Student Government Association
Central Connecticut State University
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
BY-LAWS
Table of Contents
Title 1: Attendance and Responsibilities
Section 1-1. Meetings
Section 1-2. Attendance
Section 1-3. Senator Responsibilities
Section 1-4. Executive Board
Section 1-5. Diversity Training
Section 1-6. Stipend Amount
Title 2: Rights of Students to Petition
Section 2-1. Petition to Reconsider
Section 2-2. Petition to Refer to Referendum
Section 3-1. Committee Functions and Involvement
Section 3-2. Election of Committee Chairs
Title 4: SGA Budgeting and Club Funding
Section 4-1. SGA Budgeting Procedures
Section 4-2. Club Funding
Section 4-3. Finance Committee Membership and Meeting
Section 4-4. Club Audits
Section 5-1. Elections
Section 5-2. Election Times
Section 5-3. Eligibility
Section 5-4. Voting
Section 5-5. Campaigns
Section 5-6. Validity of Election Results
Section 5-7. Rights of Candidates Accused of Violations
Introduction
Defining Bylaws: Bylaws govern Senate procedures in accordance with the Constitution.
Amending Bylaws: Proposed revisions to the bylaws must be submitted to Senators in writing. Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate present and voting.
Format of Bylaws: All bylaws must be worded in plain language that the average student can understand. Bylaw revisions will be included in this document in the following format:
(1) Title
(1-1) Section
(1-1 (a)) Article
Title 1: Attendance and Responsibilities
Section 1-1: Meetings
a) Regular meetings of the SGA shall take place every Wednesday at 3:05pm during the academic semester.
b) The senate and executive board of the SGA must dress at least business casual at all regular senate meetings.
i. At the beginning of his or her term of office, the Vice President must issue guidelines that define acceptable business casual attire. Those guidelines must be made available to all elected SGA members.
ii. It is the responsibility of the Executive board to provide business casual shirts to senators in alignment with the guidelines provided by the Vice President.
c) An agenda will be made available to Senators and other interested parties prior to the meeting.
d) Meeting minutes will be prepared for distribution within 48 hours.
Section 1-2: Attendance
a) The SGA University Assistant shall oversee the taking of attendance.
b) If missed, any senate meeting or retreat shall count as one absence.
c) Senators or officers will be considered late after 3:20pm, and this will be counted as a one-third of an absence.
d) Senators or officers who depart prior to a meeting’s adjournment or prior to 4:20pm (whichever comes first) will receive a one-third absence.
e) The SGA President or the Senate (by 2/3 vote) may excuse any absence or one-third absence by a Senator or officer. Once excused, these absences and one-third absences do not count against the Senator or officer, and carry no penalty.
f) Any Senator or officer who accrues two full absences shall forfeit their stipend. Excused absences are not counted towards this total.
g) The SGA President or the Senate should use their utmost discretion while considering excusals.
h) If any Senator is in violation of the attendance policy, the University Assistant should notify the Vice-President.
Section 1-3: Senator Responsibilities
a) Office Hours
i. Maintain strong ties and communication with constituents by holding office hours, with a minimum of two office hours a week, unless that week is shortened or canceled due to school holiday, severe weather, or at the discretion of the Vice-President.
ii. Each Senator is allowed 4 missed office hours in total each semester. Failure to complete will result in loss of stipend.
b) Club Liaison Program
i. Senators shall be assigned as a liaison to each recognized student organization eligible for funding by the SGA to establish and maintain communication.
ii. The Vice President shall establish certain criteria or guidelines for liaisons at his or her discretion.
c) Committee Attendance
i. Each Senator is required to serve on at least one standing committee or ad hoc committee. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of that semester’s stipend.
