Types of Legislation

As the legislative arm of the Florida State University Student Government Association, legislation is the life of the Student Senate. Legislation formally express the opinions of the Student Senate, updates, or alters the current rules or statues, creates clarity in SGA practice, recognizes excellence, and supports the student body through funding, permission, or endorsement of ideas.

All Student Senate legislation must have a sponsor, or Student Senator(s) that draft and submit legislation for the Senate to discuss and vote upon. Legislation must be submitted using the proper Student Senate Forms (embedded in the form and in the Listserv Archives. Rules, Statute, and Constitution changes will not be accepted if not received in the proper format.

Legislation is due every Tuesday by noon prior to a Senate meeting to be placed on first reading on Wednesday night via the Senate Legislation Qualtrics Form at sga.fsu.edu/senatelegislation_forms/.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolutions are formal expressions of the opinion and will of the Student Senate. They are used to make recommendations, share support, or the opinion of the Student Senate regarding particular issues impacting Florida State University students. In addition, Resolutions can:

• Give permission to an RSO to spend over $3000 for a contractual service • Give permission to an RSO to spend A&S funds for an event off -campus • Set the date for the SGA election • Approve the OGA Legislative Agenda • Make changes to the Student Senate Rules of Procedure

Resolutions are written with a series of “WHEREAS” statements – facts that share information about the cause that lead to “RESOLVED” statements, showcasing how Senate feels and what they believe should be done. Resolutions are signed by the Student Senate President, and can be sent to various stakeholders depending on the nature of the Resolution.

PLEASE NOTE: You should provide the address of everyone you add to your CC list in a resolution .

BILLS

Bills are legislative proposals to appropriate and or transfer funds or adopt statutory or constitutional amendments and revisions. They require at least two weeks in the Senate.

• The fi rst week, they will be referred to committee(s), where they will be reviewed and discussed, and a recommendation will be sent to the Senate. • The second week, they will be discussed and voted on in the Senate. • Bills must be signed by the Student Senate President, Student Body President, and Vice President of Student Aff airs before taking eff ect.

Sponsoring a bill that updates Statutes? Contact the Student Senate advisor for a Word version of the statute you are working on to ensure you have the formatting correct!

Thinking about writing senate legislation? sga.fsu.edu/senatelegislation_forms/