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TAMUG Revised Constitution 2014
TAMUG Revised Constitution 2014
of the
Texas A&M University at Galveston
Student Government Association
(March 25, 2014)
Preamble
We, the students of Texas A&M University at Galveston, in order to provide an official and
representative student organization, to investigate student problems and take appropriate action,
to provide the official voice through which student opinion may be expressed, to encourage the
development of responsible student participation in the overall policy and decision making
process of the University community, to foster an awareness of the students role in the academic
community, to enhance the quality and scope of education at the University, and to provide
means for responsible and effective participation in the organization of student affairs, do hereby
adopt, and establish this Constitution.
Article I. Name
Section I. This organization shall be hereto known as the Student Government Association of
Texas A&M University at Galveston. Acceptable abbreviation for this organization is TAMUG
SGA.
(c) Non-bias. The Texas A&M University at Galveston Student Government Association
shall not discriminate against, nor give preferential treatment to, any person on the basis
of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender, disability, age, sexual
orientation, or veteran status, prohibiting discrimination based on these factors in any and
all forms.
(d) Voting. Any student currently enrolled at Texas A&M University at Galveston shall be
eligible to vote in Student Government Elections.
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1. Sign or veto all bills passed by the Student Senate within five (5) class days. Any
bill not signed or vetoed within five (5) class days shall be considered vetoed.
This veto power shall not extend to resolutions, or measures approved in an
initiative or general election.
2. Executing all enacted legislation of the Student Senate for which he/she shall be
responsible to the Student Senate.
3. Act as the ceremonial representative of the student body.
4. Serve as the official representative of the Student Government Association.
5. Organizing, appointing, and creating new positions in the cabinet who shall serve
at the discretion of the Student Body President.
6. Appoint all persons to student positions on University Committees with a Student
Senate two-thirds confirmation vote. The President will also follow-up and
remain in contact with these students.
7. Establishing such rules and procedures as are necessary for the proper functioning
of the Executive Branch duties under the Student Government Association
Constitution.
8. Present a specific presidential agenda to the Student Senate at the first meeting of
the fall semester.
9. Administer and enforce the Student Government Constitution, Statutes, and ByLaws.
10. Convene special sessions of the Student Senate when deemed necessary,
providing at least 36 hours notice to the Student Senate.
11. Enter into a contractual agreement with agencies and organizations outside the
University community.
12. The Student Body President shall be ultimately responsible for the timely
implementation of any legislation enacted by the Student Senate.
13. Approve all disbursements of Student Government Association funds.
14. Preside over meetings of the Executive Cabinet, having voting privileges only in
the event of a tie.
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Senate present and voting at an announced meeting prior to the end of the Spring
Semester.
(c) Life of Succession. If the Speaker of the Senate is unable to fulfill the duties of office, or
upon removal or resignation from office, the Speaker Pro Tempore shall fulfill those
duties until such time another Speaker of the Senate is elected.
(d) Duties and Powers of the Senate.
1. Represent and communicate the view and needs of the student body to the
administration, faculty, staff and other appropriate entities of TAMUG.
2. Enact all measures necessary and proper for the general welfare of the student
body in accordance with this constitution.
3. Establish such rules and procedures as are necessary for the proper functioning of
the Student Senate by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
4. Ratify Chief Justices and Justices to the Student Government Association Judicial
Branch by two thirds (2/3) vote, as appointed by the Student Body President.
5. Review, discuss, consider and take any necessary action through resolutions and
other legislation on all issues which concern the campus or students which are
brought to the floor.
6. Serve as an open forum where views on matters of concern can be exchanged.
7. Override the veto of the Student Body President by a two-thirds (2/3) majority
vote of the membership present and voting. In the case of a constitutional
amendment, a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote of the membership present and
voting is needed to override a Student Body President veto. Any vetoed
legislation is to be automatically placed on the next Senate meetings agenda and
classified as old business.
8. Special Sessions may be called by the Student Body President, the Speaker of the
Student Senate, or by a petition to the Speaker signed by one half (1/2) of the
voting members of the Student Senate. Procedures by which the Student Senate
may call a Special Session are stated in the Student Senate By-Laws.