Section 1-4: Executive Board
a) Executive Decisions
i. The Executive Board may vote in executive board meetings to allocate funds for any purpose it sees fit.
ii. Any funding appropriated by the Executive Board must follow the guidelines of the University, any applicable state and federal laws, the SGA constitution and the SGA by-laws.
iii. A written record of Executive board decision must be kept and maintained.
iv. The President must present to the Senate at the following senate meeting any and all decisions made by the Executive Board and the vote tally of the Executive Board votes.
v. The senate may overturn any decision made by the Executive Board by a majority vote.
b) Responsibilities
i. Full Executive Board
a. Complete five office hours per week
b. Assist in the planning and running of a summer retreat and a winter retreat
c. Attend meetings of the Executive Board
ii. President Responsibilities
a. Chair meetings of the Student Government Association
b. Become proficient in Robert’s Rules of Order in its newest edition
c. Create meeting agendas for each regularly scheduled meeting of the SGA
d. Meet on a regular basis with the Vice President of Student Affairs
e. Organize and hold all Executive Board meetings
f. Review and act upon all motions made by the Senate of the SGA
g. Keep regular contact with the administration of Central Connecticut State University
h. The President must pass or veto legislation passed by the Senate within one week of such legislation being presented for signing. If the President fails to pass or veto legislation within this time period, it is considered vetoed.
iii. Vice President Responsibilities
a. Chair meetings of the Internal Affairs Committee
b. Chair full senate meetings in the absence of the President
c. Establish and coordinate stipend guidelines and the club liaison program
d. Keep a constant record of senator completion of stipend guidelines and organize the stipend review process through Internal Affairs Committee
e. Attend the monthly meetings of the Student Affairs Committee as the SGA representative
iv. Treasurer Responsibilities
a. Chair meetings of the Finance Committee
b. Keep regular records of the financial status of the Student Government Association and submit and present a report of all SGA finances each semester
c. Meet on a regular basis with the Fiscal Administrative Assistant to SA/LD
d. Must assign at random eight clubs per semester to be audited by the Finance Committee. Additional audits are at the discretion of the Finance Committee.
e. Oversee and organize the club budgeting process including spring base budgets, new club base budgets, contingency requests, co-sponsorship requests, fundraising loan requests, and line item change requests and all hearings associated with such proposals
f. Shall report on the status of SGA accounts and finances at each regularly scheduled senate meeting.
g. Must report to the senate if he or she discovers any violation or discrepancy within the accounts of the SGA. This report shall be delivered at the regularly scheduled senate meeting following such a discovery.
Section 1-5: Diversity Training
a) Every Senator and Officer shall attend or have attended a “Safe-Zone Training” and/or service deemed equivalent by either the Vice President or vote of the majority of senate, so long as one is accessible on the CCSU campus, within one (1) academic semester of the beginning of his or her term. Time spent on training will be counted toward office hours. Failure to comply will result in a loss of stipend. (Section 1-6).
Section 1-6: Stipend Amount (per academic semester)
a) Senators: $400.00
b) Senators elected mid semester: $200.00
c) Treasurer: $1000.00
d) Vice President: $1000.00
e) President: $1400.00
Title 2: Rights of Students to Petition
Section 2-1: Petition to reconsider: Any 100 undergraduate students who request or object to a particular action of the Senate may submit a petition. At the regular meeting or following the receipt of such a petition, the Senate shall consider the action.
Section 2-2: Petition to refer to Referendum: Any 400 undergraduate student who object to a particular action of the Senate may submit a petition asking that the action be put to referendum. Upon receipt of such a petition, a referendum must be held within 30 days. A majority vote to overturn a Senate decision must be honored by the Senate.
