On Wednesday, March 6th, the 98th Session Student Government Senate met for the penultimate time to vote on eight pieces of legislation, with seven of them passing and a bill to create a financial committee failing.
It was announced at this Senate meeting that Adam Schmidt, a third-year studying civil engineering, was nominated for President of the Association of Student Governments. ASG is a collection of representatives from the 17 UNC System schools and its president is a non-voting member of the UNC System Board of Governors.
R68 – Smoke and Tobacco-Free Campus Act
According to senators in support of this resolution, policies preventing smoking within buildings around NC State have not been enforced. This bill aims to bring this issue to light and reinforce the policy, while also voicing support for the university to become smoke- and tobacco-free by 2020.
The bill was the subject of debate, with opponents arguing it was not specific enough and that the effort to become smoke- and tobacco-free by 2020 was unrealistic considering no initiatives put forth by SG to help some quit. Proponents argued that similar past bills have historically been shot down.
Concerns about SG being overbearing on projects started by other organizations were also brought up in argument against the bill. This piece of legislation was initially inspired as per push from faculty members, according to various senators.
There was also debate about the meaning of a “tobacco-free campus” and whether that would just apply to products smoked by individuals or tobacco-related work on campus.
The legislation was sent back to the University Affairs Committee and was not voted on.
The Committee for Onboarding and Leadership Development is responsible for planning training sessions and helping fill empty Senate seats.This government bill aims to update the wording of the Student Government Statutes regarding COLD membership.
The bill adds the option for the Senate president to appoint senators to increase committee numbers, because the committee lacked membership for a long time this year.
There was minimal debate on the legislation. It received 49 votes in support, zero against and zero abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Student Body President Jess Errico, a fifth-year studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, for her signature or veto.
FB82 – International Festival Act
This bill intends to partially fund the International Festival at NC State, an event supporting various cultures in the interest of diversity and inclusivity. This would move $1,500 from the Finance Disbursement line to Multicultural Student Affairs to cover Talley reservation and printing costs.
There was no debate on the legislation. It received 53 votes in support, zero against and zero abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Errico for her signature or veto.
R69 – Sustainable Student Government Act
This bill intends to register SG as a sustainable organization with the university Sustainability Office. SG already fulfills the requirements for a level of sustainable certification, and members from the executive branch have already been looking at this, specifically for their branch.
There was no debate, but there was clarification over the nature of a sustainable organization and the specifics of writing that into Student Body Statutes.
It received 49 votes in support, zero against and zero abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Errico for her signature or veto.
GB64 – Chapter 5 Amendment Act
Student Body Treasurer Molly Mueller, a fourth-year studying political science and international studies, said that this bill effectively aims to clean up the Student Body Statutes regarding financial aspects of SG.
Many of the changes are small and deal with wording that clarifies meaning in certain passages. Other changes remove entire sections, including some matters such as funding restrictions, in an effort to make the Statutes more flexible in the future. Some of the removed sections are expected to be updated by the Senate on a per-session basis to easily match the university’s rules as they change.
An amendment to reinstate a section on said help sessions was suggested and subsequently passed. Another amendment attempting to reinstate a $700 maximum on matching funding from other NC State organizations failed.
It received 44 votes in support, zero against and two abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Errico for her signature or veto.
GB76 – Intent to Run Oversight Act
This bill aims to address the lack of oversight regarding Intent to Run forms in elections. Additionally, there is no formal definition about the Intent to Run form on any record, so this formally establishes a section in the Elections Handbook to define said form.
There was minimal debate. It received 39 votes in support, zero against and zero abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Errico for her signature or veto.
GB70 – Organizational Finance Advisory Council Establishment Act
This legislation looks to establish an Organizational Finance Advisory Council to provide oversight and communication between various organizations.
Mueller, a sponsor of the bill, explained it as a discussion space. It would be chaired by the Student Body Treasurer and would ideally include treasurers from student fee-funded organizations as members.
There was debate about the need for this council. Senators in opposition to the bill see it as redundant because the Student Organization Roundtable does similar tasks. SORT is intended to be a roundtable for student organizations and is led by the student body president.
The council differs from the already-existing SORT committee because it involves non-student organizations that are student fee-funded, which SORT does not. The council would also be explicitly about financial matters.
It received 18 votes in support, 25 against and three abstentions, and did not pass.
This bill encourages the university to implement a short mid-semester course evaluation in a similar format to existing end-of-course evaluation.
These was minimal debate on this legislation, with the majority being in favor. It received 45 votes in support, zero against and zero abstentions, and therefore passed. It will be sent to Errico for her signature or veto.
After voting on all legislation up for second reading, Senate was called into closed session to discuss awards.
