The ASUCR Senate meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Besides CHASS Senator Andrew Bui, CHASS Senator Lu and BCOE Senator Chloe Au, all were present. President Pro Tempore Richardson motioned to approve the agenda, which was seconded by Senator Brenden Cano. Motion passed 14-0-0. The previous Senate Meeting Minutes were approved 15-0-0.
During the public forum Executive Directive Brenden O’Brien announced that the search for an Executive Director is underway.
In Ex-Officio Reports, Chief Justice Arias notified the senate that the Elections Director applications would be open until Sunday. The Chief Justice hopes to find a candidate by next Wednesday and notes that this will delay the election process.
The senate reviewed three bills during the committee reports. SB-W23-002 Amending Chapter X aimed to make the bylaws clearer and more specific to make transitions smoother for future Executive Vice Presidents. The changes direct senators to pay closer attention to their publicity efforts and encourage the senators to maintain communication amongst each other. The Senate Report Revision system added to the bylaws specifies the importance of detailed communication with the student body. The revision system allows senators to edit their reports. After a few friendly amendments to readjust the format of the bill according to the bylaws, the bill was approved with the amendments 13-0-2.
The motion to open SB-W23-003 Senator Event Requirement Enactment was approved by CHASS Senator Alaa Mido, seconded by CNAS Senator Abby Choy. Following this change in the bylaw, Senators are now required to hold one event per quarter. Senators have already been planning one event per quarter, announced VP Usmani, and this formalizes this change. Motion to make a friendly amendment to add Sen. Hunt and Sen. Greene as secondary authors passed 15-0-0. The motion to approve this bill passed 14-0-1.
SB-W23-004 amends Chapter II, it requires that Senator Reports are made public for the student body, mandating quarterly reflection meetings, encouragement clauses, and more. Motion to remove Sen. Hunt from sponsor and add Sen. Hunt and Sen. Greene as secondary authors passed 15-0-0. Motion to approve SB-W23-004 passed 13-0-2.
Chief Justice Arias announced during the public comments that on Tuesday at 5:00 pm the Judicial Council will hold an open session meeting at the senate chambers. The open meeting was delayed by other confidential agendas.
Sen. Shah reported that the GCAP-2 Green Grants were approved. As a part of her efforts within the Women’s Rights and Equity committee, Sen. Shah has been working to get the legislation for easy access to feminine products approved with Sen. Barman. According to Sen. Shah the legislation has been in the works for 3 years and there has yet to be action for the legislation. Sen. Shah will be hosting the Research event with Sen. Choy, Sen. Mohammed, and their respective interns to connect students with Professors, research programs, and grants.
Motion to extend time by 5 minutes was approved by Sen. Nguyen, seconded by Sen. Elkatat. The senator has also been working with Sen. Choy to have professional headshots for students, working on getting in contact with R’Professional Closet, and collaborating with other Senators to make ASL courses available on campus in the near future.
Sen. Nguyen attended the second meeting of the quarter recently, and has already passed 4 pieces of legislation. The senator reported attending committee meetings and talked about updating vaccination requirements, continuing the CalFresh event from last quarter, working with Sen. Yang on a financial wellness workshop, authored and passed legislation.
During the Roundtable Announcements PPT. Richardson announced that the LRC meetings are held Friday 12-1 pm, any legislation submissions can be submitted by 9 am Fridays. Sen. Yang will be hosting the Financial Wellness workshop Wednesday Feb. 1-2 pm at the Senate Chambers. Sen. Mido reported that the Basic Needs Committee Event will be held on Jan 26, where they will be painting flower pots, plant baby seeds, and have pizza at HUB 360.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm.
