When a bill is called to the floor of the Senate in the nation’s capitol, senators are provided with an unlimited amount of time to debate. But, in the Student Union’s Atchafalya Room on Wednesday nights, the Student Government Senate isn’t so fortunate.By passing SG Bill No. 3 in the third SG Senate meeting of the semester, the Senate altered its rules regarding the amount of time available to both the authors and contestants of bills put up for legislation.Before the bill had passed through almost half an hour of debate and amendments, it limited senators to a maximum of five minutes each time they approached the podium while discussing a bill. Before this bill’s passage, senators were unofficially limited to 10 minutes by Robert’s Rules of Order. “Five minutes is more than enough time to explain almost any bill,” said Sen. Tyler Martin, College of Business and author of the bill.
Though he proposed a five minute cap on senatorial remarks during a bill’s discussion, he also said he had brought it before the senate so the whole senatorial body could be decided on his bill’s particulars.The bill caused immediate concern with many of the senators. Some senators were unsure whether a five minute cap was appropriate for both the opening and closing statements, debate and questioning.Sen. Amanda Gammon, College of Arts and Sciences, proposed an amendment to increase the amount of time allowed to senators questioning the author of a bill from five minutes to 10 minutes.”Sometimes we’re not really sure what we’re talking about, and 10 minutes will give us more time before we get caught in a really long debate,” Gammon said.Other senators who supported the bill agreed that, should something be important enough to merit more than five minutes, the Senate could easily move to suspend the rules and extend a senator’s time.Sen. Ashley Free, College of Arts and Design, said providing extended limits to senators’ time was a waste that could be spent furthering the students’ agenda.”If you say one thing to make a third of this room mad, your time will not be extended,” said Sen. Andy Palermo, University Center for Advising and Counseling. “When it comes down to things they don’t want to hear, people will limit your time.”Palermo continued by saying senators who were not willing to stay late and “debate [their] hearts out” to defend the students’ voice needed to reevaluate why they became senators.
 
—
Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]