A series of proposed amendments to the Student Government Constitution would make the SG comptroller and secretary appointed positions.
The Undergraduate Senate held its first reading yesterday of the Commission on Reform's proposed amendments to the constitution, which the commission claims would improve the executive branch's efficiency and reduce the size of the senate.
The proposed changes include the creation of an appointment board to "ensure fairness in executive appointments," according to Commission Chair Peter Wahlberg.
Under the new amendments, the newly elected SG president and vice president would appoint the secretary and comptroller based on advice from the appointment board. The senate would approve the appointments.
The appointment board will consist of the newly elected president and vice president, a "Coordinator of the Undergraduate Senate," a chair and the outgoing officeholder of the position.
The amendments would also create the senate coordinator position. The coordinator, who the senate would elect, would be in charge of "determining the senate's general legislative agenda and ensuring the timely passage of their legislation," according to the amended constitution.
Class of 2009 Senator Jason Cunningham said he agrees the SG secretary and comptroller should be appointed positions.
"I think it's probably good because both of those positions are depend on technical know-how," he said. "I think it is better to appoint someone with the correct qualifications, experience and interests, than someone who just wins a popularity contest."
The Commission on Reform is comprised of six members - the chair, two executives, one senator, one former senator and SG Comptroller-elect Eric Goldstein, who meet weekly. SG President Joe Vidulich created the commission in late January to "look into everything in the SG and to strike a balance between its various parts," Wahlberg said.
The main constitutional changes within the executive branch would make the president solely in charge of all policy issues and the vice president solely in charge all programming, Wahlberg said.
The changes would also reduce the overall size of the senate from 30 to 26 seats, according to Amanda Fulton, a member of the commission and Kennedy Political Union director. The amendment would remove the four senator-at-large seats that represent the entire student body, making the representatives from either the four classes or the five schools.
The reasoning behind removing the senator-at-large seats is because "it's a little hard to operate when you don't have distinct constituency to look out for," Fulton said.
For the constitutional changes to take place, two-thirds of the senate will need to pass the new constitution during its second reading at the next senate meeting April 13. Should the senate pass the new amendments, the student body would be able to vote on the new constitution in a referendum April 28, said Wahlberg.
In order for the referendum to pass, two-thirds of votes would have to be in favor of it. If the referendum passes, the constitutional changes will go into effect over the next school year, Wahlberg said.
The commission will hold a forum Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in a yet-to-be-determined location so students can voice their opinions of the proposed amendments.
Fulton said she hopes a lot of students will attend the forum so the commission can "hear their opinions and get their feedback so we can get a favorable result."
The senate is currently divided about the proposed constitutional changes, she said.
"In my interaction within the senate, there seems to be a split, with some senators in strong support and some with questions," Fulton said. "What will be very important is creating a dialogue. We've received a lot of student input and a lot of people have been receptive to that dialogue."
Cunningham said he was concerned with the timing of the constitutional referendum. He said students might not pay attention to the referendum because it comes so close to the end of the school year.
"Students are focused on finals - they are not ready for a constitutional referendum," he said.
