ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Mar. 12 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room.
Ivan Carrillo, ASUCD president, present
Molly Fluet, ASUCD vice president, present
Joemar Clemente, ASUCD senator, present
Danny Garrett, ASUCD senator, present
Justin Gold, ASUCD senator, present
Erin Lebe, ASUCD senator, present
Kevin Massoudi ASUCD senator, present
Justin Patrizio, ASUCD senator, present
Laura Pulido, ASUCD senator, present
Shawdee Rouhafza, ASUCD senator, present
Trevor Taylor, ASUCD senator, present
Mo Torres, ASUCD senator, present
Previn Witana, ASUCD senator, present
Jack Zwald, ASUCD president pro-tempore, present
Meeting called to order at 6:10 p.m.
Swearing in of Executives
Joe Chatham and Chris Dietrich were officially sworn in as president and vice president.
Court Announcements
Chief Justice Missy Whitney announced that the court will accept a case filed by Chris Ambriz, and it will be heard next quarter.
Whitney also announced that although they posted a majority opinion to hear the elections complaint, they since decided not to give an opinion after speaking with Don Dudley, associate director of student affairs. They decided that it is not within their jurisdiction to give opinion on a case they haven’t heard yet.
Appointments and confirmations
Matt Shannon was confirmed chair of the Internal Affairs Commission.
Unit Director Reports
Lobby Corps presented their accomplishments and announced that Lobby Month will be Apr. 13 through May 11. They hope to convince state legislators to prioritize the UC 2009-2010 budget.
Public Discussion
Former President Ivan Carrillo stated that he never signed the executive certificates because according to article three, section five, subsection one of the ASUCD Constitution, which says that the vice president can act as president, was not carried out to its entirety because the senators should have voted to appoint a temporary vice president. He also advised everyone in the senate to exercise caution in their legislating because the bills that pass might not be legitimate when the court rules on the election.
Laura Brown, chair of the Gender and Sexualities Commission, argued that since the court case is still ongoing, the senate should be checking the legitimacy of the current executives.
Senator Taylor said that even if newly elected senators and executives were taken out of their seats for a reelection, the legislation would still stand.
Shannon stated that his interpretation of the matter is that the newly elected senators have met eligibility requirements for the constitutional demands; therefore it was lawful for them to receive certificates.
Consideration of urgent legislation
Senate Resolution 20, authored by Maryam Taeb, co-authored by Talia MacMath and introduced by Patrizio, to support California Senate Bill 217, authored by California State Senator Leland Yee. The bill would allow the UC Board of Regents, the CSU Board of Trustees and the California Community College Board of Governors to implement increased payroll and executive compensation pertaining to principal members of the board. The resolution passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 21, authored by Taeb, co-authored by MacMath and introduced by Patrizio, to support California Senate Bill 218, authored by California State Senator Leland Yee. The bill would require state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection and make copies available upon request and payment of a fee unless they are exempt from disclosure. The resolution passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 22, authored by Taeb, co-authored by MacMath and introduced by Patrizio, to support California Senate Bills 219 and 220, authored by California State Senator Leland Yee. The bills would allow the California Whistleblower Protection Act to authorize a UC employee or applicant for employment to recover damages caused by intentional acts of reprisal, retaliation, threats and coercion only if the university failed to reach a decision regarding a complaint filed by the injured party within the limits established by the UC Regents. The resolution passed unanimously.
Consideration of old legislation
Senate Bill 30, authored and introduced by Zwald, to mandate the ASUCD Management Team to release the final budget recommendations to the senate at least five business days before the budget hearing process begins, passed unanimously.
Senate Bill 31, authored by Nick Sydney, introduced by Daniel Goodman, Amy Hartstein, Zwald and Matt Shannon and introduced by Zwald, to make senatorial compensation dependent on weekly senate meeting attendance, passed 9-2-1 (Clemente and Torres voted no).
Senate Bill 34, authored by Kara Rodenhizer and introduced by Lebe, to allocate $259.50 from Senate Reserves to purchase refreshments and food for two events for the Student Police Relations Committee, passed with an amendment 9-2-1. The amendment called for $234.50 to be given instead, and for the first event on Apr. 1 to be moved to a second event on Apr. 14.
Senate Bill 35, authored by Zwald, co-authored by Don Gibson, Tierney Burke and introduced by Zwald, to allocate $115 from Senate Reserves to the “Support the Troops Drive” for shipping supplies, passed unanimously. The senate agreed to amend the bill to say that the bill does not endorse the war.
Senate Bill 36, authored and introduced by the Internal Affairs Commission, to alter the Elections Committee member removal process to require an Internal Affairs Commission closed session before the senate can hold a personnel closed session, passed unanimously.
Senate Resolution 19, authored and introduced by Lebe, coauthored by Hyatt Cummings and Greg Dizon, to honor Larry N. Vanderhoef on his retirement as fifth chancellor of UC Davis, passed unanimously, although the senate decided to strike the lines regarding the establishment of a Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef Day.
Meeting adjourned at 1:33 a.m.
LAUREN STEUSSY compiles the Senate Briefs and can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
