§2.1-1. Meetings of the Senate

1. The meetings of the Senate shall be held in accordance with the timeline set forth by Article I; Section II; Clause IV of the Constitution of the Student Assembly.
2. The meetings shall open with a report of the status of each committee by its Chair. The subsequent agenda shall be specified by the Chair of the Senate.
3. At the end of each meeting, there shall be a time reserved for concerns of members of the College. This time may also be used for observers to comment on the proceedings.
4. The meetings of the Senate shall be conducted in parliamentary style according to Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure.
5. The Senate may extend, by a majority vote, Executive Privilege to any member of the college community, allowing that person to remain within the Senate during Closed Session. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-2. Membership

§2.1-2.1. Election

1. The members of the Senate shall be elected according to the guidelines created by the Elections Committee. The composition shall be in accordance with the structure indicated by Article I; Section I; Clause II of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-2.2. Attendance

1. Each Senator is allowed three absences per semester. After the third absence, the Senator will come before the Senate, at the following meeting, to explain his or her reason(s) for not being present at the missed meetings. The body will then vote on whether or not to remove the officer from the Senate according to Article VI; Section II of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. If removed from the Senate, the seat is then vacant.
2. Anomalies (i.e. leaving early) are at the discretion of the Presiding Officer.
3. Graduate Senators may appoint an Alternate Senator for their term. Said Alternate Senator shall perform Senate duties for their respective graduate school in the absence of the Senator, but cannot have an additional vote should the Alternate Senator and the Senator both appear at the same Senate meeting. Both the Senator and the Alternate Senator are allowed three absences per semester. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-2.3. Vacancies: All vacancies shall be dealt with according to the process outlined in Article IV; Section IV of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-2.4. Officers

1. Presiding Officer
   1. The Vice President of the Student Assembly shall serve as the Presiding Officer.
   2. The Presiding Officer is responsible for conducting the meetings of the Senate and maintaining decorum while meetings are in session. The Presiding Officer shall also be the main form of communication between the Executive Branch and the Senate.
   3. The Presiding Officer shall have voting privileges only in the case of a tie.
   4. If the Presiding Officer misses a meeting without the consent of the Senate, it will be considered negligent of his or her duties and grounds for removal as outlined in Article VI; Section II of the Constitution of the Student Assembly.
2. Chair
   1. The Chair shall be elected at the first meeting of the Senate by a plurality of Senators. The Presiding Officer shall conduct this election.
   2. The Chair shall determine agenda for each meeting and inform his or her fellow Senators of the agenda forty-eight hours prior to the meeting.
   3. The Chair shall receive resolutions and assign them to the appropriate committee. Upon receiving resolutions, the Chair shall save them to the Drive of the school's network assigned to the Student Assembly. These shall become the only valid copy of said resolutions and only the Chair of the Senate and the Director of the Agency for Internal Affairs shall have access to these copies, though neither shall have the power to change the content of the bills in any form. Friendly amendments prior to introduction on the floor must be submitted by the resolution sponsors to the Chair of the Senate.
   4. The Chair shall assume the Presiding Officer's duties in his or her absence. The Chair shall assume the Secretary's duties in his or her absence. In both the Presiding Officer's and Secretary's absence, the Chair shall assume the duties of the Presiding Officer and a Senator shall assume the duties of Secretary.
   5. If the position of Chair becomes vacant, the Senate shall hold a special election at the next meeting to elect a new Chair. This election shall be conducted by the Presiding Officer.
3. Secretary
   1. The Secretary shall be elected at the first meeting of the Senate by a plurality of Senators. The Presiding Officer shall conduct this election.
   2. The Secretary shall record the minutes of the meeting and the attendance. The minutes and attendance shall be distributed to his or her fellow Senators at least forty-eight hours prior to the next meeting.
   3. The Secretary shall keep a record of all resolutions submitted and their status. The Secretary is also responsible for fulfilling the requirements of Article IV; Section II; Clauses I & II of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. The Secretary is also responsible for ensuring the student body's electronic access to current records of the body. In the case of a roll call vote, the Secretary will record the votes of individual members.
   4. The Secretary shall be provided with expenses for the materials used to complete his or her duties. The Secretary shall compose the necessary figures for the Budget Hearing every year to obtain these materials. The Secretary shall distribute the necessary materials to the Committee Secretaries.
   5. The Secretary shall be responsible for posting public notice outside the meeting location prior to the scheduled beginning. (4-03, SB) (3-1-05, SB 312-043) (4-13-05, SB 312-075)

§2.1-2.5. Impeachment and Censure

1. The causes and process for such action are outlined in Article VI of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-3. Requirements of Senators

§2.1-3.1. Information

1. The Senator of each Undergraduate class serving as a liaison to the Undergraduate Council must send out an e-mail each month informing his or her class of the activities of the Senate.
2. The Graduate Senators may decide if the Senator or the Alternate Senator will send out an e-mail.
3. All Senators shall possess knowledge of the By-Laws and their contents, as well as knowledge of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. All Senators shall also be aware of the proceedings of any meetings from which he or she was absent. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-3.2. Conduct

1. During Senate meetings, all Senators shall act in a manner appropriate for the proceedings. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-4. Committees

