This is a revision of the initial KONG Land Senate Formation proposal based on feedback received. I’d sincerely appreciate everyone’s feedback again on the v2. For easier review, I added a
next to anything that was updated.
Here’s the current schedule that gets us from here to a Snapshot vote on the Senate formation + the nomination/elections of the inaugural group of Senators:
- 5/10 - post v2 proposal incorporating feedback received and will leave open for additional feedback until 5/15 EOD
- 5/16 - create a Snapshot vote for the Senate formation that will run for the default 3-day duration
- 5/16 - create a Snapshot vote for the Senate compensation (currently proposed at 500K $LAND) for Term 1 that will run for the default 3-day duration
- 5/16 - create a Snapshot vote for Senator elections that will run for the default 3-day duration
- 5/19 - Senate formed and initial group of Senators elected
With the primary goal of establishing more efficient coordination of KONG Land efforts, this proposal calls for the formation of a KONG Land Senate as referenced in the KONG Land Trustless Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (UNA) - sections 1.6, 3.2, 3.3, 4.2, and 8.1.
Background
Thanks to the contributions of numerous $CITIZENs, KONG Land has made a great deal of progress on many fronts, from opening its doors for citizenship, establishing the UNA and a Founding Charter, introducing a new version of its public good chip technology (SiLo v1, HaLo v2), supporting existing integrators and establishing new partnerships, cultivating an initial sub-DAO ecosystem, successfully voting to create an economic $LAND token, improving project awareness, and continuing to build its community and strengthening engagement. While we should all be very proud of our success thus far, we should also recognize the realistic challenges of organizing, coordinating, and motivating a decentralized group of individuals towards the KONG Land mission to bridge the physical world to the digital metaverse through the global adoption of its public good chip technology.
Proposal
The following lays out the requirements and terms for Senators, their nomination and election process, proposed compensation, scope of responsibilities, and the processes for expulsion, and exceptions. It’s important to note that any component of this proposal may be adjusted in the future via a successful Snapshot vote
Requirements and Elected Term
- Senators must be KONG Land $CITIZENs in good standing
- To be nominated for a Senate seat, an individual must be a $CITIZEN for at least three (3) months from the time they acquired citizenship, whether via $CITIZEN/$CTZN redemption or purchase/transfer of a Citizen ERC721 token
- Senators must retain their Citizen ERC721 token for the duration of their term
- Senators must remain active throughout their entire term and fulfill all duties as identified in this proposal
- Senators will serve six (6) month terms with six (6) senators being elected per term
- There is no limit to the number of consecutive terms a senator can serve as long as they continue to be elected into office by $CITIZENs.
Nomination and Election Process
- Citizens will be notified of an upcoming Senate election at least two (2) weeks prior to the end of the current Senate term
- Nominations for new Senators will be solicited one (1) week before the election vote on the KONG Land forum
- Senators who are already in office during the current term will remain on the ballot for the next term unless they indicate their desire to step down from their post
- Individuals may nominate themselves or other $CITIZENs for a Senate seat. Anyone nominated by another will need to confirm that they want to run.
- During the nomination period, a temporary Discord channel will be created for the purpose of discussion and “campaigning.” The channel will be remain open until the end of the election vote.
- At the end of the nomination period, a Snapshot vote will be created with a system-default voting period of three (3) days
- The vote will include all Senators currently in office + any other nominated $CITIZENs, and use a weighted voting system.
- Example of a weighted Snapshot vote .
- Once the election vote ends, results will be shared on the forum, and new Senators will be immediately transitioned in.
Compensation
- Senators will be compensated 500K $LAND each for their six (6) month service term
- The proposed 500K $LAND compensation is only applicable to the inaugural Senate term (T1)
- Compensation can be claimed by Senators on a monthly basis
- The proposed 500K $LAND compensation is only applicable to the inaugural Senate term (T1)
- Annual recalibrations
- Senator compensation will be revisited annually as the market for $LAND matures. The purpose of the recalibration is to ensure that Senators are properly recognized for their contributions and incentivized to do good work.
