Senate Bill

Transcription

1 Senate Bill DATE: 1 December 2014 AUTHORS: Senator Kayla Weinman, Adam Howard SPONSORS: Senator Kayla Toomer, Emily Green, Savannah Watts, Anthony Scudieri, Samuel Matino TYPE: Annual Finance Policy SHORT TITLE: An Act to supplement the SGA Bylaws ENACTING CLAUSE: The SGA Bylaws shall be added to as follows in the attached section. EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately upon passage and Presidential approval, WHEREAS: The Bylaws of the Student Government Association are meant to be a living document that meets the needs of the Student Government Association, the student body, and the university broadly, WHEREAS: The SGA began operating under a new financial protocol, which has continued into this term, WHEREAS: The current Finance Bylaws require a special provision to be passed each year, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The following policy be implemented. ENACTING CLAUSE: The Annual Finance Policy shall, upon approval of the Student Senate and signature of the President, supplement The SGA Bylaws to read as follows: PASSAGE: YAY NAY ABS DATE: Entered into law as: BILL Timothy J. Hoffman, SGA President

2 ANNUAL SGA FINANCE POLICY This document is subject to annual review by the SGA Treasurer and the Finance Committee. Budget Policy and Procedure must be amended by February 1 st in order to take effect for the following year. For the Academic Year: ALLOCATION PROCEDURE (j) Clubs and organizations must submit a yearly budget to the SGA Treasurer and Finance Committee in March in order to be eligible for funding. o Club Executive Boards must be submitted at least one week prior to the budget deadline. The SGA Treasurer and Finance Committee will serve additional special office hours, as needed, during the budget creation process so that clubs and organizations are guided through this process. Budget requests must be created based off accounting records for total spending in the prior year. Clubs and organizations planning conferences or trips are permitted to budget for anticipated expenses, if exact costs are not known. Once such costs are known, organizations will be permitted to go before the Finance Committee for additional funding, if needed. o Estimated costs must not be inflated during the budget process. Inflation during the budget process will lead to enforcement of penalties outlined in Chapter 805 (SGA Bylaws). The SGA Treasurer and Finance Committee will compile all budget proposals submitted by clubs and organizations and create the official budgets for these organizations. Clubs and organizations are not guaranteed to receive all funds requested in their budget proposals. If an organization fails to submit a budget request, an allocation may not be given. SGA recognized organizations have the right to appeal budget allocations to the Student Senate. Appeals must be submitted to the Senate within 48 hours of receiving their allocation. Appeals will be conducted in an SGA meeting one-to-two weeks after the budgets are sent to clubs and organizations. The Student Senate must have a 2/3 majority vote to supersede the Finance Committee s decision. A Mandatory Executive Board Budget Clinic will be held at the end of each Spring Semester and beginning of each Fall Semester where the leadership of clubs and organizations will be trained in the budgetary process. Failure to attend one of these sessions will result in a temporary freezing of accounts until the leadership meets with the SGA Treasurer. BUDGET AND FUNDING GUIDELINES The following section provides guidelines for creating budget proposals. Clubs and organizations must create their budget proposal based on the regulations provided below, and must adhere to them at all times when utilizing SGA provided funds. Definitions of Programming Individual programs: sponsored by a single registered student group Co-sponsored programs: supported by two or more organizations with common interests or goals. One of the Treasurers from the groups will be the primary Treasurer for the event and responsible for funding and management of event funds/expenses.