9. Have the power to call a general referendum of the Student Body in order to
render a decision regarding proposed legislation.
10. The Student Senate shall be authorized to call student body votes on special
issues, which are of a concern to the student body of Texas A&M University at
Galveston.
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Article V. Judicial
Section I. JUDICIAL POWERS
All judicial powers shall be vested in the Judicial Branch of the Texas A&M at Galveston
Student Government Association of Texas A&M University at Galveston. The Justices shall
interpret the Student Government Constitution, preside over impeachments, and determine the
constitutionality of legislation put forth by the Student Senate.
Section II. THE JUDICIAL BOARD
The Judicial Branch shall be organized in the following manner:
(a) Justices. Shall be comprised of one Chief Justice and two Justices.
(b) The Presiding Officer. The Judicial Branch shall be appointed by the Student Body
President and ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Student Senate.
(c) Line of Succession. Each fall, there will be mandatory training for all members of the
Judicial Branch. The Chief Justice shall ensure this training occurs.
(d) Appointment. The Chief Justice must have served as Justice for at least two (2)
semesters. The Justices may be in their first semester in Student Government Association.
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1. Justices shall serve on the Judicial Branch until they are no longer duly registered
as students at Texas A&M University at Galveston, or until they resign from their
positions.
2. The Chief Justice shall serve for a one-year term, but may be re-appointed.
3. Justices forfeit position in the Senate and all legislative powers upon acceptance
of position.
4. Justices cannot chair a committee in the Senate but may chair and report on a
Council.
5. Each fall, there will be mandatory training for all members of the Judicial Branch.
The Chief Justice shall ensure this training occurs.
6. The Judicial Board must validate all bills in order to be validated for
constitutionality before being presented to the senate. Any bill deemed
unconstitutional must be sent to senate affairs committee or speaker pro temp to
be corrected before it can be presented to the senate.
(e) Duties and Powers of the Judicial Board.
1. Interpret the Student Government Constitution and By-Laws of each branch of
government.
2. Determine constitutionality of all legislation passed by the Senate and, if
something is found to be unconstitutional, present their findings to the Senate.
The Senate would then vote with a simple majority to strike the law down.
3. Determine the validity, conduct all investigations, and preside over impeachment
proceedings of those members of the Student Government Association who have
violated the Constitution.
4. Have the ability to call any member out of the Senate or Executive Cabinet out of
order. The first time that a party is called out of order, their speaking privileges
are lost, and the second time that the party is called out of order, they are then
removed from the meting resulting in an absence for the remainder of that
meeting.
c) All candidates must submit their petition, including any required recommendation
letters, to the Office of Student Life at least one week before the 30-day campaign
starts.
d) Posters and Flyers:
a. The office of student life must approve posters and flyers before posting them
on campus.
b. Distribution:
i. May be posted on bulletin boards, except department boards in CLB
building.
ii. Not allowed on the pool fence, windows, bathrooms, locker rooms,
elevators or on the outside face of any building.
iii. Residence halls:
1. Flyers and posters are only allowed to be posted in window
surrounding but not on main doors.
2. No flyers shall be posted on room doors unless they are set by
the resident of that room.
iv. Dining hall and Coffee bar:
1. No campaign materials should be allowed in the dining hall or
coffee bar without the permission of food services.
c. Anything not specifically addressed must be approved by the office of student
life.
d. Campaign material may not include official trademarks of Texas A&M on any
item of campaign material. If a picture is used with the candidate wearing or
containing a trademark that will be allowed.
e) Banners are not allowed to be placed anywhere except door balconies, when
approved by resident, CLB stairways and Student Center Lobby on window frames
only.
f) Candidates are not permitted to display campaign slogans or other campaign related
message on University sidewalks or buildings in chalk.
g) Election materials (clothing, buttons, stickers, hats, etc) may be used however shall
not be allowed inside or within 30ft any of the buildings doors in which voting is
taking place on Election Day.
h) Door-to-door campaign shall be allowed in residence halls including Polaris and
Albatross only from 12:00pm to 5:00pm.
i) Any campaigning that involves the use of loud speakers or any voice projecting
system is prohibited.
j) No campaigning shall interfere with the natural flow of either vehicular or pedestrian
traffic; this includes riding in the bed of a truck, pulling trailers, or offering rides to
solicit votes or promote a candidate.