Title 3: Senate Committees
Section 3-1: Committee Functions and Involvement
a) The provisions of this section apply to all committees of the Senate with the exception of the Finance Committee, whose operation is governed by the Constitution under Article IV Section1 and By-Laws Title 4, as well as Finance Committee regulations in the Finance Committee By-Laws.
b) Each Senator is required to serve on at least one standing committee or ad hoc committee. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of that semester’s stipend.
c) SGA committees shall be headed by a Chair and Co-Chair elected by the Senate.
d) Chairs and Co-Chairs may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate or the Executive Board.
e) Committee meeting times, locations, guidelines, and contact information for committee chairs must be posted in a place accessible to all students.
f) Committee meetings must be held during the weekdays between 8:00am and 10:00pm unless otherwise authorized by the Senate.
g) Each committee shall inform the Senate of its actions after every meeting by submitting a written report (minutes) to the Vice-President.
h) The Chair or Co-Chair of the committee shall oversee the committee’s attendance, which shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.
i) Senators must be in attendance for at least half of the committees “gatherings”. This includes meetings, events, lobby tables… etc. At the end of each semester, the Internal Affairs Committee may ask committee Chairs and Co-Chairs whether everyone on their committee fulfilled their requirements in the opinion of the Chair and Co-Chair.
j) In order to be considered, passed recommendations made by any committee must be approved by a majority vote of the senate of the Student Government Association.
k) The following are Senate Committees:
i. Finance Committee
a. The Finance Committee shall operate pursuant to the By-Laws and the Constitution of the Student Government Association.
ii. Student Life Committee
a. The Student Life Committee shall address all matters concerning students of Central Connecticut State University.
b. The Student Life Committee shall oversee SGA Scholarships.
iii. Public Affairs Committee
a. The Public Affairs Committee may address matters concerning policy at the town, state and federal level.
b. The Public Affairs Committee shall provide marketing and promotions on behalf of the Student Government Association.
c. The Public Affairs Committee shall put together Senate related events including, but not limited to, SGA Elections, on campus events and conferences.
iv. Academic Affairs Committee
a. The Academic Affairs Committee shall address matters of student concern in regards to academics at Central Connecticut State University including, but not limited to, curriculum, academic advising, academic standards, academic integrity, and academic freedom.
v. Internal Affairs Committee
a. The Internal Affairs Committee will be chaired by the Vice President of the Senate and handle matters pertaining to the Senate including but not limited to Stipend Review, Constitution and By-Law Review, and shall meet on an as-needed basis.
b. Membership of the Committee will be selected by the Vice President.
c. The Internal Affairs Committee will not fulfill membership requirements in Section 3-1 (b).
Section 3-2: Election of Committee Chairs
a) All positions of chair and co-chair for all Senate Committees with the exception of the position of chair of Internal Affairs and the position of chair of Finance Committee shall be filled by a member of the Senate who does not hold an executive board position.
i. The Position of Chair of Finance Committee shall be filled by the SGA Treasurer.
ii. The Position of Chair of Internal Affairs Committee shall be filled by the SGA Vice President.
iii. The position of co-chair of the Internal Affairs Committee shall be filled at the discretion of the Vice President.
b) In order for any member of the Senate to be considered for the position of chair or co-chair of a Senate Committee:
i. He or she must first be nominated either by themselves or by another elected member of the SGA
ii. Nominations may be verbal or written
iii. He or she must accept their nomination either verbally or in writing.
c) Senators may not accept nominations for more than one position at a time.
d) Once all nominations have been announced, and the President has deemed that there are no additional interested candidates for the position of chair or co-chair, the President shall declare the nomination process closed.
e) All candidates that are being considered for a position shall be allotted five minutes to speak in favor of their nomination. If a candidate so chooses another senator may speak on behalf of the candidate. Only one person may speak per nominee.
f) After all Candidates have had the opportunity to speak, the full Senate will proceed to vote for each position that is vacant in order in which the candidates were nominated in at the previous meeting.
g) At least two-thirds of the Senate must be present in the room at the time of voting for committee chairs and co-chairs takes place.
h) All candidates must receive a majority of the voting membership present in order to be successfully elected to any position.
i) In the event where there are three or more candidates for the same position, and no candidate has received the required majority vote, then the candidate with the fewest votes will be disqualified in the first round of balloting and the Senate will hold additional ballots while disqualifying the candidate with the fewest votes per balloting round until a candidate has successfully received the majority vote.
