AS Senate Recap – 11/6/24

This recap first appeared in the November 11th edition of the KCSB News Weekly Newsletter.

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The AS Senate is a group of elected student representatives which serves as the policy-making body of Associated Students. Every Wednesday at 6:30 PM, the AS Senate convenes to pass bills and resolutions, hear reports from Boards, Committees, and Units (BCUs), and hold public forum.

KCSB’s Joyce Chi breaks down what happened at their most recent meeting on November 6, 2024.

• UCSB’s BDS bill could be implemented differently than expected. This ethical spending bill has been delayed due to legal concerns. However, during their report, Internal Vice President Açúcar Pinto said different processes of implementation were being considered. For example, the scope of implementation could broaden to focus on companies with human rights violations and unfair labor practices. IVP Pinto also emphasized the importance of supporting local businesses.
  • Senator Aryaman Singh, who chairs the Finance Committee which would oversee the bill’s implementation, told KCSB News that this broader approach would be “less likely to break any UC policy or state policy.”

• The Senate passed the following bills, resolutions, and action items:

• • Proposed Amendments to The Standing Rules of the 75th ASUCSB Senate
    • The biggest change would be requiring a recorded vote for motions that deal with the spending of funds and the passing of any legislation. This was with the goal that it would encourage Senators to be more active and engaged in the meetings.
  • A Bill To Reform Honoraria in ASUCSB Version 3
    • Under this bill, holding office hours is no longer a criteria for determining honoraria.
    • The most contentious part of this legislation was the establishment of an Outstanding BCU Award, which would award an extra 100% honoraria for members of a winning BCU.
      • Campus organizations had feared it would create unhealthy competition and would only reward larger, more well-funded BCUs.
      • The newly-passed version of this bill would see the potential for three BCUs to be nominated by the AS President for the award. BCUs could be nominated based on the following criteria:
        • “Effective communication and collaboration”
        • “Inclusivity and representation”
        • “Responsible use of student fees”

• The Senate tabled the following bills and resolutions:

• • A Bill to Amend the Expansion of the Office of Senate Leadership
    • The original bill already passed last month. This new bill would establish the Accountability Director position (each Senate President Pro Tempore would have two Accountability Directors, for a total of four). They’ll be tasked with making sure Senators are fulfilling responsibilities like attending Senate meetings, holding office hours, working on new legislation, etc.
  • A Bill to Expand the Office of Student Advocate General Technology Subcommittee
    • This bill would increase the number of software developers on the SAG’s Technology Committee from three to five.
  • A Bill to Expedite the Usage of Student Fees
    • This bill would make two major changes. First, it would allow funds from the Reserves account to be transferred into ASUCSB Accounts, like the Senate Unallocated account. Second, it would allow the AS Investments Advisory Committee to use as much as 10% of the Reserves account.
      • “Reserves are those monies that have accumulated from prior years.” (Article IV, Section 9 of the AS Legal Code)
  • A Resolution to Allocate Funds for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) Events
    • This resolution would create a temporary pilot program “to evaluate the impact of targeted DEI funding.” It would use $15,000 from the Senate Unallocated fund to support “events that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
    • There was debate over using money from the Senate Unallocated fund for the pilot program, as well as over the resolution’s clause listing specific organizations (a potential constitutional violation).
  • Bill and Resolution Numbering System Specification v1.1.0
    • This recommendation from the AS Compliance Office would implement a new system for how future legislation should be numbered.
    • This was tabled to the Liaison Committee.
  • Note: Any bill that enacts bylaw changes must be tabled for one week.

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Access this week’s AS Senate agenda (which includes their bills and resolutions) using your student email here. You can see last week’s agenda here. Meetings are held each week at the Flying A Room of the University Center (Main Floor) throughout the quarter, aside from Week 10. You can also watch live and past meetings on Facebook here.