Memorandum of Understanding seeks to sustainably increase the ASUCD operating budget for upcoming years
By BENJAMIN CARRILLO — campus@theaggie.org
Vice President Aarushi Raghunathan called the April 18 meeting to order at 6:18 p.m. After roll call, she read the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.
Next, the table confirmed three new commissioners for the Gender and Sexuality Commission.
The table then moved on to discussing new legislation.
This started with Senator Jonathan Ng, on behalf of Senator Binh Do, introducing SB #83, where the bill was moved to treat the bill like an emergency. Specifically, the bill would give the necessary funds to provide food accommodations for volunteers setting and cleaning up Lawntopia.
“I bring this forward as an emergency bill because it needs to be passed now if we want to have the proper budget for the entirety of the event,” Ng said.
The bill was unanimously passed.
After this, the consent calendar was passed with no objections, after which the Senate moved on to considering and revising the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). ASUCD Controller Allyson Francisco explained the significance of revising this.
“We must approve and revise this to cut off the problem now, and consider inflation and the natural level of growth within the company,” Francisco said. “I strongly urge [that] we do this as it’s the smart financial decision in the long run.”
The purpose of an MOU, according to an ASUCD document, is to create a sustainable increase to the ASUCD operating budget in the coming years to better support ASUCD operations and to increase paid student positions and minimum wage over time.
After a couple of questions about the MOU and light discourse to understand the budgetary concerns, a vote was conducted on approving MOU revisions, and it was passed.
The Senate then moved to consider old legislation. First, SB #80, which would amend section 2401 of the ASUCD bylaws to set the general reserves annual replenishment amount to 15% of the annual operating budget from the three-month operation budget, passed unanimously.
Next, SB #81, which would reorganize the composition of the interviewing committee for interim senators, was deliberated on.
“The goal of this bill is to get more people appointing interim senators that aren’t senators,” Senator Curtis Chen, the author of the bill, explained. “I feel as if it’s wrong for senators to choose their successors”
“We both took an oath and were voted in because of our platforms.” Senator Katia Bouali responded. “It’s only fair for us to have a say in who takes our spots.”
After much deliberation and discourse on the topic, SB #81 eventually passed.
With the final bill voted upon, the Senate moved into open discussion.
Raghunathan started by asking about the availability of the senators for a meeting with Chancellor Gary May, and discussed if that would be something that the entire group still wanted to do.
“I would prefer for him to not be here at all but if he shows up, I am a gracious host,” Senator Yara Kadaan said.
After the public forum, the meeting minutes for the previous two meetings were confirmed, and Raghunathan adjourned the meeting at 8:44 p.m. with no objections.
Written by: Benjamin Carrillo — campus@theaggie.org
