This edition of Council Clippings covers the UHR and GSS meetings from Nov. 17, 2009.
The American Nuclear Society (ANR) requested funding from UHR and GSS to host an event at the Georgia Aquarium. The intended purpose of the event was to increase the visibility of ANR on campus and recruit more members.
The bill specifically requested funds to purchase 60 tickets to the Georgia Aquarium. However, the organizational representatives were absent from both UHR and GSS meetings. GSS failed the bill with a vote of 4-24-0.
Because the event was intended to recruit additional members, the bill did not conform to JFC policy. Since representatives were not present at the meetings, a UHR member who is a member of ANR spoke on behalf of the organization.
In order to vote on the bill, UHR would have to waive the bylaws, which representatives felt was unnecessary for this bill. Instead, UHR amended the bill to $0, thereby allowing it to conform to JFC policy. The bill was then failed with a vote of 2-43-0. Because the house did not receive unanimous consent, the bill will still move to conference committee.
The Men’s Lacrosse Team requested funding to replace their uniforms and gloves. The Men’s Lacrosse League requires players to have matching uniforms and gloves, with one set each for home and away games. GSS passed the bill with a vote of 23-4-0.
JFC made several recommendations for the bill, including amending the specific amounts requested for gloves and uniforms. UHR accepted JFC recommendations and amended the bill accordingly.
The total cost of the bill after amendments came to $6,200 and passed UHR with a vote of 45-1-0.
Because GSS did not amend the bill according to JFC policy, the bill will go to conference committee.
SGA created an Assistant Accountant position earlier this semester. In order to fund the position a bill was put forward totaling approximately $4,075.
The funding would provide for a part time position for 15 hours per week for 25 weeks of the fiscal year. The Assistant Accountant would be responsible for helping the current SGA Accountant and be responsible for processing check requests, working with reimbursement and handling agency fund deposits.
GSS failed the bill with a vote of 6-21-1. They stated that the position should be paid for by student organizations requesting funding from SGA, since the Assistant Account would specifically aid those organizations. In order for the bill to pass, the UHR would have to pass the bill with an enactment ratio of 79.6%
UHR commenced a debate about whether or not the GSS ruling was appropriate and whether student organizations should provide the funding for the position. Some representatives argued that the new position would only serve the portion of student organizations that had agency accounts on campus and therefore it would be unfair to use funds provided by all student organizations to fund the position.
The motion failed to garner support and UHR passed the bill with a vote of 35-7-4, meeting the enactment ratio necessary to override the GSS ruling.