UPDATE – 10/8/14 at 2:37 p.m.

At 4:53 p.m. Oct. 7, Spinnaker received the three requested documents in an email.

According to these documents, Student Body President Joseph Turner instructed Attorney General Matthew Harris to file a judicial complaint.

Matthew Harris did so, as a fee-paying student. As attorney general, he received that same complaint and relayed the judicial complaint to Chief Justice Daniel Powers.

He was also the prosecutor in today’s hearing and presented the case against Senate President Kaitlin Ramirez.

UPDATE – 10/7/14 at 3:28 p.m. 

The Spinnaker requested three documents after the committee meeting yesterday at 10:37 p.m. from Student Government.

The documents requested are as follows: the issue of noncompliance that was filed against Ramirez, the timesheets for SG’s Webmaster the past four pay periods, and the judicial complaint against Ramirez (which follows a noncompliance order).

In an email to the Spinnaker at 11:44 a.m., SG Director of Communications Gracie Lopresti said she forwarded the request to Joanna Norris of UNF Public Relations.

At 1:48 p.m., Spinnaker received an email from Norris that stated she was looking into the request.

When asked why a SG public record request was routed from SG to UNF Public Relations, only to be routed back to SG, Norris explained that all media requests go through public relations.

“You are not going to get anything lickety-split,” Norris said.

***

Student Government (SG) President Joseph Turner has formally accused Senate President Kaitlin Ramirez of not doing her job.

At tonight’s Budget & Allocations Committee meeting, Ramirez made an announcement that she would extend a courtesy not extended to the legislative branch, in the interest of transparency.

She said Turner, who left shortly before Ramirez’s comments, filed a notice of noncompliance.

A noncompliance notice is the first step in reprimanding an SG official for failing to adhere to SG rules.

“As your senate president, I am responsible for [the] legislative branch as a whole,” she said.

She said she wants to “get to the bottom of this.”

Turner could have spoken to her before filing the noncompliance, she said. She also expressed that hopefully there will be a meeting with herself, Turner and SG’s director and advisor.

“We are here to cooperate with all branches and work for all students…We don’t want the branches of government fighting each other,“ she said.

Attorney General Matthew Harris quickly responded after the senate president’s remarks. He clarified that the notice of noncompliance was issued to Ramirez specifically, due to her failure to accomplish certain responsibilities under statute.

After Harris’ remark, Ramirez made it a point to explain the SG constitutional statute she is accused of failing to abide by is 408.4 Section A.

408.4   Legislative Records

A.    All records from Senate and Committee meetings of the previous three (3) years shall be made available online. Records shall consist of, but not limited to, voting records, attendance records, and bills.

The Constitution and Statutes Chair must, upon passage of a bill revising statute, submit an updated version of statute to the Senate President. The records must be turned into the Webmaster within 11 business days from the Senate President.

There will be a hearing to determine whether Ramirez violated the above statute. According to Senate Legislation SB-05S-1853, Turner will need to state the title of the bill in question and introduce evidence at the hearing. When Ramirez takes the floor, she will then have to prove that she has become back within compliance to refute Turner’s accusations.

The hearing will be Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 9:30 a.m. in SG judicial chambers. The first SG senatorial candidate forum will take place at 10 a.m. at the Student Union.

Spinnaker will follow-up on all SG matters when new information is available.

Email Cody Quattlebaum at [email protected]