Standing Rules of the Senate: I. Oath of Office A. The Simulation shall begin with the swearing in of Senators and taking of the oath of office. The oath shall be as follows: "I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." II. Commencement of Daily Sessions A. Each Session shall begin with prayer, followed by (if we can obtain a flag) the pledge of allegiance. On Saturday, there shall be a brief (no more than 5 minutes) review of the business accomplished the following day. III. Opening Business A. After the session has been opened, the President Pro Tempore shall present the schedule as established by the majority leader. Before presentation, the minority leader shall have the opportunity to change the position of one bill on the docket. B. After the presentation of the docket, the Senators shall have a chance to propose a bill s position be changed, with the exception that the bill shall not be the one changed by the minority leader.
a. A Senator shall propose a bill s position to be changed. If the motion is seconded, a vote shall be taken. If the President Pro Tempore finds there to be a majority of Senators in favor, the bill s position shall be changed. C. Opening Business shall conclude after no longer than 20 minutes. The docket shall not be presented nor altered in opening business on Saturday. D. All motions made in opening business shall be considered without debate. IV. Voting Procedure A. Members of the Senate shall be called by State to vote, and shall answer yea or nay without debate. No Senator shall be permitted to change their vote after the decision has been announced by the President Pro Tempore. B. When a Senator declines to vote, their name shall be recorded by the President Pro Tempore. After the vote has been taken but before the result has been announced, the President Pro Tempore shall call the names of those who refused to vote. They shall give their reasons, and the Senate shall vote as to whether or not to excuse the Senators. If the Senate decides against them, they shall be required to vote. All motions of this sort shall be decided without debate. V. Introducing Bills for Debate A. When a bill is introduced for debate, its sponsor shall give a brief (no more than three minutes) introductory speech. The goal is to tell the Senate why they should care, why they should pass the bill.
B. A bill made be read up to three times. It shall be read initially when first introduced for consideration. Any Senator may request that a bill be read. The chair shall ask before debate commences if there are any requests for the bill to be read again. C. If there are no motions for an additional reading, debate shall commence. VI. Amendments A. A Senator may propose an amendment to any item under consideration. Amendments shall be proposed during the period of debate for a bill. B. After a Senator makes a motion to amend, they may submit the amendment (in writing? Via email?) to the chair. The chair shall then read the proposed Amendment. If the motion is seconded, the Senate shall take a simple vote as to whether to accept the amendment without debate. C. If it appears to the chair that a majority of Senators favor the amendment, it shall become a part of the bill, and any contradictory passages shall be stricken from the original bill. It shall all be considered together at the final vote. D. If it appears to the chair that a majority does not favor the amendment, it shall be dismissed and debate shall be removed. The chair may dismiss any further amendments they consider close enough as to have already been debated without a vote. E. No Senator shall propose more than two amendments on a motion, unless all others have had the opportunity to do likewise. VII. Debate A. Debate shall begin immediately following the introduction of a bill. The debate period shall last 20 minutes, unless by a simple vote the Senate decides to extend debate.
B. To gain the floor, a Senator shall rise and remain standing until acknowledged by the chair. The chair shall be responsible for tracking the Senators who wish to speak and recognizing them in the appropriate order. C. Once a Senator has the floor, they shall not be required to yield until they desire. Any Senator who wishes to interrupt the speaking Senator, Will the Senator yield their time? after which the Senator may answer yea, nay, or for a question only. If the Senator answers yea, he yields his time and loses the floor. If they answer for a question only, the Senator shall be permitted to ask them one question, which they shall be required to answer before continuing. D. Debate may end at any time by a Senator making a motion for a final vote. After such a motion is made, the chair shall ask if there are any seconds. If it is seconded, a vote shall commence according to the rules in section IV. E. No Senator at any time during the process of debate make remarks that are derogatory towards another officer or another government official, or make remarks otherwise unbecoming of a Senator. If they do so, they may be called to order by the chair, or another Senator, addressing the chair, may request that they be called to order. Upon being called to order, they shall take their seat. a. If this is their first offense, they shall be warned by the chair not to continue in such a fashion, after which they shall continue their speech b. If this is their second offense, a simple vote shall be taken as to whether or not to allow them to continue in their remarks. They shall also be required to apologize to the Senate.
c. If this is a persistent problem in their remarks, they may, by the will of the Senate, be ejected from the Simulation. VIII. Special Rules A. Cloture a. In the event of a Filibuster, a Senator may present a motion for cloture. In order to do so, the following must be obtained: i. The signature of the Majority & Minority leaders ii. The signature of 7 Senators not affiliated with the majority iii. The signature of 7 Senators not affiliated with the minority b. After obtaining these, the Senator seeking cloture shall present the signatures to the chair. The chair, seeing all things are in order, shall invoke cloture, which shall end debate and move to voting immediately B. Motions to Table a. Any bill may be tabled by the will of the majority. Tabled bills shall be moved to the bottom of the docket. b. To table a bill, a Senator shall: i. Make a motion to table ii. The chair shall then ask if there be any seconds. If not, the motion is dismissed iii. If there is a second, the bill shall be tabled by a simple majority vote. C. Motions for Recess a. A Senator may make a motion for recess at any time, except during a vote. b. To make a motion for recess, a Senator shall:
i. A Senator shall approach the chair and request a recess ii. The chair shall announce that there is a motion for recess. The chair shall then ask if there be any seconds. If there are not, the motion is dismissed. iii. If there is a second, a recess shall be granted by a simple majority vote. c. Recesses shall not last more than 5 minutes. If a Senator who was speaking fails to return in time, they yield the floor. d. There shall be no more than one recess every twenty minutes.