ASSOCIATED STUDENTS
University of California, Santa Barbara
Senate Bill
Subject: A Bill to Update Article XIX Section 5 of the Associated Students Legal Code
Author: Nawar Nemeh
Second: Stevan Abdalmalik
Number:
FPP:
Bill Type: By-Laws
Vote Required for Passage:
_______
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
recommends to the A.S. Senate that the following action be taken:
Pass As Written:
Pass With Amendments:
Do Not Pass:
Refer To Committee:
Recommended by a Vote Of:
Chairperson's initials:
CONSTITUTION ANS BY-LAWS RECOMMENDATION
Grammatical Recommendations:________________________________________________________________
Structural Recommendations:___________________________________________________________________
Legal Code Violations:_________________________________________________________________________
Pass with Amendments:________________________________________________________________________
Table:________________________________________________________________________________________
STUDENT -SPONSORED LEGISLATION
Student Sponsor: Mohsin Mirza
Student Co-Sponsor:
The Student-Sponsored Bill Liaison Nawar Nemeh
has insured that this Student-Sponsored
Bill is correct in its form and adherence to the ASUCSB Legal Code.
Pass As Written:
Pass With Amendments:
Do Not Pass:
Refer To Ad-Hoc Committee:
FISCAL IMPACT
Amount:
$
Account:
A Bill
To Update Article XIX Section 5 of the Associated Students Legal Code
Whereas: Associated Students is responsible for ensuring a fair and free election for all students, and;
Whereas: The exposure of different parties and different candidates highly contributes to their chances of winning
the general election, and;
Whereas: Financial contributions from candidates are the main source of income for political parties, and those
financial contributions can be different from party to party based on the income levels of different students, and;
Whereas: It is crucial that the Association not allow special interest groups to finance or otherwise influence the
outcome of an Associated Students election, and;
Whereas: It is important to limit special interest groups that exist both inside and outside of the university campus,
and;
Whereas: The influence of money in politics has been clearly shown to corrupt the political process on a national,
statewide and local level, and;
Whereas: That influence is limited the most at the local level, and;
Whereas: It is crucial for the Association to act as a role model of campaign finance reform by preventing the
corrupting influence of money in politics at the core level of government on the university campus, and;
Whereas: It is essential for the Assocation to ensure that party members do not feel financially burdened or
discriminated against within the different parties that they are participating in.
Therefore let it be resolved by the Associated Students in the Senate assembled:
SECTION 5. FINANCING
A) No money allocated by the Associated Students to any special interest or registered group
or appointed officers (either partially or totally funded by A.S.) may be used in any way
to promote or support any slate or Candidate. A specified amount of money allocated by
the Associated Students may be used to educate students about Constitutional
amendments, referenda, and initiatives. These monies will be placed in a Constitutional
Initiative Account. These funds may be allocated to one group supporting a
Constitutional measure and one group opposing a Constitutional measures contingent on
a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate. No money from the Constitutional Initiative
Account may be used for the Election bond. Upon breach of this clause, the Associated
Students shall freeze the funding of the said group and refer to the Judicial Council for
further action.
1) Candidates may advertise in all media.
B) Spending Limits:
1) No party shall exceed a campaign budget of $6,000. This $6,000 includes but is not
limited to all donations, fundraisers, and financial Candidate contributions.
2) No independent executive office Candidate shall exceed a campaign budget of six
hundred dollars ($600.00). This six hundred dollars ($600.00) includes but is not
limited to all donations, fundraisers, and financial Candidate contributions.
3) No independent Candidate for the Senate shall exceed a campaign budget of four
hundred dollars ($400.00). This four hundred dollars ($400.00) includes but is not
limited to all donations, fundraisers, and financial Candidate contributions.
4) Donation expenditures shall be clearly accounted for in their itemized Financial
Statement, adhering to the reporting regulations and in accordance to Article XIX,
Section 2, subsection J.
5) Candidate contributions for parties shall be defined as any direct contribution from
the candidate or their immediate family for the express reason of fulfilling party dues
for that specific candidate.
a) Party dues for one candidate cannot exceed party dues for another candidate
running for the same position.
6) Political parties are strictly banned from participating in Office of Student Life
fundraising activities.
7) Political parties and independents are permitted to accept private donations from
students. Only current students may donate to political parties. These donations are
limited at $50 per student and parties and independents found in violation of this rule
will be subject to disqualification.
8) Political parties and independent candidates are strictly banned from accepting any
donations or financial contributions from groups on the university campus seeking to
influence the outcome of the election. This includes but is not limited to: Office of
Student Life groups, academic departments and colleges, staff/faculty members, etc.
9) Political parties and independent candidates are strictly banned from accepting any
donations or financial contributions from individuals, groups, parties, corporations
or any external entities outside of the university.
10) Organizations are not allowed to encourage or implore their members in any way to
donate to one political party over another.
C) Campaign Treasurer
1) A Campaign Treasurer is to be appointed internally by party, and is responsible for
keeping record of financial expenditures. If running as an independent, the Candidate
is their own Campaign Treasurer and is responsible for keeping record of financial
expenditures.
2) The Campaign Treasurer must meet with the Elections Committee to go over
financial statements and expenditure expectations, no later than week eight (8) of
Winter Quarter.
3) Campaign Treasurer(s) must submit receipts and invoices before each weekly
regularly scheduled Elections Committee meeting.
a. Receipts and invoices will then be posted on the Elections Website
following the regularly scheduled elections meeting.
4) The Campaign Treasurer shall maintain an official Financial Statement to be
submitted to Elections Committee which includes:
a. Record of dues received by Candidates.
b. Donations of goods and services received including their name, organization,
and UCSB perm number, when applicable.
c. Itemized list of all expenditures utilized in campaigning, including goods and
services from subsection b).
i. Donations of all gifts and services donated or offered at discounted or
sale rates not available to the public must be declared at their full,
nondiscounted rate.
ii. The source must be included for each item.
d. Must submit updated itemized Financial Statements the first (1st) Monday
of elections week to be made public by Elections Committee for the student
body no later than the first (1st) Wednesday of elections week.
e. Must submit updated itemized Financial Statements the last Friday of
elections week to be made public by Elections Committee no later than the
Wednesday following elections week.
f. No campaign may falsify forms. This may include but is not limited to,
false signatures, incomplete forms, and/or claiming purchases/donations used
for campaign purposes. If the elections Committee finds that any campaign
has falsified their expenditure form(s) they shall be assessed with a fine to be
determined by the Elections Committee and upheld by Judicial Council,
relative to the severity of the violation.
5) The Elections Committee at its sole discretion is able to demand additional receipts or
invoices, which must be procured within 24 hours, if newly introduced/purchased
goods, services, and/or discrepancies from the initial or directly preceding itemized
Financial Statement are detected.
The aforementioned receipts and/or invoices must be produced to
the Elections Committee within 24 hours.
b. Said receipts and/or invoices will be made public within 12 hours of
being received.
6) Submit plans for elections week by end of week two (2) of Spring quarter.
7) Meet with the Election Committee, a member of finance & Business Committee, the
week prior to elections, either week one (1) or week two (2), to present budget and take
questions. Appointments will be scheduled. Only one delegate from each
party/independent Candidate will be able to meet with Elections Committee per meeting.
a. The member of Finance & Business Committee shall be selected by the
Elections Committee and shall sign a confidentiality agreement and a nondisclosure form.
a.
CC: