UGA SGA Document Archive

Student Government Association Constitution
Article I. NAME
This organization shall be the Student Government Association of the University of Georgia. (Abbreviated hereafter as SGA)
Article II. PURPOSE
The SGA shall act as an organized voice for all the students of the University of Georgia, to relate views and suggestions to administrators and organized governing bodies of the University, to improve the students’ academic, social and cultural welfare; to promote students’ rights and responsibilities, to assist the University of Georgia in Operating more effectively and efficiently in the interest of students. Furthermore, to allow students, endowed by their creator with talents and ambitions, the opportunity to exercise their civic responsibilities.
Article III. MEMBERSHIP
All University of Georgia students are members of the Student Government Association upon the payment of their Student Activity Fee. Qualified members may become Committee Members, Senators, and/or Officers.
Article IV. GENERAL ORGANIZATION
Section 1. The Student Government Association shall be organized in two branches: the Legislative and the Executive.
Section 2. The Legislative Branch shall consist of the Student Senate, consisting of students representing the various schools and colleges, in proportion to respective enrollments and in accordance with the statutes in Article VIII and the bylaws of the SGA.
Section 3. The Executive Branch shall be composed of a President, Vice President, and the President's Cabinet.
Article V. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Section 1. The Senate
The legislative branch consists of the Senate. The Senate shall be composed of Senators elected from each of the individual schools and colleges of the University of Georgia in proportion to the student enrollment within the school or college.
a. Senators must be enrolled in the school or college in which they stand for election.
b. Senators must be registered as a full time students as defined by their degree or program of study and must maintain a 2.25 (on a 4.0 scale) G.P.A.
c. If a Senator ceases to be enrolled in the school or college which they represent, the Senator shall retain the representative role for the school or college for the duration of the Senatorial term.
d. Senators shall attend Senate meetings.
e. Senators shall be a member of one standing committee.
f. Senators shall not be required to attend Senate meetings between the Spring and Fall terms.
g. A two-thirds vote of the Senate overrides a Presidential veto.
Section 2. Committees
a. Standing Committee
There shall be four standing committees:
1. Academic Affairs Committee - Shall consider matters concerning academic and instructional items and issues.
2. Student Life Committee - Shall consider matters concerning non- academic and co-curricular items and issues.
3. Internal Affairs Committee - Shall consider matters concerning the function and operation of the Student Government Association.
4. External Affairs Committee - Shall consider matters concerning the local government.
b. Committee Chairs
1. Shall be Senators
2. Shall be appointed by the President except for the Internal Affairs Committee Chair who shall be the President Pro-Tempore.

3. Shall have the authority to create subcommittees to exist for the duration of the Chair’s term.

4. Shall appoint directors from committee members to head specific areas.
c. Executive Council
1. Shall be the President, Vice President, President Pro-Tempore, Secretary, Treasurer, Student Life Chair, Academic Affairs Chair, External Affairs Chair, and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs.
2. Shall determine the final agenda for a Senate meeting at an Executive Council meeting. Any item to be considered for the agenda must be presented to the Executive Council prior to the Senate meeting at which the item is to be considered.
Section 3. Officers
a. President Pro-Tempore
1. Shall be elected by a majority from the body of the Senate at the second meeting of the new Senate.
2. Shall act in full capacity of the Vice-President when the Vice-President is unable to fulfill the duties of the office.
3. Shall chair the Internal Affairs Committee
4. Shall be responsible for recording Senators’ and Officers’ absences and their reasons for those absences.
5. Shall initiate expulsion actions of Senators as provided in Article II, Section 2, after two unexcused absences during one term of office.
6. Shall make quarterly eligibility checks on all Student Government Association Officers and Senators.
b. Secretary
1. Shall be appointed from the Senate by the President with majority approval of the Senate.
2. Shall be responsible for recording and distributing the minutes of the Senate.
3. Shall be responsible for notifying the University community of any meeting of the Senate.
c. Treasurer
1. Shall be appointed from the Senate by the President with majority approval of the Senate.

