Senate Procedure Rules Compendium/Q & A

[Sam Spade]

Since the Wiki seems to be down and probably will never return (or at least not for a long time), I just wanted to start a thread compiling the OSPR and the revisions.

This thread will also include suggestions as to potential future revisions and add-ons as time goes by (which can be made by anyone, not just me); comments and questions with regards to application of the Senate rules; and a list of the rules that I think it is most important for a Senator to learn to be effective, in case one doesn't want to read the whole document.  This doesn't apply to the PPT, who should read every word. (a necessary skill of the position, imo).

More posts to come.

[Gabu]

This will likely be very useful to me, as it's a hassle searching for the OSPR and all changes that have been made to it every time I'm not clear on some form of policy and need to look it up.

So, thank you in advance.

[Sam Spade]

Official Senate Procedural Resolution[/i][/b]

Article 1:  Purpose and Definitions[/b]

Section 1:  Purpose

The purpose of this Procedural Resolution is to provide the Senate with detailed, yet flexible rules for parliamentary procedure, define clearly the powers and prerogatives of the President Pro-Tempore (PPT) and the President of the Senate within the affairs of the Senate, excepting those provisions so stated by the Constitution, and provide a speedy, yet careful process for legislation to proceed from the Senator to the Senate to the President for Passage or Veto.  It is also designed to clean up many of the inconsistencies, redundant clauses and vague wording of previous Senate Procedural Resolutions.

Section 2:  Definitions

1.   Legislation is defined as any Bill, Amendment, or Resolution to a current Act, Procedural Resolution, or Constitutional Amendment.

2.   In all past, present and future instances of the terms, a Bill is defined as a piece of legislation that is awaiting or is presently in debate on the Senate floor.  An Act is defined as a Bill that has achieved passage into Law.

Article 2:  Powers and Responsibilities of the President Pro-Tempore (PPT) and the President of the Senate[/b]

Section 1:  Powers and Responsibilities of the President Pro-Tempore

1.   The President Pro-Tempore, to be further known in this document as the PPT, shall be the Presiding Officer of the Senate and shall be responsible for upholding the provisions of this Procedural Resolution when it is in his power to do so individually or, as so defined in this document, whenever joint consideration with either the President of the Senate or the members of the Senate.

2.   The PPT shall also be responsible for maintaining regular contact with the President of the Senate, in case such need arises for joint use of power as laid out under Article 7 of this Procedural Resolution.

3.   It is also the PPT’s responsibility to present himself/herself to the rest of the Senate as an exemplary member and to make sure that the Senate’s debate remains civil and orderly at all times.

Section 2:  Powers of the President of the Senate

1.   The President of the Senate, in addition to his powers so stated in the Constitution, shall retain the powers and prerogatives as the Presiding Officer of the Senate under the following circumstances:

a.   A publicly announced absence by the PPT from the Atlas Forum.
b.   If the PPT has been inactive from the Atlas Forum for seven (7) days. 
c.   In any case where the PPT has failed to uphold the provisions of this Procedural Resolution when it is in his power to do so individually.
d.   During any period of time when no Senator is presently holding the office of PPT.

2.   The President of the Senate shall also be responsible for maintaining regular contact with the PPT, in case such need arises for joint use of power as laid out under Article 7 of this Procedural Resolution.

Section 3: Precautionary Powers

1.  In case of a publicly announced absence from the Atlas Forum by the PPT where the position of President of the Senate is vacant, the PPT shall have the right to appoint any office-holding Senator to serve as Presiding Officer of the Senate during the PPT's absence or until the position of President of the Senate is filled, and shall have all the powers and responsibilities so granted to that office.

2.  In case the PPT has been inactive from the Atlas Forum for seven (7) days without prior notice and the position of President of the Senate is vacant, the longest-serving District Senator (in consecutive terms) shall serve as Presiding Officer of the Senate (PPT) in the PPT's absence or until the position of President of the Senate is filled, and shall have all the powers and responsibilities so granted to that office.

Article 3:  Rules on Legislation Introduction and Reintroducing Expired Legislation[/b]

Section 1:  Rules on Legislation Introduction

1.   The PPT shall establish and maintain a thread for Senators to introduce legislation, to be further known in this document as the Legislation Introduction Thread.  Only Senators who presently hold elected office may be allowed to post in this thread.  Any Citizens or Individuals who post in this thread may be subject to legal action pursuant to the relevant clauses in federal Criminal Law legislation so passed by the Senate.

2.   The PPT shall also establish and maintain a thread for all Citizens and Individuals of Atlasia to give opinions, thoughts, suggestions and ideas about recently introduced legislation or legislation presently under debate on the Senate floor.  This clause is not meant to deny Citizens or Individuals their right to post on Senate debate threads dealing with specific legislation presently being debated on the Senate floor.

3.   In the first seven (7) days of any new Session of the Senate, but at no other time during a Session of the Senate, the PPT may start a new Legislation Introduction Thread or a new commentary thread on legislation, as defined in Clause 2 of this Section, if the PPT determines that either thread has become too long or has been diverted off-topic.  Any legislation relevant to the present Session of the Senate that has been introduced on the old Legislation Introduction Thread must be posted on the new Legislation Introduction Thread by the PPT.

4.   If the PPT determines that a piece of legislation is functionally impractical, frivolous, or is directly unconstitutional, he may, in a public post on the Legislation Introduction thread, remove said legislation from the Senate floor.  The sponsoring Senator of the legislation shall have seventy-two (72) hours to challenge this action in a public post, and with the concurrence of one-third (1/3) of office-holding Senators in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), may override the actions of the PPT.  (Nasolation clause)

5.   If the PPT determines that a piece of legislation addresses two or more divorced subjects, he may, in a public post on the Legislation Introduction thread, remove said legislation from the Senate floor, strike any Sections from said legislation that deal with unrelated subjects, or split said legislation into multiple pieces of legislation which deal with only one subject individually.  The sponsoring Senator of the legislation shall have seventy-two (72) hours to challenge this action in a public post, and with the concurrence of two-thirds (2/3) of office-holding Senators in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), may override the actions of the PPT.

6.   The PPT may also utilize the Powers laid out in this previous Clause (Clause 5 of this Section) at any time during the Senate Debate on said legislation, as laid out in Article 4, Section 1 of this Resolution.  The rules for challenging the PPT’s actions by the sponsoring Senator shall also apply in this situation.

 Section 2:  Rules on Introducing Legislation to the Senate Floor

1.   The PPT will designate each piece of legislation debate time on the Senate Floor in the order of which it is posted in the Legislation Introduction thread.
 
2.   At any one time there may be no more than four (4) Bills/Constitutional Amendments/Resolutions on the Senate Floor being debated upon or voted upon by the Senate.

3.   Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2 of this Section, legislation may only be introduced on the Senate floor by the PPT after another piece of legislation currently on the Senate floor is either:

a.   signed into law by the President or simply becomes law (by executive inaction for seven (7) days).
b.   in case of a Bill or Resolution, rejected by a majority of the Senate after a vote is called.
c.   in the case of a Amendment to the Constitution, rejected by more than one-third (1/3) of the Senate.
d.   withdrawn from the floor by the sponsor.

4.   In case of a veto override vote, legislation may only be introduced after the veto is sustained or overridden in a vote by the Senate.

5.   In case of a vote on an Amendment to the Constitution, legislation may only be introduced after the Senate has approved the Amendment in question and every Region has started a Public Poll on the Amendment, as so laid out in Article VII of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia.

[Sam Spade]

Section 3:  Rules on Reintroducing Expired Legislation

1.   Within seventy-two (72) hours after the beginning of a new Session of the Senate, the PPT shall start a thread detailing expired legislation left over from the previous Senate session, to be further known in this document as the Expired Legislation thread.  In order for legislation to be reintroduced, said legislation must not have received public debate time on the Senate floor, or if debate time has been given, must have not come up for a public vote in front of the full Senate.  Any withdrawn legislation from the previous Session may not be eligible for reintroduction.

