Preamble to the Constitution

The Signing Statement

[In order to encourage responsible citizenship and the exercise of individual and corporate responsibility on the part of students in the government of student affairs and activities, Stanford University, by approval of this Constitution, authorizes the Associated Students of Stanford University to exercise and discharge major privileges and responsibilities within the framework of policies and regulations established by the University through the President of the University and the Board of Trustees.]1)

Preamble

We, the students of Stanford University, in order to advance our interests, define our responsibilities and to provide for our meaningful participation in the governance of the University, do hereby associate and establish this Constitution. Having received the acceptance of the University and the Board of Trustees, this Constitution shall be respected by University officials, faculty and staff in their dealings with students of the University.

Article I: Name, Scope, Membership, and Independence

Section 1. Name

The name of the organization under this Constitution shall be the Associated Students of Stanford University, hereafter referred to as the “Association.”

Section 2. Membership and Populations

1. All registered students of Stanford University, and only such persons, shall be members of this Association.
2. The following population subsets of the Association shall be defined:
   1. Undergraduate population: All undergraduate members of the Association
   2. Graduate population: All graduate and professional school members of the Association
   3. Association population: All members of the Association

Section 3. Rights of Membership

1. All members of the Association shall also be liable for such fees as this Association may assess. However, all members shall have the right to a full refund of any and all fees paid to the Association.
2. The Association shall enact no legislation respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Association for a redress of grievances.
3. All members of the Association have the right to attend all open meetings of the Association and to view all open records of the Association.
4. The final authority of the Association shall in perpetuity be vested in the members of the Association—the students of Stanford University.

Section 4. Rights of the Accused

1. As a fundamental principle, Stanford students deserve to be treated fairly when facing allegations of misconduct under a university process.  Before any disciplinary action is taken, a student should be given notice of a concern and an opportunity to respond. 
2. The ASSU has identified the following important principles for accused students, recognizing that state, federal, or local laws, or university policies may preempt these principles in certain matters.
3. Any judicial body hearing a case against a student  shall inform them of their rights at the time they are notified of the charges against them. Students have the right:
   1. To be informed of all the charges and the alleged acts upon which those charges are based.
   2. To be allowed a reasonable time in which to prepare a defense.
   3. To hear all evidence upon which charges are based, and to answer this evidence through rebuttal.
   4. To call witnesses before the judicial body and to be able to present questions  to any other witnesses before the judicial body.
   5. To be assured that, unless the defendant asks for an open hearing, ASSU and the university will not discuss the matter with the public. 
   6. In matters that do not implicate the privacy of other students, to have an open hearing.
   7. To request that any member of the judicial body be disqualified because of prejudice.
   8. To be informed of the above rights by proper summons.
   9. To be considered innocent until proven guilty.
   10. To be assured that no record of the case is placed on their transcript.
   11. To have no person presenting evidence against them sit in judgment of them.
   12. In instances of conviction under State or Federal law, the judicial body shall not assess penalties if the circumstances of the case indicate that such penalties would be inequitable to the defendant when imposed in addition to civil or criminal penalties. This limitation shall not apply when the judicial body’s proceedings are deemed necessary by the judicial body to protect the University community from risk or harm. Nothing in this paragraph, however, shall be interpreted as barring or delaying action by the judicial body on a case because a similar charge is pending before a civil court.

Section 5. Representation and Accountability

This Association shall be the sole representative of the entire Stanford student body.

A. Within the University

Only this Association and its designees shall represent the entire Stanford student body, or a population of the Association, in any dealings with other elements of the University.

B. Outside the University

1. Only this Association and its designees shall have the right to represent the entire Stanford student body, or a population of the Association, in non-University affairs.
2. No Association governing body, including the Association legislative bodies, members of the Association legislative bodies, the President, and the Vice President, shall exercise this right in matters not directly affecting Stanford students. A matter shall be construed as directly affecting Stanford students only if there is at least one Stanford student who is affected by the matter in a substantially different manner than would be the case if he or she were not a university student.
3. This prohibition may be waived for a specific issue for a one-year period following passage of a referendum in a general election by a two-thirds vote of the appropriate population of the Association specifically authorizing certain Association actions on that specific issue.

