Members of Student Government and the Student Senate spent this weekend discussing possible alterations in the Senate staff because of mistakes in the process used to submit the online voting bill the Senate passed Wednesday.
Late Friday afternoon, the Senate staff submitted an incorrect draft of the election code bill, which was due by 10 p.m. Friday, to SG President Allen Richey. The incorrect submission and the Senate staff’s actions following the submission caused controversy among several members of SG.
“It would appear that there was a breakdown in the communication between the Senate Leadership and the Senate Staff,” Sen. Heath Hattaway said.
The SG Constitution and Bylaws state that the Senate is required to deliver legislation to the president for his approval or veto within 48 hours of passing.
Senate Speaker Michael Busada also said the error was a result of miscommunication and extenuating circumstances, and it has been blown out of proportion.
Busada said the legislative staff member who is usually in charge of handling legislation was not available on Friday and Legislative Assistant Ralph Johnson volunteered to fill in for the absent staff member. He said Johnson mistakenly made a few errors when typing the final draft of the bill.
The Senate staff realized the mistakes after the bill had been submitted and Richey had left his office.
Busada said Johnson retrieved the bill from Richey’s desk not knowing his actions were out of order.
“Ralph Johnson, although acting in a manner that was-at best- inadvisable, was merely attempting to correct a situation that was created by the Speaker,” Sen. Neal Hebert said. “Ralph acted in the interest of the Student Senate.”
Johnson said his actions did not have any malicious intent and has since apologized to Richey for his mistakes.
Richey said he spoke to Johnson and did not believe the mix up to be his fault.
Several members of the Senate have expressed opposing viewpoints about the fault of the mistakes.
“In waiting until the last minute, the Speaker jeopardized the integrity of the Senate as well as almost negated the time we as a body have spent creating an election code that reflects the wishes of the students here at LSU,” Hebert said.
Hattaway said the submission of proper legislation in the proper time frame is ultimately the Speaker’s responsibility.
Busada said he accepts the blame for the miscommunication because of extenuating circumstances, but does not see the situation as a vital issue in the Senate. He said the Senate needs to concentrate more on serving the students through legislation.
Sen. Jeremy Griggs said he expects to see a “shake up” in the legislative staff this week and hopes this situation can be resolved before Wednesday’s senate meeting.
“Michael [Busada] does have some responsibility, but I am not in favor of removing him from speaker,” Griggs said.
Griggs said the Senate staff is responsible because of the communication problems in the legislative body among the staff, speaker and senators.
“The Senate will review the situation and determine the appropriate steps that need to be taken while maintaining the integrity of the body and the election code bill,” Hattaway said.
Griggs said despite the late submission of the bill, the amended code still is valid and still will be subject to Richey’s decision.
After the Senate approved the bill Wednesday, several senators commented on the possibility of Richey vetoing it.
Richey said the SG constitution requires him to sign or veto the bill by 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Richey said this weekend’s events will not have any effect on his decision about the fate of the bill to amend the election code.
“The President’s opinions will be considered and respected regardless of whether we overturn the veto,” Hattaway said. “The Senate will continue to work with the President and the Executive Branch however it turns out.