2. Shall be responsible for the finances, financial records, and financial transactions of the Student Government Association.
3. The out-going Treasurer shall work with the new Treasurer in preparing the budget for the upcoming year.
4. Shall act as representative of SGA on the University of Georgia Fee Allocation Board.
Article VI THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Section 1. The President
a. Must be registered as a full time student as defined by the President’s degree or program of study and must maintain a 2.50 (on a 4.0 scale) G.P.A.
b. Shall speak on behalf of the Student Government Association.
c. Shall make appointments to Universtiy-wide committees and governing bodies that have student representation and shall select students to represent the student body outside the University. All these appointments must be made in consultation with, and subject to, majority consent of the Senate.
d. Shall serve as the University delegate to the Student Advisory Council, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (SAC), and shall have the authority to appoint SAC delegates. All these appointments must be made in consultation with, and subject to, majority consent of the Senate.
e. Shall have the ability to create committees which expire at the end of the current Presidential term.
f. May veto bills passed by the Senate within a week of passage. Such veto must be in writing and delivered to the President Pro-Tempore.
g. Shall present to the student body a report on SGA activities at the end of each academic term.
h. Shall execute all presidential powers and duties found in the Constitution and the Student Government Association bylaws.
i. Shall serve as the Chair of the President’s Cabinet.
Section 2. Vice-President
a. Must be registered as a full time student as defined by the Vice-President’s degree or program of study, and must maintain a 2.50 ( on a 4.0 scale) G.P.A.
b. Shall act in full capacity of the President should the President be unable to fulfill the duties of office.
c. Shall assist the President in the fulfillment of the Presidential duties.
d. Shall be the presiding officer of the Senate at meetings.
e. Shall work with individual Senators on placement into committees.
f. Shall have the power to call meetings of the Senate.
g. Shall vote in the case of a tie in a vote of the Senate.
h. Shall act as Secretary and Assistant to the President in the President’s Cabinet.
Section 3. The President’s Cabinet
a. Shall meet monthly to consider pertinent issues affecting the University at- large and make proposals and recommendations concerning these issues to the appropriate persons.
b. Initially shall be composed of the Chief Student officer of the following groups:

Ag Hill Council Black Affairs Council
Graduate Student Association Inter-Fraternity Council
Panhellenic Residence Hall Association
National Panhellenic Council University Union
Student Judiciary
c. Campus groups may petition the Cabinet for membership to the President’s Cabinet when meeting the following criterion:

1. They encompass three percent of the total enrollment of the University.
2. They have been registered with the University for more than five years.