2.   Office-holding Senators will be given seventy-two (72) hours from the starting of the Expired Legislation thread to reintroduce any piece of expired legislation by public post.  After seventy-two (72) hours, any legislation that has not been reintroduced shall be removed from the Senate agenda.  Said legislation may be reintroduced by any Senator at a later time, but it must then follow the rules and guidelines for legislation introduction so laid out in Section 1 of this Article.

3.   The PPT will designate each piece of reintroduced legislation debate time on the Senate Floor in the order of which it was originally introduced on the Legislation Introduction Thread.

4.   If a Budget must be approved at the beginning of a Senate Session, as laid out in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, said reintroduced legislation may only be brought to the floor of the Senate by the PPT after a Budget has been approved.

5.   Clauses 2-5 of Section 2 of this Article and all Sections and all Clauses of Articles 4 and 5 must apply to all reintroduced legislation.

Article 4:  Rules on Senate Debate and Amendment(s) to Legislation[/b]

Section 1:  Rules on Senate Debate

1.   After a piece of legislation is introduced on the Senate floor, debate shall begin immediately. Debate on the legislation shall last for no less than seventy-two (72) hours.

2.   If debate on the legislation under consideration has halted for longer than twenty-four (24) hours and the amount of debate time that the legislation has been given exceeds seventy-two (72) hours, any senator may call for a vote on said legislation.

3.   Debate shall proceed after the first seventy-two (72) hours as long as a senator is posting on the thread which details the legislation under consideration, provided intervals between different speeches are no longer than twenty-four (24) hours.

4.   At any time after the first seventy-two (72) hours of debate that are mandated on any and all legislation under consideration, a motion for cloture passed with the concurrence of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Senate shall end the debate, and the PPT shall open a vote on the legislation under consideration. However, if the Senate is presently voting on any Amendments, or if there are any Amendments pending, then the Senate shall not vote on the motion for cloture until said Amendments have been disposed of.

5.      After a motion for cloture has been made, no Amendment(s) to the legislation under consideration may be introduced unless said motion is rejected by the Senate.

6.      If fourteen (14) days have passed since the opening of the debate on a piece of legislation, and a vote on said legislation has not begun, as per the guidelines set out in Clauses 2 and 4 of this Section, any motions brought forth to bring the legislation under consideration to a vote and end the debate shall require the concurrence of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of senators in the affirmative.

Section 2:  Rules on Introduction of Amendment(s)

1.   At any time during the debate on a piece of legislation under consideration on the Senate floor, a senator may propose Amendments to said legislation.

2.   If two (2) or more Amendments are contained within a single post by any Senator, the debate time for such a proposal shall be the same as it would for a single Amendment.  If two (2) or more Amendments are contained within two or more separate posts, each post shall be treated as a separate Amendment, with debate time allocated for each single post being concurrent with the provisions for each single Amendment in Section 3 of this Article.

3.  A Senator may have no more than three (3) of his Amendments pending before the Senate at one time.

4.   If the PPT determines that an Amendment is functionally impractical, is frivolous, or is directly unconstitutional, he may, in a public post on the debate thread, remove said Amendment from consideration.  The Senator who introduced the Amendment shall have twenty-four (24) hours to challenge this action, and with the concurrence of one-third (1/3) of office-holding Senators in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), may override the actions of the PPT.

5.   If the PPT determines that an Amendment addresses two or more divorced subjects, he may, in a public post on the debate thread, remove said Amendment from consideration, strike any Sections from said Amendment that deal with unrelated subjects, or split said Amendment into multiple Amendments which deal with only one subject individually.  If the PPT chooses to break such an Amendment into multiple Amendments, the debate time for said multiple Amendments shall be the same as it would for a single Amendment.  The sponsoring Senator of the legislation shall have twenty-four (24) hours to challenge this action in a public post, and with the concurrence of two-thirds (2/3) of office-holding Senators in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), may override the actions of the PPT.

Section 3:  Rules on Senate Debate of Amendment(s)

1.   After an Amendment is proposed, it shall be debated for no less than twenty-four (24) hours and for no more than seventy-two (72) hours.