Section 6. Independence

1. The Association shall be, except as defined within this Constitution, a body independent from control or suspension by Stanford University. The University shall not have the power to veto legislation approved by any population of the Association and either or both legislative bodies of the Association, except as defined within this Constitution. The finances of the Association shall be independent of the University, except as defined within this Constitution.
2. All power of Stanford University within the Association is circumscribed by this Constitution. Any action by Stanford University within the Association not specifically enumerated within this Constitution is a violation of the independence of the Association.

Section 7. Freedom of Information

1. All records of any Association entity must be available for scrutiny by the public with the exception of proprietary business information of Association businesses, financial records for non-funded accounts of organizations banking with the Association, Legal Counseling records, and personnel records of employees. Every other Association organ must allow access to records. This access must be open to all and subject only to administrative requirements to safeguard the information and to provide access in a timely, efficient manner.
2. All meetings of Association legislative bodies, and all meetings of [student] bodies in which one or more Association legislators is acting in an official representative capacity shall be open for observation to all members of the Association.
3. Members of the Association shall be given reasonable opportunity to make their views known at all such meetings.
4. Recordings of all such meetings may be made so long as the act of recording the meeting does not interfere in a substantial way with conducting the meeting.
5. Information regarding the location, time and agenda for all such meetings must be made available in a public place. This information must also be made available in electronic form. This information must be made available at least 24 hours before the meeting is to be held.
6. All minutes of meetings of Association legislative bodies, committees of those bodies, and the Executive Committee must be made available in electronic form within seven days of being approved.
7. The groups mentioned in Section 7(2) above may close a meeting to discuss a specific issue if and only if one of the following conditions is met:
   1. [The body must discuss the appointment, the employment, the performance, or the dismissal of an Association member or employee who is neither the President, the Vice President, nor a member of an Association legislative body.]
   2. The body must discuss pending litigation.
   3. The body must discuss proprietary business practices.
8. Information regarding the general content of a closed meeting and the reason for its closure shall be made available to the public 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
9. During the closed session, the body shall discuss only the issue or issues which caused the meeting to be closed.

Section 8. Amendment

The power to amend this Constitution [which] shall in perpetuity be vested in the members of the Association [shall be exercised pursuant to the terms and procedures of Article VII of this Constitution].

Article II: Legislative Branch

Section 1. Representative Authority

1. The representative authority of the Association shall be vested in the legislative bodies of the Association.
2. The Undergraduate Senate of the Association shall be composed of 16 members, 15 of whom shall be elected by and shall represent the undergraduate members of the Association, with the 16th member being the Vice President of the Association.
3. The Graduate Student Council of the Association shall represent the graduate and professional members of the Association. The Graduate Student Council shall have 15 members who shall be elected by and shall represent the graduate and professional members of the Association, and shall include the Vice President of the Association as the 16th member.

Section 2. Membership of the Association Legislative Bodies

1. The elected members of the Association legislative bodies shall be chosen each year in the Association Spring Quarter General Election.
2. Each elected member of an Association legislative body shall, at the time of her/his election and during her/his continuance in office, be a member of the Association and be committed, at the time of certification of her/his election, to be a member of the constituency s/he represents during her/his term of office.
3. An elected member of an Association legislative body shall cease to be a member of that body upon the event of her/his death, resignation, disqualification, recall, or expulsion.
4. All vacant seats on an Association legislative body shall automatically be open should a general election be called, or a special election involving the relevant Association population.
5. If a member of an Association legislative body loses her/his seat within 28 days of the general or special election in which s/he was elected, the vacancy created by that member shall be filled by the next-highest vote recipient in that election, who did not become a member of the relevant Association legislative body. If no such person exists, the seat shall remain vacant until filled.
6. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the Association legislative bodies from enforcing appropriate sanctions against candidates whose actions in seeking office were in violation of the rules governing student elections.

