Baylor University Student Senate Bylaws

Student Senate

Bylaws

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE BYLAWS

Chapter 1: Membership

§1.1. Definition of Membership. Membership shall be defined under Article II, Sections 2-4 of the Constitution of the Baylor University Student Body. Any vacancies should be filled according to Article II, Section 8 of that constitution.

§1.2. Dues. Each senator shall be required to pay dues at the beginning of each senate session or when appointed. The amount of dues shall be set by the Student Government Operating Budget. The date(s) of payment shall be determined by the Student Government Comptroller.

§1.2.1. Failure to Pay Dues. Any senator failing to pay dues by the date shall be brought before the Senate Executive Council (hereinafter, SEC) to discuss the reason(s) for failure to pay. At this time, the SEC may order the resignation of the senator. The SEC may make exceptions or other special arrangements for senators with financial hardship, as it deems necessary. If the senator wishes to remain in the senate after being asked to resign, he or she will be required to come before the Senate under Standing Rule §6.3 .

§1.3. Training Sessions. All newly elected Student Senators will be required to attend and complete a training session led by the President of Student Senate before they submit any legislature into first reading. Additionally, the President of Student Senate is required to set up training sessions and must arrange times to meet with newly elected Student Senators at the earliest convenience”; and

§1.4. Attendance. Student Senators are required to attend all Senate meetings, committee meetings, office hours, and other events for which attendance is deemed necessary by the Senate Executive Council. Absences will be recorded by the President of Student Senate as excused or unexcused according to §1.3.1 and §1.3.2. After five unexcused absences in a semester, the President of Student Senate shall give the senator at least 48 hours notice that the senator’s presence is required at the next SEC meeting to discuss the reasons for the unexcused absences. At this meeting, the SEC may request the resignation of the senator. If the senator wishes to remain in the Senate after being asked to resign, he will be required to come before the Senate under Standing Rule §6.3.

§1.4.1. Absences. Immediately following the invocation, the Legislative Secretary shall take attendance by roll call. A second attendance shall be taken immediately before adjournment. One absence shall be assessed for each of these two roll calls at which a Senator is not present. One absence shall be assessed for missing any committee meeting, any special Senate function at which attendance is deeded mandatory by the SEC. The SEC shall determine in advance by majority vote when attendance at any special Senate function is mandatory.

§1.4.2. Excused Absences. An absence shall only be recorded as excused in case of an illness, extenuating family circumstances, a university excuse, a class, an exam, or a lab that conflicts with the meeting time. The President of Student Senate shall determine when an absence fits into one of these categories. Other absences may be excused by majority vote of the SEC.

§1.4.3. Notification. All absences must be submitted by way of an email to the Student Senator’s respective Committee Chairperson, the Legislative Secretary, and the President of Student Senate at least 48 hours prior to the absence. If a request for an excused absence is received less than 48 hours prior to the absence, the President of Student Senate will determine if it is excused or not.

§1.4.4. Office Hours. Student Senators are required to fulfill one office hour per full academic week. An office hour is defined as an hour devoted to Student Senate outside of regular committee and Senate meetings. The President of Senate or the SEC shall determine what constitutes an office hour. The SEC shall determine the procedure for reporting office hours. Allude to precedents?

§1.4.5. Dress Code. Senators are required to dress according to specifications of dress code in advanced notice of all Senate events, including meetings, retreats, and other events the SEC deems mandatory. The IVP shall determine what constitutes compliance with the dress code.

§1.5. Student senators must receive the approval of their committee chair before contacting any member of the Baylor University faculty or administration for Student Government related matters. Should the student senator need to contact an administrator above the title of an Associate Dean the approval process must include approval form the committee chair as well as the President of Student Senate. Student senators failing to comply with the outlined process shall be required to meet with the President of Student Senate and the Senate Executive Council. This shall only apply in circumstances where the student senator is discussing information with administrative privilege granted to them strictly under their position.

§1.6. Ethics Code. All members of Student Senate must abide by the Student Government ethics code.

