After awaiting what he deemed a sufficient time period, the Consul rose again.
Conscript fathers,
Since there weren't enrolees for the first point of the order of business, we shall move on the next topic. Should any still wish to participate in regards these points I will allow it at the conclusion of the other business or at the beginning of a future session, depending on the time we have available.
Moving on to the second point of the order of business.
Since there was no opposition to the yearly allotment of 500,000 denarii for the maintenance of our city, I will order a vote without debate on that motion come the voting period.
Moving on to the first point of the third, and more extensive, order of business.
Inasmuch as it may be good and fortunate for the Roman people of the Quirites, we bring before you, conscript fathers a draft of a motion to codify into law the process for the election of provincial magistrates. The motive for bringing this motion before you is that in the last few years it has become increasingly difficult to discern from our idoneous citizens, which should serve our Republic in the quality of provincial propraetors and proconsuls.
Indeed, only last year we nearly risked depriving our provinces of any governance whatsoever and passing that responsibility to the Plebeian Council. The source of this difficulty was the animosity between the two Consuls which boiled over into our legislative practice. The solution, as such, is to, without taking that power from the Consuls, to organize their prerogatives so that never again we may run that risk.
As such, I ask for your support, not only in terms of vote, but intellectually, towards building a Lex which can resolve these issues once and for all and not leave our Republic hostage to the idiosyncrasies of any one individual. I am of course open to reasonable ammendments which I may have overlooked while building the following motion with Senator Amulius Valerius Marius:
LEX DE ELIGENDIS MAGISTRATIBUS PROVINCIALIBUS (Law for the Election of Provincial Magistrates)
Sponsor: Gaius Cassius Vecellinus
Co-Sponsor(s): Amulius Valerius Marius
WHEREAS the Senate acknowledges that the process for electing idoneous individuals to the rank of provincial governor has been conducted haphazardly in the past few years;
Be it enacted by the Senate of the Roman Republic in the Curia Hostilia assembled,
I. Idoneous individuals who wish to run for the office of provincial governor in the succeeding consular year can make their candidacy in a period running from Quintilis to December either in person or through a nominated representative.
II. Their candidacy will include, at a minimum, their name, intended provincial governorship and electoral program.
III. The Consuls which take office in the year succeeding the candidacy period will, based on the available candidates and by joint agreement, submit to a vote in the Senate a motion containing their chosen governors.
IV. If no candidates are available for any given province, the Consuls will be required to put forth the name of another idoneous individual.
V. Should the Consuls fail to come to a joint agreement or the Senate vote against the proposal as put forth by the former, an immediate vote will begin on a province-by-province basis where candidates who have made a candidacy and those who names have been put forth by the Consuls under Article IV will be considered.
VI. Should the outcome of Article V produce an electoral tie between any candidate, the Consuls will have the option to break the tie by joint agreement. If the Consul's cannot come to an agreement, the tie will be broken by the Censor, or if not available, the Princeps Senatus.
Written into the annals in the consular year 194BC of Gaius Cassius Vecellinus and Titus Furius Pavo
What does it please you should be done about this matter?
I yield the floor to debate.
