Constitution of the Student Government Association

ARTICLE IV LEGISLATIVE

Section 1 Composition

A.  The Executive Vice President shall act as President of the Senate.

B.  The President of the Senate shall be the presiding officer of the Senate and may vote only in case of a tie.

C. The Senate shall be composed of the following elected seats:

One senator for each one-thousand (1,000) students within each of the following colleges and schools with a minimum of two senators per college or school;

- College of Arts and Sciences,

- J. Mack Robinson College of Business,

- College of Education,

- College of Health and Human Sciences,

- College of Law,

- Andrew Young School of Policy Studies,

D. The number of Senate seats should be based on the previous fall semester enrollment. The number of enrolled students shall be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Section 2 Vacancies

Senatorial vacancies shall be filled by nomination from: A. the President, or B. the Executive Committee, if the President fails to nominate a student for the position during the time allotted. Approval of the nomination requires a simple majority of the Senate members present and voting.

Section 3 Senate's Authority and Responsibilities

The Senate shall have general powers including the following:

A. To seek student feedback and to recommend solutions, formal or informal, to student problems.

B. To provide a voice for the student body in the academic and institutional affairs of the University.

C. To approve the establishment of ad hoc Committees as needed to perform the functions of this organization.

D. To establish its own rules and Bylaws for internal operation.

E. To propose legislation on behalf of the Student Body of the University. No ex post facto legislation shall be enacted.

F. To advocate for student rights.

G. To remove SGA Officers:

a.  Any officer can bring charges of Impeachment for malfeasance and/or nonfeasance against any SGA Officer by submitting a written statement describing the charges and a petition signed by 1/3 of the Senators to the Senate, Chief Justice, and the President of SGA.

b. The Chief Justice shall call and preside over an impeachment hearing of the Senate no earlier than 10 business days and no later than 25 business days from the date of receipt of statement and petition by the Chief Justice.

c. The Senate shall have the power to expel from office, on the ground of nonfeasance and/or malfeasance any officer of the SGA. This expulsion will be by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Senate members present and voting.

H. To provide appropriate services and programs for students.

I. To approve all appointments of the SGA by a simple majority vote of Senators present.

J. To approve all policies for operation of any office, committee or branch within the SGA.

K. To call when necessary a special meeting of the Senate upon written petition signed by at least fifty percent (50%) of the members of the Senate.

L. To review the expenditures and balance sheet of the SGA.

M. To review reports from each Senate Committee.

N. To overrule any decision made by a standing or ad hoc Committee with a two-third (2/3) vote of the Senate members present and voting.

O. To hold regular meetings.

Section 4 Legislative Procedure

A. Legislation passed by the Senate shall be presented by the President of the Senate within five (5) business days to the President of the SGA.

B. If the President of the SGA approves the legislation, he/she shall sign the legislation and it shall become an official policy or a recommendation of the SGA.

C. If the President of the SGA vetoes the legislation, he/she will return it to the President of the Senate within five (5) business days along with written objections, which shall be entered in the Senate Journal. The Senate shall then proceed to reconsider the legislation. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds (2/3) of the Senate members present and voting shall vote to pass the legislation, it shall become official policy or recommendation of the SGA.

D. If no action is taken by the President of the SGA within ten business days, the legislation shall automatically become official without the President's signature.

E. The President of the SGA shall forward all official legislation to affected bodies and individuals within five (5) business days.

Section 5 Senator's Authority and Responsibilities

Each senator shall have the following responsibilities:

A. Sign a code of ethics policy upon being sworn into office.

B. Be a voting member of the SGA Senate.

C. Attend all SGA Senate meetings.

D. Is a student member of the University Senate and/or University Senate Committees as required by the statutes and Bylaws of the University.

E. Attend all meetings of his or her respective University Senate Committee.

F. Actively serve on no less than one (1) SGA Committee.

G. Perform additional duties subject to this Constitution, its amendments and the Bylaws of the SGA.

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