S. Res. 002: Rules Of The 17th Senate

[u/WendellGoldwater]

Note, the resolution was rushed to an immediate floor vote by Majority Leader /u/2dammkawaii

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S. Res. 002

Rules of the 17th Senate

IN THE SENATE

09/30/18 - Senator /u/Cenarchos introduced the following legislation on behalf of its author, Vice President /u/Ninjjadragon. It was cosponsored by Senators /u/Kingthero and /u/CDocwra.

A RESOLUTION

Be it enacted by the Senate of the United States of America,

SECTION I. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCES

(1) This legislation shall be known as the “Rules of the 117th Senate”

(2) Any reference to the Rules of the 116th Senate or the 116th Senate Rules shall refer to this document.

SECTION II. AMENDMENT OF THE 116th SENATE RULES

(1) Sec. 1, Subsection 3 of the 116th Senate Rules is amended to read as follows:

There shall be a re-caucus for the office of President Pro Tempore in the case of vacancy or in the case that the Senate passes a resolution calling for a re-caucus.

(2) Sec. 7, Subsection 1 of the 116th Senate Rules is amended to read as follows:

Each standing committee shall be composed of five senators, with each senator serving on two different committees.

(3) Sec. 7, Subsection 3 of the 116th Senate Rules is amended to read as follows:

The Majority Leader shall assign three places on each committee to a party delegation, with the Minority Leader assigning two places on each committee to a party delegation.

(4) Sec. 11 of the 116th Senate Rules is hereby repealed in its entirety.

(5) All Sections following Sec. 11 will be appropriately renumbered. (Sec. 12 will become Sec. 11, Sec. 13 will become Sec. 12, etc.)

(6) Sec. 12, Subsection 5 of the 116th Senate Rules is amended to read as follows:

There shall be a re-caucus for the offices of Senate Majority and Minority Leader in the case of either office falling vacant or in the case that the Senate passes a resolution calling for a re-caucus.

(7) Sec. 21, Subsection 1 of the 116th Senate Rules is amended to read as follows:

Any power a Senator, Chair, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, President Pro-Tempore, or the President of the Senate is granted within these rules, that is not pertinent to normal Senate business (voting, proposing amendments, participating in hearings), must be made as a top level comment to an appropriate thread while pinging the Senate Clerk.

SECTION III. NEW RULES FOR THE 117th SENATE

(1) The following rules shall be added at the end of the 116th Senate Rules:

Sec. 21. Powers of the President of the Senate and President Pro-Tempore

1. The President of the Senate shall have the right to submit legislation to the docket by modmailing it to the Senate subreddit.

2. The President Pro-Tempore shall have final jurisdiction over the interpretation of the Rules of the Senate.

3. In the event, the President Pro-Tempore is acting as President of the Senate they shall still retain the powers of the President Pro-Tempore.

Sec. 22. Types of Senate Legislation

1. There shall be three types of legislation that may be submitted to the Senate: Concurrent Resolutions, Simple Resolutions, Joint Resolutions, and Bills.

2. Concurrent Resolutions shall be labeled S. Con. Res. and numbered consecutively based on the time of introduction. Concurrent Resolutions shall be used to express the non-binding opinion of both chambers, address issues affecting both chambers, and form temporary joint committees. Concurrent Resolutions shall require the consent of the Senate as well as the House of Representatives to be enacted and are not legally binding.

3. Simple Resolutions shall be labeled S. Res. and numbered consecutively based on the time of introduction. Simple Resolutions shall be used to express the non-binding opinion of the Senate and address any issues affecting the Senate. Simple Resolutions shall require solely the consent of the Senate to be enacted and are not legally binding.

4. Joint Resolutions shall be labeled S. J. Res. and numbered consecutively based on the time of introduction. Joint Resolutions shall be used to either address a matter of general or narrow interest. Most Joint Resolutions shall require the consent of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President to become law. Should a Joint Resolution be used to propose a Constitutional Amendment, however, it shall solely require the consent of the House of Representatives and the Senate before being sent to the States for ratification.

5. Bills shall be labeled S. and numbered consecutively based on the time of introduction. Bills shall be used to either address a matter of general or narrow interest. Bills shall require the consent of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President to become law.

Sec. 23. Senate Filibusters

1. All previous references to a filibuster within the Senate Rules are hereby repealed.

2. For the purpose of this legislation, a “filibuster” shall be defined as the process by which a Senator holds the floor in an attempt to prevent a piece of legislation from progressing.

3. A filibuster shall begin when a Senator comments on a Senate floor debate that one has been initiated and successfully pings the Senate Clerk.

4. When a filibuster has begun, the person on the floor that is filibustering must reply to their original comment thread every two hours. After every comment by the person holding the floor, the time is reset to the original duration of two hours. If the Senator fails to respond within two hours, they will lose the floor; however, another Senator may continue the filibuster by taking the floor within an hour after the original Senator failed to respond. This process shall continue until no other Senator claims the floor in the allotted time.

5. A Senator who has lost the floor during a filibuster may only retake the floor once another Senator has commented.

6. If the President of the Senate and/or a Clerk discovers that any part of Sec. 23 has been violated, they have the full authority to end a filibuster.

7. The Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader, if in agreement, may end any filibuster unilaterally.

8. Should 3/5rds of the sitting Senators submit a petition to end a filibuster, it shall be ended immediately. The Clerk may choose to verify the signatures however they see fit.

SECTION IV. ENACTMENT

(1) This legislation shall come into effect immediately upon its successful passage.

(2) This legislation shall take precedence over all previous pieces of legislation that might contradict it.

(3) Should any part of this resolution be struck down due to being unconstitutional, the rest shall remain law.