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Robert’s Rules of Order

Members of the Senate

Speaker of Senate: Presides over, manages, and directs the business of the meeting

Speaker Pro Tempore: Assists speaker of the senate in managing the meeting and is in charge of taking over the duties of the speaker of the senate when speaker is absent

Sergeant at arms: “Direct those members who are deemed out of order to correct previous actions, raise points of order during the meeting when correct procedure is not being followed and in extreme circumstances request the Speakerremove the member from the body, to exclusively handle all voting ballots of the Senate, to represent the Senate when necessary and to perform any other duties as assigned by these Bylaws or by action of the Student Senate.”

Secretary: “keeping the records of the Senate, to call attendance at each meeting, to assist the Speaker in counting votes and call names for all role call votes, to keep and record accurate minutes of every meeting, to read the minutes when presented in Senate, to bring all appropriate records to meetings and to send all notices of meetings, agendas, legislation and correspondence to Senators previous to eachmeeting within a reasonable time and to perform any other duties as assigned by these Bylaws or by action of the Student Senate.”

Senators: Body that writes and votes on legislation

Each committee is assigned different pieces of legislation presented to the senate and is in charge of fixing it before the senate votes

on it

Internal: Looks at legislation that concern the senate body and the rules of the of that body

External: Deals with any issues or projects outside of the Student Government Association

Student Affairs: looks at legislation having to do with the student body as a whole

Fiscal: look at legislation concerning money and make sure that it complies with the budget for the fiscal year

Motions

What is a motion?

A motion is a formal proposal by a member of the senate, in a meeting, that the group take certain action

Main motion: brings business before assembly- there should be no debate on a matter before a motion regarding it has been made.

Three steps to a motion being recognized before the senate…

To make a main motion, after obtaining the floor you simply say, “I move that…” and then clearly describe the proposal.

When a member has made a motion a “second” is needed in order for it to be considered by the group.

Once a motion has been proposed and seconded the speaker of the senate must state the question by saying “It has moved and seconded that…” so that the group clearly understands the motion at hand and that a new proposal is ready for consideration

The Agenda

I. Call to OrderII. PledgeIII. Guest SpeakersIV. Roll CallV. Approval of Past MinutesVI. Executive and Committee ReportsVII. Unfinished BusinessVIII. New BusinessIX. AppointmentsX. AnnouncementsXI. Adjournment

Amendments

An amendment is a addition/subtraction to a current resolution being presented during a senate session

The amendment can only be presented with a motion An amendment may be in any of the following forms: (a)

to insert or add (that is, place at the end); (b) to strike out; (c) to strike out and insert, or to substitute, as it is called, when an entire paragraph or resolution is struck out and another is inserted.

An amendment cannot interrupt another speaker, must be seconded, and finally to pass the amended it requires a two-thirds vote to be adopted.

Amendments ContinuedHowever, if amendment is accepted as

"friendly" by the proposer of the amendment then many bodies will allow it to be accepted without a formal vote; this is a way of including a consensus-building process into procedure without endless debate over amendments to amendments. However, it is required that the proposer get consent from the author of the resolution.

What is a Resolution?

It is a proposal that the assembly take certain action, or that it express itself as holding certain views.

Every resolution should be in writing, and the given to the presiding officer or speaker. At this time it is Speaker Brown and he has the right to inquire about the main motion, amendment, and can instruct the resolution to a committee.

The resolution should answer the following basic questions:Who?What?When?Where How?

Resolution Continued Every Resolution should begin with the phrase “whereas”

WHEREAS: Each organization should take an active role in the promotion of diversity and equality throughout the university

WHEREAS The UNT Ally Program extends only to students, faculty, and staff and not to student organizations

WHEREAS The phrase "equality and diversity" depicts a society where fairness, justice, and civility are its primary goals. "Diversity" meaning "variety" and "Equality" meaning "equality of opportunity," which both go beyond race and ethnicity, to include class, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, political affiliation, socio-economic background, educational level, profession and other qualities.

WHEREAS Several student organizations have homogeneous populations that unintentionally segregate themselves from the growing number of underrepresented persons on campus, thus, demoralizing diversity.

Resolution ContinuedEvery resolution should end with “let it be resolved”

LET IT BE RESOLVED THAT: Each organization should develop a supportive environment for every potential or eligible member to empower and encourage students to participate fully by adding the following stipulation or clause in their constitution regarding equality and diversity.

“This organization will not discriminate against members or prospective members on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, physical handicap, or sex. We will also actively try to recruit or add students of the minority percentage of the organization current to diversify our population.”

Resolution ContinuedAfter you write a piece of legislation you must

present the resolution in SGA format. www.unt.edu/sga

Must be signed and submitted by a current senatorAfter the resolution has been sent to committee,

amended, and debated the resolution is finally brought to a vote

A resolution needs a two-thirds vote of the present senators and meet the required quorum numbers

If the resolution is passed then it goes into effectIf the resolution fails then it’s dead!

Frequently Asked

Questions

Voting

Voting What vote is required?

Majority vote: normal bills and resolutions Two-thirds vote: appointments,

constitutional and bylaw changes Majority of the entire membership: special

cases, specified in bill

“Unanimous Consent” instead of a vote“Unanimous consent enables a motion

to be adopted or some action to be taken without the necessity of having the chair state the question on a motion and put the motion to a vote”

It permits taking action without a motion being made at all

The chair asks if there has been any objections and if there is none then the action has been agreed upon

Member’s right to vote“Any member whose right to vote has

not been suspended as the result of a formal disciplinary process has the right to vote, even if dues are not paid.”

A person should not vote on a question in which they have direct personal attachment that the other members do not have, although a person can not be compelled to abstain because of such attachment or interest.

Chair’s participation in voting The presiding officer of an assembly should

remain impartial so that members on both sides of any issue can feel comfortable.

The chair does not participate in any debate unless they give up the chair until the issue is no longer being discussed.

The chair only votes when either:a) The vote is by ballot, in which case the chair

votes along with and at the same time as all others members or,

b) The chair’s vote will change the result of the vote.

More methods of voting Standing vote- “Those of the motion will rise. [Pause.]

Be seated. Those opposed will rise. [Pause.] Be seated.”

Show of hands- “The question is on the adoption of the motion to [repeating the exact words of the motion]. Those in favor of the motion will raise the right hand. [Pause.] Lower hands. Those opposed will raise the right hand. [Pause.] Lower hands.”

Counted Vote- “I move that the vote be counted.” “Those in favor of the motion will rise and remain standing until counted. [Pause for count.] Be seated. Those opposed will rise and remain standing until counted. [Pause for count.] Be seated.”

Ballot Vote- “I move that the vote be taken by ballot.” “Have all voted who wish to do so?” “Since no one else wishes to vote, [pause] the polls are closed.”

Questions…?