HRO

The Senate voted 27-0-4 to endorse the expansion of Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance (JR-16S-2927: HRO).

“People should be protected regardless of their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation,” said Senator Christopher Jordan, the bill’s sponsor.

The resolution will be sent to the Jacksonville City Council, the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality, UNF president John Delaney and the Vice-President of International and Student Affairs, Dr. Mauricio Gonzalez.

Senator Warren Butler said “Jacksonville is the battleground for this issue. The responsibility is on us.”

Senator Katherine Thames amended the bill and plans to send it to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry as well.

“He needs to see this,” Thames said.

The Baker Bill

The Senate passed a bill that raises the minimum GPA for Student Government (SG) members from 2.25 to 2.5.

The Constituents & Statues committee approved CR-16S-2926 or the “Baker Bill” in an emergency meeting before the Senate met.

“We should give the students the option to decide the Senators they want representing them,” said Attorney General Dana Baker.

“Senators with a low GPA tend to forget that we’re Student Government, not government student,” said Senate President Chase Baker. “We have to raise the standard.”

Although the bill passed with 82 percent of the vote, there was some controversy amongst senator opinions.

Senator Kyle McKnight said he’s “wondering how exactly GPA correlates to your ability to be in Student Government.”

Proxy Voting

The Senate voted to eliminate the process of voting when absent, which is called proxy voting.

Student Body President Hailey Guerra and Senate President Chase Baker said they had not seen proxy votes used in three-and-a-half years in Student Government.

“If you’re there you should vote on it. If you’re not, you don’t have that privilege,” Chase Baker said.

Other

The Senate passed a bill to replace the two screens in the Senate Chambers. The total cost of is $16,073.91, funded out of the construction fee. The screen was torn and could not retract.

Treasurer Cameron Duffy said the Auxiliary & Service fee is unaffected.

The Senate appointed Jen Lee, Sophomore, English major 28-0-1 to the final fall seat.

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Correction: Kyle McKnight was incorrectly identified as Joe McKnight