2.   If debate on the Amendment under consideration has halted for longer than twenty-four (24) hours during the timeframe specified by Clause 1, any senator may call for a vote on said amendment.

3.   After seventy-two (72) hours, the debate on an Amendment shall cease, and the PPT shall open a vote on said Amendment immediately.

4.      If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep debate time on the Amendment(s) under consideration open for another forty-eight (48) hours, after which time the debate time shall end for good and a vote shall be called. This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

Section 4:  Rules for Voting on Amendment(s) and the Changing of Votes

1.      Once a senator calls for a vote on the Amendment(s) under consideration, per Clause 2 of Section 3 of this article, or once debate time expires, per clauses 3 and 4 of Section 3 of this article, the PPT shall open a vote on said Amendment(s). This vote shall last for a maximum of five (5) days during which time the Senators must vote. Voting may be declared final at any time if a majority of office-holding Senators has approved or rejected said Amendment(s). Any and all Senators who do not vote will be considered to have abstained.

2.   If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep voting on the Amendment(s) under consideration open for another forty-eight (48) hours after which time the voting shall close.  This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

3.   Until an Amendment(s) under consideration has garnered enough votes to pass or fail, no Senator shall be prohibited from changing his or her vote on the legislation.  Once said Amendment(s) has garnered enough votes to pass or fail, all Senators who have voted will be prohibited from changing their votes.

Article 5:  Rules for Voting on Legislation, Changing of Votes and Veto Overrides[/b]

Section 1:  Rules for Voting on Legislation

1.    Once a senator calls for a vote on the Amendment(s) under consideration, per Clause 2 of Section 1 of this article, or once debate time expires, per clauses 3 and 4 of Section 1 of this article, the PPT shall open a vote on said legislation.  This vote shall last for a maximum of seven (7) days during which time the Senators must vote.  Any and all Senators who do not vote will be considered to have abstained.

2.   If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep voting on the legislation under consideration open for another seventy-two (72) hours after which time the voting shall close.  This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

Section 2:  Rules on the Changing of Votes

1.   Until a piece of legislation under consideration has garnered enough votes either to pass or fail, no Senator shall be prohibited from changing his or her vote on the legislation.

2.   Following the garnering of enough votes to either pass or fail, the PPT shall announce this fact publicly on the debate/voting thread.  All Senators shall have a period of time lasting twenty-four (24) hours after this announcement during which they shall not be prohibited from changing their votes on the legislation.

3.   Following the expiration of this twenty-four (24) hour time period, the PPT shall publicly declare the vote total to be final and shall apply said vote total to the legislation. All Senators shall be prohibited from changing their votes on the legislation after this time.

[Sam Spade]

Section 3:  Rules on Veto Overrides

1.   If a piece of legislation is vetoed by the President, the sponsor of the bill must let the PPT know publicly on the Senate floor within 72 hours of the veto being placed whether he wishes to have a vote to override the veto.  If he replies in the negative or fails to reply within the given time, the legislation will be withdrawn from the Senate floor.

2.   Extensions to this time period may only be allowed by the PPT in case of a publicly announced absence from the forum.

3.   Sections 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply in full to voting on a Veto Override, with this exception:

For the purposes of a Veto Override only, any Senator who Abstains from voting shall be counted as a vote Against the legislation under consideration.

Article 6:  Rules on Presidential Nominations[/b]

Section 1:  General Statements on Nominees

1.  From time to time, various nominations may be made by the President requiring the advice and consent of the Senate for approval. 

2.  These nominations may be brought to the floor of the Senate immediately by the PPT and may skip the processes dealing with Legislation Introduction, as so laid out in Article 3 of this Resolution.

3.  Nominees under consideration specifically do not count towards the restrictions laid out towards in Article 3, Section 2, Clause 2 in limiting the amount of legislation on the Senate floor at one time.

Section 2:  Rules on Senate Debate of Nominees

1.  For each Presidential nomination, the PPT must give each Nominee under consideration an amount of debate and question time in front of the Senate of no less than twenty-four (24) hours and no greater than seventy-two (72) hours.

