Preview of Referendum Questions on SGA Election Ballot

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:43:00 -0400
sga-election

The annual undergraduate student election will take place from Monday, April 19th through Wednesday, April 21st through Blackboard. Read about the candidates here.

There will be four referendum questions on the ballot, each of which proposes to amend the SGA Constitution. An amendment requires approval from a majority of voters in order to be adopted. Here are the four questions:

REFERENDUM A--SGA OFFICER ELIGIBILITY: Do you support the following amendment to the SGA Constitution? This amendment was adopted by the SGA Senate, and will take effect if ratified by students voting in this election.

Summary: The proposed amendment would make more students eligible to serve in SGA by
(1) removing the minimum GPA requirement for officers not serving in formal leadership positions, and
(2) removing the requirement that SGA officers not be on "disciplinary probation."

The Details (Specific Wording of Amendment): The first sentence of Article 5.2 of the SGA Constitution now reads, "In order to be eligible to seek and hold SGA offices, an individual must be a UMBC undergraduate, have at least a cumulative 2.25 GPA, maintain at least a 2.25 semester GPA while in office, and not be on academic or disciplinary probation." The amendment would change this sentence so it reads, "In order to be eligible to seek and hold elected SGA offices, or appointed offices for which a stipend is provided and/or the officer is responsible for supervising other appointed officers, an individual must be a UMBC undergraduate, have at least a cumulative 2.25 GPA, maintain at least a 2.25 semester GPA while in office, and not be on academic probation."

Yes ___

No ___

REFERENDUM B--NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE: Do you support the following amendment to the SGA Constitution? This amendment was adopted by the SGA Senate, and will take effect if ratified by students voting in this election.

Summary: The proposed amendment would extend SGA's guarantee against discrimination to encompass discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression.

The Details (Specific Wording of Amendment): Article 6.4 of the SGA Constitution now reads, "No UMBC undergraduate shall be excluded from any SGA forum or activity, or be granted or denied any benefit, on account of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, religion or political affiliation." The amendment would change this sentence so it reads, "No UMBC undergraduate shall be excluded from any SGA forum or activity, or be granted or denied any benefit, on account of race, age,sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, disability, religion or political affiliation."

Yes ___

No ___

REFERENDUM C--AUTHORITY TO AMEND SGA GUIDING DOCUMENTS AND APPOINT/APPROVE OFFICERS: Do you support the following amendments to the SGA Constitution? These amendments were adopted by the SGA Senate, and will take effect if ratified by students voting in this election.

Summary: The proposed amendments would grant the SGA Finance Board equal authority with the SGA Senate to approve amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws. They also would clarify the process by which positions that become vacant mid-year are filled, giving the Finance Board the opportunity to participate in approving certain appointments.

The Details (Specific Wording of Amendments): Article 2.4 of the Constitution now grants the Senate sole authority to amend the SGA Bylaws by a two-thirds vote of its entire membership. The amended version of Article 2.4 would give that authority to "the Senate and Finance Board together" by "a two-thirds vote of each body's entire membership."

Article 5.1.3 of the Constitution now gives the President approval to fill vacancies in the Cabinet, on the Supreme Court and on the Election Board subject to approval by the Senate. The amended version of Article 5.1.3 would clarify that the President does not fill vacancies on Election Board other than the position of Chair (the Chair appoints the other Election Board members). The amended version also states that "Presidential appointments to fill vacancies in the positions of Vice President for Student Organizations, Treasurer and Election Board Chair will be subject to approval by the Senate and Finance Board as specified in the SGA Bylaws."

Article 7 of the Constitution now grants the Senate authority to ratify amendments to the Constitution by a two-thirds vote of its entire membership, subject to approval of the student body in a referendum. The amended version of Article 7 would give authority to ratify amendments to "the Senate and the Finance Board" by a two-thirds vote of each body's entire membership, subject to approval of the student body in a referendum.

Yes ___

No ___

REFERENDUM D--SGA SUPREME COURT STRUCTURE: Do you support the following amendments to the SGA Constitution? These amendments were adopted by the SGA Senate, and will take effect if ratified by students voting in this election.

Summary: The proposed amendments would add four positions to the SGA Supreme Court and modify the Court's responsibilities.

The Details (Specific Wording of Amendments): Article 4.2.1 currently establishes that the Supreme Court will be composed 5 officers appointed to 2-year staggered terms (3 commencing in odd-numbered years, 2 in even-numbered years). The amendments would establish that the Supreme Court will be composed of 9 officers appointed to 2-year staggered terms (5 commencing in odd-numbered years, 4 in even-numbered years).

The titles "Justice" and "Chief Justice" would be changed to "Judge Advocate" and "Chief Judge Advocate" wherever they appear in the Constitution.

Article 4.2.2 currently gives the Supreme Court the power to adjudicate certain disputes when the party initiating the action has exhausted all "available" SGA adjudication forums other than the Supreme Court. The amendments would change this phrase to "available and appropriate."

Article 4.2.2 currently empowers the Supreme Court to take "any of the following" specific remedial actions (and lists the possible actions, which include compelling SGA to transfer some of its funds and reversing decisions of the Election Board). The amendments would empower the Supreme Court to take remedial actions "including, but not limited to" the listed actions.

The amendments would require that certain actions be taken in written form: "Court Orders" and "Notices of Termination." Article 4.2.3 of the Constitution would read, "Remedial actions mandated by a court of the SGA shall be issued in writing in the form of a Court Order which shall describe the court's expected outcome and its deadline." (Other sections would be renumbered to accommodate this new section). Article 5.5.4, which establishes the process for removing appointed officers, would be amended to add the following text:

"All terminations shall be effective upon signature of a Notice of Termination by any officer with the constitutional authority to remove the addressee from office or issuance of a Court Order declaring termination. Upon termination, all rights, privileges and access of the forfeited office shall be denied the former officer. Any continued use of the above benefits by the terminated officer shall subject the removed officer to charges of violating the UMBC Student Code of Conduct.

Notices of Termination shall be any document stating the date and time of cancellation of an SGA officer's access to the responsibilities and benefits of his/her office before the completion of the office's natural term. A Notice of Termination is valid only when completed by an officer with authority to remove the addressed officer from his/her office."

Article 5.5.4 also would be amended to clarify that the removal process described in the existing text applies only to appointed officers in the Executive Branch, not to other appointed officers of SGA (the section currently starts, "Appointed officers may be removed . . ."; the amended section would start, "Officers serving in appointed Executive Branch offices may be removed . . .").

Yes ___

No ___