- The Senate can make an adjustment recommendation for themselves as long as $CITIZENs are allowed to review the financial model used and the adjustments are approved via a Snapshot vote
Scope of Responsibilities
The primary role of the Senate is to provide strategic direction, and structural enactment for the functions listed below necessary to achieve the KONG Land mission “to bridge the physical world to the digital metaverse through global adoption of its public good chip technology.”
- Kong Land Exports
- Chip development and fulfillment
- Smart Contracts and apps
- Associated app design
- $CITZENs
- Immigration
- Community building and events
- Chip support
- Internal, non-economic arbitration between $CITIZENs as administered by the Guardians of Kong
- Kong Land Development Agencies
- Marketing and communications
- Business development and DAO to DAO relations
- Design (print and digital)
- Kong Land Treasury
- Treasury management
- Multi-sig ownership and execution
- Finance and accounting
- Propose $LAND, $CTZN and other token related policies for vote by $CITIZENs
The Senate may secure help necessary to fulfill the above functions, including creating grants and bounties, new organizational roles and their compensation structures, software and tooling, etc., as long as they are within the levels of discretion detailed in the section below.
The Senate CANNOT make unilateral decisions on matters that may impact the following without consulting $CITIZENs and conducting a governance vote:
- Existing Tokens ($CITIZEN, $CTZN, $LAND)
- Creation of new tokens
- Any assets within the KONG Land Treasury above the thresholds dictated in this proposal or as amended in the future
- Modification of the KONG Land UNA or Founding Charter
- Any act that would seek to dissolve, amend or change the governing structures of KONG Land
- Any changes relating to the scope of the Senate’s responsibilities and capabilities as dictated in this proposal
- Any external arbitration mechanisms, protocols or laws, including but not limited to those mechanisms which arbitrate economic decisions. These arbitration mechanisms, such as decentralized courts, are to be selected, established and conducted by $CITIZENs.
Levels of Discretion
While transparency should always be the guiding north star for all Senate operations, we must balance the need for transparency with the need to be efficient. To ensure that KONG Land can grow and prosper, the Senate must have a certain level of discretion to make decisions and spend treasury funds without the need to consult $CITIZENs or conduct a vote.
As stated in the KONG Land UNA, section 8.1, the senate “shall have the power to interpret this Constitution, apply them to particular circumstances, and adopt policies in furtherance of them, provided that all such actions are reasonable and consistent.” To further define what is considered reasonable, the following levels of discretion are proposed:
- Spend treasury assets up to $50k USD per quarter, not to exceed more than 10% of the total $USD value of the treasury calculated at the time of spending
- Any transactions that exceed the $50k per transaction threshold or 10% per term spend cap must be voted on by $CITIZENs
- This threshold may be increased or decreased by a vote of $CITIZENs
- Distribute up to 50 $CTZN per quarter
- While the framework used to distribute tokens does not require a Snapshot vote, the Senate must share the framework with $CITIZENs on the forum for their feedback
- Any sale of $CTZN tokens requires a Snapshot vote
- Any decisions that could impact existing tokens (i.e., supply, value, utility, etc.) must be communicated to and voted on by $CITIZENs
- Any decisions seeking to create new tokens must be proposed to and voted on by $CITIZENs
- Any decisions regarding the sale or disposition of other assets, such as a treasury diversification event, must be proposed and voted on by $CITIZENs
Treasury Management Process
The Senate is responsible for the management of the treasury and its Gnosis multisig wallet. To properly safeguard the treasury, assets will be divided into two separate wallets, one (1) for discretionary Senate spending and one (1) to hold most treasury assets. To use treasury assets, the following requirements are proposed:
- Discretionary spending wallet = 4/6 current Senators must sign (no $CITIZEN vote required)
- Primary treasury wallet = $CITIZEN vote is required; 9/12 TBD trusted individuals must sign
If the need arises to further distribute treasury assets into other wallets, a $CITIZEN vote is required for the creation of the new wallet and its multisig requirement.