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k) No university listservs shall be used to send out campaign material for any candidate.
l) Only four (4) people working for one candidate or any mutually supported group of
candidates can actively campaign in one place at a time on Election Day. Any person
working for a candidate is prohibited from having a voting device with them that they
are allowing others to use to vote.
m) Only humans are allowed at campaigning locations.
n) No campaign material should be put on vehicles without the permission of the owner.
o) Every candidate shall be responsible for the actions taking by his/her supporters. Any
violation of the regulations by a supporter of a candidate could result in a penalty for
the candidate.
p) The current Student Body Vice President along with the Judicial Board will
coordinate all elections. At no time shall a candidate running in an election be
involved in coordinating an election.
q) If candidates are interested in arranging an official debate, please contact the office of
Student Life.
r) In accordance with the Student Life Regulations, you may not give a speech in the
cafeteria without written approval from the Food Services Director and the Director
of Student life.
s) During campaigning, candidates and those affiliated with a candidate are prohibited
from setting up a voting device in an attempt to get students to vote.
Finance Rules
a) Each candidate for any office shall be required to keep accurate, up to date records of
all campaign receipts and expenditures.
b) Monetary and material donations may be given by individuals. Records shall be kept
of the source of donations by any candidate. At no time shall any student
organization, outside organization or business be permitted to make donations to any
candidate.
c) Donations, monetary and material, are to be classified as campaign expenditures.
d) All donated materials are to be recorded at fair market value, regardless of quality.
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e) Materials already owned by the candidate that are used for campaigning will be
considered an expenditure and the value will be determined by the election
commission.
f) Budgets:
a. One ticket for the office of Student Body President and Vice President may
expend a maximum of $750.
b. Each candidate for student senator may expend a maximum of $100.
g) All expenditure records must be submitted to the office of student life prior to
distribution of campaign materials. Only candidates may submit records and log
expenditures.
h) When the actual cost of an item is reported it must include the cost of tax.
i) Failure to submit expenditure reports will constitute a violation of rules. Article 3
details the actions that will be taken.
j) Any campaign material inappropriately removed may be reported to the office of
student life and if approved; replaced at no penalty toward a candidates campaign
budget.
Violation of Rules
a) The first violation of any rules shall result in a 50% reduction of campaign budget.
b) The second violation of any rules shall result in the temporary removal of all
campaign materials where:
a. The candidate must remove all campaign material by no later than 24 hours
after he/she was notified of the second violation.
b. The candidate shall not be permitted to distribute campaign materials until 72
hours after he/she was notified of the second violation.
c) The third violation of any rules shall result in an immediate disqualification.
Election Commission
a) Any perceived campaign rule violations shall be brought before the Election
Commission.
b) The commission will determine if a rule violation has occurred and will take action
according to the guidelines set forth in Article 3.
c) The Senate Affairs committee will submit a list of eligible individuals, chosen from
amongst the Student Government Association, Community Leaders, and Presidents of
recognized student organizations, to the Director of Student Life.
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a. The Director of Student Life will select the seven (7) Election Commission
members from the list.
b. The chair of Election Commission will be chosen by the members of Election
Commission.
d) The Commission shall review any campaign budget discrepancies to determine if a
violation has occurred.
e) Ballot counts will be conducted by a member of the Election Commission and a
professional staff member of the Office of Student Life.
Section 4. ATTENDANCE
Each council will be required to hold at least biweekly meetings, unless special permission is
obtained from the senate.
Section 5. STANDING COUNCILS
(a) Traditions Council
1. The council will enlighten the TAMUG student body of the history and of the
many A&M traditions.
2. The council will coordinate Aggie Muster, Elephant Walk, Howdy Week, and
other traditions as needed with the Director of Student Life.
3. Traditions Council will supervise elections for TAMUG Yell Leaders.
(b) Big Event Council
1. The council will be responsible for all duties necessary to plan and execute Big
Event, including volunteering each year at Dickens on the Strand.
