The Colorado Mesa University Associated Student Government (ASG) passed five bills almost all unanimously during their weekly meeting on Wednesday.
The first bill passed allotted $310 from the Student Controlled Reserve Fund (SCRF) for the Spanish department’s trip to the Colorado Translators Association Conference, which will be in Boulder on April 7. The money will pay for the hotel and gas.
The Spanish department was originally asking for $400, but the Fee Allocation Committee (FAC) cut the budget by $90. The department came to the Wednesday meeting and asked the senate to restore the original $400 amount, but the Senate believed the decision by FAC was credible.
In the second bill, ASG allocated $1,359.70 from the SCRF for the upcoming Food for Thought events held in Tomlinson Library which will occur during finals week. The money will be used for the food and drinks for the event.
The third bill rearranged the FAC boards to Mesa, Maverick, Monument and Media. According to ASG President Ben Linzey, this bill allows organizations to have better representations in the FAC meeting and to have a more equal chance to be the selected representative.
FAC also removed ASG from the boards and included new organizations to the budgeting process. In addition to this bill, every organization needs to have a constitution. If there is no constitution, the group will not receive funding.
Two older bills were also voted on during the meeting and both bills were passed unanimously.
“[There was] little to no discussion as we have read them for the past three week,” Linzey wrote in an email to the Criterion.
The first bill will not allow senators to present a bill if they are an executive for an organization. The reason behind this bill is that it will stop the presenter or senator from swaying discussion in direction that will improve impartially for any organization or club that ask for money.
In the second bill, ASG added three excused absences to their bylaws as grounds for removal from office. In the past, senators were allowed to have an indefinite number of excused absences and could have only two unexcused absences.
Linzey also wrote an executive order which took $350 out of his Presidential Discretionary fund. The money was used to purchase a table for the Olokahi Polynesian Alliance Club Lu’au that occurred on Saturday.
Also during the meeting, an advocate group for Yes on 2A and asked the ASG members to vote yes on bill 2A, which would allow plans to build an amphitheater. The vote is on Tuesday.
Another group, Colleges Against Cancer, promoted their upcoming event, Relay for Life. The event is going to be held on Friday, April 14.
Linzey also wanted to remind the student body that the senate passed a constitutional replacement. He asks students to vote for it during the upcoming election cycle which will be from April 12-14.
