Legislative Branch

Legislative

The Legislative Body, our Student Senate, is responsible for reviewing University policies and documents that affect students in order to provide recommendations related to them. Each Academic Unit, as defined by The Redbook, is entitled to a College Council and representation in the Senate. All councils are allowed a minimum of two senators, a College President, and College Vice President. Additional Senators are determined based on college size.  Senators are elected via general election, which is held annually in the Spring Semester. 

General Assembly

All Senators are required to attend regular Senate meetings and additional meetings required by their council. These meetings typically occur biweekly (with exceptions), and are open to all in the University community. In these meetings, various updates and activities that relate to the University are discussed or voted upon.

Senate Leadership

The Student Senate is led by the Senate Speaker and Senate Historian. The Speaker oversees each meeting of the Senate, while the Historian maintains the document archive and composes the meeting agenda. The Speaker typically appoints a Senate Clerk to maintain meeting minutes, reviewed each session.

Senate Committees

The Senate is divided into various committees that discuss different issues or components of Student Government. Although the committees change based on the needs of the student body, there are several permanent standing committees: 

• The Executive Committee is chaired by the SGA Executive Vice President and is composed of the Presidents of each of the College Councils. They serve as an extension of the Senate Leadership – nearly all legislation passes through this committee.
• The Appropriations Committee handles policy related to SGA finances, including drafting and approving the SGA budget, travel funds, and special event funding.
• The Academic Policy and Student Services committee advise the SGA Academic and Services VP respectively.
• The Development Board has the responsibility to take up action of removal of SGA officers, as outlined throughout the SGA Constitution and SGA Bylaws.
• The Services Policy Committee has jurisdiction over dining, housing, construction, campus safety, parking, contract work, sustainability, and other issues under the guise of the Services Vice President.
• The Legislative Review & Oversight Committee reviews expiring legislation each spring to recommend whether it should remain active. It also evaluates the SGA Bylaws for potential amendments.

College Councils

College Councils represent constituents enrolled in their specific college. Councils primarily derive their funding from the Senate and use it on events that cater to their constituents. Councils also have their own meetings separate from the General Body meetings to discuss matters related to their constituency.