GOVERNMENT BILL 27
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
Short Title: Apportionment Simplification Act (Public)
Sponsored
by: Senators DOUCETTE
(corresponding), ALSTON, FOXX, GARDNER, GILBERT, HANKINS, HUGHES, KLING (emeritus),
MCARTHUR, PHELPS, POTTER, SAWREY, WALDRUP, WEBB, WHITEHOUSE (emeritus), Treasurer COMPTON
Signatories:
Senate President Emeritus FORREST HINTON, Education Senator Emeritus
MATT WALTON, CALS Sophomore Senate candidate SARAH WONG, College Democrats
Chairman DREW BALL, College Republicans Chairman BRITTANY FARRELL, Committee
for a Better University Chairman CHRISTINE DIPIETRO
First Reading: September 20, 2006 Version
Date: November 26, 2006
Referred
to: Select Committee on Apportionment .
WHEREAS, throughout the history of this Student
Government prior to 2002, voter participation in Fall elections has been
exceptionally poor, with few candidates participating and voter turnout rarely
exceeding 100 total voters from thousands;
WHEREAS, such habitually poor turnout was due in part
to the complexity of the first-year undergraduate apportionment system, and
prompted the 77th Session of the Student Senate (1997) to eliminate all Fall
elections entirely beginning August 1998 and appointing all first-year
undergraduate Senators through a special Senate committee; and,
WHEREAS, following the adoption by the 82nd Session of
the Student Senate (2002) of Government Bill 49, "An Act to Restore
Constitutionally Sound Elective Representation For First-Year Students,"
Fall elections were re-introduced in August 2003 with a simplified, class-based
apportionment system allowing any first-year undergraduate student to compete
for 11 seats; and,
WHEREAS, this apportionment simplification has
produced far greater participation by voters and candidates alike, averaging
more than 26 candidates and over 1,000 voters in the 4 years since Fall
elections resumed; and,
WHEREAS, this apportionment simplification also
produced 38 undergraduate candidates for the 2006 Fall election, an all-time
record number of candidates in the entire 86 year history of the Student
Government; and,
WHEREAS, this dramatic improvement justifies a similar
simplification for the Senate as a whole, while preserving the historical
representation rights of the various Schools and Colleges; now, therefore be it
ENACTED, by
the North Carolina State University Student Senate that:
Section
1. Statutory Authority.
This bill is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Sections
3, 5(d) and 5(e) of the Student Body Constitution, and Chapter 2, Rule 17(b)(3)
of the Student Body Statutes.
Section
2. Student Body Statutes §2-3.2 shall be
amended by striking the existing subparts and substituting as follows:
§2-3.2. Rules
of apportionment.
The Senate shall enact an
apportionment no later than three (3) years from the date of the previous
apportionment, subject to the following provisions:
(a) There shall be
a total of sixty-four (64) Senators, each elected by the students of a
recognized School or College of the University (SBS §2-3.3);
(b) Representation
by the Senators shall be divided amongst the Schools and Colleges, and if
possible, the classes within each School and College, such that each Senator
represents, as nearly as possible, an equal number of students; however, each
recognized School or College shall elect at least one (1) Senator; and
(c) The number of
students in each School or College shall be determined by the number of full
time equivalent (FTE) students.
(a) There shall be
a total of sixty-four (64) Senators, each elected by the students of a
recognized Class, School, College of the University (SBS §2-3.4);
(b) Representation
by the Senators shall be proportional among the Schools and Colleges such that
each School and College shall elect at least one (1) Senator, plus one (1)
additional Senator (up to a maximum of four (4)) for each 1,000 regularly
enrolled students; and,
(c) Remaining
representation by the Senators shall be divided among the several Classes such
that each Senator represents, as nearly as possible, an equal number of
students.
Section 3. Student
Body Statutes §2-3.4 shall be amended as follows, to reflect proper alphabetization and to
provide for explicit representation by part-time students:
§2-3.4. Recognized Schools and
Colleges.
For the purposes of this Article,
the recognized Schools and Colleges of the University shall be:
(a) the College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences (CALS);
(b) the College of Design;
(c) the College of Education;
(d) the College of Engineering;
(e) the College of
Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS);
(f) the College of
Management;
(g) the College of Natural
Resources;
(f) the College of
Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS);
(g) the College of
Management;
(h) the College of Physical and
Mathematical Sciences (PAMS);
(i) the College of Textiles;
(j) the First-Year
College; and,
(j) the Graduate
School;
(k) the College of
Veterinary Medicine;
(l) the First-Year
College; and
(k) Life-Long Education and
part-time students.
