Relatio de ratione aestimationis provinciarum perpetua (Nova Roma)

A senatorial decree concerning the permanent system of provincial evaluation

I. In the latter part of the year Q. Arrio (II) T. Domitio (III) cos. ‡ MMDCCLXXIII a.u.c. the senate instituted the first comprehensive legislation on provincial evaluations and a system of assessment for the ongoing efficacy of provincial administration. Both leading up to this original legislation, and certainly many times after, new legislation has either duplicated, altered or added to the foundational provincial evaluation system. Whether incidentally or with intent, the increasing list of decrees, as well as the long list of demands for irregular reporting has created a legal quagmire. This burden is subsequently shouldered by the governors and has become increasingly difficult to deduce current requirements with efficiency.

II. This decree intends to redefine all provincial evaluation requirements into a single and perpetual decree. With this senatus consultum, all past senatus consulta pertaining to provincial reporting and provincial evaluations are considered lapsed an no longer in effect. It is important to stipulate that, by the enactment of this decree, all past requirements and assessments of provinces, since the passing of the senatus consultum de provinciis ordinandis of the Non. Oct. ‡ Q. Arrio (II) T. Domitio (III) cos. ‡ MMDCCLXXIII a.u.c. (7 Oct 2020), are considered effective, on record and active, up to their inclusion or modification in this decree. All past evaluations to date remain extant.

III. Drawing from the now lapsed senatus consultum de provinciis ordinandis, senatus consultum de relatione provinciali requirenda, and senatus consultum de relationibus praesidum provinciarum, the senate intends to motivate citizens globally with clear objectives to gain recognition as a province of Nova Roma. In this spirit, the senate has taken steps to maintain a more consistent provincial system by dissolving those provinces which don't satisfy set criteria for provincial status. However, provinces can be created (or restablished) at any time in the future if the provincial community produces the required level of activity.

IV. Defining a province. As a standard definition, the "provincia" is considered a country-level administrative unit of Nova Roma based on an active and functioning community of Nova Roman citizens of that country. A province shall serve as the organized collectivity of citizens within a macronational country. However, there are two exceptions or variations:

A. Given the vast variation in size that exists across countries, the senate should always consider the total area, ease of travel across the country in question, as well as the existing density of citizens. It may be warranted to reduce the provincial administrative borders to a smaller size, ideally following internal state boarders or regional boundaries.

B. More than one macronational country may make up a province if they share the same language and cultural characteristics, or the Nova Roman communities in these countries are closely cooperating with each other.

V. Conditions required for a province. The establishment, or reestablishment of a province can only be achieved by the demonstration on set standards. A province is the demonstration of active community life for a considerable time which satisfies the senate that a noteworthy Nova Roman community exists in any given country or sub region. A Nova Roman community within a country or territory may be defined as a province if:

A. there are at least 15 Nova Roman citizens in the country (or territory) to become a province,

B there are at least one or more functioning (minimum 15 messages or posts per month, by at least 5 different citizens) online communication forums with 15 registered/subscribed resident participants,

C there are at least two gatherings of five (5) resident Nova Roman citizens in a calendar year,

D. there is at least one officially recognized partnership established under law between Nova Roma and a Roman (or Roman themed or ancient) reenactment or living-history group in the region, and

E. there is at least one local candidate for governor.

VI. Establishing a province. The senate remains the only authority that can establish a province. A Nova Roman community, who meets the above conditions, is to select a representative to forward a petition for a province to the Officium Consulare. The petition is to include the formal request and evidence of the country or territory meeting the set requirements. The Officium Consulare or the senate is forbidden to accept any petition that does not satisfy the requirements. The senate may refuse petitions but any such refusal must contain a detailed justification and recommendations to achieve provincial status. The consuls are obligated to bring petitions before the senate for consideration if all requirements are met.

VII. Provincial reporting. Provinces are evaluated on a 12-month cycle, from Kal. Feb. (1 February) to the following Kal. Feb. (1 February) each year. Governors are responsible for producing a provincial report to the Officium Consulare no later than Kal. Mar. (1 March) each year for the most recent reporting period. Reports are considered public and should be accessible by all citizens after being submitted. As they are public, no personal identifying information (PII) is to be included in the report. The report is to primarily focus on how the province meets the ongoing requirements as at article V, but with the following additions:

A. Complimentary to article V.A., the report is to include the number of active and total citizens. The governor may engage the Officium Censorium to supplement this information.

B. Complimentary to article V.B., the report is to include the web address of the main internet forum of the province, and any additional provincial forums accessible online. Concerning the reporting of activity in these forums, the information should include:

i. Monthly average number of messages in the main provincial forum. If there is more than one provincial forum, the number of messages can be added up for the purpose of the report, but the amounts shall be given separately, as well.

ii. Average number of Nova Roman citizens posting per month. If there are more than one provincial forum, the average of the number of Nova Roman citizens who post per month can be added up for the purpose of the report, but the amounts shall be given separately, as well.

iii. Total number of members (citizens and peregrini combined) in the provincial forum. If there are more than one provincial forum, the number of members can be added up for the purpose of the report, but the amounts shall be given separately, as well.

C. Complimentary to article V.C., the report is to include the number of those real life gatherings in the reported period in which at least five citizens of the province participated. Additional information about the type of event and any information about those citizens who attended are welcome, for auditing purposes. Any other general events held should also be reported on.

D. Complimentary to article V.D., the report is to include information about the reenactment groups that officially cooperate with the province (friend, allied, or fully Nova Roman legions; allied or fully Nova Roman gladiatorial groups). Other type of partnerships should be listed here, as well.