2.  If debate and questions with regards to the Nominee under consideration has halted for longer than twenty-four (24) hours, any Senator may call for a motion to vote on the presumptive Nominee.

3.  After seventy-two (72) hours time, debate and question time shall cease, and the PPT must call for a vote on the Nominee under consideration.

4.   If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep debate and question time on the Nominee under consideration open for another forty-eight (48) hours, after which time the debate and question time shall end for good and a vote shall be called.  This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

Section 3:  Rules for Voting on Nominees and the Changing of Votes

1.   Once a motion has been brought to bring the Nominee under consideration to a vote or debate and question time has publicly ended, the PPT shall open a vote on said Nominee.  This vote shall last for a maximum of five (5) days during which time the Senators must vote.  Any and all Senators who do not vote will be considered to have abstained.

2.  If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep voting on the Nominee under consideration open for another forty-eight (48) hours after which time the voting shall close. This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

3.   Until a Nominee under consideration has garnered enough votes to pass or fail, no Senator shall be prohibited from changing his or her vote on the Nominee.  Once said Nominee has garnered enough votes to pass or fail, all Senators who have voted will be prohibited from changing their votes.

Article 7:  Rules on the Overriding of Sections of this Procedural Resolution[/b]

1.  Only the PPT and the President of the Senate, acting in unison publicly on the Senate floor, can override these specific provisions (stated below) in this Procedural Resolution:

a.  Article 3, Section 2, Clauses 1 through 5
b.  Article 4, Section 1, Clause 1
c.  Article 4, Section 3, Clause 1
d.  Article 6, Section 2, Clause 1
   
2.   Any Senator shall have seventy-two (72) hours from such a public statement by the PPT and the President of the Senate to call for a resolution in the Senate to overrule the PPT and the President of the Senate in the use of powers designated by Clause 1 of this Article, if any Senator considers their decision to be on infringement of the intention of this resolution.

3.  If this resolution passes by a two-thirds (2/3) vote in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), this joint action by the PPT and the President of the Senate shall be overruled.

4.   If the PPT or the President of the Senate has publicly announced absence from the Senate or is absent from the Atlas Forum in general for a period longer than seven (7) days, then the powers provided by Clause 1 of this Article may be applied by the PPT or the President of the Senate in conjunction a simple majority vote in approval by the Senate at large.

5.     The purpose of this Article is to provide for situations where a particular piece of legislation is of utmost National importance and requires an immediate debate and vote by the Senate at the soonest possible instance, and also in situations where any legislation under consideration is being blocked from receiving a cloture vote by a group of Senators.  It is also designed to provide some checks and balances to the power of the PPT and/or the President of the Senate in the realm of Legislation Introduction and debate.

Article 8 – PPT Elections[/b]

Section 1 – Rules for Conducting the Election of the PPT

1.   The President Pro Tempore (PPT) shall be elected by a majority of the Senate in an internal vote of the Senate conducted by the President of the Senate.  This vote shall be conducted by preferential vote and the candidate who receives the greatest number of preferential votes shall be elected PPT.  If there is tie, the tie-breaking vote shall be cast by the President of the Senate.

2.   Following the swearing in of the new Senate at the beginning of each Session, the President of the Senate shall open a thread in the Fantasy Government board for Senators to announce their candidacy for the position of PPT.  This thread shall be further known in this document as the PPT Candidacy Declaration Thread and shall be open for seventy-two (72) hours for Senators to declare their candidacy for the position.

3.   After seventy-two (72) hours, the PPT Candidacy Declaration Thread shall be closed and a vote on the election of the new PPT shall be opened in a new thread by the President of the Senate.  This vote shall last for a maximum of five (5) days during which time the Senators must vote. Any and all Senators who do not vote will be considered to have abstained.

4.   If needed, an injunction may be brought by a Senator to keep voting on the election of the new PPT open for another forty-eight (48) hours after which time the voting shall close. This injunction must be seconded by another Senator.

5.   Until a candidate for the PPT position has garnered enough preferential votes to achieve a majority, no Senator shall be prohibited from changing his or her vote. Once a candidate for the PPT position has garnered enough preferential votes to achieve a majority, all Senators who have voted will be prohibited from changing their votes.

