Fewer than five Texas Tech student senators raised their hands during the student senate meeting Thursday when asked if they had ever seen a copy of the SGA budget, despite the constitution stating every senator has the ability to see a copy.
The questionnaire was part of the discussion for hotly debated Senate Bill 45.12 that suggested a senate review of the budget each year.
Senators voted against the bill, and author Sen. Drew Graham said he plans to revise some contents of the bill and bring it back into the discussion at a later date.
Sen. Mac Smith said the bill is an unnecessary check.
He said the bill is going to add two to three more hours a week to executive officers’ already busy schedules because it would require the officers to meet with committee chairs and explain the budget.
“Adding another layer is too much,” Smith said.
Administrative leaders have not displayed behavior that warrants such a bill, he said.
According to the bill, there is no oversight between the executive and legislative branches of the student senate in terms of the budget. The bill called for executive officers to present the maximum budget of each project to the committee chair council for approval at the beginning of every semester.
Sen. Jenny Mayants said the bill has nothing to do with this year’s executive branch and said she thinks the bill is a good idea.
“It makes sure there is never a problem,” she said.
Sen. Tyler Patton, a co-author on the bill, said senators need to put the power of accessing the budget on their own shoulders.
Sen. Colton Smith said the executive branch is elected and senators should trust the people for whom they voted.
He said he trusts the executive branch and administration with handling the budget.
“We should have full trust in our executive officers,” Smith said.
Graham said he trusts the executive officers as well, but wants to put preventative measures in place for the future.
“I thought as the student government we were students representing the students, not the administration,” Graham said.
Sen. Amelia Martin said the money involved in the budget belongs to everyone.
“This is not just the executive officer’s money,” Martin said, “it’s my money and the kid that sits next to me in class’ money.”
Sen. Ashley Larkin said there are people paid to manage the budget and as a senator she is not qualified to deal with the budget in such a manner.
“We have people who are paid to manage the budget that have training and knowledge,” Larkin said.
Sen. Laura Stout said student senators should be able to see where the money is going.
“The more representation the better,” Stout said.
Patton said the fact 53 percent of the senators did not think an additional effort to be transparent and accountable to students about how a budget of around 215,000 is spent raises larger questions.
Senate Bill 45.13, which called for the formation of a constitution being formed for Freshman Council was passed, along with Senate Bill 45.15, which determined the allocation of senators per college for the 2010-2011 elections. Senate Resolution 45.43, congratulating the Tech Meat Judging Team for winning the 2010 National Western Stock show; Senate Resolution 45.44, which stated the sentiments of the senate regarding the naming of the new women’s athletic softball field after Jeannine McHaney; and Senate Resolution 45.45 which stated the sentiments of the senate regarding the devastation in Haiti were passed.
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