Student Association members presented two bills and discussed an upcoming off-campus surveillance camera initiative at SA’s meeting Monday night in Maxwell Auditorium. However, the assembly’s inability to meet quorum resulted in votes on the bills and cabinet chair confirmations being delayed until its next meeting.

“The Speaker of the Assembly Cabinet Bill,” presented by SA Recorder Drew Jacobson, would require the speaker of the assembly to attend SA cabinet meetings. The speaker of the assembly does not currently attend SA cabinet meetings.

Jacobson said SA’s administrative operations committee believes someone with the speaker’s power should be present at SA cabinet meetings to be the voice of the assembly in cabinet deliberations.

Jacobson said the speaker bill would also take away the speaker’s ability to vote, as the bill intends to make the speaker a neutral intermediary between the assembly and the cabinet.

Andrew Regalado, SA’s current speaker of the assembly, said the bill would make it easier for the assembly’s concerns to be voiced in cabinet discussions and streamline SA’s agenda-setting process. He said that cabinet members will often contact him last-minute when they wish to add something to a Monday meeting’s agenda.

The bill would also reduce the speaker’s office hours to five hours per week, down from the 10 hours per week previously required.

“The Cabinet Assembly Attendance Bill,” which would institute a clearly defined assembly and cabinet member attendance policy, was also presented at the meeting. Jacobson said the bill was drafted after concerns that cabinet members were underrepresented at SA’s Monday night meetings. Most cabinet members aren’t required to attend meetings.

The assembly bill would require cabinet members to attend two SA meetings per month and present a report at one of the two meetings. Cabinet members who do not attend meetings for at least two months would be investigated by SA’s Judicial Review Board.

Votes on the bills are expected to take place at SA’s meeting next week. The two bills, along with cabinet co-chair confirmations, could not be voted on because the assembly was unable to meet quorum.

Other business

SA President Eric Evangelista discussed plans to install surveillance cameras on streets in off-campus neighborhoods. Evangelista said the university hopes the presence of the cameras in off-campus neighborhoods will deter crime and help the Department of Public Safety and police identify criminals.

Evangelista said the initiative’s goal is to install at least 49 cameras in the communities around SU.

SA will provide some of the funding for the cameras and will include the cost of the cameras in its budget for the next fiscal year, he said. The university will also reach out to potential donors who may be willing to provide funds for the cameras, he added.

Evangelista also said he will present SA’s sanctuary campus bill to Chancellor Kent Syverud this week. SA passed the sanctuary campus bill at its meeting on Jan. 30 after months of deliberation.

Published on February 13, 2017 at 11:10 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18