Constitutional Amendments of Spring 2023

PASSED IN SESSION

In Session March 30th, April 13th 2023

Letourneau University Student Senate

Sponsored by PPT Gonzalez

An Amendment to the Constitution

Relating to Voting Districts, Elections, Executive Cabinet Eligibility, Budgets, and General Assembly

Be it enacted by the LeTourneau University Student Senate

Short Title

Section A.

This act may be referred to as the "Constitutional Amendments of Spring 2023."

Amendments

Section B.

The following portions of the Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Constitution

Article II – Student Senate

Section B. Senators

2. Voting Districts

·  Each residential hall shall be considered one voting district (Tyler Hall East and West are considered separate halls).

·  Married Student Housing, Apartments and Quads shall together be considered one voting district.

·  Residential societies shall together be considered one voting district.

·  Commuters shall be considered as one voting district.

·  Each voting district is entitled to 8 Senators.

·  No floor of a residential hall or residential society shall posses more than half of the senators available for that district. 

Article IV – Student Government Finances

Section B. Categories of Funds

2. The total amount of funds in each category must be presented to the Executive Cabinet by the president of each category every fourth meeting of the Executive Cabinet.

Constitutional Bylaws

Article I – Budget

Section B. Automatic Allocations

1.    LSM shall automatically receive 20% of the total amount of funds allocated to Student Government. An additional 5% shall be allocated upon the presentation of a budget containing a detailed breakdown of the expected expenses for the academic year.

2.    YAC shall automatically receive 20% of the total amount of funds allocated to Student Government. An additional 5% shall be allocated upon the presentation of a budget containing a detailed breakdown of the expected expenses for the academic year.

3.    The Executive Cabinet shall automatically receive 5% of the total amount of funds allocated to Student Government.

Section D. Stipends

4.      LSM General Compensation Funds shall be determined by the LSM Bylaws.

5.     YAC General Compensation Funds shall be determined by the YAC Bylaws:

Article II – Senate

Section A. Elections and Position Eligibility

2.  Senator elections shall take place within the first 2 weeks of each semester

4.  Senator elections will be organized and coordinated between the RAs and RD of that voting district with the results of the election being submitted to the PPT and Vice-President no more than 48 hours after the election took place.

5. Commuter senator elections shall be conducted by the Commuter Coordinator and the Commuter Assistant

6. Any vacancies may be filled after an election which shall be initiated by a petition signed by five (5) residents of the district which has the vacancy.

Section B. Attendance

4. When a senator leaves a general session at any point without prior notice to the PPT that senator shall be granted an absence for that session.

6. When a Senator violates parts 1, 2, or 3 the President Pro Tempore shall notify the Senator and the Resident Director of the Senator’s district of the Senator’s removal from Senate. 

Article V – Executive Cabinet Election

Section B. Position Eligibility

1.         Applicants must have completed two semesters in a campus leadership position (such as PA, RA, SLA, Senate Chair, etc.) before the start of their term in office.

Section G. Primary Election Process

1.    The primary election must take place one week prior to the debate night.

2.    Candidates who fulfill the requirements outlined in Sections B, D and E are eligible to participate in the primary.

3.    Candidates shall be listed on the ballot in alphabetical order and grouped by position.

4.    Voting shall take place by paper or online ballot by the discretion of the Governmental Processes Committee. This ballot shall be available for 48 hours.

5.    Online voting shall take place using online software that shall be specified by the Governmental Processes Committee and approved by Information Technology and the Dean of Students. The source code for such software shall be made available to students or administrative staff upon request unless it is a third-party commercial tool.

6.    The results of the election shall be announced publicly, and the results placed in the public record and posted on the Student Government Web Pages.

7.    The two candidates with the most votes in each position shall move on to the general election.

8.    The primary election process only applies when there are more than two candidates for a position. 

Senate Bylaws

Article IV – Finances

Section B. Financial Reports

1.    The Spending Oversight Officer from the Financial Appropriations Committee shall present a current financial report to Senate every fourth session and provide this budget to the Executive Cabinet. Failure to do so will result in the removal of this member from the Financial Appropriations committee and from Student Senate.

Article V – President Pro Tempore

5.    Enforcement

1.      The PPT shall issue first and second warnings to a Senator for non-disruptive infractions of the Bylaws and rules governing Senate Assembly.

2.      Upon a third non-disruptive infraction by a Senator, the PPT shall escort the infracting Senator out of the Assembly or bar said Senator from the Assembly.

3.      The PPT shall have the authority to expel, forcibly or otherwise, any disturbances in the Assembly. The PPT shall have the right to enlist other Senators to assist him or her if it becomes necessary.

4.    The PPT shall have the authority to revoke attendance for a Senator for violation of dress code, Senate guiding laws, or standing rules.

5.    The Speaker Chair may override the decision of the PPT if he or she deems it inappropriate or excessive.

Article VIII – General Assembly

Section C. Dress Code

3. Senators with campus jobs or labs immediately before or after session are exempted from abiding to the previous two clauses so long as they fulfill other clauses contained in this section.

4. Senators may wear cultural dress provided it is considered professional attire in the country/culture of its origin and it complies with LeTourneau University standards of appropriate attire. This includes attire that may be representative of Texas culture.

5. Shorts are prohibited

6. Sunglasses are Prohibited

Effective Date

Section C.

These amendments shall become effective upon the beginning of the Fall 2023 Semester

Explanations and Reasoning

Section D.

It was deemed that these amendments would improve the function of Student Senate and promote conversation within the student body about student government.