The Student Senate passed a bill requiring Student Government officials who receivestipends to reveal any gifts they receive but Student Body President Bobby Mills hasuntil Oct. 17 to veto it.

The Senate passed the bill in order to decrease the chance of biased voting,according to Student Senate President Greg Doucette.

Doucette, a senior in computer science, said this is the first time a bill regarding disclosure of gifts has come up.

He did not attribute the passing of this bill to the four executive officersreceiving free meal plans this year.

According to Doucette, however, during the reign of the pirate captain, Whil Piavis,”there was a widespread belief among senators and the student body that he kind of got bought off.”

He said Piavis was the first president that he can remember to not vote againsttuition increases.

Doucette said although he and Adam Compton, a senator for CALS seniors, hadconsidered writing an ethics bill like this last year, the two did not find enoughtime to do so.

“This year, Adam Compton was talking about how he wanted something done [in relationto officers receiving free gifts],” he said. “[So], we got it put together.”

Compton, a junior in agricultural business management, said he was surprised a billlike this had not been written before.

“There’s always been speculation of different types of gifts being given and that’s why when we saw it wasn’t there, we decided there was a definite need to putsomething like that in place,” Compton said.

Doucette said although the finance committee will be responsible for monitoring that every Student Government official complies a list of gifts they received if Mills approves the bill, it is up to individual senators to use the honor system.

For example, if Student Body President Bobby Mills receives a $40 tie, it would behis ethical responsibility to report it, Doucette said.

He said eventually he wants the information to be put online, so all of the studentbody will have access to it.

Compton said officers would have to submit a form four times a year detailing whatgifts they received, who gave them the gifts and what the approximate value of each gift was.

Mike Alston, Student Senate president pro tempore, who voted against the bill, saidit seemed a little unnecessary when in his two years in Student Government, he hasnot seen a single instance where a student body official was placed in a situationof bribery.

“I personally don’t think that this is an issue,” Alston, a junior in civilengineering, said.

Alston said his biggest concern is there is no way to standardize the bill soeveryone gets fair treatment.

“If something slips through the cracks, if this or that happens, it can cause afirestorm,” he said.

Alston said although he would have never written this bill, he is trying to waituntil the bill actually comes into effect to make a judgment.

According to Mills, he hasn’t read the bill yet since he still has ten days to makea decision, but he is leaning toward passing it.

Mills, a junior in political science, said although he does see the point of thebill, he is worried the actual implementation of the idea will be tedious.

He also said he wants to see exactly what kind of form he would be required to fill out to disclose his gifts before he agrees.

Mills said he doesn’t want to spend an hour detailing a gift.

“A lot of this stuff I do already — it’s not like itÕs going to change me,” hesaid. “[But] I would like to see what kind of form they would like me to fill outbefore I go crazy about this thing.”