ASUI to revise internal rules and regulations,updates
The ASUI Rules and Regulations Committee will vote on a proposed bill Wednesday to renew the ASUI Rules and Regulations with various changes, including a transition from unit pay to hourly pay for paid ASUI positions.
If the bill is passed through the committee, ASUI President Nate Fisher said the bill would go to a vote at the following ASUI Senate meeting.
These revisions, according to Fisher, are long overdue and important to the efficiency of ASUI.
“This is really important for us, because we are what our rules state, and we are required to abide by them,” Fisher said. “Not having an updated copy or a correct copy means that we’re out of compliance, and they’re the blueprints for how we function.”
Fisher said he and ASUI Vice President Sarah Vetsmany put updating the Rules and Regulations high on their priority list when campaigning for office last spring. Although the Rules and Regulations are frequently revised, Fisher said there was confusion created by having multiple saved versions of the document in different places.
One of the main changes would be paying ASUI members hourly, rather than by units. Fisher said it appeases Human Resources requirements and would eliminate the pay-dock system, which has been used for many years.
Vetsmany said she and Fisher were concerned with how outdated the current Rules and Regulations document was and said each of them sought to update it before taking office last spring. She even said she was surprised the updates hadn’t already been made.
“The reason Nate and I put this on our agenda is so students can have something current to look at,” Vetsmany said. “We want to leave office with a very clean record and give the next president and vice president time to work on their projects, instead of having to clean up old business.”
Katie Cramer, chair of the ASUI Rules and Regulations Committee and author of the proposed bill, said eliminating irrelevant information and putting certain ASUI duties, such as a required number of office hours, in writing is the main function of the bill.
“This just lays out our job descriptions, so this doesn’t really affect the students, except for how we do our jobs,” Cramer said.
Vetsmany said the current document they’re using is approximately three years outdated.
“A lot of positions in the current Rules and Regulations aren’t even positions anymore,” Vetsmany said. “That’s probably one of the biggest changes in Rules and Regulations, the elimination of those positions.”
She also said none of the proposed changes to the document have been controversial within ASUI.
Cramer said she is confident the bill will be voted through the committee and proceed to the Senate after any needed amendments are made Wednesday. Cramer and Fisher both said the task of making revisions to such an expansive document is time-consuming, yet necessary.
“It’s a lengthy process and the document is over 30 pages long,” Fisher said. “Going through it with a fine-tooth comb and ensuring we’re in compliance with the rules and have the most updated copy of the rules is very important for us.”
Cara Pantone can be reached at [email protected]