CUSG Elections

Constitutional Changes Summary:

Question 1:  Election Schedule and Code Amendment Process Changes

• Remove the requirement for an election to occur in both the Fall and Spring semesters in favor of a single, combined campus-wide election to occur during the Spring semester for all CUSG elected offices 

• Remove the ability for the Executives to nominate an Election Commissioner and require the Representative Council to appoint the Election Commissioner

• Allow for the Legislative Council to review and amend the Election Code as needed

• Restore the Executive(s) right to veto proposed amendments to the Election Code 

 

Shall Article 7 of the CUSG Constitution be amended as proposed and approved by the Rules Committee and the Legislative Council?

 

“Yes/No"

 

What does this actually change?

 

Article VII: Elections

• A: Removes the Fall election. Legislative Council can authorize the Election Commission to hold a Fall election in “extenuating circumstances or emergency situations.”

• B.b.i: Removes Executives’ ability to nominate an Election Commissioner.

• C.a.i: Makes it so that Election Code changes must be presented in the form of a bill, which is subject to revision and approval by Legislative Council, and is subject to an Executive veto.

• E: If an Election Commissioner resigns, they can only hold a different major position in CUSG after 90 days have passed, or until their original term ends. 

• Other minor clarification/language changes.

Question 2: Creation of CUSG Combined Statutes 

• Simplify and clarify the bylaws of the three branches of CUSG

• Establish the CUSG Combined statutes

• Authorize each branch to govern its internal affairs with supplemental bylaws 

 

Shall Article 13 of the CUSG Constitution be amended as proposed and approved by the Rules Committee and the Legislative Council?

 

“Yes/No”

 

What does this actually change?

 

Article XIII: The CUSG Combined Statutes and Bylaws

• Allows for the creation of the “CUSG Combined Statutes.” Allows individual branches to keep and maintain Branch Bylaws that specifically address “the regular internal functions of each Branch of CUSG, the intrabranch transition(s) of power, internal personnel matters, and the ethics and standards expected of the members.” States that no Branch Bylaws shall supersede the Statutes and that Branch Bylaws must be in compliance with the Statutes. These changes do not specify what the Combined Statutes are, how they will be implemented, or who has authority over them.

Question 3:  Democratization, Structural Changes, and Constitutional Clarity 

• Democratize the Legislative Council by allowing for an increased number of voting seats in a fiscally responsible manner over the next decade with no immediate impacts to student fees

• Streamline the Legislative Council’s ability to fill vacancies in the Representative Council 

• Update the duties and responsibilities of the CUSG Joint Boards, simplify voting membership on Joint Boards, require summer meetings, and expand the Cultural Events Board voting membership

• Upgrade Distinguished Speakers Board and Student Organization Allocations Committee to Joint Boards

• Strengthen democratic processes by reducing the threshold from 200 to 150 students for the initiation of a Student Assembly

• Address the legal clarity of constitutional clauses

• Address grammatical concerns

 

Shall the CUSG Constitution be amended as proposed and approved by the Rules Committee and the Legislative Council?

 

“Yes/No”

 

What does this actually change?

 

Article I: Name and Membership

• D.c.ii: Adds the infraction tribunal as a “major position.” This means that no one who is in any other major position, paid or otherwise, can be on the infraction tribunal. This includes members of all three branches and joint boards.

• Clarification/grammar changes.

Article III: Student Fee Policy

• Minor language changes

Article V: The Legislative Branch 

• A: Clarification/language changes

• B.b: Allows Representatives to serve one or two year terms and provides guidelines about how and when to elect Representatives serving two year terms. Note that this would not go into effect unless the Election Code is changed.

• C.a: Allows Senatorial seats and votes to be defined in the Legislative Council bylaws.

• C.b and c: Allows Legislative Council to double its size. It states specifically that “The maximum number of Senatorial votes shall be set at twice the number of recognized local colleges and schools.” This change would occur through an amendment to the Legislative Council Bylaws.

