welcome to the sga senate
Duties and Responsibilities of the SGA Senate
ARTICLE II
Legislative Branch
Section 1-All legislative powers herein granted shall be invested in a senate. The senate shall formulate such policies, regulations, and recommendations that shall relate to the student body. The specific powers and responsibilities are as follows:
a. The senate shall have the power to make recommendations on issues relevant to the general welfare of the student body including, but not limited to, student conduct regulations;
b. The senate shall have the power to make statutes governing the operation of the SGA;
c. The senate shall have the power to override a SGA Presidential veto on any statute or recommendation by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the senate;
d. The senate shall approve any of the SGA president’s appointees by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate;
e. The senate may, by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire senate, bring charges of impeachment against any SGA executive officer, senator, or justice. A three-fourths (3/4) vote of the entire senate is required to remove any SGA executive officer, senator, or justice after a charge of impeachment has been approved by the senate. The senate has no power of impeachment against executive cabinet directors. It is the sole power of the president of the SGA to remove his executive appointees after confirmation of the senate.
f. The senate shall adopt, by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate, such bylaws as rules and regulations for the SGA that shall not conflict with this constitution.
Section 2-Members of the senate may not be a member of the Student Judiciary, the manager or managing editor of any campus communication funded by the SGA, or hold any executive position in the SGA specifically described by this constitution. Every senator shall be required to take the oath of office as administered by the chief justice of the judicial branch, or any other appointed judiciary member approved by the senate.
a. The voting membership in the senate shall be restricted as follows: ten senators to represent students in each class (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior,). There will be a total of 5 seats available to graduate students. These five seats will only be reserved for graduate students and will not be available to undergraduate students.
b. The term of office shall run from one SGA election to the next corresponding election for that seat as prescribed in the elections code of Article VIII, Section 4 of this constitution.
Section 3-Any vacant seat in the senate to be filled shall be announced by the presiding officer of the senate within one week of its occurrence. It is the right of any Senator to suggest nominations from the floor to fill any senate vacancy. The matter shall be tabled for one week for consideration, before the winner is decided. All nominees to fill vacant seats must meet all requirements to hold office as proscribed in the elections code of Article VIII of this constitution as well as those of the SGA bylaws.
- No person may be nominated or elected to the Senate if that person has served on the Senate or Executive Board within the semester of nomination date.
Section 4-Officers of the senate shall be: president, president pro tempore, secretary, and parliamentarian. The president pro tempore and parliamentarian shall be elected from the senate membership by a majority vote of the voting senate at the opening meeting following the fall senate elections. The newly elected president pro tempore and parliamentarian must relinquish their position as senators to assume the duties of the offices to which they have been elected.
a. The following duties and powers shall be invested in the Office of the president of the senate:
1. Shall be the vice president of the SGA who shall preside over and conduct all meetings of the senate unless decided otherwise by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate, in concordance with this constitution, the SGA bylaws, and the rules adopted by the senate;
2. Shall have the power to remove senators and fill vacancies in accordance with this constitution and the SGA bylaws;
3. May, in case of a tie, vote on any measure before the senate;
4. Shall appoint members to any senate Committee upon concurrence of a majority vote of the voting senate.
b. The following duties shall be vested in the Office of the president pro tempore of the senate:
1. Shall perform all the duties of the chair in the absence of the senate president;
2. Shall be responsible for maintaining order and decorum in the senate;
3. Shall serve as Chairperson of the Rules Committee, and shall perform any additional duties as defined by the SGA By-laws.
4. In regular session of the senate in which the president of the senate, or other chair as proscribed in Section 4a, is present, the president pro tempore shall be a voting member of the senate, with all rights and privileges thereof.
c. The following duties shall be invested in the Office of the secretary of the senate:
1. Shall be secretary of the SGA unless otherwise approved by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate;
2. Shall keep an accurate record of all senate meetings;
3. Shall be responsible for dispatching all such legislation requiring executive action to the president of the SGA;
4. Shall dispatch copies of the senate minutes to all members of the senate as well as to other persons as required;
5. Keep a roll of all senate members;
6. Shall dispatch all correspondence of the senate;
7. Shall be responsible for notifying all senators of senate meetings through the Office of Secretary of the SGA.
d. The following duties shall be vested in the Office of senate parliamentarian:
1. Shall act as an advisor to the presiding officer on matters of parliamentary procedure;
2. Shall hear all appeals on points of order.
Section 5-The senate shall assemble at least eight times a semester, except summer semester. During summer semester, the senate shall meet whenever necessary. A majority of the senate shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may convene from meeting to meeting.
Section 6-There shall be four standing committees of the senate; the Rules Committee, the Allocations Committee, the Public Relations Committee, and the Elections Committee. Each committee shall consist of five (5) members to include a chairperson. All final actions of any standing committee shall be subject to approval by the senate.
a. The duties of the Rules Committee shall be to review periodically the set of rules and regulations of conduct for the student body as found in the Valdosta State University Student Handbook as well as to periodically review the rules of procedure for the senate as found in the SGA By-laws. The Rules Committee shall be charged with the disciplinary violations of the SGA By-laws, rules, and regulations.
b. The duties of the Allocations Committee shall be the semester review all of the allocated SGA funds. Further, it shall be the responsibility of this committee to work in conjunction with the four executive Officers of the SGA to make proposals to the Student Activity Budget Committee. It shall be the right of the Allocations Committee to review the question of all expenditures of all SGA funded allocations. The Chairperson of the Allocations Committee must serve as a voting member of the Campus Communications Board as provided in Article VI Section 2 of this constitution.
c. The duties of the Public Relations Committee shall be:
1. Work in concert with other committees of the senate to increase the student body’s awareness of the SGA, its purpose, agenda, and actions, to inform the student body of the events that take place in the senate, and to act as a liaison of the senate with the on-campus
media.
d. The duties of the Election Committee shall be:
1. 1. To yearly review the elections code of the SGA By-laws.
2. To work in conjunction with the Executive Branch to conduct all regular and special elections of the SGA.
Section 7-The By-laws of the SGA shall be established by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate and reviewed periodically by the senate Rules Committee. Changes to the SGA By-laws are subject to the approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate. The By-laws shall be maintained by the secretary of the SGA.
Section 8-The Code of Ethics shall be established by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate and reviewed yearly by the Student Judiciary. Changes to the Code of Ethics are subject to approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate. The Code of Ethics shall be maintained by the secretary of the SGA.
Section 9-The By-laws of all Standing Boards established by this constitution shall be established by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate and will be reviewed yearly by each standing board. Changes to the By-laws of any standing board are subject to the approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting senate. The By-laws shall be maintained by the secretary of the SGA.