Procedures of the Student Senate of Santa Fe College Student Government

Chapter 100

The Codification of Senate Procedures

100.01

All rules, regulations, and procedures of the Student Senate of permanent effect and general interest, or of legal or historical significance, shall be compiled in a codification known as the Procedures of the Student Senate. Except in unusual circumstances, this codification shall exclude non-governmental organizational charters, authorizations, resolutions, proposed constitutional amendments, and the Budget and amendments thereto. The Student Body Constitution and the Student Body Statutes shall hold legal precedence over this codification. This codification shall hold precedence over Roberts Rules of Order.

100.02

The Procedures of Senate shall be arranged according to the following scheme: Chapter 100 The Codification of Senate Procedures Chapter 101 The Chair of the Senate Chapter 102 The Senate President Pro-Tempore Chapter 103 Session Procedures Chapter 104 Attendance Chapter 105 Floor Rules Chapter 106 Confirmation Procedures Chapter 107 Legislation Procedures Chapter 108 Committee Procedures

100.03

Each chapter shall be subdivided by means of a decimal arrangement carried out to two or three decimal places. For example, Chapter 100 would begin with 100.01 with potential subsection 100.001. Subsections shall relate back to their section. Sections and subsections will not have their text divided between pages. Senate shall further classify procedures according to Section 100.02 to provide a logical, orderly, and comprehensive arrangement of the Procedures of Senate by subject matter. The Senate President has the authority to make corrections only to spelling, numbering and non-punctuation typographical errors. Such corrections shall not require ratification by Senate, only announcement of all changes. To the extent feasible, the Senate President or their appointee shall prepare and maintain accurate, current indexes for all codifications.

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This codification may be amended by a majority vote of Senate. Formal legislation is not required to amend this codification. This codification, or any section thereof, may be temporarily suspended by a majority vote. The Chair of Senate

100.06

Chapter 101

101.01 101.02

The Senate President shall serve as the Chair of Senate. The Chair shall strive to protect freedom of speech of all Senators, and shall not stipulate any conditions which abridge this freedom without the approval of Senate. The Chair shall preserve and enforce accepted parliamentary law, the rules and procedures of Senate, maintain the decorum of meetings, and shall serve as the arbiter of Senate. The Chair shall have all other powers and duties listed in these Procedures. The Chair shall preserve order and decorum in the Senate Chambers and, in the case of disturbance or disorderly conduct, may have members or guests of the Senate removed. If the person being removed is a Senator, they may appeal the Chairs decision with a majority vote of Senate, but only once per session. The Chair shall reserve the right to deny clearly dilatory motions. Unless other prescribed by law or this codification, the Senate shall be able to appeal any decision of the Chair with a majority vote. If any such appeal fails to pass, it may not be appealed again. The Chair must recognize motions to appeal a decision of the Chair. The Senate President Pro-Tempore

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101.04 101.05

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101.052 101.06

101.061 101.062 Chapter 102

102.01

The Senate President Pro-Tempore shall serve as the Chair of the Senate whenever the elected Senate President is absent from the chair, and shall be referred. The Senate President Pro-Tempore shall assist the Senate President in fulfilling the duties of said office.

102.02

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The Senate President Pro-Tempore shall serve as the recording office of Senate and is responsible for the recording, filing and archiving of the meeting agenda, minutes and legislation, conflict of interest disclosures, and absence excuses. The Senate President Pro-Tempore shall be responsible for submitting approved legislation to the Student Body President. Once the legislation becomes law or is vetoed, the Senate President Pro-Tempore shall announce the action to the Senate on the next meeting. Session Procedures

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Chapter 103

103.01 103.011 103.02

Neither the Senate nor Committees shall meet on official College holidays. During periods of final examinations, the Student Senate shall not meet. The Senate shall convene every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Senate chambers located in room S-30, unless otherwise announced by the Senate President. For emergency sessions, the time and place shall be announced forty-eight hours in advance. Both the Student Body President and two-thirds (2/3) of the Senate can call for an emergency session of Senate with 48 hours of notification. The agenda shall include all legislation and requests for allotted floor time submitted to the Senate President or Senate President Pro-Tempore. The agenda must be approved at the start of each session of Senate. Amendments to the agenda shall require a majority vote.

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The Chair shall reserve the power to deny a piece of legislation or presentation from being included in the agenda. This decision may be overturned with a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate.

Chapter 104

Attendance

104.01 104.011 104.012

Quorum A quorum to conduct business is the simple majority of all eligible voters. Any Senator may raise a point of order regarding the presence of a quorum and with a one-fifth (1/5) vote of Senate the Senate President Pro-Tempore shall call the roll. A Senator who chooses to ignore the roll call shall be considered absent for quorum purposes. Each Senator shall attend all Senate meetings and meetings of all standing and ad hoc committees on which they serve. An absence, late arrival, or early departure may be excused if a Senator submits reasoning to the Senate President Pro-Tempore. They may reject the Senators reasoning and not excuse them. A Senator may appeal this decision with a majority vote of Senate. Floor Rules

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104.022 Chapter 105

105.01

The most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order shall provide for any procedures not outlined in the Constitution, Statutes, or this codification. The Chair must recognize any individual before they can speak in the Senate Floor. Only Senators who are able to vote shall be able to speak without restriction on the Floor. Speaking privileges may be granted to non-Senators with permission from the Chair. Any person speaking on the floor of the Senate pertaining to a measure which concerns a student organization or special interest group shall state any affiliations which the person speaking may have with said organization of special interest group prior to speaking. Senatorial courtesy must be observed, and Senators shall confine themselves to the motions under debate, avoiding personal issues or feelings. All Senators will be addressed with their respective title while on the floor of the Senate.