Title 4: SGA Budgeting and Club Funding
Section 4-1: SGA Budgeting Procedures
a) At the beginning of the fiscal year, the projected enrollment figure for fall and spring semesters is multiplied by the SGA portion of the Student Activity fee. The resulting amount is considered funds available.
b) The funds available shall be divided as follows.
i. Fifteen percent (15%) of the funds available shall be designated for the SGA Senate discretionary reserves and placed in Senate Account SG9195.
ii. Sixteen percent (16%) of the funds available shall be designated for SGA Operations and placed in SGA Operations Account SG9120.
iii. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the funds available shall be designated for club funding and placed in account 9015.
c) As the last transaction of each fiscal year, 20% of the total amount of money remaining in each SG account (with the exception of SG 9010), not to exceed a total of $20,000, will be donated to the SGA Scholarship Endowment.
Section 4-2: Club Funding
a) The Finance Committee’s money shall be dispersed into sub-accounts by the following percentages.
i. 80% of the money shall be reserved for Club Budgets in SG9015. After club budgets are allocated, any remaining money from this account shall be used at the Finance Committee’s discretion
ii. 10% of the money shall be reserved for Contingency Funding in SG9016
iii. 9% of the money shall be reserved for Supplemental Funding in SG9017
iv. 1% of the money shall be reserved for New Club Budgets in SG9018
b) During the spring semester officially recognized clubs must submit a club budget request proposal to the SGA requesting all desired funds for the following academic year. Budget proposals must be signed by each club’s Treasurer, President, Club Liaison (or executive member of SGA) and their Student Activities/Leadership Development (SA/LD) Advisor.
c) The deadline for submission of Club Base Budgets will be determined by the current serving SGA Finance Committee allowing the appropriate amount of time for base budgets to be received, processed and reviewed with recommendations made by the Finance committee to the SGA Senate before the newly elected senate is sworn in.
d) The currently serving Finance Committee will review all club budget proposals and make funding recommendations.
e) Budget recommendations may then be submitted to the newly elected Executive Board of the SGA for fairness and consistency in regards to the constitution and finance by-laws. The Executive Board then has the power to propose changes to the Finance Committee’s recommendation for a club’s budget. The Executive Board must present their proposed changes to the Finance Committee where they will be voted upon by the regular voting members of the Finance Committee.
f) Once the Executive Board has reviewed, and possibly altered, the budget recommendations, they will be introduced to the floor of the newly elected SGA for approval.
g) Final allocations will be presented to the SGA at a date no later than the last regular meeting of the present elected SGA in the spring semester.
h) Club Budget Restrictions:
i. The SGA will only fund conferences in which some educational value is gained
ii. The SGA will not fund food for regular club meetings.
iii. Clubs will be responsible for abiding by all University and State Comptroller guidelines.
iv. Club base budget allocation will not exceed $50,000.
i) During the fiscal year, clubs may submit line item change requests to reconsider specific allocations within their original club budget request. All line item changes will be considered by the finance committee.
i. In the event that a line item change is rejected and still used by the club, the finance committee reserves the right to retrieve the funds from the club’s base budget.
j) SGA funded clubs reserve the right to petition the Finance Committee for contingency funding throughout the academic year, providing that funding is available.
k) Contingency Funding
i. In order to receive contingency funding from the Finance Committee, a club will be required to:
a. Fill out all the required paperwork;
b. Answer standard funding questions
c. Provide evidence of the prices of desired items/events;
d. And will be required to make a formal presentation to the Finance Committee or SGA General Assembly upon permission of the Executive Board.
ii. Contingency Funding Restrictions:
a. A club’s request must match their mission statement
b. Requests must be made for item/event that were not anticipated at the time of their club budget request.
c. A club may not petition the Finance Committee for any portion of their club budget proposal that was denied unless that club can prove the reason for denial is no longer relevant.
