Student Government President Chris Odinet delayed SG Senate consideration of next year’s budget in the wee hours of the morning during Wednesday’s Senate meeting until the Senate can convene for a special session. The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted until almost 12:45 a.m.
Odinet withdrew the budget from Senate consideration after the executive branch’s departmental funding was erased because of a possible SG constitutional violation. This departmental funding allotted money to cover programming initiatives for each department, including academics, external affairs and public relations.
Odinet issued an executive proclamation ordering a Senate special session to begin Sunday night.
Former SG President Michelle Gieg said she has never seen a special session called during her four years of SG involvement.
“We felt it was getting really late into the night,” Odinet said. “We thought it was a responsible decision to adjourn.”
The possible constitutional violation involved a bill that pays for Odinet’s executive departmental staff with money from the SG initiatives account. The bill did not specify the precise purpose for all funding within the departments.
“We felt it would be better to look at the budget at a different time,” Odinet said. “It would have been difficult to try to the amend the budget that much on the [Senate] floor.”
Graduate Sen. Donald Hodge authored a previous bill that amended SG bylaws to restrict spending initiatives account funds without Senate approval. Hodge said he wrote the amendment after SG leaders purchased a $10,000 clicker voting system without consulting the Senate.
“People are paying more and more attention to how the government is spending their money,” Hodge said. “I think there will be more debate. We should justify every dime of it.”
Odinet said the budget is being reworked to find departmental funding and will be reintroduced Sunday.
SG Speaker of the Senate Evan Bergeron said the budget must be finalized before June 30, or SG members cannot spend money from any accounts until it is approved.
“We’re starting from scratch,” Bergeron said about reworking the budget.
After the Senate convenes Sunday, Odinet said the budget will likely be sent to the Committee on Finance meeting Monday. If the committee approves the budget Monday, the Senate will reconvene Tuesday night to reconsider the budget.
Hodge, who chairs the Committee on Finance, said he hopes committee members will not rush to make a decision.
“It might be a detriment to academics,” Hodge said. “I’m hoping we will wait until after finals.”
 
Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]