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If a senator feels that they have made an inappropriate motion, they may withdraw their motion at any time if no senator objects. Senators may call for the reading of any section of the Student Government Constitution and Statutes, Procedures of the Student Senate, or Roberts Rules of Order as it pertains to any motion, parliamentary inquiry, or point of order being heard. Should a senator object to the reading, the question of entertaining the reading shall be put to a vote without debate, requiring a majority for the reading to be entertained. The Parliamentarian of the Senate, or the Senate President Pro-Tempore in their absence, shall perform all readings to the Senate.

105.03

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Any bill, appropriation, resolution, authorization, confirmation or special request shall be debated. All votes must be conducted by electronic voting, or by roll-call with the consent of one-fifth (1/5) of Senate, or by acclamation with the unanimous consent of Senate. The Chair shall announce the vote totals and results immediately following a vote if they are not visually available.

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Chapter 106

Confirmation Procedures

106.06

Once the Senate President has been notified of a nomination, the confirmation of the nominee shall be placed in the Agenda of the following meeting. The nominee shall have two (2) minutes to address the Senate. After the initial presentation, the Senate may ask questions of the nominee. If confirmed by a majority vote, the Chair or their designee shall inaugurate the nominee with the Oath of Santa Fe College Student Government, as prescribed by law. Following inauguration and installation of the new Student Senate in the Spring semester, the Senate President shall call the Senate for the purpose of electing the new Senate President and Senate President Pro-Tempore. Upon election, the Senate President shall immediately assume the chair and proceed with the election of the Senate President Pro Tempore. The Senate President Pro Tempore shall assume office immediately upon election.

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Nominations and selections for the Senate President and Senate President ProTempore shall be made in the Floor. Nominees may decline nomination. Once there are no more nominations, each nominee shall address Senate and answer questions while the other nominees wait outside the Chamber. Senate shall deliberate and vote while the nominees wait outside the Chamber.

Chapter 107

Legislation Procedures

107.01

Any legislation presented to the Senate for the purpose of a vote must first have at least one (1) Senator as author or sponsor in order to be brought before the Senate as new business. Each piece of legislation shall be required to be read at two different sessions, at which there is quorum, in order to be passed through the Senate. Readings shall be by title only, except when otherwise called for by one-fifth (1/5) of those present and voting, in which case one of the bill's cosponsors shall read the bill in its entirety. All legislation shall include the title, date of submission, author(s), and sponsoring Senator(s). All legislation being brought before the Senate must be submitted to the Senate President and Senate President Pro-Tempore electronically at least twenty-four hours in advance When receiving the legislation, the Senate President Pro-Tempore will assign an identifier to the piece, commencing with Senate Bill (SB) to be followed by the year and the legislation number (YY#) starting at one (1). At the start of a new year, the legislation number will reset to one (1). Legislation authors may use established templates as guidelines. Any vetoed legislation shall be added to the agenda during the next session of Senate as Vetoed Legislation to be debated. The President who vetoed the bill shall have five (5) minutes to explain the reasoning behind the veto to the Senate. Alternatively, the Senate President shall read a statement from the executive who vetoed the bill, not to exceed five (5) minutes. Afterwards, the legislations author or their designee shall present the bill and respond to the veto.

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All acts of legislation presented for consideration by the Senate and its committees shall be archived by the Senate President Pro-Tempore. A copy of all acts of legislation, passed or failed, shall be kept in paper and digital copy in the Student Government offices and website accessible to all Student Government members and the student body.

Chapter 108

Committee Procedures

108.01

Each committee of the Senate shall have a Chair, who shall be the administrative officer of their respective committee. The Chair shall select the Vice Chair. If the Chair is not prescribed by law, they shall be elected on the Floor of the Senate. Each committee Chair shall chair the respective committee's meetings and hearings. Each committee of the Senate shall have a Vice Chair, who shall assist the Chair with the administrative duties of the respective committee. The Vice Chair, or their designee, shall take minutes of all meetings. Committee meetings and hearings shall be open and accessible to the public. The date, time and place of the meetings and/or hearings shall be established by each committee chair, announced with at least forty-eight hours of anticipation. Committee membership shall be determined by the Senate President in accordance to the written preference and schedule of each Senator. Assignments shall be made no later than two (2) weeks after the beginning of the Fall semester, or no later than two (2) weeks after a Senator begins to serve in office. Should a Senator object to his assignment, he or she must present a written request for a reassignment to Senate. The request must specify the reason for the objection. Upon consideration of the request, the Senate President shall decide whether to reassign the Senator. Any decision by the Senate President on this regard can be appealed by a twothirds (2/3) vote of the Senate.

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