Senator Erich M. Fabricius submitted the following report regarding Government Bill 46, "A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION WITHIN STUDENT GOVERNMENT", on Friday, April 5, 2002, on behalf of the Government Operations Committee, and pursuant to its April 1, 2002 recommendations, by general consent:

Attendance:

There were seven (7) Senators (Denton, Fabricius, Joyner, Mangum, Tatum, White, Wright) present;

There are one (1) Senator (Brown) absent;

A quorum was present.

Purpose of the Legislation:

The Wolf AWARE Establishment Act creates an independant agency designed to research and advocate issues of concern to the Student Body.

Debate:

The primary concern around this act was that the proposed agency was excessively independent from Student Government. There were also concerns that placing research and advocacy together could lead to bypassing the Senate's decision-making power.

Within the Omnibus Executive Branch Act, the committee included two articles, Government Relations and Implementation Division, which fulfill duties regarding advocacy of Student Body Policy. Under that bill, the Senate retains research responsibilities.

Recommendations:

The Committee recommends no additional action on the Wolf AWARE Establishment Act.