Virginia Tech® home

Article IX: Legislative Definitions & Policy

Section 1: Types and Definitions

  1. Proposed changes to the constitution shall be considered an “Act.”
  2. Proposed changes to the bylaws shall be considered a “Bill.”
  3. 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.”
  4. Proposed legislation that addresses policy shall be considered a “Resolution for Policy.”
  5. Proposed legislation to allocate or reallocate funding internally or externally shall be considered a “Resolution for Funding Request.”

Section 2: Legislation Coding System

  1. All legislation shall be advanced in the form of a resolution.
    1. 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.
      1. Example: “Resolution 2021-22 – A1” stands for the first Act of the USS during the 2021-22 term
    2. Acts will be written as resolutions and designated by “A.”
    3. Bills will be written as resolutions and designated by “B.”
    4. Resolutions will be designated by “R.”
      1. Resolutions of Student Experience will be designated by “RSE”
      2. Resolutions for Policy will be designated by “RP”
    5. Funding Requests will be designated by “FR.”
  2. Resolutions must include:
    1. The USS logo and official letterhead
    2. The date of the resolution’s first reading
    3. A title beginning with “Resolution for”
    4. A timeline of all required readings
    5. Names of the author(s)
    6. Names of the sponsor(s)
    7. Name(s) of the originating committee(s) when necessary
    8. Whereas and therefore statements
    9. Signature lines:
      1. President of the USS
      2. Vice President for Issues and Policy
      3. No less than one (1) other cabinet member
    10. Appendix when necessary
  3. After a resolution has been voted on, a “PASSED” or “FAILED” designation shall be included in the filing system.
  4. All vote counts must be accurately documented in the minutes.

Section 3: Authors and Sponsors

  1. Any voting member of the senate and cabinet may author or sponsor legislation.
    1. 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.
      1. No more than five authors may be listed per resolution
    2. A sponsor is an individual that supports the will and initiative of the piece of legislation by having their name associated with the legislation.
      1. If a cabinet member authors a resolution, it must have at least five (5) senator sponsors.
      2. If a senator authors a resolution, it must have at least two (2) sponsors.
    3. 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.
    4. The Vice President for Finance may author resolutions pertaining to the annual budget.
      1. At least one (1) senator must be listed as a sponsor.

Section 4: Legislative Advocacy

  1. All students at Virginia Tech are welcome to propose initiatives to the Undergraduate Student Senate.
  2. 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.
    1. 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).
    2. 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.