Description:Article I: The Preamble
Section 1: All students by virtue of their registration at the University of South Florida, Tampa campus are members of the Tampa campus student body and are granted all the rights and privileges of this Constitution. The student body shall be represented by Student Government at the University of South Florida at Tampa, hereinafter referred to as Student Government.
Section 2: Student Government shall be comprised of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The powers and duties of these branches are set forth in this Constitution, which powers cannot be increased or decreased except by amendment to this Constitution.
Section 3: All students enrolled at the University of South Florida, Tampa campus shall be entitled to vote in the special and general elections of Student Government. Any student has the right to call for a University-wide referendum / recall election provided that a petition signed by at least 10% of the student body is submitted as specified by statute.
Article II: The Executive
Section 1: The Executive branch shall consist of the President , vice President , cabinet officers, agency heads and all executive appointees, hereinafter referred to as executive officers. No executive officer may hold an office in any other branch of Student Government during his / her term of office in the executive branch.
Section 2: All executive powers of Student Government shall be vested in the President . The President shall have the power to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint all cabinet officers and executive appointees who will be paid for their duties. All other executive officers may be appointed by the President without the advice and consent of the Senate unless otherwise provided by the Constitution.
Section 3: The President shall be responsible for all agencies of Student Government. The President shall have the power to nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Agency Review Board", appoint and remove all agency heads. The Board shall be composed of all agency heads, the President, 3 Senators, the SG Comptroller and 1 faculty/staff advisor.
Section 4: The President shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint judges of the Supreme Court.
Section 5: The President shall recommend students for appointment to, or removal from, University-wide councils, committees and boards.
Section 6: The President shall represent the student body on the State Council of Student Body President s, the Florida Student Association and other similar representative bodies.
Section 7: The President shall sign or veto, within ten (10) school days all constitutional amendments, statutes and budgetary allocations passed by the Senate. The President 's failure to act during this specified time shall be deemed approval of such legislation. The Senate may override, by a two-thirds vote, a veto by the Student Government President .
Section 8: The President shall address the Senate at least once each semester and on other occasions at the invitation of the Senate.
Section 9: The President may call for a referendum of the student body, subject to approval by two-thirds vote of the Senate.
Section 10: The President may initiate budget proceedings by providing a proposed Activity and Service fee budget to the Senate.
Section 11: The President , vice President and all executive officers must be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours as undergraduate degree seeking students or five hours as post-baccalaureate students during the fall and spring semesters, except that the above named officers must be enrolled for at least one credit hour during any summer term. Agency heads, and executive officers enrolled in colleges that do not offer summer classes, have no enrollment requirement in the summer. The President , vice President and all executive officers must have a cumulative USF grade point average of 2.0 or better and may not be under disciplinary probation, suspension or expulsion. No candidate shall be elected or appointed to any executive office unless and until a certification from the Office of Student Affairs attesting that the candidate has met all of the qualifications for office, has been filed with the Office of the Student Government President . After such election or appointment, no executive officer shall continue in office unless and until a certification from the Office of Student Affairs, attesting that the executive officer has met all of the qualifications for office, has been filed with the Office of the Student Government President within ten (10) school days after the beginning of a term for which the officer must be enrolled pursuant this section.
Section 12: All candidates for the offices of President and Vice President shall form joint candidacies so that each voter shall cast a single vote for a candidate for President and a candidate for Vice President running together. Election for President and vice President shall take place on the first Wednesday and Thursday in April of each year. Run-off elections shall be held the second Wednesday and Thursday of April each year if necessary. The President and Vice President shall take office the first Monday in May of each year. The President and vice President shall serve a one year term of office. No President or Vice President may serve more than two consecutive terms.
Section 13: In the event the President resigns, is impeached, or is unable to perform the powers and duties of the office, the vice President shall become the President .
Section 14: In the event the office of vice President becomes vacant for any reason, the President shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a new vice President .
Article III: The Legislative
Section 1: The legislative authority of the student body shall be vested in the Student Senate, hereinafter referred to as the Senate.
Section 2: The Senate shall be composed of representatives who will be chosen on the basis of one representative for every 500 students enrolled in each college of the University and one representative for every 500 students which are either undeclared or have more than one major in more than one college, provided that each college shall have at least one representative. The enrollment of each college shall be divided by 500 to determine the total number of representatives for that particular college; a college shall be entitled to an additional representative if the total enrollment remaining after dividing by 500 is less than 500 but more than 249. For purposes of determining the number of students enrolled in a college, pre-majors shall be counted as majors. The number of students which are either undeclared or have more than one major in more than one college shall be divided by 500 to determine the total number of representatives for this group; this group shall be entitled to an additional representative if the total enrollment remaining after dividing by 500 is less than 500 but more than 249. These representatives shall be divided up by stratified percentages between the following colleges: Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, and Fine Arts. The number of students enrolled in each college shall be determined by the Office of the Registrar at the conclusion of each fall semester, and shall be the basis for determining the number of representatives from each college for the spring elections. Beginning fall semester, 1995 and every five (5) years thereafter, the President of the University shall convene a committee of numbers of the Executive and Legislative branches to review the Constitutional provisions relating to apportionment and representation set forth in this section.
Section 3: Elections for the Senate shall take place on the first Wednesday and Thursday in April of each year. Run-off elections shall be held the second Wednesday and Thursday of April of each year if necessary. Senators shall take office the first Monday in May of each year. Senators shall serve a one year term of office.
