Seven Bills Pass Unanimously at Final SGA Meeting

SGA wrapped up their final meeting of the semester Tuesday night as the team discussed president Caleb Weiland’s senate resolution for increased mental health funding. But, prior to his resoultion’s introduction, the Senate revisited ten old business matters, five of which passed unanimously. 

Sen. Caleb Swanson reported no further concerns regarding Senate Bill (SB) 94 “A Bill to Clarify the Function of CLCs,” SB 95 “A Bill to Establish CLCs in SGA By-Laws,” SB 96 ”By-Law Audit Act of 2022,” SB 97 “Constitution Audit Act of 2022” and SB 98 “Neuroscience Club Special Appropriation.” All five bills passed unanimously. 

Swanson also shared updates on SB 99 “A Bill Modifying Internal Review

Committee Duties,” SB 100 “A Bill Codifying A Dress Code” and SB 102 “A Bill Clarifying Election Steering Committee Formation” reporting no changes to the context of the material. The trio will be revisited at next semester’s meeting. 

SB 101 “A Bill Clarifying Office Hour Procedure” had minor changes as reported by Sen. Josh Stykstal during its second reading. 

Last on the old business to-do list was Senate Resolution (SR) 13 “A Resolution Supporting the Creation of $1 per Credit Hour Green Fee” sponsored by Swanson. During SGA’s previous meeting, the senate tabled discussion on the matter due to time constraints. This week, Swanson addressed concerns regarding the resolution’s budget. 

“When this resolution was originally created, there was a significant time crunch. Some of the data was a little bit off so we had an inaccurate number of total on-campus credits. Because of the updated number of credits we received, we were able to cut the green fee in half from two dollars to one dollar,” Swanson said. 

A description of the resolution’s budget was also added, pushing it to pass unanimously. 

New business on the agenda began with SB 103 “Student Federation Due Coverage.” Sen. Katie Conzet reported issues on the lack of funding from the Student Federation. She said this bill would give the federation $471, as a way to assist with the organization’s funding. Following its first reading and discussion, the bill passed. 

To close out the meeting, Weiland presented SR 14 “A Resolution Encouraging the South Dakota Board of Regents and the South Dakota State Legislature to Increase Funding for Regional Mental Health Services.” The matter expresses the need to expand mental health services, both in-person and via telehealth. The resolution later passed as a block emergency unanimously. 

“What remains true at the end of the day is that there needs to be action taken by the legislature and SDBOR,” Weiland said. “I wanted a resolution to be out there to show that SGA stands in support and we’re ready to take the lead.”

SGA will not hold a meeting during finals week. Their next gathering is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 9, 2023.