d. The SGA will only fund one conference per club per academic year with contingency funds.
l) Co-Sponsorship Funding:
i. Co-Sponsorship funding is a collaboration with the SGA, this is not contingency funding.
ii. Co-Sponsorship funding is restricted to student organizations which are recognized by the university.
iii. The funding is available for events or activities that are inclusive of and open to the entire campus.
iv. The funds will not be used for supplementing club budgets.
v. Requests must abide by all University and State Comptroller guidelines.
m) Fundraising Loans
i. Clubs reserve the right to petition the Finance Committee for a fundraising loan throughout the academic year, providing that funding is available.
ii. In order to petition the Finance Committee for a fundraising loan, a club will be asked to fill out required paperwork, answer standard funding questions, provide evidence of the prices of desired items/events, and make a formal presentation to the Finance Committee requesting a specific amount of funding.
n) Clubs shall have two fiscal accounts
i. The first shall be for all money allocated from the SGA Finance Committee for their club budget, contingency funding, and fundraising loans.
ii. The second fiscal account shall be for all other money collected by the club. This includes net fundraised money, donations, etc. All money from this account that is not spent shall roll over into the following fiscal year.
o) Fundraising Loan Restrictions
i. A “fundraiser” shall be defined as having the expected revenue to clearly exceed the cost of the fundraiser itself.
ii. A fundraising loan must be paid back to the Finance Committee after completion.
a. The Finance Committee must provide a deadline by which the fundraising loan must be repaid.
iii. If a fundraiser is unsuccessful in paying for itself the Finance Committee reserves the rights to investigate the circumstances of the fundraiser and to implement disciplinary action with the senate’s approval.
p) New Club Budget Restrictions
i. The SGA will not fund food for regular club meetings.
ii. Clubs will be responsible for abiding by all University and State Comptroller guidelines.
Section 4-3: Finance Committee Membership and Meetings
a) The Finance Committee of the Student Government Association (SGA) of Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) shall be designated with the task of dispersing Student Government Association monies in financial accounts SG9015, SG9016, SG9017, and SG9018 that are funded from the student activity fees.
b) In order to be considered passed recommendations made by the Finance Committee must be approved by a majority vote of the senate of the Student Government Association.
c) Eligibility to be a voting member of the committee is reserved exclusively for currently elected, serving, and fee paying, members of the Student Government Association. Non-senators may attend meetings, but may not vote.
d) The committee shall have a total of nine voting members, in addition to the non-voting chairperson, with a quorum of six members.
e) The Active Treasurer of the Student Government Association shall be the Chairperson of the Finance Committee. The co-chairperson of the Finance Committee shall be elected by the Senate. If there is not an active Treasurer, a finance chair will be elected by the Senate as well.
f) Only officially university-recognized clubs, whose membership is non-selective, shall be eligible for base budget funding from the Finance Committee. Non-recognized clubs and organizations may not petition for a base budget.
g) The Finance Committee shall meet once a week to discuss, and make recommendations to the SGA Senate about club budgets, contingency funding, fundraising loans, finance bylaw revisions, new clubs as well as any other germane topics. They may however; make specific operational guidelines for the current year, providing they do not conflict with previously established guidelines.
h) Finance Committee Minutes shall be prepared and distributed to the Senate prior to Senate Meetings for approval.
Section 4-4: Club Audits
a) The Finance Committee will audit the fiscal account of at least eight clubs per semester. They retain the right to audit any club’s fiscal accounts at any time.
b) Unsatisfactory findings in a club’s audit will result in the following disciplinary action:
i. The Club in question will be placed on probation for the remainder of the fiscal year. During this probation the Finance Committee will monitor the club’s financial activity. The club will also meet with the members of the Finance Committee to review responsible spending.
ii. If a club infringes again while on probation, their SG account will be frozen for the remainder of the fiscal year. The club will also be placed on probation for the following fiscal year.
