Los Angeles, CA – At the November 12th meeting of the USG Senate, the Senate took up and successfully passed four bills – SB 144-15, SB 144-16, SB 144-17, and SB 144-18.
SB 144-15: A Bill to Amend the Bylaws to Allow Committee Chairs to Formally Appoint Commissions Within Their Legislative Committee was passed unanimously. Several members of the legislative committees would like to expand their size and capabilities. With these changes, commissions may have up to two students at large concurrently, and the Chair may appoint up to 2 commissions at a time.
SB144-16: A Bill to Amend the Bylaws on the Duties of the Speakers amends the bylaws to authorize the removal of the Speaker of the Senate from their position while preserving their role as a Senator in accordance with the Senate Meeting Rules. This amendment is deemed necessary to the function of the Undergraduate Student Government and was passed following the unanimous vote of the Senate.
Thanksgiving week is traditionally reserved for students to take a break from the demands of academics and extracurricular activities. Senator Jeremiah Boisrond presented SB 144-17: A Bill to Suspend all USG Operations for the week of Thanksgiving, which ensures students are able to take a break and gives student leaders the opportunity to suspend USG operations for the week of Thanksgiving. This bill was unanimously passed.
SB 144-18: A Bill to Amend the Senate Meeting Rules amends the Senate meeting rules regarding the removal of the Speaker of the Senate, as the existing governing documents of USG did not outline a specific procedure regarding the removal. The guidelines ensure that the Speaker of the Senate may be removed from their role while retaining their Senate position; removal requires a notice to the Judicial Council from either a Senator with the backing of two supporting Senators through three signatures or the entire Executive Cabinet, with the Speaker abstaining. The bill was passed unanimously, and it is merely a product of Judicial upholding.
The November 12th meeting additionally featured presentations from Speaker of the Senate Diana Carpio, Wellness Committee Chair Allie Wang, and Senator Mikaela Bautista.
The USG Senate meets every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in TCC 450 (Tutor Forum). Every Senate meeting has an open forum. This is a space for any person to express ideas and/or concerns to the Senate in a verbal manner.