A Seat at the Table: The Senate Ways and Means Committee

The ASBSU code delegates responsibilities to five internal committees which carefully investigate specific issues before passing the knowledge on to the full Senate. These committees include:

Appointment and Review

Ways and Means

Budget and Finance

Public Liaison and University Relations

Student Affairs, Traditions and Diversity Affairs

The Ways and Means committee’s responsibility is to regulate Senate legislation governing the Senate. It checks out any legislation that changes ASBSU code or rules for potential problems and studies the measure’s impact.

Senate Bill 22: Written to give the full Senate more power over committees. It allows a smaller majority – two-thirds rather than three-fourths – of Senators to call a tabled bill back to the full Senate.

Currently, tabled bills cannot be debated by the Senate, allowing a committee to kill a bill unless it is called up by a majority vote.

The International Students Association’s request for funding last week was killed by such a process.

Questions and answers with Sen. Cara Mia DeMarco, committee chair.

AS What do you see as the primary purpose of your committee?

CD As stated in the Senate Rules of Procedures, the Ways and Means committee is responsible for reviewing all legislation regarding any additions, deletions or changes in the ASBSU code, the Senate Rules of Procedure, the Senate Code of Ethics or any other internal rules, regulations or Senate office procedures or policies.

ASWhat issues have you addressed this year? What have you seen as the most important of those issues?

CDThe main issue that the Ways and Means committee addressed this year was the Election Code. It is a very important document and this is basically the rules that students need to follow in order to run for office in ASBSU.

ASWhat are your committee’s responsibilities?

CDAnytime a bill is written that affects the ASBSU code, the Senate Rules of Procedure, the Senate Code of Ethics or any other internal rules, regulations or Senate office procedures or policies it must be sent through the Ways and Means.

ASWhat problems or ideas can students bring to you?

CDIf students disagree with the rules/codes that are followed by ASBSU then they could approach a senator to have a bill written. The bill would then get put before the senate, possibly get sent to committee and then possibly come before the Senate to be

voted on. It depends on what the bill

is addressing.

ASHow does this committee contribute to the university as a whole?

CDThe committee is important because it addresses the rules that are followed by the student representatives of the university.

from 4 – 6 p.m.

AMANDA STEWART
Arbiter Journalist

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