Article IX: Legislative Definitions & Policy
Section 1: Types and Definitions
- Proposed changes to the constitution shall be considered an “Act.”
- Proposed changes to the bylaws shall be considered a “Bill.”
- Proposed legislation that represents an official expression of opinion or the will of the Senate and undergraduate student body shall be considered a “Resolution of Student Experience.”
- Proposed legislation that addresses policy shall be considered a “Resolution for Policy.”
- Proposed legislation to allocate or reallocate funding internally or externally shall be considered a “Resolution for Funding Request.”
Section 2: Legislation Coding System
- All legislation shall be advanced in the form of a resolution.
- Prior to first readings, all resolutions shall be given an identifying code based on the legislation type, sequential number of that type, and academic year.
- Example: “Resolution 2021-22 – A1” stands for the first Act of the USS during the 2021-22 term
- Acts will be written as resolutions and designated by “A.”
- Bills will be written as resolutions and designated by “B.”
- Resolutions will be designated by “R.”
- Resolutions of Student Experience will be designated by “RSE”
- Resolutions for Policy will be designated by “RP”
- Funding Requests will be designated by “FR.”
- Resolutions must include:
- The USS logo and official letterhead
- The date of the resolution’s first reading
- A title beginning with “Resolution for”
- A timeline of all required readings
- Names of the author(s)
- Names of the sponsor(s)
- Name(s) of the originating committee(s) when necessary
- Whereas and therefore statements
- Signature lines:
- President of the USS
- Vice President for Issues and Policy
- No less than one (1) other cabinet member
- Appendix when necessary
- After a resolution has been voted on, a “PASSED” or “FAILED” designation shall be included in the filing system.
- All vote counts must be accurately documented in the minutes.
Section 3: Authors and Sponsors
- Any voting member of the senate and cabinet may author or sponsor legislation.
- An author is the individual(s) responsible for drafting the legislation, seeking out sponsor(s), and shall be the point of contact for the legislation.
- No more than five authors may be listed per resolution
- A sponsor is an individual that supports the will and initiative of the piece of legislation by having their name associated with the legislation.
- If a cabinet member authors a resolution, it must have at least five (5) senator sponsors.
- If a senator authors a resolution, it must have at least two (2) sponsors.
- Any cabinet member may author Acts or Bills. If a cabinet member chooses to author an Act or Bill, it must be sponsored by at least one (1) senator.
- The Vice President for Finance may author resolutions pertaining to the annual budget.
- At least one (1) senator must be listed as a sponsor.
Section 4: Legislative Advocacy
- All students at Virginia Tech are welcome to propose initiatives to the Undergraduate Student Senate.
- Senate members including senators, Directors, Cabinet members, and advisors are responsible for promoting the voices of students by making themselves available to hear and uplift topics of interest or concern.
- After an initiative is brought to the attention of a member of the USS, it is their responsibility to ensure that the topic is further researched and/or discussed by relaying information to the associated Cabinet members, Directors, advisors, or committee(s).
- It is the responsibility of the Vice President for Issues and Policy and the President to ensure that action is taken to expand knowledge, communicate concern, increase awareness, and/or negotiate plans moving forward for each topic with the associated students, professors, staff, administration, and offices of the university.