• D.a: Gets rid of Representative’s ability to nominate their own replacement if they resign.

• D.a.ii: Lowers the amount of time Executives have to fill a vacant Representative seat from three weeks to two weeks.

• D.a.iii: If Representatives resign before the start of an election, their seat will be up for reelection in the next election. If they nominate a replacement, that replacement’s term will end at the end of that legislative session. The Election Code would need to be changed to reflect this. 

• Other minor language changes throughout.

Article VIII: The Finance Board

• A.b.ii: Changes the number of Representatives on Finance Board from two to one. This fixes a mistake made in last year’s Constitutional Amendments.

• B.g: Adds to the duties and responsibilities section: “To review and make budgetary recommendations for the student activity fee budget to the Legislative Council on CUSG salaries, stipends, rates of hourly pay, or other compensation plans for CUSG employees.” 

• Other clarifications/language changes.

Article IX: Joint Boards

• A.a.i: Adds SOAC and DSB as joint boards.

• B.a.i: Changes the number of Representatives on joint boards from two to one. Once again fixes last year’s mistake.

• B.a.iii: Allows CEB to have 15 voting members.

• B.a.iv: Allows DSB to have 17 voting members.

• B.b: Removes Executives’ ability to appoint Representatives to joint boards collaboratively with the Legislative Council President.

• B.b.vi: Establishes the Representative seat on SOAC to be rotating and shared between all Representatives. This is how it functions anyway, this codifies this policy.

• B.c.iii: Exempts SOAC, DSB, and CEB from the requirement to have two non-students on joint boards.

• B.e: Allows the SOAC Chair to be hired by the Executives and serve as a liaison in the Executive Branch.

• C: Requires that joint boards work with Representative Council to establish their goals by October every year and requires that they present them to Legislative Council in the Fall, along with how their cost center is currently functioning.

• C.h: Requires that joint boards meet at least every two weeks. Requires that joint boards must have their first meeting of each semester no later than the first week of classes. Requires that joint boards meet monthly over the summer.

• C.j.i: Allows joint boards to enter executive session (closed to the public) during meetings.

• Other minor clarifications/language changes.

Article X: Advisory Boards

• B.a.i: Requires that Executive appointments to advisory boards (such as SHAB) be ratified by Legislative Council.

• Removes the stipulation that if there are no Graduate students interested in a position on advisory boards, Executives may appoint non-Graduate students.

• Minor language changes.

Article XI: Commissions and Student Administrators

• C: Adds “Each Student Administrator within the Legislative Branch shall be appointed by the Appointments Committee and ratified by a majority vote of the Legislative Council.” This just allows Legislative Council to appoint support staff positions (i.e. Legislative Aide).

• Other minor clarifications.

Article XIV: Removal and Impeachment

• A: Removes members of Executive Staff, Finance Board and the Election Commission from the list of positions that are subject to impeachment (there are different removal procedures later).

• B.b.iv: Adds stipulation that if someone is impeached, they cannot serve in any major CUSG position again.

• C.a.ii: Executive and Legislative appointments can be removed by the Executives or Legislative Council. This includes Executive staff, but also includes Elections and Finance Board.

• C.b: A removal can occur by a ⅔ majority of Legislative Council or by a unanimous decision of the Executives. This means that Legislative Council could vote by ⅔ to remove a member of Executive Staff, but it also means that the Executives could choose to fire the Election Commissioner or Finance Board Chair by themselves.

• Minor language and formatting changes

Article XV: Student Assembly

• E: Lowers the threshold to convene the student assembly from 200 to 150 students.

• F.c: Changes requirement for submitting petitions from the students from 1.5% of students to 300 students.

• Minor language change.

Article XVI: Referenda

• Formatting and language changes.

Article XVII: Amendments Procedure

• Adds that Joint and Advisory Boards must be dissolved through the Constitutional Amendments procedure.