Lex Pompeia de cursu honorum (Nova Roma)

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Resolved, in order to establish the minimum eligibility requirements to serve in those offices specified in Section IV of the Nova Roma Constitution that are elected by the Comitia Plebis Tributa, we, the Plebeian citizens of Nova Roma, enact the following:

I. Tribunus Plebis

To run for and assume the office of Tribunus Plebis one must meet all of these eligibility requirements or a presiding magistrate for such an election must reject the candidacy:

A. Must be at least 25 years old on the date of assuming office.

B. Must be a current citizen of Nova Roma and must have held such citizenship continuously for at least 18 months prior to the date of assuming office.

C. Must be of the plebeian order.

D. Must have previously served at least six months as an Apparitor, Provincial Governor, Senator, or as any elected official as defined in Section IV of the Nova Roma Constitution.

E. Must hold current assiduus status – i.e., must be current on Nova Roma tax payments.

F. There shall be no exemption from these eligibility requirements for Tribunus Plebis.

G. A presiding magistrate for an election in which a candidate for Tribunus Plebis does not meet the eligibility requirements specified in I.A-I.E above must reject such candidacy and ensure the individual does not appear on the ballot. If any candidate is rejected due to such ineligibility, a presiding magistrate shall state the full Roman name and the specific reason for the rejection of such a candidacy on the Main List and any other official fora used to conduct the election within the first 24 hours of contio.

H. If a write-in candidate should receive enough votes in an election to win a seat as a Tribunus Plebis but that write-in candidate does not meet the eligibility requirement specified I.A, I.B, I.C or I.D above then a presiding magistrate of such an election must reject the write-in candidate as unqualified for office and the write-in candidate shall not be permitted to assume office. If such a candidate meets the eligibility requirements for I.A, I.B, I.C and I.D but fails to meet I.E because he or she has not paid taxes and is not in assiduus status then the presiding magistrate shall contact the write-in candidate directly to determine whether or not the candidate intends to pay taxes and assume office or wishes to forfeit the office. Such a write-in candidate will have one week to pay the required taxes and will then be permitted to assume office. If the taxes are not brought current within one week then such a write-in candidate shall forfeit the office and the office will go to the citizen who has the next highest vote total.

II. Aedilis Plebis

To run for and assume the office of Aedilis Plebis one must meet all of these eligibility requirements or a presiding magistrate for such an election must reject the candidacy:

A. Must be at least 18 years old on the date of assuming office.

B. Must be a current citizen of Nova Roma and must have held such citizenship continuously for at least six months prior to the date of assuming office.

C. Must be of the plebeian order.

D. Must have previously served at least six months as an Apparitor, Provincial Governor, Senator, or as any elected official as defined in Section IV of the Nova Roma Constitution.

E. Must hold current assiduus status – i.e., must be current on Nova Roma tax payments.

F. There shall be no exemption from these eligibility requirements for Aedilis Plebis.

G. A presiding magistrate for an election in which a candidate for Aedilis Plebis does not meet the eligibility requirements specified in II.A-II.E above must reject such candidacy and ensure the individual does not appear on the ballot. If any candidate is rejected due to such ineligibility, a presiding magistrate shall state the full Roman name and the specific reason for the rejection of such a candidacy on the Main List and any other official fora used to conduct the election within the first 24 hours of contio.

H. If a write-in candidate should receive enough votes in an election to win a seat as an Aedilis Plebis but that write-in candidate does not meet the eligibility requirement specified II.A, II.B, II.C or II.D above then a presiding magistrate of such an election must reject the write-in candidate as unqualified for office and the write-in candidate shall not be permitted to assume office. If such a candidate meets the eligibility requirements for II.A, II.B, II.C and II.D but fails to meet II.E because he or she has not paid taxes and is not in assiduus status then the presiding magistrate shall contact the write-in candidate directly to determine whether or not the candidate intends to pay taxes and assume office or wishes to forfeit the office. Such a write-in candidate will have one week to pay the required taxes and will then be permitted to assume office. If the taxes are not brought current within one week then such a write-in candidate shall forfeit the office and the office will go to the citizen who has the next highest vote total.

III. Plebeian status

If at any time during his or her candidacy for the office of Tribunus Plebis or Aedilis Plebis a candidate is adopted into a patrician family or is elevated to the patrician order the presiding magistrate of the Comitia Plebis Tributa must immediately terminate such candidacy. Similarly, if a Tribunus Plebis or Aedilis Plebis who is serving in office is adopted into a patrician family or is elevated to the patrician order during his or her term of office then he or she shall be required to step down immediately and the Censores shall ensure an appropriate entry is made in the citizen’s official record. Any other Tribunus Plebis serving in office at the time of such a resignation may call for suffectus candidates and summon the Comitia Plebis Tributa to conduct an election to fill the vacancy left by the departing tribune or aedile.

IV. Implementation

This law shall go into effect immediately upon approval by a simple majority of the tribes voting in the Comitia Plebis Tributa. However, any citizen holding one of the aforementioned positions at the time of the passage of this law or listed as an official candidate in a election for one of the aforementioned positions at the time this law goes into force shall be exempt from the eligibility requirements stated in paragraphs I and II for the remainder of his or her term. All candidates and all elected Tribuni Plebis and Aediles Plebis, regardless of when their candidacy or term of office started, must maintain plebeian status as stated in paragraph III as there shall be no relief, remedy, exemption or grandfathering for the provisions of paragraph III of this law.