Contention arose in the ASUI Senate Wednesday night after ASUI President Cruz Botello announced he would veto a bill that passed after immediate consideration by the senate last week.
The legislation would have fixed what some senators called a loophole that would allow student organizations to use student fees to influence elections.
Sen. James Howard, author of the legislation, said he was “shocked” that Botello would veto the bill since it was passed 11-1 last week.
This is Botello’s first veto since becoming president. Botello said he vetoed the bill because it was passed too quickly without a proper debate.
“Do you trust your senate, Mr. President?” Howard asked. “Do you trust your senate in making these decisions?”
Botello said he did trust them with due process.
Howard then asked Botello if he knew the definition of “bureaucrat,” to which Botello asked Howard to enlighten him.
“It is an official in a government department, in particular one perceived as being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of the people’s needs,” Howard said.
The bill’s passage ignited a new debate on transparency and due process in the senate and was voted on during the same meeting. But four senators and Botello were absent from the meeting in which the bill was passed.
Last week, Howard said he informed all absent senators of the bill before it was considered on the floor.
Sen. Tanner Beymer, the only senator to vote against the bill last week via proxy, said he received a text from Howard five minutes before the bill hit the floor, which informed him that Howard had sent him an email with a copy of the legislation.
This week, Pro-Tempore Mattie Cupps said not all senators were contacted for proxy vote, including herself. Howard said he thought she was made aware of the bill.
During questioning in the senate, Howard asked Botello if anyone told him to veto the bill.
“Yes,” Botello said. “It was recommended.”
Later in the meeting, Beymer said he met with Botello to converse about the bill.
“As a constituent of President Botello, and one who voted for him, I thought that it was well within my rights and well within my bounds to go and sit during his office hours and have a conversation with him about a bill that passed through the senate,” Beymer said.
Beymer said he was “appalled” at the way the bill was passed through the body.
“It was absolutely ignorant of due process with malicious intent and I think that it’s absolutely ridiculous that it even got to that point to begin with,” Beymer said.
The vetoed bill would add to section 2000 of the ASUI Rules and Regulations, stating, “No student organization or club may use ASUI allocated funds or resources to affect or influence the outcome of an ASUI election including but not limited to supporting a candidate.”
The bill was written, immediately considered and voted on in the same day.
This week, Beymer and Sen. Danny Bugingo debated the effects of the bill on free speech rights. Beymer argued the bill would stifle speech and transparency, while Bugingo said clubs may still support candidates, but not with ASUI funds.
Beymer countered that argument, and said the bill does not distinguish between ASUI funds and club funds, since clubs receive their funding from ASUI.
During the meeting, the senate had the opportunity to override the veto, but voted unanimously not to override it.
Howard said he would vote not to override the veto, and encouraged his fellow senators to do the same. He said he felt the bill was tainted by the negativity it had received, and that the bill took a turn it was never supposed to take. He said he is open to any advice on amending the bill.
“It will see the light of day again,” Howard said.
Howard and Sen. Jordan Kizer, who sponsored the bill, said a new version of the bill could be listed under “New Business” on the agenda by next week, and could be voted on the week after that.
The senate also passed a bill, written by Cupps, to transfer $750 from the ASUI Senate Allocations Budget to the Dance Marathon Committee to fund the ASUI Dance-Marathon, ASUI’s philanthropy event to support Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane. The event will take place from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nov. 5 in the International Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center.
Taylor Nadauld
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