new senator orientation

7/31/2019 New Senator Orientation

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New Senator Orientation


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Congratulations on being elected a University of Florida student

senator!

You have been elected to serve your constituents by protectingtheir interests, proposing legislation that addresses their

needs, and researching and voicing opinions on bills that

come to the floor.

This orientation will help familiarize you with senate procedure,

language and rules.


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Duties of all Senators

1. Remain in good standing- this includes attending allsenate meetings as well as the meetings of anycommittees you join. It also refers to fulfilling yourconstituency requirements in a timely manner.

2. Be informed! Read Senate Rules and Procedures,Student Body Statutes and UF constitution. Researchthe issues that come before the senate. Do not evervote on something you do not fully understand.

3. Keep in touch with your constituents! After all, youwere elected to represent them.


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Key Powers of the Student Senate

1. Serve as the sole judge of the validity of theelection results

2. Approve appointments and

recommendations of the Student BodyPresident

3. Provide for the control and disbursement of

student body funds4. Enact all laws necessary and proper for the

general wellbeing of the Student Body


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Attendance

Maintaining a good attendance record applies notonly to senate meetings, but also to committee

meetings. If you are absent from either meeting,

you must fill out an excuse form and turn it intothe R&E dropbox website within one week of themissed meeting. In each fall & spring semester, aSenator is allowed 3.5 unexcused or a total of 4

combined absences (excused or unexcused). Insummer, each Senator is allowed 2 unexcused ora total of 3 combined absences.


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Attendance

Excused absences include the following:

Academic commitments with proper

documentation

Exams attach a syllabus with date and time

of test and ISIS schedule

Death in family, illness, car accident, act ofGod


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The Structure of Student Government

Student Governments power is balanced

between three branches: the Executive, the

Judicial, and the Legislative.

The Executive Branch consists of the Student

Body President, Vice President, Treasurer,

Cabinets, and Agencies.


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The Structure of Student Government

The Judicial Branch is comprised of the

Student Body Supreme court.

The Legislative Branch is the Student Senate.

The purpose of the Senate is to represent the

views and ideas of the student body.


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Student Government Finance

Student Activity and Service (A&S) Fees are

collected by the University of Floridas

Registrars Office as a component of tuition in

the amount recommended annually by the

A&S Fee Committee and approved by the

State University Systems Board of Regents.


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Student Government Finance

A&S fees are collected by the Student Senatethrough the budget process, where annualbudgets are allocated to meet the needs of

student groups through the fiscal year (July 1-

June 30). Allocation may also occur through theSpecial Request process, which furnishes

emergency funds for needs not anticipatedduring the budget process. Once these

allocations are approved by Student Government,the SG Finance Office administers the lawfulspending, auditing and reconciliation of A&S fees.


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Who is in the Senate?

The Senate is comprised of100 senators, eachserving one-year terms.

In the Fall, senators are elected to representliving areas on or off campus. On campussenators are elected according to residence hallsand off campus senators are elected by districts,according to zip codes.

In Spring, senators representing colleges and

classifications (Undergraduate freshman andsophomore, Business, Engineering, etc.) areelected.


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The Senate President is the chief administrativeofficer and presides over all meetings.

The Senate President Pro-Tempore is second incommand to the President and resides over his orher absence. The Pro Tempore also serves as theChair of the Replacement and AgendaCommittee.

The Senate President and Pro-Tempore are also

members of the SG Executive Committee.Elections for Senate President and President Protempore are held each semester.


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The Senate Secretary manages the Senate office. Thesecretary prepares all written materials (agendas, bills,voting records, etc.) and is present for all Senatemeetings. The secretary maintains copies of the UF

Constitution and the Statutes. They are an employeeof the university, not an elected official.

The Senate Executive Committee is comprised of theSenate President, the President Pro-Tempore, and all of

the committee chairs. There are standing committeesand periodically the Senate President will create ad-hoc committees to address specific issues.


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Senate Committees

There are six standing committees within the StudentSenate. These committees are designed to effectively

organize and distribute the work of the Senate.

Replacement & Agenda Committee

This committeeinterviews and recommends replacements for opensenate and committee seats. The committee is alsoresponsible for setting the agenda for each senatemeeting. The committee is composed of the Pro

Tempore (Chair), the Senate President, all partyleaders, and two members-at-large elected by thesenate body.


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Senate Committees

Budget & Appropriations Committee

This committee isresponsible for preparing the Activity & Service Fee budget, theSpecial Events Budget, Organizations Budget, and AcademicOrganizations Budget, using the revenue generated by the Activity& Service Fee. Each funded organization comes before the

committee for several hearings, after which the committeedetermines the appropriate amount of money each should receiveand presents the budget to the senate for approval. The committeealso organizes line-item transfers from funded organizations andpresents those to Senate for approval.

Allocations Committee

This committee reviews all specialrequests (funds beyond budgeted amount). It also works with newstudent organizations in their first two requests for funding fromStudent Government. It presents all recommendations to theSenate for approval.


