Proposed Constitutional Questions for OSA Constitution Referendum
Article IV-Legislative Branch
1. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV under the Legislative Branch paragraph to
strike “as the upper house” and “as the lower house.”
Reason: To eliminate the perception of hierarchy between the Assembly and Senate and
become equal branches of student government.
2. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 1 to strike “These twenty-five (25)
Senators shall be allotted proportionately to the Colleges of Letters and Science,
Education and Human Services, Nursing, and Business Administration based on the
proportion of students enrolled within each college, to be established by the Senate in
accordance with the Election Bylaws” and insert as the first sentence as “The
membership of the Senate shall include twenty-four (24) undergraduate students and one
(1) graduate student elected by and from the student body.”
Reason: To establish an At-Large Senate and encourages greater student participation.
3. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 1(B) to insert the following after the
last sentence: “If a Senator wishes to resign from their respective office, a letter of
resignation must be submitted to the Vice President within ten (10) full class days of the
effective date.”
Reason: To establish a formal procedure of Senators that wishes to resign and will
prevent disruption to the function of the Senate in carrying out its duties and identify a
replacement for the vacant Senate seat.
4. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 2(A) to strike “as a Senator” and
insert “in the “Senate”
Reason: To provide clear language in this section. This proposed amendment will not
alter the structure of the Senate.
5. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 3(D) to strike “following the
presentation of the veto message” and insert “following a veto.”
Reason: To provide better clarification in regards to the presidential veto.
6. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 1(C)(2) to strike “To grant or
withdraw official recognition for each student organization which seeks or holds such
recognition and to grant or withdraw voting power of these organizations in the
Assembly” from Powers of the Senate.
Reason: This provision will be taken out and placed in the Powers and Duties Common
to the Senate and Assembly.
7. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 3(C) to insert “2. To grant or
withdraw official recognition for each student organization which seeks or holds such
recognition and to grant or withdraw voting power of these organizations in the
Assembly” as Powers and Duties Common to the Senate and Assembly.
Reason: To establish common powers and duties the Senate and Assembly are
responsible for carrying out and balance the power. The Senate is currently responsible to
grant or withdraw official recognition.
8. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 3(C) to insert “3. Approve the OSA
Budget. Any changes to the OSA budget through the Joint Legislation Committee may
not increase or decrease a line-item appropriation no more than five (5) percent of the
original budget request.” as Powers and Duties Common to the Senate and Assembly.
Reason: To establish common powers and duties the Senate and Assembly are
responsible for carrying out and balance the power. The Senate is currently responsible
for approving the OSA budget.
9. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article IV, Section 3(C) to insert “4. To serve as the
official voice of the student body” and “5. To approve or deny requests from the OSA
President to withdraw monies from the OSA Reserve Account” as Powers and Duties
Common to the Senate and Assembly.
Reason: This provision is no longer necessary and does not have any influence in the
OSA President carrying out the duties of the office.
Article V-Executive Branch
10. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 1(C)(4) to strike “To serve as
“Associate Senator and Associate Assembly Representative.”
Reason: This provision is no longer necessary and does not have any influence in the
OSA President carrying out the duties of the office.
11. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 2(A) to strike “fifteen (15) credits”
and insert “twenty-four (24) college credits” and insert at the end of the first sentence
“must attend the UW Oshkosh for two consecutive semesters.”
Reason: To ensure students meet the academic qualifications and have demonstrated a
knowledge of the University structure, policies and procedures.
12. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 3(B)(2) to strike “If the offices of
both the President and Vice President are vacant simultaneously, the Vice President Pro
Tempore shall temporarily assume both offices, and the Senate shall sponsor a special all
campus election within four (4) weeks after the date of these vacancies to fill both offices
for the remainder of the term. If less than two (2) academic months remain, the Vice
President Pro Tempore shall become President and the Speaker of the Assembly shall
become the Vice President, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly shall become
Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate and Assembly shall elect new persons to the
vacated offices respectively”
Reason: This provision is not clear in its language and will be replaced with a more clear
order of succession to the OSA Presidency.
13. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 3(C) to strike “To serve as an
Associate Assembly Representative.”
Reason: This provision is deemed to no longer be necessary and has no influence in the
Vice President carrying out the duties of the office.
14. Proposed Amendment: Amend into Article V, Section 4(A) to insert as the last sentence
“If the Speaker of the Assembly wishes to resign from their respective office, a letter of
resignation must be submitted to the President within ten (10) full class days of the
effective date.”
Reason: To establish a formal procedure in the event the Speaker Pro Tempore wishes to
resign and will prevent disruption to the function of the Assembly in carrying out its
duties and hold an election for the Speaker Pro Tempore position.
15. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 4(B)(2) to strike “If the offices of
both the President and Vice President are vacant simultaneously, the Speaker of the
Assembly shall temporarily assume both offices, and the Senate shall sponsor a special
all-campus election within four (4) weeks after the date of these vacancies to fill both
offices for the remainder.”
Reason: This provision is not clear in its language and will be replaced with a more clear
order of succession to the OSA Presidency.
16. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 4(A) to strike “fifteen (15) college
credits” and insert “twelve (12) college credits.”
Reason: To expand the eligibility of students wishing to run as Speaker of the Assembly.
17. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 4(C)(5) to strike “To serve as an
Associate Senator and Associate Assembly Representative.”
Reason: This provision is deemed to no longer be necessary and has no influence in the
Speaker of the Assembly carrying out their duties.
18. Proposed Amendment: Amend into Article IV, Section 5(A) to insert as the last
sentence “If the Speaker Pro Tempore wishes to resign from their respective office, a
letter of resignation must be submitted to the Speaker of Assembly within ten (10) full
class days”
Reason: To establish a formal procedure in the event the Speaker of the Assembly
wishes to resign and will prevent disruption to the function of the Assembly in carrying
out its duties and identify a replacement and hold elections for the Speaker of the
Assembly position.
19. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article V, Section 6(B) to insert “Chief of Staff’ as
member of the OSA Executive Board.
Reason: To create a permanent position of Chief of Staff that will serve as ex officio in
the executive board.
Article VI- Judicial Branch
20. Proposed Amendment: Amend Article VI, Section 1(B) to and insert after the first
sentence “The three (3) voting members of the committee shall consist of one (1) Senate
Member, one (1) Assembly member and one (1) At-Large from the student body.”
Reason: To expand student participation to serve on the OSA Judiciary Committee
Creation of Article VII- Order of Succession
21. Proposed Amendment: Create Article VII, Section 1 to create an order of succession for
the Office of President of OSA for the following position(s) to assume the Office of OSA
President in the event of resignation, academic probation, recall election, non-enrollment
in the University, failure to maintain a grade point average of 2.50 while in office,
impeachment or otherwise.
Reason: Section 1 will establish a clear order of succession in the event the OSA
president resigns, is placed on academic probation, recall election, non-enrollment in the
University, impeachment, failure to maintain a grade point average of 2.50 while in
office or otherwise. Section 2 will establish a succession to the OSA Presidency in the
event the office of President and Vice President is vacant simultaneously.
Vice President
Speaker of the Assembly
Vice President Pro Tempore (VPPT)
Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly
22. Proposed Amendment: Create Article VII, Section 2 to insert “if both the offices of
President and Vice President are vacant simultaneously, the Speaker of the Assembly
shall become President, the Vice President Pro Tempore shall become Vice President and
the Speaker Pro Tempore shall become Speaker of the Assembly”
Reason: Section 2 will establish a succession to the OSA Presidency in the event the
office of President and Vice President is vacant simultaneously.
Deletion of any language referring to United Council
23. Proposed Amendment: Amend the constitution to delete all language referring to
“United Council” and replace with “UW System Student Representatives”
Reason: To reflect the current structure that represents the interests for all students
within the University of Wisconsin System.