6.   PPT elections do not count towards the restrictions laid out towards in Article 3, Section 2, Clause 2 in limiting the amount of legislation on the Senate floor at one time.

Section 2 – PPT Guidelines

1.   No Senator shall be allowed to serve as President Pro Tempore for a period of more than four (4) Senate sessions or eight ( 8 ) months.

2.   PPT elections must occur following the swearing in of the new Senate at the beginning of each and every Session, or immediately following the resignation of the PPT from his position.  All election rules and candidate declaration rules as laid out in Section 1 of this Article must be followed for each PPT election.

3.   In order to remove the PPT from power, 1/3 (one-third) of office-holding Senators must deliver a signed petition to the President of the Senate, who shall then call for a vote of no confidence in the President Pro Tempore among all office-holding Senators. This vote will require the support of 2/3 (two-thirds) of the Senate to pass.

4.   If the PPT is removed, per Clause 3 of this Section, a new PPT election shall be started immediately by the President of the Senate and shall adhere to all election rules and candidate declaration rules laid out in Section 1 of this Article.  Only the Senator who was removed from the PPT position by a vote of no confidence is ineligible to being a candidate in this new PPT election.

Article 9:  Repealed Legislation[/b]

The following Procedural Resolutions and Sections thereof, are hereby repealed:

1.   The First Senate Procedural Resolution is repealed in full.

2.   The Second Senate Procedural Resolution is repealed in full.

3.   The Senate Procedural Resolution of Multiple Issue Bills is repealed in full.

4.   The Senate Procedural Resolution on Legislation Introduction is repealed in full.

5.   The Senate Procedural Resolution on the Changing of Votes is repealed in full.

[Emsworth]

This is a useful thread, Senator.

One interesting point that some forum citizens have brought up is that the President does not have the power to introduce legislation directly. I think that we should consider granting such a power. Indeed, Article II of the Constitution says that it is the President's responsibility to "recommend to their [the Senate's] Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

I don't suggest any rule changes yet, but this is something that we could keep in mind.

[Sam Spade]

I'll give some thought to that, as we as a couple of proposals I have myself when I get the time to put it down into words.

[Sam Spade]

This is a useful thread, Senator.

One interesting point that some forum citizens have brought up is that the President does not have the power to introduce legislation directly. I think that we should consider granting such a power. Indeed, Article II of the Constitution says that it is the President's responsibility to "recommend to their [the Senate's] Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

I don't suggest any rule changes yet, but this is something that we could keep in mind.

I have done some thinking about this and frankly my opinion is that it is probably unnecessary for the reasons below.

If the President has legislation he wishes to introduce, he should contact a Senator(s) whom he knows will introduce the legislation.  This could include members of his own party, etc. 

The problem of late has not been Presidents or VPs being unable to find Senators to introduce legislation.  Rather, it has been with Presidents who choose not to take an active role in the legislative process.

If the President wants to push through an idea of his that has not been worked into legislation, or he is unable to, then giving him power to introduce on the legislation thread will be ineffective. 

Instead, he should use the "bully pulpit" to make Senators recognize that the issue is a problem, or should work with Senators who agree with his viewpoint to craft such a bill.  In extreme circumstances, he could threaten the veto of desired legislation in order to pressure Senators to consider the problem at hand.

The President's power over legislative matters stems entirely from his involvement in such matters.  Allowing the President to introduce legislation would not, in my opinion, increase involvement in those matters purely on its lonesome based on the examples I have given above.

That's my two cents.  Of course, I am willing to listen to alternative opinions. 

[Emsworth]

I would broadly concur with your suggestions. However, I think that it would be much more convenient for active Presidents to introduce legislation on their own, instead of looking for Senators to do so on his behalf.

