The Student Government Association, or SGA, Student Senate met for the third time this semester on Wednesday, featuring criticism, debates and three new bills and acts passed, including the SGA Budget Fiscal Year 2025 Bill, Vacancy Process Overall Act and The Student Fee Review Bill.
The first item on the agenda was the open forum featuring presentations from various student organizations, all of which highlighted their activities and funding issues.
Carpool, the SGA Diversity Committee and the Aggie Recruitment Committee criticized the proposed budget for the fiscal year, alleging issues that include a lack of feedback on funding decisions and the need for a more transparent and codified process.
Environmental studies senior Luke Morrison, SGA’s finance committee chair and the bill’s presenter, said it received $100,000 in requests. Morrison said it granted appeals by Carpool, the Student Senate and the Diversity Commission.
There were no debates against the piece, causing political science senior Andrew Applewhite — a member of the Bush School Caucus — to encourage senators to speak out.
“This process is fair only if we as senators debate against the bill so that we can use the floor and this time to discuss with the Senate if anyone has issues with the bill,” Applewhite said.
The budget was passed unanimously with a 47-0 vote.
Petroleum engineering senior and Speaker of the Senate Ava Blackburn moved the Senate into discussing the first order of new business: the Presidential Investiture of General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh Bill, or S.B. 77-04.
Speaking and writing on behalf of the president, Blackburn said the bill charges the student body with participating in and attending President Welsh’s Investiture which will commemorate and officially inaugurate the 27th president of A&M.
“The bill charges every student to attend either in person or online through sending the message to the entire student body via social media,” Blackburn said.
The next order of business was the Student Body Vice President Act, or S.A. 77-03, presented by its author economics junior Riley Pritzlaff, an on-campus senator. The act was previously introduced in the Student Senate’s 76th session last year, but criticisms from senators ensured it never passed.
The act introduces a new elected position: Student Body Vice President, a role aimed at promoting the involvement of the student body. Pritzlaff said SGA must trust the student body’s ability to select an appropriate and qualified individual to represent them.
The bill was moved back to its committee for further discussion and will be debated in a future senate meeting.
Following this, agricultural economics sophomore Jackson Steele, an off-campus senator, motioned to consider the Outreach Exploration Bill, which aimed to explore new outreach opportunities beyond traditional tabling.
Multiple senators, including industrial distribution senior and Rules and Regulations Committee Chair Corbitt Armstrong, Morrison and communication junior Eli Purtell, the speaker pro tempore, argued the bill was redundant because the tasks are already part of their roles.
“After reading the bill, it seems like something could be sent in a text message and is a waste of time to the entire Student Senate,” Morrison said.
However, others, including Steele, Pritzlaff, political science sophomore Brendan Hurt, and engineering freshman Chesney Gaines countered, emphasizing the need for innovative outreach strategies and the importance of student engagement.
“I don’t believe the bill is redundant, as this bill is tasking the committee to discuss new and more effective outreach procedures,” Steele said. “I encourage and urge everyone to look through the bill to understand better that the bill helps to be sure outreach is effective.”
The motion to consider the bill failed with a vote of 15 to 27.
Armstrong motioned the Student Fee Review Bill, which aims to task the executive branch with creating a committee to review and examine how student fees are processed and applied. The bill was passed unanimously with a 46-0 vote.
The last motion presented during the open session was the Impeachment Process Overhaul Act presented by Armstrong.
“The act clarifies the impeachment process, requiring written charges such as violating laws, retaliation and misuse of funds,” Armstrong said.
The session for the Impeachment Process Overhaul Act was closed and will be debated and discussed by the committee.