Applications Committee

The Applications Committee of the Senate of Romanesca handles the day to day processing of representative applications. Since the Senate is the closest thing most groups will get to influencing the government, it's safe to say that all organizations want some form of representation. The Application Committee ensures that only those groups that meet the right criteria are allowed membership in the Senate, while rejecting those groups unable to perform Senatorial tasks.

The conditions needed to be considered for representation have remained relatively unchanged since the founding of the Senate, but approving applications goes well beyond passing a simple checklist. The Applications Committee must also maintain the quality of the Senate by making judgement calls on what organizations get let in.

One example of this is the process of keeping a balance in the types of organizations that get let in. Any one type of group, a particular industry for example, gaining an over representation in the Senate would lead toward a skewed perspective when advising the King. That is not an acceptable state of affairs.

Another reason an organization may be rejected is if it isn't understood what exactly the organization does, or if it is overly convoluted in its structure and offices. This is more often than not a sign of a criminal organization. Rather then pass them and waste the time of the Senate Member Audit Service at a later date, the application will be rejected.

Finally, the Applications Committee may elect to reject applications en masse for the purposes of temporarily halting the growth of the Senate. Every year some organizations will lose their representation in the Senate (see the Senate Member Audit Service), but the amount isn't the same each year. Some years it's many hundreds, others it may only be a couple dozen. The Senate is already a massive institution. If its size isn't kept in check, its ability to advise the King would become diluted. In times of fewer representatives leaving, few representatives are added.

Groups within the Applications Committee

 * Senate Member Audit Service