d. A two-thirds majority vote of the entire Cabinet is necessary for a group to obtain a seat on the Cabinet.
e. A group may be expelled, for cause, by a 2/3 majority vote of the entire Cabinet.
f. The Cabinet may submit resolutions or bills to the Executive Committee of the Senate to advance to the full body for a vote.
g. The President of SGA shall Chair the Cabinet
h. The Vice-President of SGA shall serve as a secretary of the Cabinet.
Article VII. VACANCIES, EXPULSION, AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Section 1. Vacancies
A. Should a vacancy occur in the office of President, the Vice-President shall assume the said office for the remainder of the term of office.
B. Should a vacancy occur in the office of the Vice-President, the President Pro-Tempore shall assume the said office for the remainder of the term of office.
C. Should a vacancy occur in the office of Senator, any student, who qualifies as candidate under Article VIII, may apply for a vacant seat. The applicants will be interviewed by the Internal Affairs Committee and one candidate will be slated. The Senate must then elect the replacement for the vacant seat from the students who apply.
D. Any Officer or Senator who wishes to resign should submit a resignation in writing to the Vice-President, who shall inform the Senate at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Section 2. Expulsions
Section 2. Expulsions
A. Any Officer or Senator shall be subject to expulsion after two unexcused absences from Senate meetings during one term of office.
B. The charges must be formally presented to the accused by the President Pro-Tempore.
C. If the accused desires a hearing, a two-thirds vote of Student Government Association Senators serving shall be necessary to remove the accused from office.
D. If the President Pro-Tempore faces expulsion, the Senate shall elect a presiding officer.
Section 3. Removal from Office
Section 3. Removal from Office
A. Any Officer may be removed from office for violation of this Constitution, the University Code of Conduct, or any University policy.
B. Reasons for removal must be signed by at least five Senators.
C. The reasons must be presented to the accused Officer or Senator at least one week prior to the meeting at which charges shall be formally considered.
D. The President Pro-Tempore shall preside over the hearing. If the President Pro-Tempore faces such charges, the Senate shall elect presiding officer for the hearing.
E. A three fourths vote of all Student Government Association Senators serving shall be necessary to remove any Officer or Senator from office.
Article VIII. ELECTIONS
Section 1. President and Vice-President
A. Must meet all requirements as defined in the Constitution for the office.
B. Shall run jointly as a ticket on the ballot.
C. As a ticket, shall submit a petition with 300 signatures from any registered students.
D. Shall be elected by secret ballot no later than April 1st, excluding academic year 1995-1996.
E. Shall take office by the first meeting of the new Senate.
F. Shall serve a term of one year, or until successors are elected, whichever occurs first.
G. Must be capable of fulfilling obligations of the office during the summer term.
Section 2. Senators
A. Must meet all requirements as defined in Constitution for the office.
B. Shall submit a petition of signatures with the lesser of 100 or 10% of the students enrolled in the school or college in which they stand for election.
C. Shall serve a term of one academic year, or until successors are elected, whichever occurs first.
D. Shall be elected at the same time as the President and the Vice-President.
Section 3. Process
A. All elections shall be held by secret ballot.
B. A runoff between the two top tickets shall be held for the President and Vice-President when a ticket does not receive more than 40 percent of the votes cast.
C. Each school or college shall elect one Senator for every 1500 students, or a portion thereof, enrolled within the school or college.
D. Colleges with fewer than 1500 students shall elect one Senator.
E. Enrollment figures used for determining the number of Senators per school or college shall come from the Fall term figures obtained from the Office of the Registrar.
F. The election of President and Vice-President shall be University wide, with each registered student eligible to vote.
G. The election of the Senators shall be school or college wide, with each student registered in that school or college eligible to vote.
Article IX. ADVISOR
At least one advisor to the Student Government Association shall be appointed by the Vice President for Student Affairs in consultation with the Student Government Association.
At least one additional advisor to the Student Government Association may be appointed by the Student Government Association President with approval of a majority of the Senate.
The SGA shall be formally consulted in the selection of SGA graduate advisors. In the event that SGA is not formally consulted, the President of SGA shall have the authority to not recognize the graduate advisor, subject to a majority vote of the executive committee.
Article X. AMENDMENTS
Any amendment to the Constitution shall require a first and second reading at a Senate meeting. Upon first reading, the amendment will be sent to the Internal Affairs Committee for consideration. At least one week shall transpire between the first and second reading. Upon second reading, the Senate may vote on the proposed amendment. Two-thirds approval of all Senators is required for a campus-wide vote on the amendment. A majority of the students then voting must approve the amendment. The Vice-President shall set the date of the vote. The amendment then must be approved by the President of the University of Georgia for passage.
Article XI. RATIFICATION, RECALL, AND REFERENDUM
Section 1. Ratification
This Constitution shall be ratified when a majority of the students approve this document in a special election. It is approved by the University President. At least ten percent of the University student body must vote in the election in order for the result to be valid.
Section 2. Recall
A recall election for any office may be called by a petition signed by at least ten percent of the electing body. For Senators, the electing body is the college or school which they represent, and for President and Vice-President it is the entire student body. Only one recall election per Senator or Officer per term of office shall be held.
Section 3. Referendum
A referendum on any question may be called by a petition by at least ten percent of the student body. A referendum may also be called by two-thirds of the Senate. The Vice-President shall set the date of the referendum.
Article XII. BYLAWS
A. Student Government Association bylaws become effective immediately following approval by two-thirds of the Senate.
B. Should two-thirds of the entire Senate deem a bylaw to be in conflict with the Constitution, the bylaw shall immediately be declared null and void.
C. The declaration of a bylaw as null and void shall not retroactively affect decisions with in regard to that bylaw.
D. Bylaw proposals or amendments shall be submitted in written form to the Vice-President who will give a first reading at the next Senate meeting. At the following Senate meeting, a second reading will be given and the proposals or amendments will be voted upon with approval of the Senate required for passage.
E. The President Pro-Tempore shall annually review the bylaws and shall revise their organizational format if necessary. Format revisions do not require Senate approval; however, senators must be made aware of any changes.
F. All bylaws must be approved by the Senate after adoption of this Constitution.
Article XIII. VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
Every four years, the ballot for electing the President and Vice-President shall contain the following statement to be voted upon:
"The Student Government Association of the University of Georgia should continue to operate."
__________ AGREE __________ DISAGREE
If more than two-thirds of the voting disagree, the Student Government Association shall be abolished. The first four-year period began Spring Quarter of 1987.
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