The late-spring timing of the Student Government runoff election has caused confusion about when Colorado Robertson and Shannon Bates will be sworn in as next year’s SG president and vice president. Wednesday is the Student Senate’s spring organizational meeting. This meeting plans SG appointments for the summer and fall. During this meeting, the newly elected president and vice president are traditionally sworn in. It is also not typically held until the end of the Senate spring session, which may last until April 23. But taking the Oath of Office is not the only thing that has to be done. In addition to the oath, Robertson, Senate speaker, must prepare the SG Budget and draft his Executive Branch Charter. The SG Budget allocates funds to different SG accounts and will be based on the University’s total projected enrollment for the 2008-2009 academic school year. The Executive Branch Charter spells out Robertson’s intended staff appointments. For any of this preparation to be enacted, the legislative branch must elect a new Senate speaker and speaker pro tempore as well as swear in new senators. Both president-elect Robertson and the Senate have a 10-day timeframe to accomplish the tasks that typically have a two- or three-week cushion. The president and vice president are sworn in by the University Court’s chief justice five class days from the announcement of the final election results, but not more than 10 class days “from the spring semester’s last Student Senate meeting,” according to the SG Bylaws. Robertson said he plans to be sworn in Monday, April 21 – four days before Friday’s inauguration ceremony. But current SG President Cassie Alsfeld said she discussed Robertson’s installation date Sunday evening with SG Chief of Staff Em LeBlanc and Chief of Staff of Operations Clark Lanius. There is a meeting with University Court Chief Justice Mark Hill scheduled today to decide when Robertson will be sworn in, but Alsfeld said this should have been determined earlier. All parties concur the inauguration will take place April 25, but there is disagreement about when the installation will occur. Alsfeld initially discussed plans to call a special Senate session after the spring semester for Robertson’s installation. If Robertson is not sworn in until after the school year ends, Alsfeld would remain in office until the end of the academic year despite Robertson’s April 25 inauguration, which is merely ceremonial. Though Alsfeld originally said Robertson must be inaugurated before he can be sworn in, she later changed her stance after realizing SG Bylaws do not stipulate that the president-elect must take the oath of office after the inauguration. “I realize he needs to be in office to get his appointments through, so we might just let him get sworn in Monday [April 21],” Alsfeld said. But Alsfeld is not the authority on the undetermined date for Robertson’s swearing in. Regardless, Robertson is left with a very short amount of time to accomplish tasks usually given weeks of oversight. Senate Speaker Pro Tem Ben Clark and Robertson said they are on the same page for the proceedings in the upcoming weeks, and Robertson does not want to call a special session after the school year ends. Clark said having two-thirds of the Senate present for quorum during a summer session is an inconvenience and a hassle. “We are not trying to push ourselves into office, we are simply trying to make sure our Executive Charter passes and our Executive Staff is appointed at the start of our term,” Robertson said. Robertson said he plans to swear in new senators during the Wednesday, April 16, spring organizational meeting – and as speaker of the Senate, he is empowered to do so because he sets the meeting’s agenda. Robertson said in addition to swearing in new senators, he will have a senator introduce the SG Budget during Wednesday’s meeting and recess until Monday, April 21. Robertson said when the meeting re-adjourns Monday, he plans to be sworn in and introduce the Executive Branch Charter for a vote. Robertson said he would like to see resolutions introduced to appoint Executive Staff. After the April 21 meeting adjourns, Robertson said the Temporary Rules Committee will meet and vote on the appointments Tuesday, April 22 and make recommendations to the Senate the next night. The session will end April 23 and Robertson said he will attend the inauguration ceremony Friday, April 25. But Alsfeld said today’s meeting will decide whether Robertson is sworn in April 21 or another possible option, such as April 29. “The leap year date threw off everything and threw off the whole calendar. We have to re-write the [Student Government] Election Code to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Alsfeld said. “It’s a matter with the dates not lining up with the schedule.” Alsfeld said Robertson knows she still has a lot to do, including wrapping up end-of-the-year documents and writing more memorandums. “We are not ready to be out by next Monday, and Colorado understands that,” Alsfeld said. “I don’t want his administration to be jeopardized because I know that he needs to have his staff. We are trying to make sure it doesn’t upset our schedule and agenda as well as his. It cuts down our time, and I’m just trying to make sure we close out the year strong.” Despite being in office for more than a year from her April 13 installation, Alsfeld said she hopes to accomplish everything on her agenda by April 21, if that is the selected date for Robertson’s installation.
—–Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]