and corporate taxes. Minister Norfolk wrote the bill with the interests of his close political ally Governor Owen Itzen in mind. He approached Norfolk with the request to create legislature relating to the registration of corporations. He is currently planning on creating a massive conglomerate of over a hundred different companies, which would allow him to have a monopoly over every industry in Phillip. He also provided Minister Norfolk with several things he wanted to be banned, including the freedom of speech. Minister Norfolk wrote the bill following most of his demands and put it to vote in the Assembly.
The bill passed the Assembly unanimously, despite the controversial nature of its contents. Despite the fact that a copy of the bill was viewable on the ballot, it can be assumed that none of the representatives actually read it. According to Minister Norfolk, when he presented the bill to President Renny, he also didn't read it. It's likely that he saw the title of the bill and assumed it did not involve anything besides the registration of businesses.
On the 8th of February, Minister Norfolk informed VP Luke Fitzgibbins of bans enacted in the bill during a casual conversation. His reaction was incredibly negative, citing that the bill contradicted a line in the Constitution. In Article I, Section IV of the Constitution it says:
"Furthermore, the values of goods and/or services will be determined by general market competition as is the same with how much districts can tax on those entering their land rather than the Mint. That is, excluding limitations that may be placed by the Mint on businesses concerning practices deemed generally harmful towards residents or violative of their rights. The court will preside over trials regarding violations of Mint rulings."
VP Fitzgibbins is claiming that a ban on corporate taxes directly infringes upon the Constitutional rights of the Mint. He also claims that the Mint could take either Minister Norfolk or Governor Itzen to court over the ban on labor unions and minimum wage because it could be deemed as "harmful towards residents or [a] violat[ion] of their rights." This situation has confused many as there isn't protocol for when a bill directly contradicts the Constitution. Many politicians, mostly from the Butter Butta Bentley Party, and legal experts in Phillip have are supporting the idea of taking this to the court where the Supreme Judge can interpret the situation. Rep. Madison Marcos, who is also the Supreme Judge of the Court, was briefed on the situation and is planning on discussing the events with both parties. It's not known if she sway the case in favor of Governor Itzen as he has close ties with the Phillip National Front or if she will host a fair trial. Reportedly, she is planning on running for President during the 2nd General Election in April, so she may split from her party to boost her public approval
Another controversy relating to this bill occurred earlier today when Governor Itzen was appointed as the Minister of Corporations by President Renny. After multiple days of contemplation by the President, he decided to make an agreement with Governor Itzen to appoint him as Ministry of Corporations. In return for the appointment, Governor Itzen would grant him leadership in of the ten companies in his future conglomerate and cancel an attack article he was going to write on President Renny. The Minister of Corporations has the ability to approve or deny new businesses from registering in Phillip. Based off of Governor Itzen's plan to create a personal monopoly over every industry in Phillip, it's likely that he will deny any businesses that he views as potential competitors. This level of blatant corruption has not ever been seen in Phillip and infuriated VP Fitzgibbins, furthering his intent to sue Governor Itzen.
This recent bill and Governor Itzen's appointment as the Minister of Corporations could present a lot of problems for Phillip's new economy. The Minister of Mint has yet to release an official statement regarding the situation, but is likely to be siding with VP Fitzgibbins.