Amendment to Bylaw 1
RESULTS: PASSED ON 10/27/09
15 September 2009 MEMORANDUM FOR A.S. SENIOR VP / SENATE
FROM: Mark R. Heath
SUBJECT: Proposed Amendment to Bylaw I
1. Proposal: Bylaw 1 Section VII number 6. i. All legislation passed by the Senate must be presented to the President. S/he will then have until the end of the following Friday to approve or disapprove. If approved s/he shall sign it, and the same shall be passed. If at the end of the day Friday s/he does not sign it, the same shall be passed in like manner as if s/he had signed it. Should s/he disapprove, s/he may send it back to the Senate with objections. ii. In the event of disapproval the Senate shall be notified. The Senate will then have until the end of the following Senate meeting to reconvene. If 2/3 approve, the same shall be passed. iii. In the event that an immediate decision is requested, a signed petition may be presented from those person(s) or organization(s) who drafted the legislation to the President. 7. Minutes shall be recorded by a Secretary.
2. Problems with Status Quo: Currently, the President has the right to veto. However, it is unclear as to how this works exactly. Not only this, it is unclear as to how a veto override by the Senate works. Because of ambiguity within the Bylaw, there is room for interpretation and room for personal bias. Alternatives: If left as current, there could potentially arise a situation in which the president vetoes a bill and does not notify any senate members. The president has no obligation to inform senate members of the veto and the senate has no obligation to move in an efficient manner to override the veto if they so choose. Not only this, but there is no set time limit as to when the president must enforce the veto. This amendment will bring clarity and efficiency to this process.
Mark R. Heath
A.S. PresidentChanges Made 20 October 2009 Changes Made 26 October 2009