Title 5: Elections
Section 5-1: Elections
a) Elections shall be conducted by the Public Affairs Committee.
b) No person who is a member of the Public Affairs Committee shall campaign for, advise, or instruct candidates in an election on any matters related to the election, except matters concerning campaign guidelines.
Section 5-2: Election Times
a) Students shall be given at least one week to declare their candidacy.
b) The candidates shall be given at least two weeks prior to voting to campaign.
c) Voting shall take place on two consecutive days, and in accordance with Article 2,
Section 6, Part C of the Constitution.
d) In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held over a period of time decided on by the Public Affairs Committee lasting a minimum of 24 hours, prior to all candidates being sworn into office and in accordance with the rest of Title 5.
Section 5-3: Eligibility
a) Candidates and voters for the Senior Class President must have senior standing as defined by the University.
b) Candidates are required to have a 2.0 GPA to run for a Senate Position. Senators and officers are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA to maintain their position on the Senate and receive a stipend.
c) Candidates for the position of Senior Class President are required to have and maintain a 2.0 GPA.
d) The SGA Senate has been entrusted to conduct the elections for the CSU Board of Regents Representative and Henry Barnard Foundation of Directors Representative. The eligibility for these positions is determined by those respective institutions, and therefore is subject to change.
Section 5-4: BOR Student Advisory Committee Membership Election
a) Term limits for SAC membership will be defined in Connecticut State Statutes and the Student Advisory Committee bylaws.
b) All students of Central Connecticut State University are eligible to run for CCSU’s Student Advisory Committee representative.
c) All CCSU students that are currently enrolled, as defined as graduate, undergraduate, full time, and part time; are eligible to vote for the SAC representative.
d) Candidates for CCSU’s voting alternate member will be drawn from interested students. The open candidate seat will be posted and advertised.
e) The Executive Board will review all candidates’ applications and recommend the appointment of the SAC Alternate to Senate no later than October 1st of each year in which the position is open.
Section 5-5: Voting
a) Only those who have declared their candidacy and have been determined eligible shall be voted upon; write in votes shall not be counted.
b) Voting shall be by secret ballot.
c) Votes shall not be counted until all voting has concluded.
d) When the election results have been ratified by the Senate, the new Senate term shall commence.
Section 5-6: Campaigns
a) The Senate shall have the authority to approve guidelines governing campaign conduct on election days. Such guidelines shall be recommended by the Public Affairs Committee and must be approved by a majority vote of the Senate, at least one week prior to the start of campaigning. The Public Affairs Committee shall ensure that all candidates review the guidelines and sign a consent agreement prior to election dates.
b) A reasonable perimeter shall be designated around voting areas where no campaigning will be allowed.
c) Candidates whose names appear on any campaign material are responsible for those materials.
Section 5-7: Validity of Election Results
a) The Senate may only reject election results if all of the following conditions have been met:
i. The Public Affairs Committee has set forth clear campaigning guidelines and provided them to the candidates prior to the election dates.
ii. The Public Affairs Committee has received a complaint alleging campaign violations within one business day of the end of voting.
iii. Such a complaint can be verified by the testimony of at least one additional witness.
iv. Such a complaint has been investigated by the Public Affairs Committee.
v. A panel consisting of a representative from the Public Affairs Committee, a representative from the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development, and at least three Senators or executive board members, and presided over by a representative from the Campus Judicial Office experienced in quasi-judicial procedure shall have been convened.
vi. The panel has issued a report and recommendation to the Senate.
Section 5-8: Rights of Candidates Accused of Violations
a) The accused shall have the right to be present during the proceedings of the panel prescribed by Section 5-6-e.
b) The accused shall be given the opportunity to testify, but shall not be compelled to do so.
c) The accused shall have the right to call and question witnesses.
d) The accused shall have the right to designate a representative to aid in their defense.
e) The accused shall have the right to appeal the findings of the panel to the full Senate.