By Nathan Hatcher, Editor-in-Chief
With only one Senate meeting remaining, senators are working to be fiscally responsible when spending remaining funds, said Sen. David Scott (business).
There was about $2,300 in rolling appropriations prior to the March 29 meeting, said Sen. Sarah Cook (Greek/president pro-tempore).
Twenty-one guests attended the meeting in support of bills requested from their organizations.
Seven bills initially were to be discussed at the meeting.
Click here for a full list of the bills and their original requests.
Senate Bills 048, 050, 052, 053, 054, and 055 passed at the meeting. Amendments were made to SB 053 and SB 055 before passing.
SB 053 originally requested $853 in funding for the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature spring conference. An amendment to the bill cut funding for a hotel room and decreased funding for registration fees to $480.
Emergency SB 055 was introduced during the meeting. Due to illness, Sen. Sooner Davenport (social sciences), the bill’s author, was unable to present materials in advance. The bill requested $270 to cover expenses for water bottles and advertising for the 2011 Peace Rally on April 9. Senators voted to amend the bill and cut funding for water bottles. The bill passed to fund the event $120.
SB 049, for funding an SGA Relay For Life team, was pulled and SB 051, for funding the OCU Pep Dancers, failed at a Senate committee meeting.
There are currently about $315 left in rolling appropriations, Cook said.
Senate is expecting to receive a $300 refund from SB 050, she said. The bill requested $600 for a deposit on generator lights for Relay For Life and stated that $300 would be refunded after the event.
Senate also expects $300 to be refunded from SB 041, Cook said. The bill requested $300 to fund Kappa Sigma’s Casino Royale event which was canceled.
A proposed resolution to create a freshman mentoring program failed. Administrators were not appropriately contacted when presented the resolution and plans are already in motion to create a university mentoring program, said Sen. Arianna Harmon (religion).
Senators voted on the Senator of the Month at the end of the meeting. Sen. Edwards Ayo-Odugbesan (international) was picked to receive the award but declined to accept it because he administered the voting.
Sen. Sheray Franklin (dance/arts management) said senators also discussed passing legislation to shorten lines in Alvin’s Cafe at a committee meeting. There may be a follow-up to the discussion announced at next week’s Senate meeting, she said.
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