ASUCD Senate is performing maintenance on last quarter’s bills and hoping to dive back into writing legislation. Several roadblocks have slowed down Senate progress, resulting in only four enacted bills of the five that have reached decision. According to ASUCD senators, this quarter has started off slower than usual.
“We had a bunch of really contentious bills last spring, and now we’re kind of living in the aftermath. We’re fixing all the little issues … so we’re basically cleaning house and prepping for a new year of legislation and bigger bills,” said ASUCD Senator Ryan Wonders.
The biggest issue preventing Senate from staying on track has been the matter regarding a remodeling of the Memorial Union.
“We also haven’t really gotten into more of the nitty gritty stuff … we’re dealing with some bigger non-partisan issues about renovations and the future of the association in regards to our space,” Wonders said.
Five bills are still pending legislation but the other five have already been determined.
Bill 1
ASUCD President Carly Sandstrom introduced a bill to enact an operational budget of $713,920 for subsidies for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. A 9-2-1 majority vote allowed the bill to pass as amended.
Bill 2
Internal Affairs Commission recommended a bill to “reallocate $3,000 within the 2013-2014 Lobby Corps fiscal budget” to office supplies, transportation and for establishing two positions for an Assistant Internal Director and another Legislative Aid. The Assistant Internal Director would help the Lobby Corps’ legislative process run smoothly. An additional Legislative Aid would work together to conduct research and compare results to better legislation analyses. The bill was passed as amended by a 10-1-1 vote.
Bill 3
It was proposed to sing the Aggie Fight song at the start of every ASUCD Senate meeting. Bill 3 is the only one so far to not have been passed by a 3-8-1 vote. ASUCD Senator Maxwell Kappes agrees with the Senate’s decision to not pass it.
“I did not like that bill. As much as I have written bills that would be considered jokes, that bill just seemed entirely ludicrous and meaningless. We immediately failed it,” Kappes said.
Bill 4
Senator Felicia Ong introduced a bill to clarify ASUCD scholarship application dates, allowing application deadlines to be announced earlier in the quarter in order to increase the applicant pool. Applications are to be posted the Sunday of the fourth week of the quarter and the deadline to be Sunday of the sixth week. This would allow scholarships to be awarded sooner and specific dates would provide more time to advertise scholarships. This bill was passed by a 11-0-1 vote.
“This bill will definitely benefit all students. There’s no more grey area and definite dates will only further help us in preparing for applications,” said third-year business major Nate Villegas.
Bill 5
Introduced by Senator Ryan Wonders, Bill 5 proposes a change in name from ASUCD Unit City and County Affairs to City and Community Relations. The change would change to accurately represent their work after having to adjust their mission to reflect changes in the community. A majority vote of 11-0-1 passed the bill.
