Student Government: Committees discuss budgets and review official business

Alan Vargas

The UNF Student Government Committees met on Friday, June 29 to debate legislation, approve a travel request and undergo various senator training sessions.

Chairman Camden Dean of the Budget and Allocations Committee held a training session to instruct the newer senators on the specifics of the B&A committee, as well as the various requests that they’ll be deciding on. Dean also reported the remaining 2017-2018 budget balance and the projected 2018-2019 budgets for the B&A Committee.

The Special Request budget for the 2017-2018 academic year ended with $62,975.34, and the Travel Request balance ended at $2,044.15. For the 2018-2019 year, the projected Special Request budget is $175,866 and the Travel Request budget is expected to be $45,000.

The Committee also heard from the Transportation and Logistics Society, who requested $2,000 to attend the Intermodal Association of North America’s Expo in Long Beach, California. The Committee unanimously approved of the request.

Finally, the B&A committee also heard a bill authored by SG Attorney General Cody Choi and Treasurer Julia McComb to update Title VIII, the Finance Code. The bill had a number of amendments to the wording of the Code, which clarified language and added the definition for “Other Capital Outlay,” which had been previously absent from the Code. The bill also proposed to update the policy on items purchased by student Service and Activity fees. Previously, any item purchased by SG had to have the statement “Funded by UNF Student Government,” or a similar statement approved by the Business Manager. The updated bill would require that the items purchased by SG shall be “reviewed by the Treasurer to determine the appropriateness of branding on said items. Branding may include, but is not limited to, logos, slogans, and other texts.”

Next, Student Government Advisor Victoria Shore spoke as the guest speaker at the Government Oversight Committee meeting, as well as the University and Student Affairs Committee meeting.

Shore used her time to provide instruction and feedback, as well as to answer questions about Robert’s Rules of Order. Robert’s Rules is the “official language” that is used during the Senate and committee sessions. It is vital to understand the language and adhere to the proper parliamentary procedure and keep the Senate meetings efficient and on task.

There will be no Student Government meetings held next Friday, June 6.

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