Record Identification
NRS Reference:NRS-Y13-0293
Record Type:Procedural Reference Note — Standing Publication
Publishing Authority:Office of the Clerk of the Assembly
Filed By:Office of the Clerk, on the Clerk's own authority
Subject:The constitutional procedure by which the Assembly fills the office of Civic Consul
Related Records:Standing Reference Series (procedural notes published without request)
Occasion of Publication:Routine reissue; the Clerk publishes procedural references periodically and upon elevated public inquiry
Date of Publication:Year 13, Month 7
Purpose of This Note
This is a reference note, not a report of any event. The Office of the Clerk publishes procedural references so that the public and the Legislature share an accurate understanding of how the Assembly's own processes operate. This note describes the procedure by which the Assembly fills the office of Civic Consul. It is published in the ordinary course. It does not concern, reference, or anticipate any particular member, motion, or vacancy, and its publication should not be read to indicate that any such matter is before the chamber.
The Office
The Civic Consul is the domestic executive of the Republic, holding the residual executive authority not enumerated to the Legat Consul (§2.5). Unlike the Legat Consul, who is chosen through a national process (§2.1), the Civic Consul is chosen by the Assembly from among the Assembly's own serving members. The office is not put before the general electorate. Its holder is selected by, and remains accountable to, the chamber.
The Selection Threshold
Under §2.6, the Assembly elects a Civic Consul through a constructive vote: a single motion that both installs a named member in the office and, where an incumbent holds it, removes that incumbent. The motion carries only on an absolute majority of the full seated membership — that is, a majority of all seats, not merely a majority of those present and voting. A motion that fails to name a successor has no effect. The chamber cannot vacate the office into emptiness; it can only move from one named holder to another, or from vacancy to a named holder.
Consequence of Selection
A member elected Civic Consul vacates their Assembly seat, which the relevant State fills as a mid-term vacancy (§2.6, §3.2); the departing member's Assembly term is deemed fully served. While in office the Civic Consul holds the office's ceremonial seat, which carries the right to sit, speak, and be held to account before the chamber, but carries no vote (§2.6, §1.23). Selection to the office is therefore not an addition to a member's legislative role but an exchange of it: a member who becomes Civic Consul ceases to be a voting member of the Assembly for the duration.
Where No Election Occurs
Should the office stand vacant and the Assembly not elect a Civic Consul within the period provided, the caretaker function attaches automatically to the sitting Speaker of the Assembly by constitutional operation, with authority limited to maintaining existing policy (§2.6.a). No election is held to install a caretaker; the role attaches to the standing office of Speaker and to no one by any member's designation. This is a continuity provision, not a path to the office.
This note states the procedure as the Constitution establishes it. It resolves no question of application, because no question of application is before the Clerk. Where the text is precise, this note is precise; where the text leaves timing to the chamber's own judgment, this note does not supply a schedule the Constitution does not fix.
The Office of the Clerk takes no position on whether the office of Civic Consul is or should be filled, by whom, or when. Those are matters for the Assembly. The Clerk's function is to ensure that when the chamber acts, and when the public observes it acting, both do so from an accurate understanding of the rules. That is the whole of this note's purpose.
The Office of the Clerk takes no position on whether the office of Civic Consul is or should be filled, by whom, or when. Those are matters for the Assembly. The Clerk's function is to ensure that when the chamber acts, and when the public observes it acting, both do so from an accurate understanding of the rules. That is the whole of this note's purpose.
The procedure is the procedure. It is set down here so that it is known before it is ever needed.
Published to the National Record System under Article X as a standing procedural reference. This record describes constitutional procedure only and reports no event, motion, or determination before the Assembly.