Senate bill killed due to poor communication

Melhor Leonor/ News Director

Agencies and bureaus had a close call during the Student Government Council at the Modesto Maidique Campus senate’s Sept. 17 session.

The “Government Accountability Act of 2012,” SB 1211 was removed from the agenda before it could even be discussed.

The bill was an amendment to section 4.05 “Agencies of the Executive Branch” of the SGC-MMC statutes. Among the changes in the bill were the amendments to the selection process for directors of agencies and bureaus under SGC-MMC.

In the bill, the author and sponsors requested that directors for agencies be selected through the elections code, while directors for agencies be selected solely by the SGC-MMC president.

It was addressed on Monday at the beginning of the meeting by SGC-MMC Vice President Alex Castro, author of the bill.

“Senators, I demand that this bill be extracted from the agenda,” Castro said. “I demand that this bill is never heard again this academic year. I have talked to the involved parties and they do not want Student Government to pass this bill.”

In an interview with Student Media, Residence Hall Association Adviser Joe Haeffel voiced his concerns with the bill by saying it didn’t include specifics for the candidate criteria.

Haeffel also added that he doesn’t see a problem with more transparency from organizations funded by the Activity & Service fee.

If passed, the bill would also have required monthly auditing reports from all agencies and bureaus and approval from SGC-MMC for any purchases above $15,000.

According to Castro, other concerns were also raised by other agencies and bureaus, which lead to his decision to strike the bill.

Castro mentioned that a lack of communication lead to the unrest.

“Poor communication creates confusion and misunderstandings,” Castro said. “I have learned that communication is key, enhances comprehension and is followed by trust in the long run.”

Moses Aluicio, College of Law senator, moved to strike SB 1211 from the agenda.

The motion was passed without opposition.