Chapter 2: Powers and Duties of Officers

§2.1. President. The President of Student Senate shall fulfill his or her duties under Article III, Section 3, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Baylor University Student Body. He shall serve as a non-voting member of all standing committees. He shall be allowed to create offices he deems necessary with majority approval of the Senate, and shall perform other duties to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the legislative branch.

§2.1.1. The President of Student Senate shall prepare proposed legislation for presentation to the Senate and shall see to the delivery of passed legislation to the Student Body President (when his or her signature is required) within 24 hours of passage.

§2.2. President Pro Tempore. The President Pro Tempore shall be elected by the Senate under Article II, Section 5, Paragraph 1, clause B of the Constitution of the Baylor University Student Body. To be eligible to run for President Pro Tempore, the candidate must meet all requirements of the Student Body Internal Vice President under Art. III, Sec. 2, Par. 1 (except for clause B) of the Constitution of the Baylor University Student Body.

§2.2.1. Duties of the President Pro Tempore.

§2.2.1.1. The President Pro Tempore shall preside over the senate meetings when the President of Student Senate is not present at the meeting in cases of personal conflict, illness or a University event or if the President of Student Senate is the author of legislation being considered. In cases where the President and President Pro Tempore both are either absent or disqualified from presiding, the President of Student Senate shall appoint, subject to majority approval of Senate, a member to preside temporarily.

§2.2.1.2. The President Pro Tempore shall be the vice chair of the Senate Executive Council, and shall serve as the chair of the Operations and Procedures committee.

§2.2.1.3. The President Pro Tempore shall advise the President of Student Senate on needed offices with the majority approval of the Student Senate and perform other duties to ensure the efficient and effective operation of Student Senate.

§2.3. Legislative Secretary. The President of Student Senate, with the majority approval of the Senate, shall appoint the Legislative Secretary.

§2.3.1.The Legislative Secretary shall take attendance at all Senate meetings, and help maintain the Senate Record. In addition to his one required office hour, the Legislative Secretary shall serve a minimum of two additional office hours in the Student Government office per school week.

§2.3.2.The Legislative Secretary shall serve as a voting member on the SEC. The Legislative Secretary shall not serve as the chairperson of any committee and shall not be required to serve in any standing committee

§2.3.3. Senate Record. Each session of Senate shall have a separate physical record to be stored in the Student Government office and electronic record to be stored in the Student Body Internal Vice President’s office computer and a portable storage device. The record shall be divided into the following sections:

1) Agendas from each week’s meeting

2) Senate Allocations

3) Senate Enactments

4) Senate Resolutions

5) Support Resolutions

All legislation shall be stored with a copy of the voting record and committee reports into the Senate Records.

§2.4. Chaplain. A Chaplain shall be elected after the spring general election from the senators by a majority vote of the Senate. The Chaplain shall be responsible for opening each Senate meeting with a prayer and/or a devotional. The Chaplain shall serve on a committee.

§2.5. Administrative Advisor. Administrative officials to serve in the capacity of Administrative Advisors shall be appointed by the Vice President of Student Life. Advisors shall remain during the Executive Session but do not have a voice unless the rules are suspended to allow the advisors to speak in a specific instance.

Chapter 3: Committees

§3.1. Standing Committees.

§3.1.1. Academic Affairs Committee. The Academic Affairs committee shall review all legislation dealing with academic affairs. This committee is responsible for maintaining relations with each academic college and school and for advocating on behalf of all academic issues. This committee will also have the authority to allocate money for these purposes in accordance with the normal allocation process.

§3.1.2. Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee. The Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee shall review all legislation pertaining to aspects of student life outside of the academic setting. This includes physical improvements to Baylor’s campus, on-campus sustainability, recycling, and conservation initiatives, and fostering relationships with the Baylor and Waco community. The Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee shall advocate on behalf of all capital improvement and student life issues. This committee will also have the authority to allocate money for these purposes in accordance with the normal allocation process.

