The LSU Student Senate voted Wednesday to not pass legislation reforming campaigning material spending limits.
The Senate met and heard over 20 pieces of legislation throughout this meeting, two of which failed.
Sen. Calvin Feldt, Sen. Luke Ducote and Sen. Jack Appleton proposed SGB 19, which would be an election reform bill decreasing the spending limit of campaigns by 42%, according to Feldt.
Instead of the $2,500 spending limit that is already in place, it would decrease the numbers to around $1,450.
However, some senators were in favor of the bill stating it promotes a fair spending limit for each campaign.
“There is reform that is needed and I think the way it is implemented is overly restrictive. The great thing about campaigns is the creativity and this ultimately stifles it,” Sen. James Williams III said.
Senators debated whether or not items such as music should be allowed. While some agreed it should, others acknowledged music is not needed in their opinion.
The question some senators posed is whether or not this bill would still make for a positive environment. Ultimately this did not pass, with a vote of 26-15-10, as it would need a two-thirds vote to pass.
SGB 38 also did not pass. It was authored by Sen. Joshua Jones and co-authored by Sen. Ducote.
This bill would allow Senators to issue a notice of neglect as a formal notice that someone in a position is not fulfilling their duties. This notice would be issued prior to an impeachment hearing.
The authors also noted that Chief Justice Austin Arceneaux was favorable to this idea. However, multiple members of the senate were against this, including Sen. Kelsey Womack.
“In [the Rules Committee,] we fought against notice of neglect, which should not be publicized in any capacity, moving to censure and impeachment as notice of neglect,” Womack said. “I do not like the idea of notice of neglect when censures exist,” Sen. Womack said.
As Womack mentioned, there are other methods already in place to address someone not fulfilling their duties. Senators debated whether or not to pass the bill with this in mind.
Ultimately, the bill failed with a vote of 4-32-16.
A large portion of the meeting was the overturn of President Lavar Henderson’s Veto of SGB 22. The bill to override the veto passed by a vote of 48-0-6.
Since the veto was overruled, the bill will be passed but will not contain Henderson’s signature. However, Henderson told the Reveille he will potentially look into having the SG attorney general look into it.
Legislation that did pass this session includes SGR 13 by Sen. Ducote, Sen. Feldt, Sen. Appleton, Sen. Joshua Jones and Sen. Benjamin Goldstein.
This resolution requests that the LSU Election Commission hosts an event to increase voting awareness during active campaign week.
The goal of this would be that the Election Commission is passing out refreshments to discourage tickets from feeling the need to hand out food. The body was in favor and voted to pass this by unanimous consent.
A majority of the other legislation passed including funding for different projects and events the senate will be doing.
The LSU Student Senate meets every Wednesday at 6:30 in the LSU Student Union Capital Chambers and is open to the public.
