Government Oversight Committee Meeting
Chair: Vaughn Sayers
March 21, 2016
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the John E. Sapp
I.
Call to Order
a.
II.
Meeting called to order at 6:00 pm.
Roll Call – Vice Chair
a.
Quorum has been established with 5 voting members. Gislason, Feghali,
Dowdie, Chance, Lee.
III.
Approval of Minutes – February 29th, 2016
a.
IV.
Motion to approve the minutes from February 29th, 2016. Second. Moved.
Approval of Agenda
a.
Motion to approve tonight’s agenda. Second. Moved.
V.
Student Remarks
VI.
Guest Speakers
VII. Remarks of the Chair
VIII. Unfinished Business
IX.
New Business
a. SB-16S-2948
i.
Title VI Conflict of Interest
i.
Chairman Sayers: We will be discussing the conflict of interest for
Government Oversight chairman, Government Oversight committee members,
Student Advocate, Attorney General, and Elections Commissioner if they were
to declare candidacy in an upcoming election.
ii. Attorney General Baker: This bill has been voted unanimously by all
Justices. This bill was created so that when people declare their candidacy
they are aware of the conflict of interest.
iii. Senator Gislason: Does “declaring candidacy” mean going up for
appointment as well? Attorney General Baker: It’s for students running in
elections.
iv. Senator Gislason: If I were running in elections again, could I leave this
committee then come back afterwards? Attorney General Baker: The Senate
President has the ability to move members around in committees. We are not
asking you to resign your position as a Senator, it is to secure the Government
Oversight Committee members are unbiased. Since the Government Oversight
committees decide on the reconfirmation of the Elections Commissioner, we
want to make sure that they are reconfirming them in an unbiased way.
v. Senator Dowdie: What happens if the Elections Commissioner wishes to
resign immediately before an election? Attorney General Baker: The duties will
be moved to the Attorney General and a new Elections Commissioner will be
appointed by the President.
vi. Senator Dowdie: Motion to approve SB-16S-2948. Second. Passed. 5-0-0
b. Appointment Application Revisions
i. Written Requirement & Student Conduct Report Form
i. Chairman Sayers: We are going to go over the appointment
application again. Originally the application was due Thursday, but
it will now be due Tuesday to better improve the process and reflect
the GPA. We added that you need a minimum 2.25 GPA to join Student
Government. We are also moving the conduct form so that it is now
a “piece” of the packet. These forms will now be at the Rotunda for
students to sign right there. We also decided to look over the question
portion again and came up with a new question about leadership that is
more thought-provoking and will allow us to get to know the individual
better. The question is: “What initiative would you like to pursue as a
Senator and what leadership skills would you use to accomplish them?”
ii. Senator Lee: Are we judging them on their quality and how thought
out their submissions are or get to know them? Both, we want to know
what they want to improve and how they are going to improve them.
iii. Senator Lee: What if they have no initiatives but they have great
leadership skills? It is only one part of the application, I’m assuming if
they have leadership skills they will have things they want to see
change.
iv. Senator Gislason: Motion to approve the Appointment
Application. Second. Passed. 5-0-0
X.
Announcements
XI.
Final Roll Call – Vice Chair
a.
Quorum has been reestablished with 5 voting members.
XII. Adjournment
a.
Meeting adjourned at 6:22 pm.
Minutes taken by Sabrina Sorrentino, Vice-Chair