Legislative
What is the Legislative Branch?
The Legislative Branch of USG is the representative and decision-making body for undergraduate students in any university or local community issue. Made up of the popularly-elected Senate, they seek to represent the interests of the undergraduate students and their specific constituencies. Their work is supported by the help of the Parliamentarian and Secretary.
Your Senators
The Senate consists of twelve elected Senators who represent the interests of the undergraduate students of USC.
If you have an idea or project to make USC a better place, the Senate is a great place to start. Our Senators are passionate about improving USC and love to partner with similarly passionate students. Whether you have a long-term project in mind or just want to change something about campus, contact our Senators to make that vision a reality.
Senators also have a vast knowledge of campus resources and serve as excellent advocates for campus organizations. If you are interested in having a Senator at your student organization, contact the Speaker of the Senate at usgsots@usc.edu.
Funding Opportunities
The Senate has a funding board that students, student organizations, and branches of USG can apply to. Senators vote on whether to fund a project based a presentation made our weekly Senate meeting. To apply for funding for Senate funding for your project or event, contact the Speaker Pro Tempore, four weeks prior to your event.
See Senate minutes, updates, and more below.
Senate Legislation Tracker
See the current bills and reports going through the Senate!
| Name and Number of Bill | Date Introduced | Sponsoring Senator(s) | Committee(s) Assigned | Vote Summary | Date of Final Action | Directed Action | Final Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator Johnson Presentation | 11/19/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/19/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| Senator Garland Presentation | 11/19/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/19/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| USG Treasurer November Updates | 11/19/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/19/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| USG Vice President November Update | 11/19/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/19/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| Senator Garcia Presentation | 11/12/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/12/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| Senator Chuang Presentation | 11/12/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/12/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| Speaker of the Senate November Update | 11/12/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/12/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| Chief of Staff November Update | 11/12/2019 | Senate Floor | 11/12/2019 | - | Presented | ||
| SB139-11: Resolution on the Transfer Forgiveness Program | 11/5/2019 | Johnson, Ritch, Rosenthal | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 11/12/2019 | - | Passed |
| SB 139-10: Resolution In Support of USC Service Worker Contract Renegotiation | 11/5/2019 | Chuang, Anderson, Donahue | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 11/12/2019 | - | Passed |
| USG Elections Code 2020/ Presentation | 11/5/2019 | Senate Floor | 8-1- 3 | 11/12/2019 | - | Passed | |
| Senator Anderson Updates | 11/5/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 11/5/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator Shiff Presentation | 11/5/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 11/5/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Senior Director of Programming 2019 Updates | 11/5/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 11/5/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG President November 2019 Updates | 11/5/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 11/5/2019 | - | Presented | |
| SB139-8: Joint Resolution in Support of CalFresh at USC Campus Eateries | 10/22/2019 | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 10/29/2019 | Endorsement | Passed | |
| SB139-7: Resolution in Support of ASUU's Concerns Regarding the Death of Lauren McCluske | 10/22/2019 | Donahue, Garland, Anderson, McMorran | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 10/29/2019 | Endorsement | Passed |
| Senator Ritch Presentation | 10/22/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/22/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator McMorran Presentation | 10/22/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/22/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senior Director of Communications October 2019 Updates | 10/22/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/22/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Chief Diversity Officer October 2019 Updates | 10/22/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/22/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator Johnson Presentation | 10/15/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/15/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator Khoshniyati Presentation | 10/15/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/15/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Treasurer Updates October 2019 | 10/15/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/15/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Chief of Staff Updates October 2019 | 10/15/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/15/2019 | - | Presented | |
| SB139-6: SLAC Support Resolution | 10/8/2019 | Donahue, McMorran | Senate Floor | 11-0-0 | 10/15/2019 | Endorsement | Delivered to Listed Recipients |
| Senator Garland Updates | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator Garcia Updates | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Senator Anderson Updates | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Judicial Council Hiring | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Fall 2019 Hiring | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | 11-0-0 | 10/15/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Speaker of the Senate October 2019 Updates | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Vice President October 2019 Updates | 10/8/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/8/2019 | - | Presented | |
| Pro Consent Reusable Cups | 10/1/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/1/2019 | - | Tabled | |
| Senator Chuang Updates | 10/1/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/1/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG Senior Director of Programming October 2019 Updates | 10/1/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/1/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG President October 2019 Updates | 10/1/2019 | Senate Floor | - | 10/1/2019 | - | Presented | |
| USG-Student Affairs Collaborative Working Agreement | 9/24/2019 | Anderson, Chuang, Donahue, Garcia, Garland, Johnson, McMorran, Ritch, Rosenthal, Shiff | Senate Floor | - | 9/24/19 | - | Passed |
| USG Senior Director of Communications September 2019 Updates | 9/24/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/24/19 | - | Presented |
| USG Chief Diversity Officer September 2019 Updates | 9/24/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/24/19 | - | Presented |
| USG Treasurer September 2019 Updates | 9/17/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/17/19 | - | Presented |
| USG Vice President September 2019 Updates | 9/17/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/17/19 | - | Presented |
| SB139-5: Publication of USC Learning Evaluations for Students | 9/17/2019 | Anderson, Chuang, Donahue, Garcia, Garland, Johnson, McMorran, Ritch, Rosenthal, Shiff | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 9/24/19 | Call to Action | Delivered to Listed Recipients |
| Chief of Justice Appointment Presentation | 9/10/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/17/19 | Tabled | Tabled |
| USG Speaker of the Senate September 2019 Updates | 9/10/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/10/2019 | - | Presented |
| USG Chief of Staff September 2019 Updates | 9/10/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/10/2019 | - | Presented |
| USG President September 2019 Updates | 9/3/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/3/2019 | - | Presented |
| USG Senior Director of Programming September 2019 Updates | 9/3/2019 | - | Senate Floor | - | 9/3/2019 | - | Presented |
| SB139-4: In Support of the USC Trojan Council | 8/27/2019 | Donahue, Robertson | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 9/3/2019 | Endorsement | Delivered to Listed Recipients |
| SB139-3: Statement of Support for California Assembly Bill 1510 | 4/23/2019 | Ritch, McMorran, Johnson, Robertson, Garland, Shiff, Donahue, Chuang, Khoshniyati | Senate Floor | 10-0-0 | 4/23/2019 | Endorsement | Delivered to Listed Recipients |
| SB139-2: Reintroduction of SB138-8 for Continuing Approval | 4/16/2019 | Chuang, Johnson | Senate Floor | 10-0-0 | 4/23/2019 | Continuing Approval | Enacted |
| SB139-1: Reintroduction of SB138-5 for Continuing Approval | 4/16/2019 | Garland, Johnson | Senate Floor | 10-0-0 | 4/23/2019 | Continuing Approval | Enacted |
| END OF TERM — SENATE 18/19 | ****** | ****** | ****** | ****** | ****** | ****** | ****** |
| Code of Ethics Amendements Omnibus Bill | 3/26/2019 | Crane | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Amend Code of Ethics | Awaiting Approval from USC Student Affairs |
| Bylaw Amendments Omnibus Bill | 3/26/2019 | Crane | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Amend Bylaws | Awaiting Approval from USC Student Affairs |
| Constitutional Amendments Omnibus Bill | 3/26/2019 | Crane | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Amend Constitution | Awaiting Approval from USC Student Affairs |
| Res. 1203262019 -- University of Southern California as a Sanctuary Campus | 3/26/2019 | Bwerevu | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Endorsement | Enacted |
| Res. 0903262019 -- USC Learning Experience Evaluations Resolution | 3/26/2019 | Tan, Crane, Gupta, Sherman, Geschwind | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Call to Action | Enacted |
| Res. 0803262019 -- Funding of Undergraduate Student Government Endowment via Unspent Budget | 3/26/2019 | Crane, Sherman, Tan | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Allocation of Funds | Enacted |
| Res. 0703262019 -- Improved Representation in Von Kleinsmid Center Flag Installation | 3/26/2019 | Bwerevu, Lane, Murphy | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 4/2/2019 | Call to Action | Enacted |
| Res. 0502192019 -- Implementation of Bystander Training for Student Organization Leadership | 2/19/2019 | Crane, Gupta, Halperin, Savage, Tan, Geschwind, Bwerevu, Sherman, Kohanteb | Senate Floor | 12-0-0 | 2/26/2019 | Endorsement | Enacted |
*Data has been truncated for brevity. Further details on Senate Resolutions, as well as the full text of all resolutions, can be found from the live legislation tracker.