Roman Senate

The Government of Rome in 73 BC was known as the “Republic”. This however was not the same as a republic of modern times. The governing body of Rome was the
Senate, which was ruled by two Consuls elected annually. The Senate had in fact been in existence since before the Republic itself. It originated as the advisory of the king, since
Rome was founded as a monarchy. Ever since its foundation, the Senate had been composed of the wealthiest men of Rome. In fact, in the first century BC, the senators were a social class all to themselves. This highly selective social class actually barred much of the next highest social class from joining their ranks. That rank, known as the Equites, were primarily merchants and traders, who the wealthier men

One such example was Tiberius Gracchus, who in 133 BC instituted certain reforms to the influence of the senate. However, for the purposes of this committee, the Senate is the sovereign ruling body in Rome.
Within the Senate there were two parties: the Populares and the Optimates. The
Populares were progressives supported the lower classes and advocated a great deal for social reform in the Republic. The Optimates on the other hand were conservatives, who desired total control for the senate over all of Rome and the Republic. Various aspects of the manners of the Senate of Roman antiquity are being overlooked for the purposes of this committee. One such difference is that consuls were given preferential speaking time and order in the Senate, whereas there will be no such special treatment in this committee, and the chair will afford each senator his speaking time equally.
BACKGROUND: MAGISTRATES
In this committee there will be twelve magistrates, who will be paired for each of the six offices: Consul, Tribune, Praetor, Quaestor, Aedile, and Censor. The Consuls have the most power of any two individuals in the Republic. For any member of the Senate, to be

There will be one serving Aedile during the course of this committee.
Finally, the censores are in charge of the census. They keep track of the people in
Rome and how much property they own. In addition to the purpose for which the position was created, the censors are also in charge of making sure all Roman people observed proper moral conduct. Even other senators can be subject to punishment for immorality. Unlike other magistracies, censors hold office for five years at a time. In our committee, a censor may initiate a vote to remove any of the other magistrates from office. When the censor moves to impeach, he or she will first need to declare the accused’s moral crimes to the dais.
If the chair deems the crimes relevant, then the other censor is given the opportunity to veto the accusation. If no veto occurs, then the Senate will vote on whether or not to remove the accused from office. A removed magistrate is replaced by an immediate Senate vote (the committee cannot continue while a seat remains vacant). A consul must be replaced by a praetor, and a tribune of the plebs is replaced by vote of the plebian assembly