E. Complimentary to article V.E., the report is to include the names of all willing candidates for the governorship. A brief summary as to their suitability and experience should also be included.

F. As an optional inclusion, the report may specify a request or petition for exemption from article V.C. for any given period. This can be justified if there was a curfew, natural disaster or a similar restrictive period that impacted the province for a noteworthy period of time.

G. As an optional inclusion, the report may add any additional information the governor deems necessary, as well as recommendation future policies to the senate, the opinion of the citizens, requests, complaints and everything that the provincial citizens or the provincial government would wish to communicate to the senate. These elements will not serve as a basis for any annual evaluation.

H. The report may take on any style or layout, provided English is used in the report and it is legible by the Officium Consulare and senate. Acceptable format include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF or simple text files.

VIII. Evaluating a province. Reports are accepted and reviewed by the Officium Consulare. They are processed and published by necessary parties including the Officum rei Informaticae to enact the reporting outcomes. A vote by the senate is not required to process provincial evaluations. Where the consuls have doubts as to the content of a provincial report, they may take a provincial report to the senate for voting. The consuls may issue an edict, or the senate may issue a senatus consultum, to direct any one quaestor to undertake an investigation of a province to determine the accuracy of any submitted report. Investigations may last no longer than one month. Governors must comply with all requests for additional information and any provincial forums must be accessible by the quaestor or any senator who wants to check the veracity of the reported data. The following automatic outcomes, based on reporting, are as follows:

A. If a province doesn't meet any of the requirements at article V., the status of the province shall be marked as "abandoned". A province which satisfies only article V.A. shall also be marked as "abandoned". If a province does satisfy article V.A, it must also satisfy article V.B. at the same time, otherwise it shall be classified as "abandoned".

B. Commensurate with article VIII.A., if a province doesn't meet all the requirements at article V., its status shall be marked as "unsatisfactory". However, if the province failed to satisfy only article V.B., while there were more than two gatherings of at least 5 citizens in that year in the province as per article V.C., this failure shall be ignored.

C. If a province meets all the requirements at article V., it shall be marked as "active".

D. If a province significantly exceeds all the requirements at article V., or if it exceeds only the requirements at article V.A., C, and D. but by 300%, it shall be marked as "excellent". Significantly exceeding the requirements is understood the following way:

i. (V.A.) it has at least 20 citizens; (V.B.) an online forum with at least 20 messages per month, by 5 different citizens, with 20 resident participants; (V.C.) at least three gatherings of five resident citizens in a year; (V.D) partnerships with at least two Roman reenactment groups; and (V.E) at least two candidates for governor;

ii. or (V.A) it has at least 45 citizens; (V.C) at least six gatherings of five resident citizens in a year; (V.D.) partnerships with at least two Roman reenactment groups.

E. If the submitted report fails to adequately answer any of the elements at article V., those missed points in the evaluation of the province shall be considered as "zero" or "none". If there is no report submitted at all, the evaluation will be considered as if all answers were "zero" or "none", thus resulting in an a classification of "abandoned" for that period.

IX. Province Inactivity. Provinces which do not meet standards over the set periods are automatically dissolved. There shall be, however, no impediment for the local citizens to petition for the re-establishment of the province, or for the senate to incorporate this dissolved territory into another existing province. In time of catastrophes or incapacitating emergencies (e.g. a national or international catastrophe spanning many months, quarantine, pandemic, war) within a province or in many provinces, the senate may depart from the usual requirements and consequences of the evaluation described in this article, for the afflicted provinces. In order to do it validly, the senate must issue a senatus consultum, invoking this article, with a detailed reasoning about why it chose not to adhere to the requirements for evaluation, what the waived or simplified article V. requirements are, or what the new temporary evaluation rules are. Reporting and evaluation shall still be conducted, but under the temporary measures. These temporary evaluation rules expire immediately after the evaluation. The conditions for a province to be dissolved are as follows:

A. A province which is evaluated as "abandoned" for two consecutive years, shall be, at the second time of receiving this mark, automatically dissolved without the need of any further decision by the senate. This dissolution is effective from the due date of Kal. Mar (1 March), irrespective of processing time, and has the full force of law and it cannot be overridden. This severe measure is intended as a motivating tool for the members of every Nova Roman province that they should maintain a minimum activity in order that their province can exist. The loss of a province, just like in ancient Roman times, shall be the real consequence of failing to maintain the functions of the state and society. It symbolizes the loss of the ancient Roman provinces in times of attack or evacuation of the Roman armies and civic institutions. This shall not be considered a dissolution of the province by the senate, but it shall be considered a loss of this province due to abandonment or functional failure: a natural (factual, "historical") cause of loss.

B. A province which is evaluated exclusively and only as "unsatisfactory" or "abandoned" variously within five consecutive years, shall be, at the fifth time of receiving either of these mark during these five consecutive years, shall be treated in the same way as described in article IX.A.

X. Effects of this decree. This decree does not affect, or intend to affect, the appointment or removal of governors by the senate. Although this decree automates reporting, processing and assessment without direct senate intervention, it does not prohibit the senate from discussing and presenting provincial reports or assessment outcomes. For example, the senate may pass ad hoc exceptions or provide temporary easements as per article IX. It also does not restrict any subsequent legislation that might separately aid or bolster provincial performance. This decree does not prohibit the senate from changing the requirements for provincial reporting and assessment in the future, but it does express the intent that this decree should be repealed and replaced, not added to or modified.