§2.1-4.1. Composition

1. There shall be four standing committees: Finance and Budget, College Policies and Procedures, Student Activities and Organizations, and Constitutional and Electoral Procedure Review.
2. The Chair of the Senate may not hold any other leadership position in the Senate. The Presiding Officer of the Senate may not serve on any committee.
3. Each committee must have a membership of five or more Senators. The membership of each shall be established during the first Senate meeting. Senators shall express their committee preference to the Chair who will then make the committee assignments. One seat on each committee shall be reserved for a freshman. No Senator may sit on more than two committees. No Senator may hold a leadership position on two committees. Each Senator must be a member of one committee. Members of the College outside of the Senate may participate in committee projects.
4. The first committee meeting to elect officers and determine the schedule of future meetings must be held prior to the next Senate meeting.
5. The Senate may also commission investigative bodies, outside of the standing committees, on its own, so long as the life and purpose of the Commission is specified by the Senate.
6. The Senate may decide to have a committee formed by the Executive branch, or other members of the College outside of the Senate. The process for this may be outlined by further legislation. A liaison may be appointed to provide communication between the two bodies. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-4.2. Officers

1. Chair
   1. Each of the four standing committees that will be composed of Senators shall elect one of its members to serve as Chair during its first meeting. The proceedings of this election shall be determined by each committee.
   2. The Committee Chair shall preside over the committee's meetings, maintain decorum while meetings are in session, and set the meeting times and locations. Meeting times and locations must be announced to the Senate 48 hours before the committee meeting. No committee meetings shall be scheduled during the same times, except on occasions when both Chairs agree that the business at hand requires the review of both committees in tandem.
   3. The Committee Chair shall report to the Senate the opinions of their committee. The Committee Chair shall also deliver any resolutions or amendments as passed out of their committee to the Senate Chair 48 hours before the next Senate meeting.
2. Secretary
   1. Each of the four standing committees that will be composed of Senators shall elect one of its members to serve as Secretary during its first meeting. The proceedings of this election shall be determined by each committee.
   2. The Secretary of each committee shall record the minutes and attendance of the meeting. In the case of a roll call vote, the Secretary will record the vote of individual members and submit them to the Secretary of the Senate in accordance with Article IV, Section II, Clauses I and II of the Constitution.
   3. The Secretary shall distribute the minutes and attendance record to his or her committee within a reasonable time. (4-03, SB) (4-13-05, SB 312-075)

§2.1-4.3. Removal

1. If the committee feels either officer has not fulfill the duties outlined in this document or in Article VI; Section I of the Constitution of the Student Assembly, a Bill of Impeachment, approved by a simple majority of the committee, may be brought before the Senate. The College Policies and Procedure Committee will determine the proceedings of the trial.
2. If an officer is removed, or their office is vacant due to other circumstances, a new officer will be elected at the next committee meeting. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-4.4. Responsibilities

1. Each committee shall review all resolutions concerning matters within its area of interest.
2. Each committee shall consider all matters of the College in relation with its area of interest not addressed by resolutions and recommend the appropriate actions to the Senate. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-5. Resolutions

§2.1-5.1. Format

1. The Senate shall construct and pass resolutions to fulfill its mandate of serving the students who elected it.
2. Resolutions will follow the standard format, with pre-ambulatory and operative clauses. Each resolution must include the name of the sponsor and the date it was submitted. Authors of resolutions may add a title to the resolution, where appropriate. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-5.2. Submission

1. Any Senator may submit a resolution of his or her own composition or sponsor a resolution composed by a member of the college. Resolutions shall be submitted to the Chair of the Senate.
2. All resolutions shall, following their introduction, be forwarded to the appropriate committee, selected by the Chair of the Senate and following the section of the Code to which they apply. If extreme urgency applies, the Senate may, by the approval of a majority of its members attending, consider a resolution at the same meeting in which it is introduced. Resolutions introduced from the floor may be considered at the same meeting by the approval of majority of Senators attending.
3. After review by the appropriate committee, the Committee Chair shall present the resolution along with the opinion of the committee. The Senate shall then vote. If a simple majority of the Senate approves, the resolution is effective immediately, unless otherwise outlined in the resolution.
4. The Senate may pass informal resolutions. The resolutions may take the form of a single sentence, positive or negative statements. They may also take the form of requests to specific persons or offices. Such informal resolutions must be written out and submitted to the Chair in the form in which they were passed by the Senate before the end of the meeting at which they were acted upon.
5. All resolutions will be placed on file in the Student Assembly Office with the records of the Senate.
6. The Chair of the Senate shall present resolutions to the appropriate party with the presence of any other official he or she deems appropriate.
7. All resolutions may be vetoed by the Student Assembly President according to Article I; Section III; Clause III of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. (4-03, SB) (4-13-05, SB 312-075)

§2.1-6. The Senate shall confirm Executive appointees as outlined in Article II; Section III; Clause III of the Constitution of the Student Assembly. During which, the Senate may request a brief summary of the reasons behind each individual's selection be submitted to the Chair forty-eight hours prior to the meeting. (4-03, SB)

§2.1-7. Amendment Procedure:

1. This document may be amended at any time by a vote of 2/3 of the Senators.
2. Amendments must be submitted in the same fashion as formal resolutions. (4-03, SB)