The House of Representatives elected its first speaker of the house and passed a bill calling for a referendum to adjust the student body fee Tuesday night.Sebastian Moleski, a senior economics major, was elected to speaker when a majority two-thirds vote was in favor of him.

The Student Government Associastion will no longer have a vice president for the house, but the duties will be taken over by the speaker.

The bill calling for a referendum to adjust the student body fee was passed after some debate.

It will make it possible for SGA to get students’ reactions about raising the student body fee on the student body election ballot, SGA President David Watson said.

The student body fee is an amount all full-time students are required to pay, Trevor Smith, vice president for the house, said. It is currently at $20 and is divided among the student government, the Programming Council and the House, he said.

The increase of student body fee has become an issue, Watson said, because the reserve or an overflow account has been depleting for the last three or four years.

Treasurer Matthew Jacobson said he thought if the fee was not raised, SGA would have to reduce the activities funding board starting in 2008 because there would not be enough money.

Sheldon Pearson, a senior finance major, said he found it funny that the executive branch is pushing to lock in tutition but wants more money for SGA.

If students’ reactions are positive, the Board of Trustees will be presented with the issue for a final approval, Watson said.