§3.1.2.1. Minor Repairs. The Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee may, at their discretion, also act as a liaison between students and respective departments to report minor repair and improvement requests that do not require legislation.

§3.1.1. Finance Committee. The Finance Committee shall review all bills involving allocations from the Student Government Allocation Fund. The Finance Committee shall also be responsible for reviewing the Student Government operating budget upon submission by the Student Body President. This committee is also responsible for setting forth the fiscal policy of Student Senate for each Senate Session. The fiscal policy shall be the percentage of the SGAF proposed for the semester to be divided among Traditional Events, New Events, Campus Improvements, and Limited Allocation Process Events. The fiscal policy set forth shall also determine the operating guidelines by which the Finance Committee shall review allocation bills. The fiscal policy should be considered with all expediency.

§3.1.4. The Operations and Procedures Committee. The Operations and Procedures committee shall review all legislation involving internal issues and the official documents of the Baylor University Student Government. The committee shall interview and confirm all appointed members of Student Government, with respect to §6.4. and §6.5 of these bylaws. The committee shall request any information that contributed to the appointing officer’s decisions. The President Pro-Tempore shall serve as the chair of the Operations and Procedures committee.

§3.1.4.1. Membership Experience. Members of the Operations and Procedures Committee should have been a member of Senate during a prior semester. Specific exceptions to this rule may be made when appointing Senators to committees by a decision of the President and President Pro-Tempore.

§3.1.4.2. Non-substantial Enactments. Enactments containing revisions to the Student Senate By-Laws that only pertain to grammar and reference errors may be passed by the committee with a unanimous vote, with respect to § 4.1.1.1. of these bylaws.

§3.1.4.3. All new legislation shall be proofread and revised by the Operations and Procedures Committee with no intent or authority to change the meaning of the bill, but only to correct misspellings and grammatical errors prior to the bill’s presentation to Student Senate. All changes must then be accepted as friendly by the bill’s author before taking into effect. If the edit is viewed as unfriendly by the author, the edit may be presented in front of Student Senate.

§3.1.6 Public Relations Committee. The Public Relations Committee shall foster positive relationships with whomever the Student Senate collaborates, encourage intergovernmental and inter-university and promote a positive image of Student Government as a whole.

§3.1.6.1. Communicative Avenues. The Public Relations Committee shall facilitate all communication from Student Senate to the student body. This committee is entrusted with the duty of compiling a biannual State of the Student Body Report. The State of the Student Body Report must include notable accomplishments from each Student Body Officer as well as a fragmented Student Allocation Fund budget. The Public Relations Committee shall also act as a resource to all other Student Senate Committees in the form of gathering student opinion. Furthermore, the Public Relations Committee Chair shall act as a liaison between Student Senate and all journalistic media outlets, the Baylor Lariat. The Committee Chair should also be notified by any entity regarding any publication quoting a Student Government member or discussing the business of Student Senate.

§3.1.6.2. Student Surveying. All Student Surveys shall by default be delegated to the Public Relations Committee to be considered and voted on instead of going to full senate, with respect to §4.1.1.1. of these bylaws. The minimum vote required to conduct a survey shall be a number more than half of the voting members of the Public Relations Committee. With a 2/3 recommendation of the Student Body Officers before the next senate meeting the surveys should be published to the Student Government Website and all social media outlets associated with Student Government.

§3.1.6.3. Support Resolutions. All Senate Support Resolutions shall by default be delegated to the Public Relations Committee to be considered and voted on instead of going to the full Student Senate, with respect to § 4.1.1.1. of these bylaws.

§3.1.6.4. Internal Operations. This committee shall be in charge of specific organization-wide projects delegated to it by the Student Body Officers. The committee must oversee the designing of all Student Government apparel, assist in organizing community events, and other internal support programs the Public Relations Committee Chair deems necessary.

§3.2. Ad Hoc Committees. An ad hoc committee shall be created by the majority approval of the Senate, as the need arises, to carry out specific tasks, at the completion of which the committee automatically suspends until next needed. The President of Student Senate shall appoint the chairs of these committees.