[Sam Spade]

Comments on the Eighth Session and suggestions on rules changes:

Comments
The activity of the VP towards handling procedural matters is a new and different phenomenon than we have seen in past Senates.  One of the reasons why I wrote the OSPR in the first place was to give the VP some idea with regards to his power in the running of the Senate.  Emsworth has taken the handles and run with it, specifically under the reasoning of this clause:

1.   The President of the Senate, in addition to his powers so stated in the Constitution, shall retain the powers and prerogatives as the Presiding Officer of the Senate under the following circumstances:

c.   In any case where the PPT has failed to uphold the provisions of this Procedural Resolution when it is in his power to do so individually.

This creates a flexible rationale for the VP to run the Senate at any particular moment he wants to, as long as the guidelines fit the definition of subsection (c).

I do not expect this exceptional VP activity to continue in the future, but it is something to keep in mind for those who run for PPT come August and for those who run as VP come October.

Suggestions as to changes in procedure: (for discussion only)

1.  A tactic increasingly used in the Eighth Senate has been the motion to table legislation.  Although not specifically laid out in the OSPR, precedent for this goes to the US Senate as a whole.  

Of course, since the OSPR has been Atlasia's procedural precedent and there is really no rationale behind using US Senate models for our own procedure now that it is defined, every tabling motion is questionable, to say the least.  I have been against questioning it, because so far all uses of it have been fairly unanimous.  However, this doesn't mean that it can't be abused in the future.

Therefore, I would propose that we codify tabling motions in the OSPR.  A simple majority to table seems to small to me.  After all, some might abstain.

I would propose a that a tabling motion be enacted, with a majority voting in favor on a bill or procedural resolution or a 2/3rds majority on a constitutional amendment being sufficient to table the legislation.

The addition would be that, any and all abstentions shall count as Nays for the purposes of this motion.

2.  With the constant absences of many members out on vacation during the summer, another addition to the OSPR has been perculating in my mind, one which I thought about when originally designing the document but left out.  It now appears to be more necessary.

This is the subject of a "quorum requirement" in having enough Senators present so that votes can be held.  If no one is here, I would prefer that things stall, rather than have votes where a small minority can influence legislation based on the absence of others.  I realize the danger of people not voting in order to keep legislation from passing, but we might as well simply consider that another tool of the minority (which can frankly never have enough tools).

I would propose a quorum requirement of 6 Senators voting for bills, procedural resolutions, nominations, PPT elections or amendments to legislation.  I would also propose a quorum requirement of 7 Senators voting for constitutional amendments and cloture vote.  Abstentions do not count towards the quota requirement.

Now, there's obviously a problem here.  In order to keep abstentions from causing problems, I would propose that we add a fourth category of voting, simply called "Present", which counts as an abstention, but counts towards the quorum requirement for the Senate.

This is probably more radical than what I have proposed in #1, but worthy of some thought.  Suggestions, as always?

[Emsworth]

Of course, since the OSPR has been Atlasia's procedural precedent and there is really no rationale behind using US Senate models for our own procedure now that it is defined, every tabling motion is questionable, to say the least.

While you make a good point, I would have to disagree somewhat. I would say that the power to pass a motion to table is a part of the broader power of the Senate to control debate by passing any motion not prohibited by the rules or the law. For example, the Senate passed a motion to suspend debate on the Secret Ballot Procedure Bill, even though no such motion is mentioned in the rules. I think that this flexibility is important; it is theoretically in accord with the principle that a majority of the Senate should be able to control debate, unless otherwise explicitly provided. Furthermore, the motion to table is not unique to the U.S. Senate; it is used by virtually every single parliamentary body, and is a part of natural parliamentary procedure.

However, I would still agree that it is best to codify the motion in the rules.

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I would agree with this. I believe that this is the Senate's procedure with treaties, which require a 2/3 vote to table.

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I agree, with one proviso: the Vice President should count towards the quorum.

Consider the hypothetical scenario in which there are five Senators in favor, five opposed; the VP is also in favor. If all five opposing Senators vote, then the VP casts his tiebreaking vote, and the motion passes. If all five of them don't vote at all, however, there would be no quorum, and the motion would fail. To prevent this incongruity, I would think that the VP should count towards the quorum.

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That's fine as well.

