Who can author a bill?
Any SGA representative, senator, or the President may author a bill.
Who can vote for bills?
Only representatives and senators may vote on bills.
How do I find an author for my bill?
The SGA representatives and senators listed on this website are available to author your bill. Please send them an e-mail to request their authorship. Or, you can also contact the Undergraduate and Graduate Executive Vice Presidents about authoring a bill.
What kinds of things can I request in a bill?
Allocations are granted for several types of expenses. Some examples include annual expenses, conference fees, travel expenses, major purchases, events, and flyers. The Joint Finance Committee Policy provides more details about expenses that are eligible for funding.
What types of Requests will not receive funding?
Per the Joint Finance Committee policy, food, t-shirts, gifts, personal supplies, religious or political proselytizing, will not receive funding.
How long does the bill process take?
The bill process takes a minimum of two weeks, but missed meetings or disagreements between the House and Senate may delay it.
Which meetings am I expected to attend?
You should be prepared to attend three meetings: a Joint Finance Committee meeting, a Graduate Senate meeting, and an undergraduate House meeting.
How do I collect the funding awarded in bill?
Funds are usually given out as reimbursement upon presentation of receipts. Some purchases or services obtained from the Institute can be set up as direct transfers from SGA accounts. For more details on how to access funding, contact Ninh Tran in the Office of Student Involvement.
What do I do if my organization doesn't receive all the funding we requested?
A list of alternative funding sources is included on this web site.
What are the different types of bills?
There are three types of bills: Appointments, Resolutions, and Allocations.
- Appointments- authored by the President, appointment bills serve as a formal request to appoint individuals to specific positions within SGA.
- Resolutions- Used to urge a particular group to take action or express the consensus opinion of the chamber.
- Allocations- these bills recommend the appropriation of money from one of SGA's accounts to a group, organization, or program. Allocation bills must include the amount of money requested, the organization requesting the funds, an itemized list of expenses associated with the request, and the account from which the money comes from. An organization seeking a financial allocation must also meet with the Joint Finance Committee after their bill has been presented.
What about joint bills?
Any bills that must be approved by both the Undergraduate House and Graduate Student Senate are referred to as joint bills. They require both an Undergraduate and Graduate author. All joint bills must pass an enactment ratio to ensure fair representation of all Student-Activity-Fee paying students. Nearly all Allocation bills are joint bills.
What are Capital Outlay, ULR, and GRL?
The Capital Outlay Account is Money appropriated for the soul purpose of funding capital expenditures. A capital expenditure is a useful good that has a life of AT LEAST 3 years. For instance, a copy machine that is expected to be used for at least 3 years is an example of a capital expenditure. ULR, or Undergraduate Legislative Reserve are funds given to the Undergraduate Student Government to be used by the student government as approved by the UHR. For instance, retreats for USGA officers or USGA picnics would most likely be funded by this account. GLR, or Graduate Legislative Reserve are funds given to the Graduate Student Government to be used by the student GSS. For instance, retreats for GSGA officers or GSGA picnics would most likely be funded by this account.