Mr. Speaker, I hereby submit this motion for consideration by the Senate.
NOTICING that the General Assembly have provisioned for the primary sponsor to withdraw a bill that they have proposed within reasonable circumstances,
UNDERSTANDING that the Senate has yet to do the same,
CONSIDERING that with the success of the existing provision in the lower chamber, that this would be a useful and necessary tool for a Senator to be able to utilise,
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate:
Section 1: Provisions
1. Section 3, Clause 2, Subclause A shall be amended to read: “Hierarchy of Motions
”
2. The following Subclause shall be inserted following Subclause C of Section 4, Clause 3: “Frivolous motions to withdraw.”
3. Two new clauses shall be inserted in Section 3, between Clauses 5 (“A senator may, at any time, protest to the Speaker against an action the senator believes has violated these procedures, and the Speaker shall evaluate the claim, and take whatever restorative action is necessary.”) and 6 (“A Simple Majority shall mean a majority of votes of all Senators present and voting. A Supermajority shall mean a four-fifths majority of all Senators. An Absolute Majority shall mean a majority of votes of all Senators.”), with the subsequent clauses renumbered accordingly:
A. “Except under circumstances outlined later within this section, the primary sponsor for the motion is entitled to motion to withdraw the motion and may cite their reason for doing so. This action is only available to the primary sponsor and they may only do so during the motion’s debate period, following the provisions for such in Section 7.”
B. “The motion to withdraw may not be initiated when:
a. The bill originated in the General Assembly.
b. The bill is returning to the Senate from the General Assembly.”
4. Section 7, Clause 4, Subclause A shall be amended to read: “The debate period will last 48 hours from the opening by the Speaker, during which the primary sponsor may motion to withdraw the bill.”
5. Two new subclauses shall be inserted following Section 7, Clause 4, Subclause A:
A. “If, during this period, the primary sponsor motions to withdraw the motion which remains unobjected to within the following 24 hours, the motion passes.”
B. “If, during this period, the primary sponsor motions to withdraw the motion which is objected to within the following 24 hours, a vote is initiated to withdraw the motion, following the standard provisions for voting on a procedural motion.”
6. The following clause shall be inserted in Section 7, between Clauses 4 (“The speaker shall then declare the bill open for discussion by other Senators, who may then formally and respectfully declare their views on the bill at hand.”) and 5 (“Upon conclusion of the debate period the Speaker will move the bill forward to the amendment period which will last a further 48 hours.”), with the subsequent clauses renumbered accordingly:
A. If the motion to withdraw has been invoked and subsequently passed, following confirmation from the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, the motion shall become withdrawn and will progress no further.
A MOTION
To Amend the Rules of Procedure of the Senate
Presented to the Senate of the Union of Democratic States on the 8th of April, 2021.
Sponsored by Druing.
As follows:
Presented to the Senate of the Union of Democratic States on the 8th of April, 2021.
Sponsored by Druing.
As follows:
NOTICING that the General Assembly have provisioned for the primary sponsor to withdraw a bill that they have proposed within reasonable circumstances,
UNDERSTANDING that the Senate has yet to do the same,
CONSIDERING that with the success of the existing provision in the lower chamber, that this would be a useful and necessary tool for a Senator to be able to utilise,
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate:
Section 1: Provisions
1. Section 3, Clause 2, Subclause A shall be amended to read: “Hierarchy of Motions
| I move to protest violation of procedure |
| I move to withdraw the bill from the Senate |
| I move to extend the current period |
| I move to close the current period |
2. The following Subclause shall be inserted following Subclause C of Section 4, Clause 3: “Frivolous motions to withdraw.”
3. Two new clauses shall be inserted in Section 3, between Clauses 5 (“A senator may, at any time, protest to the Speaker against an action the senator believes has violated these procedures, and the Speaker shall evaluate the claim, and take whatever restorative action is necessary.”) and 6 (“A Simple Majority shall mean a majority of votes of all Senators present and voting. A Supermajority shall mean a four-fifths majority of all Senators. An Absolute Majority shall mean a majority of votes of all Senators.”), with the subsequent clauses renumbered accordingly:
A. “Except under circumstances outlined later within this section, the primary sponsor for the motion is entitled to motion to withdraw the motion and may cite their reason for doing so. This action is only available to the primary sponsor and they may only do so during the motion’s debate period, following the provisions for such in Section 7.”
B. “The motion to withdraw may not be initiated when:
a. The bill originated in the General Assembly.
b. The bill is returning to the Senate from the General Assembly.”
4. Section 7, Clause 4, Subclause A shall be amended to read: “The debate period will last 48 hours from the opening by the Speaker, during which the primary sponsor may motion to withdraw the bill.”
5. Two new subclauses shall be inserted following Section 7, Clause 4, Subclause A:
A. “If, during this period, the primary sponsor motions to withdraw the motion which remains unobjected to within the following 24 hours, the motion passes.”
B. “If, during this period, the primary sponsor motions to withdraw the motion which is objected to within the following 24 hours, a vote is initiated to withdraw the motion, following the standard provisions for voting on a procedural motion.”
6. The following clause shall be inserted in Section 7, between Clauses 4 (“The speaker shall then declare the bill open for discussion by other Senators, who may then formally and respectfully declare their views on the bill at hand.”) and 5 (“Upon conclusion of the debate period the Speaker will move the bill forward to the amendment period which will last a further 48 hours.”), with the subsequent clauses renumbered accordingly:
A. If the motion to withdraw has been invoked and subsequently passed, following confirmation from the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, the motion shall become withdrawn and will progress no further.