Guest Erika Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:11 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:11 PM I am asking this question on behalf of the University of Wisconsin- Parkside Student Government (PSG).Within the PSG constitution, the Legislative branch is defined as the Senate, which is the 20 senators plus representatives of student organizations. The powers, duties, and obligations of the Senate are defined in the bylaws to include calling for censure and impeachment of senators. In the constitution, the President is given the right to issue Executive Actions on behalf of the Student Body. Executive Action is defined as "directive issued by the President on behalf of the Student Body". The Student Body is not delegated any powers in the constitution or bylaws beyond allowing "students" to "call for impeachment" or "call an immediate recall election", which both need to be submitted to the Parliamentarian for review and presentation to the Senate.Because the Senate and Legislative Branch are specifically empowered to censure senators, Because the Student Body isn't empowered to directly censure or impeach,Because nothing was submitted to the Parliamentarian for review and presentation to the Senate,Can the President make an Executive Action to censure Senators? Does Robert's Rules have any way to clarify this? Where else could I look for clarity?Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:16 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:16 PM I am asking this question on behalf of the University of Wisconsin- Parkside Student Government (PSG).Within the PSG constitution, the Legislative branch is defined as the Senate, which is the 20 senators plus representatives of student organizations. The powers, duties, and obligations of the Senate are defined in the bylaws to include calling for censure and impeachment of senators. In the constitution, the President is given the right to issue Executive Actions on behalf of the Student Body. Executive Action is defined as "directive issued by the President on behalf of the Student Body". The Student Body is not delegated any powers in the constitution or bylaws beyond allowing "students" to "call for impeachment" or "call an immediate recall election", which both need to be submitted to the Parliamentarian for review and presentation to the Senate.Because the Senate and Legislative Branch are specifically empowered to censure senators, Because the Student Body isn't empowered to directly censure or impeach,Because nothing was submitted to the Parliamentarian for review and presentation to the Senate,Can the President make an Executive Action to censure Senators? Does Robert's Rules have any way to clarify this? Where else could I look for clarity?Thank you!The president only has those powers that are necessary for him to perform his duties of office. You will have to look to the bylaws to see what powers he has, based on his duties. If your student government has a student court that renders decisions on constitutional and bylaws controversies, someone with standing can file a case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:21 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:21 PM Because the Senate and Legislative Branch are specifically empowered to censure senators, Because the Student Body isn't empowered to directly censure or impeach,Because nothing was submitted to the Parliamentarian for review and presentation to the Senate,Can the President make an Executive Action to censure Senators? Does Robert's Rules have any way to clarify this? Where else could I look for clarity?Unfortunately your question is of interpreting the governing documents which is something you all will need to do for yourselves. See RONR pp. 570-573 for some principles to help with doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Erika Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:24 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:24 PM The president only has those powers that are necessary for him to perform his duties of office. You will have to look to the bylaws to see what powers he has, based on his duties. If your student government has a student court that renders decisions on constitutional and bylaws controversies, someone with standing can file a case.The President is the "official representative of Parkside Student Government," but there isn't anything tying the President to the Student Body or as a member of the Legislative Branch/Senate. The real question is whether or not the Executive Action can even be use of a power that is specifically and exclusively granted to the Legislative Branch. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:27 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:27 PM The President is the "official representative of Parkside Student Government," but there isn't anything tying the President to the Student Body or as a member of the Legislative Branch/Senate. The real question is whether or not the Executive Action can even be use of a power that is specifically and exclusively granted to the Legislative Branch. Any thoughts?No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:28 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 at 11:28 PM The real question is whether or not the Executive Action can even be use of a power that is specifically and exclusively granted to the Legislative Branch. Any thoughts?As I noted above this is an interpretation question for you all to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted September 23, 2010 at 11:19 AM Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 at 11:19 AM The President is the "official representative of Parkside Student Government," but there isn't anything tying the President to the Student Body or as a member of the Legislative Branch/Senate. The real question is whether or not the Executive Action can even be use of a power that is specifically and exclusively granted to the Legislative Branch. Any thoughts?If the power is indeed 'exclusively' granted, it seems you have your answer. Whether your organization's rules actually say that could be a matter of interpretation (if there is any ambiguity in the rules/bylaws). The principles of bylaws interpretation (RONR pp. 570-573, already cited by other posters) may be of help.It sounds as thought the relationship between your senate and president is probably different from the situations generally discussed on this forum -- where the president is (usually) a member of the assembly, and chairs meetings of the assembly. If your President is not part of the meetings of the Legislative Branch, again you'll have to look to your own governing documents to see how the two are intended to interact, and/or what recourse there is if the President does something that isn't permitted by your rules.RONR is primarily a set of rules governing conduct and procedure for meetings -- it doesn't have much to say about enforcement, especially vis a vis non-members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted September 23, 2010 at 11:37 AM Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 at 11:37 AM A direct answer to the question in the Topic line would be:"Whatever the President can get away with." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Erika Posted September 28, 2010 at 02:09 PM Report Share Posted September 28, 2010 at 02:09 PM A direct answer to the question in the Topic line would be:"Whatever the President can get away with."Touche, JD. Touche indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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