Tuesday night's Student Senate meeting was filled with debate as senators voted to tighten their watch on one Student Government organization and considered a bill that would remove SG's lobbyists.
The majority of senators passed the authorization, which ordered Chomp the Vote director Brett Roth to immediately fulfill his position's duties and submit a written report of their fulfillment to Senate within 30 days.
An authorization is an order from a Senate.
"It tells him to do his job," said Orange and Blue Party Sen. Ben Cavataro, who wrote the authorization.
Chomp the Vote is UF's Student Government-funded voter registration organization and is responsible for efforts to bring students to the polls.
Roth spoke to senators earlier in the meeting and said he was doing his job, citing efforts such as an e-mail that will be sent out through student organization listservs on Saturday, upcoming Facebook ads and 1,000 fliers to be handed out next week.
Early voting for city elections began on Monday.
"We have not been absent," Roth said, adding that efforts slowed because volunteers and students were gone during Spring Break.
Cavataro said 10 volunteers and 1,000 fliers are not sufficient and hoped Roth would increase efforts.
Meanwhile, senators will postpone voting on a bill that suggested firing the two SG lobbyists, who are paid $55,000 a year.
Federal affairs director Dann Somerstein read a letter on behalf of External Affairs Director Matthew Goldberger in support of allowing the lobbyists to keep their jobs.
"There is not a substitute for individual and direct contact with our lobbyists," he wrote.
But Cavataro said the duties of the lobbyists were already fulfilled by UF's lobbyists and other student leaders.
"It's an unnecessary waste of money when our lobbyists don't do that much," he said.