Senators may reimburse themselves for the exact gas spent on multisig transactions every quarter, also to be reported to $CITIZENs.
Financial Reporting Process
The Senate will create and share a quarterly summary report of treasury spending (example) and ensure a timely response to any questions raised by $CITIZENs.
Recall Process
If any $CITIZEN, including other Senators, feel that a Senator is not fulfilling their duties as described above, they may request a recall Snapshot vote. The process of requesting a recall is as follows:
- Create a recall request on the forum, clearly explaining the rationale for the request
- Provide a period of one (1) month allowing $CITIZENs and the Senator(s) identified in the recall request to have civil discourse on the matter
- If after this period the recall request is not retracted by the initiating party, carry out a Snapshot vote
Exception Process
- If a Senator voluntarily vacates their seat or is recalled, all compensation, roles, multisig access, etc. will be immediately revoked
- Loss of the $CITIZEN ERC721 token via transfer or sale will immediately vacate a Senator from their seat unless the act is merely to transfer the $CITIZEN token to a new wallet held by the Senator and they first communicate this action publicly on the forum. If this transfer is challenged, $CITIZENs may request an expedited recall of the Senator requiring only one (1) week of discourse on the forum.
- The remaining Senators will decide whether it is necessary to replace the Senator at that time. If they determine it prudent to replace the Senator, an abbreviated nomination and election process will be held (half the time frames identified in the normal process).
- The replacement Senator will be signed on only to the end of the existent term and receive prorated compensation based on when they start
Definitions
- $CITIZEN: A $CITIZEN here is a holder of the $CITIZEN ERC721 token who has signed the Founding Charter.
- KONG Land Treasury: The contract containing funds owned by KONG Land that lives at the address 0xbdC95cA05cC25342Ae9A96FB12Cbe937Efe2e28C
- Founding Charter: The document that lives at Founding Charter
- KONG Land Trustless Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Agreement: The agreement establishing KONG Land that lives at https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXd8HV6yK87M7fmszaXRULpM9cf1pMEuAg25UKskozACk
For reference: UNA Sections Relating to the Formation of a Senate
- SECTION 1.6 - KONG Land Codex. The KONG Land Codex serves as a handbook for governance procedures, policies and as a broader guide to the purposes and functions of KONG Land. It may be adopted through a majority vote of eligible Citizens. Amendments to the KONG Land Codex may be adopted through a majority vote of eligible Citizens or through a designated group such as the KONG Land Senate.
- SECTION 2.6 - Inactive status. A Citizen who falls from good standing may have their membership revoked or suspended through the vote of Membership (each said action, a “Guild Kick/Member Removal”). References herein to the rights and entitlements of members shall be understood to refer only to members in good standing. Good standing will mean participating in at least one vote every two years within KONG Land and not conducting any criminal activity against KONG Land. The definition for good standing, including the minimum voting requirement of one vote every two years, may be updated from time to time as specified by the KONG Land Codex.
- SECTION 3.2 - Special meetings. Special meetings of Citizens may be called by a designated group (the “KONG Land Senate”). The KONG Land Senate as described in Section 4.2 is not required and may never be formed. Creation and Designation of the KONG Land Senate will be approved via the Designated Smart Contract.
- SECTION 3.3 -Time and place. The date, time and place of all meetings of the KONG Land Senate shall be determined by the KONG Land Senate or, in the event that the KONG Land Senate fails to act, by a call for vote via the Citizens.
- SECTION 4.2 - KONG Land Senate. Should Citizens vote for a proposal creating the KONG Land Senate via the Designated Smart Contract, the structure, terms and means of selection of members of the KONG Land Senate (“Senators”) shall be enumerated in said proposal and recorded in the Codex. The KONG Land Senate structure, terms and means of selection of Senators may be amended by a vote of Citizens.
- SECTION 8.1 - Interpretation. The KONG Land Senate (if formed via vote of Citizens) shall have the power to interpret this Constitution, apply them to particular circumstances, and adopt policies in furtherance of them, provided that all such actions are reasonable and consistent.
. Also, very good point on this preventing any split decisions.