The NC State Student Senate debated and voted on over 10 bills during its final meeting of the 97th session of Student Government that lasted over four hours on Wednesday.
The meeting began with the outgoing student body officers and committee chairpersons giving their reports and updates.
The Senate passed a resolution putting Student Government on a group endorsement petition created by the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group (NCPIRG) in support of free menstrual products on campus. SR 88 was adopted by consent, meaning the resolution was passed without objection on the consent of the committee that heard it, in this case the Committee on Student Relations. The committee fully recommended the passage of the bill.
A motion to fast track four bills was approved in block, allowing for those to all be heard and voted on during second reading later in the meeting.
Second reading of legislation followed this, with Finance Bill 87 being heard and passed first. FB 87, which passed without amendment, established the Student Government budget for the 2018-2019 year.
Both the Beyond the Box Support Act and the Football Parking Pass Distribution Act were passed without extended debate. The Beyond the Box Support Act encourages NC State to remove questions related to criminal history from its admission application.
Bill 92 FB, The Movement Peer Educators Finance Act that proposed Student Government funds be allocated to pay for events during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, was voted to move to second reading and passed.
The Let’s Fix Statutes! Act was also passed, but with an amendment proposed by Adam Schmidt, a second-year studying civil engineering, and an amendment to the amendment proposed by Coleman Simpson, a fourth-year studying agricultural education and political science. This act updated current Student Body Statutes in regards to Senate appointments and confirmations.
The Special Election Act and Voting Modernization Act, both fast-tracked for second reading, were both passed with amendments. The LGBTQ+ Student Support in Representation Act, which was also fast-tracked, passed; however, the Line 302 Reallocation Act did not.
Next, the Senate debated and voted on a bill the expel a senator due to lack of attendance during the 97th session. The Maher Expulsion Act was proposed due to excessive absences from Sen. Danny Maher, a fourth-year studying sports management representing the College of Natural Resources.
Lastly, Senate passed the 97th Session Sine Die Act, which states accomplishments and unfinished projects of student body officers, executive departments and committees.
The meeting concluded with additional comments from senators and officers. The first Senate meeting of the 98th session of Student Government will be on April 11 in Talley 4140.
In the Student Governance Chamber on Wednesday, Student Body Vice President Meredith Spence-Beaulieu listens to Senator Danny Maher give a ten minute defense on why he should not be expelled on the last meeting of the 97th session for accruing absences. During his defense, Maher spoke negatively about how Student Senate handled the bill for the Pack Bleeds Red program and the 2018 runoff election. Specifically, Maher stated that candidate Zachary Lewis should not have been called racist and offense should not have been taken when the marital statuses of Errico and Spence-Beaulieu were used to question their fitness for office.
