The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senate tabled legislation proposing changes to the body's impeachment procedures at Tuesday night's meeting to investigate the constitutionality of such changes.

North Halls Sen. Kwamena Entsuah and Town Sen. Bill Knauss proposed changes to the Removal from Office Protocol section of the Senate bylaws and introduced a Senate Code of Conduct.

Entsuah said the purpose of the resolution is to institutionalize the steps and procedures the Senate can take to remove senators from office. "It's not to tie hands down with specific steps to take, but to template a procedure we can use that's highly efficient in time-saving and fair to the students," Entsuah said.

The USG Constitution currently states that senators can be expelled for malfeasance or bribery, or if they are in violation of the constitution.

The Senate bylaws state that the Senate vice president must motion to expel a senator with 10 absences.

Entsuah said the legislation is, in part, a response to how the Senate dealt with East Halls Sen. Matt Ritsko and South Halls Sen. Andy Banducci after they attended former Town Sen. Brian Battaglia's controversial Halloween party, during which some members of the Penn State College Republicans dressed in offensive costumes.

Although Entsuah said the resolution is not retroactive and would not affect Ritsko or Banducci, he added that making changes to impeachment procedures would benefit the next congress.

"The whole situation with Andy and Matt has been a problem for the student body," Entsuah said. "It's been a problem for the Senate. It's been a problem for USG."

Entsuah said he was "extremely offended" by the photographs posted on Battaglia's Web site.

One of the photographs pictured former Town Sen. Jason Covener dressed in blackface.

"Human rights starts at home," Entsuah said. "If you don't take anything personally, you're not invested in the issue. If you're not invested in the issue, you can't take a human response to it."

At Tuesday's meeting, Ritsko objected to Senate's considering of the resolution, because he said portions of it violate the USG Constitution.

"If this resolution passes, I will make a court case," Ritsko said.

"There is already a brief in the works. I can see this whole thing being thrown out."

Banducci said there is room for change in the bylaws, but the legislation is unconstitutional as it stands.

"It basically sets up procedures that the constitution doesn't allow for," Banducci said.

He cited the part of the resolution that does not permit appointed senators to vote on impeachment procedures as an example.

The Senate tabled the resolution after Town Sen. Adam Wehler suggested that Ritsko compose an e-mail message to point out specifically where the resolution violates the USG Constitution.

Entsuah said he does not necessarily want to pass the resolution in its current form, adding that it could be amended.