The Student Government Association debated and tabled a constitutional amendment regarding presidential veto power at last night’s senate meeting. The senate also discussed the impeachment of undergraduate commuter senator Katie Erschen.
Under new business, Village senator John Mueller and Arts & Sciences senator Todd Stonewater authored a bill concerning an amendment in SGA’s constitutional bylaws; more specifically, the addition of the “line-item veto.”
“In effect, [the bill] gives the president power to veto individuals or clauses that he or she doesn’t see as fit and allows the other parts of the proposed bill to be passed,” Stonewater said. “In my opnion, this is a very valuable tool.”
Stonewater cited the case of the academic affairs committee bill vetoed several weeks earlier as such an example of how the bill would essentially save time. With the line-item veto, certain parts of a bill could be vetoed by the president instead of having to veto the entire bill and then resubmitting it.
According to the bill, the SGA president would have the power to veto lines in legislation within five calendar days of its passage by the senate. The veto would then be resubmitted to the senate for consideration while the nonvetoed portion becomes law. The senate would still be able to override the president’s veto with a two-thirds vote, therefore striking the vetoed items from the legislation.
“The president and the president alone can use the veto,” Stonewater said. “He or she can always consult anyone else, like the executive board members.”
The bill adds that the line-item veto would “ensure efficiency and reduce delays” on legislation. “You don’t have to throw away a whole bill just because of one part,” Mueller said.
The bill was tabled until next week’s meeting.
In terms of impeaching Senator Erschen, administrative vice president Tony Wagner said, “We’re cracking down on attendance in the senate. This one in particular has come to light.”
The proposed bill of impeachment states that Erschen has not attended the past six meetings and that all attempts to contact her via phone and e-mail have failed. Erschen has provided no excuses for her absences.
“We’ve gotten no response whatsoever from her,” Wagner said. “This is a no-brainer. Someone who can’t make six senate meetings isn’t performing her duties as a senator.”
The bill was tabled until next week’s meeting, as questions regarding Erschen’s status as a student and the process of impeachment were posed.
Guest Speaker Executive vice president and chief operating officer James Kimmey addressed the senate as part of SGA’s guest speakers list. Kimmey outlined his responsibilities, listed goals for the year and noted highlights already achieved.
“We want to make the services more user-friendly, more timely and more effective,” Kimmey said.
As for his opinion on SLUnion and efforts toward a new student union, Kimmey said, “Is it possible? Definitely. Is it feasible? I don’t know. It’s hard to say financially how feasible it is.”
Kimmey added that the desirable concept would eventually be to make the student union a center for student life. “I think there’s a lot of support for it,” Kimmey said.