Section 4: All undergraduate members of the Senate shall be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours as degree seeking, and all graduate members of the Denate shall be enrolled for a minimum of five credit hours as post-baccalaureate students durring the fall and spring semesters, except that members of the Senate must be enrolled for at least one credit hour durring any summer term. Members of the Senate enrolled in colleges that do not offer summer classes have no enrollment requirement in the summer. The composition of the Senate during the summer terms shall be determined as provided by statute. All members of the Senate must have a cumulative USF grade point average of 2.0 or better. No member of the Senate may be under disciplinary probation, suspension or expulsion. No student may be a candidate for election to the Senate unless and until a certification from the Office of Student Affairs attesting that the candidate has met all of the qualifications for office has been filed with the Office of the President pro tempore of the Senate. After election to the Senate, no senator shall continue in office unless and until a certification from the Office of Student Affairs attesting that the senator has met all of the qualifications for office has been filed with the Office of the President pro tempore of the Senate within ten (10) school days after the beginning of a term for which the senator must be enrolled pursuant to this section.
Section 5: The Senate shall have the authority to enact, amend or repeal statutes of Student Government by a majority vote. The Senate shall also have the authority to enact resolutions, memorials, and its own rules of procedure. Any student may request a declaratory judgment from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of any statute, and the Supreme Court is empowered to hold, by declaratory judgment, any statute to be unconstitutional.
Section 6: The Senate shall have the authority to enact, by two-thirds vote, statutes governing election of all Student Government officers, and to provide for the appointment of students to complete the unexpired term of members of the Senate which are vacant for any reason.
Section 7: The Senate may propose, by a two-thirds vote, any constitutional amendment.
Section 8: The Senate may approve, by a majority vote, nominations of the President requiring Senate advice and consent. Failure to act on any President ial appointment within twenty school days shall be deemed approval of such appointment.
Section 9: The Senate may override, by a two-thirds vote, a veto by the Student Government President .
Section 10: For purposes of this Constitution, a majority vote is defined as more votes yes than votes no cast by those members voting yes or no. A two-thirds vote is defined as two-thirds more votes yes than votes no cast by those members voting either yes or no. Members who abstain shall not be considered as voting either yes or no, except that abstentions by more than one-half of the members who vote will be considered as votes no.
Section 11: The Senate shall approve and allocate the Activity & Service fee budget of Student Government.
Section 12: The Senate shall have the power to impeach the President , vice President , and Members of the Senate.
Section 13: The Senate shall establish its own meeting times, rules and procedures. The Senate shall assemble in open meetings at frequent intervals for the deliberation of legislation and the business of the student body.
Section 14: The Senate shall provide for the compilation and publication of all legislation.
Section 15: The Senate shall establish means through which the student body can actively participate in the formulation of policies which affect them.
Section 16: The Senate shall have the power to appoint any committee necessary to the operation of the Senate, and to appoint and remove any committee chair. No member of the Senate may chair more than one committee, nor hold office in any other branch of Student Government.
Section 17: The Senate shall elect a Senate President at the beginning of each term as provided by statute
Section 18: The duties of the Senate President , the highest elected official in the Senate, shall be as detailed by the Student Government Statutes, and the Senate Rules of Procedure
Article IV: The Judicial
Section 1: The judicial power of Student Government shall be vested in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction over all cases and controversies involving Student Government, including the power to declare any act of the Senate unconstitutional.
Section 2: The Supreme Court shall try all cases of impeachment brought by the Senate.
Section 3: The Supreme Court shall adopt rules for its practice and procedure, including the time for seeking appellate review. These rules may be repealed by statute enacted by two-thirds vote of the Senate
Section 4: The Supreme Court will be comprised of nine Justices, one being the chief justice who will be elected by and from the members of the Court. The President shall nominate and, by and with the consent of the Senate, appoint justices who shall serve no more than three terms, which terms shall run concurrently with the terms of executive officers and members of the Senate. A justice who has served three terms may be reappointed by the President in accordance with Article II, Section IV. The chief justice shall serve for one term, and may be re-elected for one additional term. No justice may hold an office in any other branch of Student Government. Justices serving at the time of the adoption of this Constitution shall be continued in office, and shall serve as if their appointments commenced at the time of adoption.
Section 5: Cases of impeachment of a justice shall be tried by a Judicial Review Committee. The Judicial Review Committee shall be composed of nine students, five appointed by the Student Government President and four appointed by the Senate. A justice may not be removed from office except on a two-thirds vote of the Judicial Review Committee.
Section 6: Members of the Supreme Court must be in good standing. A justice may not be under disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Article V: College Councils
Section 1: Each College may establish a College Council. The College Councils shall establish their own rules and regulations, including the number and qualifications of its members, which must be approved by the Senate.
Section 2: Any student in a college has the right to call for a college-wide referendum / recall election provided that a petition signed by at least 10% of the students in that college is submitted as specified by statute.
Article VI: Constitutional Ammendments
Section 1: Amendments to this Constitution must be approved by a majority vote of the student body. No amendment may be submitted to the student body for approval until it has first been approved by the President of the University.
Article VII: Activity and Service Recommendation Committee
Section 1: The recommendation authority for the Activity and Service Fee shall be vested in the Activity and Service Recommendation Committee, hereinafter referred to as ASRC.
Section 2: ASRC shall make the initial recommendation for the allocation of the Activity and Service Fee moneys to the student Government.
Section 3: The duties of the ASCR shall be detailed by the Student Government Statutes and ASRC Rules of Procedure.