3 Program Funding (What SGA Can Fund): Rental of spaces Security Honorarium for speaker - No University staff, administrator, faculty member, or student may be paid as a speaker. Entertainment Food All programs must adhere to The Department of Student Life standards and be open and advertised to the entire University Community. Types of Programs Program Proposals can be budgeted based on the following Program Proposal Classification System: i. Low-Level: Any club and organization meetings which may only require a room request and limited funding. Clubs and organizations can budget up to $150 for these events. ii. Mid-Level Programs: Small-scale programs and events which require food and minor expenses such as decorations fall under this designation. Any event that does not involve contracts falls under this designation. Clubs and organizations can receive up to $800 for these events. iii. Top-Level Programs: These are the most expensive events and require the most planning. These events can include fees such as bus requests, flight tickets, other forms of transportation involving ticket purchases, lodging expenses, contracted speakers or performers, equipment rentals, conference fees, security expenses, and any other contracted vendors. Clubs and organizations can receive up to $3,000 for these events. Trips/Travel/Conference Funding Guidelines: SGA funded trips must be advertised for the general SHU community, unless preapproved by Finance Committee due to the nature of the organization/event. Admission and registration fees are fundable items. Transportation is a fundable item. The Treasurer and an advisor in The Department of Student Life will be responsible for all bus requests to be processed. Lodging is not a fundable item for non-conference trips. Lodging for Conferences: Must be at a safe, reasonably priced venue, quad occupancy as gender permits, double occupancy for advisors. SGA may fund up to 50% of the expected combined cost for lodging, transportation, and registration for the conference, per the discretion of the Finance Committee. Food is not a fundable item for any trip or travel. Conference participation must be intended to receive information to better the larger campus community as a whole. Organizations may be required to sponsor programs or presentations on their trips upon return, unless preapproved by Finance Committee due to the nature of the organization/event. Capital Expenditures SGA may provide funds for major capital equipment upgrades for organizations. Capital Equipment is defined as any expenditure for long term items (5+ years such as televisions, computers, etc.).

4 All capital expenditures purchased with SGA funds belong to the SGA. Clubs must present an inventory to the SGA each year if they possess capital equipment. If the club should disband for any reason, the item(s) is/are to be returned to the SGA. The SGA reserves the right to recall any item purchased through capital expenditures. This request is made by the Finance Committee and subject to Senate approval following presentations by both the Finance Committee and the student organization. SGA Cannot Fund the Following: (j) (k) (l) (m) (n) Bail, lawyer s fees, parking tickets, etc. Lobbying: Direct monetary contributions to political parties or political candidates Personal loans Wages Honorarium for advisors, coaches, faculty members, administrators or students Debts incurred prior to recognition by SOAC Debts incurred prior to the current academic year Alcoholic beverages or illegal substances Individual membership fees for national organizations Cash prizes Athletic teams Direct donations to non-university organizations or charities Incidentals, fees for lost/damaged property, sight-seeing or tourist excursions, as well as any unapproved costs incurred on a trip Organizations that violate the university s policy on discrimination Additional Notes for Funding All clubs and organizations receiving either program funding or co-sponsorship funding must include the Seton Hall SGA logo on all types of publicity. Deficit spending is strictly prohibited. No organization may exceed SGA funding unless they use their own fundraised money. Accounting is the responsibility of the club/organization. The organization s Treasurer must maintain current and accurate records of available spending, and be prepared to present them to the Finance Committee upon request. All organizations must pay any incurred debts by the end of the fiscal school year. If organizations outside of SGA are requesting Co-Sponsorship support, they must follow the same regulations as SGA recognized organizations. Any additional resources which SGA makes available to clubs and organizations shall be divided in a manner determined the Finance Committee. No organization will be given more than $3,000 for one event. All unused funds are taken back at the end of the fiscal school year and returned to the general account. Fundraised money will not be taken from organizations. Any violations of Department of Student Life standards that occur during an event, or while traveling to, and from, or at a trip/conference, as determined by the Dean of Students, may result in the complete revocation of funding and the organization or members at fault will be responsible for any debts incurred.

5 FINANCE COMMITTEE PROCEDURE Student clubs and organizations must submit a Program Proposal two weeks prior to the Finance Committee s meeting to be placed on the agenda. The student group MUST meet with the Finance Committee two (2) weeks PRIOR to the date of the event. The Program Proposal will include a description of the event the club/organization wishes to hold, an accurate breakdown of costs, and the funding they wish to obtain from the Finance Committee. Priority will be given to activities taking place on SHU property. SGA funding may not go to activities that are advertised solely off-campus. Applications received past the date set by the Finance Committee will not be accepted. All proposed programs must adhere to all Seton Hall University and Department of Student Life standards, while also serving the organization s mission statement. GDS PHILANTHROPIC POLICY Gourmet Dining Services generously gives a donation of funds to the SGA to allocate for food requests for Philanthropic events made by all SHU groups, whether they are SGA recognized or not. Groups wishing to receive donated items from GDS must submit a proposal to the SGA Treasurer at least two weeks prior to their event. The organization would then come before the Finance Committee where a decision on the grant would be made. This donation is available for any student group on campus. The funds would be based upon GDS s student pricing menu. If purchasing any items that are not on the student menu, GDS will provide a cost. The event in which funds are requested must be 100% philanthropic in nature. Funds will be distributed to organizations on a first-come, first-served basis by the Finance Committee.