2. The Vice President of SGA will serve as a liaison for this council and will present
weekly council reports to the senate.
(c) Lobbying Council
1) To research and analyze pending, city, county, state and federal legislation and how it
relates to the university
2) Promote student and universitys views on pending legislation
3) A member of senate will be added to the lobbying council to serve as a liaison between
the council and the senate. If the head of the council is a member of the senate, they
may act as the liaison if they so chose.
Section 6. RESIGNATION OF COUNCIL CHAIR
In the event that any Council Chair feels that they are no longer able to efficiently and effectively
administer their duties, they have the option to resign from their position in accordance to the
process hereby stated.
The process for resignation:
(a) All resignations require an official letter of resignation, to be given or e-mailed to the
Student Body President, the Speaker of the Senate, and the Speaker Pro-Tempore.
Resignations go into effect as soon as they are delivered to the appropriate parties. In the event of
resignation, the resigned party may be appointed as the council chair again as soon as the next
appointment.
Section 7. IMPEACHEMNT OF COUNCIL CHAIR
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(a) The Student Senate may impeach, if necessary, any council chair.
(b) Process. Impeachment shall require the Judicial Branch to determine whether the
impeachment is valid and constitutional, conduct and investigation, and a two-thirds (2/3)
majority vote of the Student Senate present and voting at the following scheduled Senate
meeting of the impeachment process being started.
1. During the impeachment preceding the Chief Justice shall immediately assume
the Speakers position and give the results of their investigation.
2. The Speaker of the Senate shall step down for the remainder of the proceeding
and have temporary voting rights for the impeachment.
(c) Required Actions. Any individual may be removed from office provided the following
has been done during the judicial investigation:
1. Documented confrontation with the individual(s) involved.
2. Documented confrontation with the individual(s) with advisor present.
3. An opportunity for the individual to resign. If an individual wants the opportunity
to resign a 2/3 vote within the Judicial Board will decide whether or not to accept the
resignation. If it is denied and the impeachment process begins the person under
impeachment will be denied the opportunity to run again.
(d) Consequences. In the event of a successful impeachment, the impeached party shall be
immediately removed from office and shall not hold a Council Chair position for two (2)
years following the impeachment.
(e) Causes. Reasons for removal from office include, but are not limited to:
1. Neglect of duties.
2. Intentional breach of the Student Government Association Constitution.
3. Actions that reflect negatively on the Student Government Association, but which
may not constitute neglect of duties or a breach of the Student Government
Association Constitution.
All members of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches are allotted three and one half
(3 1/2) absences per semester. All excused absences must also be considered university excused
and all necessary documentation presented to the speaker one week after absence.
Section II. REQUIRED ATTENDANCE
(a) All Student Government Association members are required to attend the following
meetings and events:
1. Senate Meetings
2. Committee Meetings of standing committees of which you are a member.
Absences from committee meetings must be included in the appropriate
committee report and included in the weekly minutes.
3. SGA Events to include, but not limited to Fall Fest, Big Event, and Spring fest.
4. Executive Meetings for members of the Executive Branch
5. Council meetings for council liaisons
6. Judicial meetings for members of the Judicial Branch
Section III. ABSENCES
(a) Tallying. An absence and associated consequence will result from one or more of the
following:
1. Failure to attend a Senate Meeting will result in one (1) full absence
2. Failure to attend an SGA Event will result in one (1) full absence
3. Failure to attend a Committee Meeting will result in one half (1/2) absence
4. Failure to attend an Executive Meeting, as a member of the Executive Board, will
result in one half (1/2) absence
5. Failure to attend a council meeting will result in one half (1/2) absence
6. Failure to attend a judicial meeting will result in one half (1/2) absence
7. If any member of the Student Government Association arrives after first roll call
or leaves before final roll call, it will result in one half (1/2) absence
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Article X. Resigning
Section I. RESIGNATION
In the event that any member of the Legislative, Executive, or Judicial Branch feels that they are
no longer able to efficiently and effectively administer their duties, they have the option to resign
from Student Government in accordance to the process hereby stated.
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______________________________
Paige West
Student Body President
____________________
Date
______________________________
Mike Robertson
Advisor
____________________
Date
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