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Senate Committees

Judiciary Committee

This committee reviews all non-budgetarybills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments to determinetheir constitutionality, legality, sufficiency, clarity and internalconsistency. In the fall, the Judiciary Committee must recommendto the Senate any actions that should be taken regarding the

reapportionment of senate seats.

Rules & Ethics Committee This committee deals with senateabsences, constituency requirements, and requests for the censureor expulsion of senators. It also hears all complaints concerningalleged acts of discrimination by Student Government funded

organizations. It also investigates and gathers information on issuesof concern to the senate.


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Senate Committees

Information & Communication Committee

Thiscommittee is responsible for being the independent voiceof Senate. It has the responsibility of planning orientationsfor all new senators, posting advertisements of open seats,and holding retreats for the entire senate in each term. This

committee has the duty of building bridges betweensenators so that Senate can work more effectively.

Ad Hoc Committees- It is at the Senate Presidentsdiscretion to form Ad Hoc committees whenever he deemnecessary. Ad Hoc committees are usually formedwhenever there is a specific problem that could benefitfrom having a specialized committee to address it.


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Constituency Requirements

As a Senator, you are required to fulfill your minimumconstituency requirements. This ensures you are

interacting with your constituents.

For Senators representing professional schools:Attend one (1) Board of College Council or respectiveCollege Council meeting or special event and one (1)meeting or special event of a sub-organization of their

respective College Council or an academic organizationdirectly affiliated with the college, and complete one(1) hour of tabling per constituency period


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For Graduate Senators: Attend two (2) Graduate StudentCouncil or graduate student organizations meetings orspecial events, and complete (1) hour of tabling perconstituency period. Any combination of these meetingswill be acceptable

For Senators representing colleges: Attend one (1) Boardof College Council or respective College Council meeting orspecial event, one (1) meeting or special event of a sub-organization of their respective College Council or anacademic organization directly affiliated with the college,

and one (1) community service project put on by theInformation and Communications Committee. Completeone (1) hour of tabling per constituency period.


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For On-campus Senators: Attend one (1) IRHA meeting orspecial event and one (1) respective Area Governmentmeetings or special events, and one (1) StudentGovernment event or Student Government-funded event.Participate in one (1) community service project put on by

the Information and Communications Committee.Complete one (1) hour of tabling per constituency period.

For Family Housing Senators: Attend two (2) MayorsCouncil meetings or special events, and one (1) StudentGovernment event or Student Government-funded event.

Participate in one (1) community service project put on bythe Information and Communications Committee.Complete one (1) hour of tabling per constituency period.


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For District Senators: Attend one (1) City or County Commissionmeeting, one (1) Student Government-funded organization meetingor special event (excluding IRHA), and one (1) Student Governmentevent or Student Government-funded event. Participate in one (1)community service project put on by the Information andCommunications Committee. Complete one (1) hour of tabling perconstituency period.

For Undergraduate Freshman and Sophomore Senators: Attendtwo (2) Student Government-funded organization meetings orspecial events, City Commission meetings or County commissionmeetings per constituency period, and one (1) Student Government

event. Participate in one (1) community service project put on bythe Information and Communications Committee. Complete one (1)hour of tabling per constituency period.


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Passing Legislation

Senate considers legislation (bills). Each piece of

legislation must have at least one sponsor in

the senate. Bills must be written, approved

through the appropriate committee, passedby the senate, and sent to the Executive

Branch for signatures. Once passed, the bill

becomes either a law or an authorization. TheStudent Body President has the power to veto

all legislation.


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Parliamentary Procedure

Roberts Rules of Order (Parliamentary Procedure) providescommon rules and procedures for consideration anddebate in order to help the meeting run effectively.

There is a senate parliamentarian whom may be consulted atany point for reference to correct procedure.

Before motioning you must be recognizedby the speaker(SENATE PRESIDENT).

Point of Privilege- Call only if you have a concern with thenoise in the chamber, comfort or any other environment-related issue.


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Parliamentary Inquiry- Ask to clarify a motionor parliamentary action.

Point of Information- Used to ask speaker

further technical questions. Order- A call to remain in line with the

agenda.

Amend- Motion to change or insert a word,phrase or paragraph in legislation. This is alsoused to change the minutes from the previousmeeting.


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Withdraw a Motion- Motion to remove a previousmotion. This must be motioned by the Senator whomotioned the original.

Recommit to Committee- Motion to send particular billor resolution back to its original committee for furtherdebate, consideration, and/or amendments.

Extend Debate- Use to extend debate, after the close ofthe debate, by a specific amount of time. This must be

voted on by the body.

Limit Debate- Closing debate prior to end of debate.


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Being a Senator is a right, not a privilege.

You must always conduct yourself in a manner

that is both ethically and morally sound while

always keeping your constituents best

interests at heart.

Once again, congratulations on being elected!

Senate has the utmost expectations of you.


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new senator orientation

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