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As the rules currently read, it seems that the PPT is the presiding officer of the Senate, and the Vice President normally takes over only during his absence, and in other rare situations. But in my opinion, exactly the opposite should be the case! As might be implied by his title -- President pro tempore -- the PPT should supposedly preside when the VP is absent, rather than the other way around.

I hope, however, that the Senate does not mind my interference in its affairs, which is admittedly contrary to custom and tradition. If the Senate does not have any objection to my continued involvement, then I would suggest that I do intend to continue to preside over Senate affairs actively for the remainder of my term.

[Sam Spade]

I'm just going to respond to this one.  The other stuff I essentially agree with.

As the rules currently read, it seems that the PPT is the presiding officer of the Senate, and the Vice President normally takes over only during his absence, and in other rare situations. But in my opinion, exactly the opposite should be the case! As might be implied by his title -- President pro tempore -- the PPT should supposedly preside when the VP is absent, rather than the other way around.

I hope, however, that the Senate does not mind my interference in its affairs, which is admittedly contrary to custom and tradition. If the Senate does not have any objection to my continued involvement, then I would suggest that I do intend to continue to preside over Senate affairs actively for the remainder of my term.

I understand what you're saying with regards to the true responsibility of the PT and VP.  Unfortunately, the VP had not chosen to really exercise any legislative up until your arrival and at the time of the OSPR, Gabu as PPT was running the Senate from all angles.

It was with this in mind that I designed the OSPR as I did.  There is of course a good case that we should perhaps re-think that, but as for right now I like the arrangement and one of the two can handle most of the responsibilities.  Fwiw, it at least keeps things moving at a decent pace (a big problem in earlier Senates).

So, anyway, I don't mind to the interference and most importantly, it appears that Gabu doesn't either.

[Gabu]

So, anyway, I don't mind to the interference and most importantly, it appears that Gabu doesn't either.

Quite frankly, Emsworth is running the Senate at a speech that would be literally impossible for me to run it at, given that I just don't have the time to constantly monitor everything at all times of the day, so I don't see any reason why I would even think of objecting to the job Emsworth is doing, barring some self-serving motive that would make me want to retain full control of the Senate at all costs.  Our only duty, essentially, is to keep the Senate running smoothly, and Emsworth is doing as good a job as any could hope for.

[Emsworth]

One other rules change suggestion I have relates to absentee ballots. The OSPR should specify some method under which a Senator may cast an absentee ballot. I would suggest a private message sent jointly to the VP and the PPT.

[Sam Spade]

I am bumping up this thread again, as I intend to be commenting slightly more on applicable questions concerning the Senate rules.

I am also presently working on some major revisions to the OSPR, concerning any number of issues that have come up in previous Senate sessions.

These concern:

*a slight loosening of autocratic PPT power of running the Senate, and the insertion of a clause that makes it easier for the PPT to hand over power to the VP, if the VP wishes to keep involved.
*a list of types of motions that Senators can file, when they can file them and rules for their passage
*creation of quorum requirements and decorum rules
*clarification of voting periods and times
*rules for absentee balloting
*clarification of what happens to a Senator's votes and bills when a Senator resigns/is expelled/impeached, etc.
*mandating of a Senate Notice Board and creation of the internal position of Senate clerk
*slight strengthening of minority rights in the Senate
*other goodies

This may take a little while to complete, but I'm sure it'll be done before long.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Sounds pretty good actually

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Bump for the new victimes, I mean Senators.

[Democratic Hawk]

Thanks Sam

I printed copies of the Constitution, the Senate Procedural Rules, etc and read them over the Christmas vacation. I'm still a bit ropey but I'm getting there

Dave

[Gabu]

Thanks Sam

I printed copies of the Constitution, the Senate Procedural Rules, etc and read them over the Christmas vacation. I'm still a bit ropey but I'm getting there

Dave

What a waste of paper.

[Colin]

Thanks Sam

I printed copies of the Constitution, the Senate Procedural Rules, etc and read them over the Christmas vacation. I'm still a bit ropey but I'm getting there

Dave

What a waste of paper.

Yeah, I've never read that thing and I've been doing alright so far.