Section
4. Student Body Statutes §2-3.5 shall be
amended by striking the existing text and substituting as follows:
§2-3.5. Current
apportionment.
Each School and
College, and class within the School or College, shall be represented by the
following number of Senators:
(a) First-year
undergraduate students from all Schools and Colleges – eleven (11);
(b) CALS
sophomores – two (2);
(c) CALS juniors –
three (3);
(d) CALS seniors –
three (3);
(e) Design – one
(1);
(f) Education –
one (1);
(g) Engineering
sophomores – three (3);
(h) Engineering
juniors – three (3);
(i) Engineering
seniors – four (4);
(j) Natural
Resources – two (2);
(k) CHASS
sophomores – two (2);
(l) CHASS juniors
– three (3);
(m) CHASS seniors
– three (3);
(n) Management –
five (5);
(o) PAMS – two
(2);
(p) Textiles – one
(1);
(q) Graduate – ten
(10);
(r) Veterinary
Medicine – one (1);
(s) First-Year
College – one (1); and
(t) Life-long
Education – three (3).
§2-3.5. Current
apportionment.
Each School and College
shall be represented as specified in §2-3.2, for a total of twenty-eight (28)
Senators apportioned as follows:
(a) CALS – four
(4);
(b) Design – one
(1);
(c) Education –
two (2);
(d) Engineering –
four (4);
(e) CHASS – four
(4);
(f) Management –
three (3);
(g) Natural
Resources – two (2);
(h) PAMS – two
(2);
(i) Textiles – one
(1);
(j) First-Year
College – two (2);
(k) Life-Long
Education and part-time students – three (3);
Remaining Senators
shall be apportioned among the several Classes by percentage enrollment, for a
total of thirty-six (36) Senators apportioned as follows:
(n) Freshman
undergraduate students from all Schools and Colleges – nine (9);
(o) Sophomore
undergraduate students from all Schools and Colleges – seven (7);
(p) Junior undergraduate
students from all Schools and Colleges – seven (7);
(q) All other
undergraduate students with Senior standing from all Schools and Colleges –
eight (8);
(r) All
post-baccalaureate students – five (5);
Section
5. Student Body Statutes §2-3.6 shall be stricken and reserved for future use.
Section
6. Student Body Statutes §2-3.7 and Student Body Statutes §2-3.10 shall be
consolidated, and amended by striking the existing text and substituting as
follows:
§2-3.7. Selection
of Senators.
Senators shall be
selected to represent the Schools and Colleges by (i) election or (ii)
appointment by the President.
§2-3.10. Appointment
by the President.
Should there be an
insufficient number of Senators representing a School or College (SBS §2-3.5),
the President shall appoint an eligible student (SBS §1-2)
to represent said
School or College as a Senator, to be approved by a simple majority of the
Senate. Senators appointed in this way shall, if possible, be enrolled in the
School or College they are appointed to represent.
§2-3.7. Election of Senators; Appointment by
the President.
Senators shall be
elected to represent the several Classes,
Schools and Colleges.
Should there be an
insufficient number of Senators representing any constituency (SBS §2-3.5), the
President shall appoint an eligible student (SBS §1-2) to represent said
constituency as a Senator, to
be approved by a simple majority of the Senate. Senators appointed in this way shall, if possible, be enrolled in
the constituency they are appointed to represent.
Vacancies shall be
filled in accordance with the Student Body Constitution; however, provided that
any such appointment(s) shall not take effect until at least the second meeting
of the legislative session in which the appointment is made.
Section
7. Student Body Statutes §2-3.8 shall be amended as follows:
§2-3.8. Apportionment
for Fall Election.
The following Senators shall be
elected in the Fall General Election and shall not be considered for election
in the Spring General Election:
(a) all Senators
representing first-year Freshman undergraduate students; and
(b) all Senators
representing the First Year College;
(c) two (2) Senators one
(1) Senator representing first-year students in the Graduate School;
and,
(d) all vacancies
occurring prior to the filing period for the Fall General Election which have
not been filled by appointment.
Section
8. Deferred
Repealability. The Senate may, in
its discretion, move to repeal this legislation in its entirety at the final
meeting of the legislative session in which this bill is enacted. Such a motion shall be considered a properly
deferred Motion to Rescind, and shall not be subject to veto by the Student
Body President.
Section
9. This act shall be effective upon its
enrollment, to be implemented for the Spring 2007 General Election in
accordance with Student Body Statutes §2-3.3
("Effective Date of Reapportionment").