Section 3. Undergraduate Senate: Organization and Procedures

A. Election of the Undergraduate Senate

1. The fifteen members of the Undergraduate Senate shall be elected from and shall represent the undergraduate population.
2. Each member of the undergraduate population voting may cast one vote for as many Undergraduate Senate seats as are assigned to the undergraduate population.
3. The upper-class candidates who receive the highest number of votes among all upper-class candidates become members of the Undergraduate Senate
   1. This section shall only apply to Undergraduate Senate elections in which all fifteen seats are available for election.
   2. An upper-class candidate is a candidate who anticipates holding academic status as an Undergraduate Junior or higher, as defined by the University Registrar, at the beginning of Fall Quarter of the year of the majority of his/her term. In case of dispute, decisions regarding whether a candidate is an upper-call candidate shall be made by the Elections Commission.
   3. The number of upper-class candidates elected under this section shall be defined in the Undergraduate Senate By-Laws. The resolution of ties shall also be set in the Undergraduate Senate By-Laws.
   4. Any upper-class candidates who are not elected under this section may be elected under Section 4.
4. After the upper-class candidates have been seated, all remaining available seats shall be filled by the remaining candidates who receive the largest number of votes, up to the maximum fifteen members.
5. If at any time more than one-third of the Undergraduate Senate seats are vacant, the Undergraduate Senate shall immediately call a special election to fill all vacant seats.

B. Apportionment of votes in the Undergraduate Senate

1. The number of voting members at all meetings of the Undergraduate Senate shall depend solely on the number of elected members in attendance.
2. No member of the Undergraduate Senate in attendance at a meeting of the Undergraduate Senate may for any reason be disenfranchised. No vote taken in violation of this rule shall be considered valid. Restricting the right of members of the Undergraduate Senate to vote based on attire, behavior, beliefs or any other grounds is prohibited.
3. The Vice President of the Association shall have a vote only when the other voting members of the Undergraduate Senate are evenly divided.

C. Undergraduate Senate Quorum

1. A majority of the regular members of the Undergraduate Senate shall constitute quorum to conduct business.

D. Ex-Officio Members of the Undergraduate Senate

1. The Undergraduate Senate may declare any member of the Association an ex-officio member of the Undergraduate Senate by a majority vote. No member of the Association shall be impeded from petitioning the Undergraduate Senate for the right to become an ex-officio member of the Undergraduate Senate.
2. Ex-officio members of the Undergraduate Senate shall have all privileges afforded members of the Undergraduate Senate but shall never be permitted to vote.
3. The President of the Association, elected members of the Graduate Student Council, and the Financial Manager shall be ex-officio members of the Undergraduate Senate.

E. Undergraduate Senate Term of Office

1. Members of the Association elected and certified as members of the new Undergraduate Senate shall meet as the Undergraduate Senate Elect within one week after certification by the Undergraduate Senate, and at regular intervals thereafter.
2. The Undergraduate Senate Elect shall organize itself in a manner similar to that of the Undergraduate Senate. Members of the Undergraduate Senate Elect shall be ex-officio members of the Undergraduate Senate and observers on any body containing a member of the Undergraduate Senate. Members of the Undergraduate Senate shall be ex-officio members of the Undergraduate Senate Elect.
3. The Vice President Elect of the Association shall be the Presiding Officer of the Undergraduate Senate Elect.
4. Transition from the Undergraduate Senate Elect to the Undergraduate Senate
   1. If the Undergraduate Senate Elect was elected by the Association Spring Quarter General Election, then at a date specified by the Undergraduate Senate or 14 days before the end of the spring quarter, whichever comes first, the Undergraduate Senate and the Undergraduate Senate Elect shall dissolve and the former members of the Undergraduate Senate Elect shall constitute the new Undergraduate Senate.
   2. If the Undergraduate Senate Elect was elected in any other election, then within 14 days of certification of the election, the Undergraduate Senate Elect shall dissolve and the former members of the Undergraduate Senate Elect shall constitute the new Undergraduate Senate.
5. The new Undergraduate Senate shall meet at least once in the academic quarter during which it was constituted as the Undergraduate Senate. At this time, it shall formalize the membership of the Undergraduate Senate committees and the appointment of Undergraduate Senate officers.

F. Presiding Officer of the Undergraduate Senate

1. The Vice President of the Association shall preside over the Undergraduate Senate.
2. The Undergraduate Senate shall choose its Chair, Deputy Chair, and other officers. The Chair shall serve at the Vice President’s convenience during regular meetings of the Undergraduate Senate.

G. Removal from the Undergraduate Senate

1. A member of the Undergraduate Senate may be dismissed from office in the following ways:
   1. The undergraduate population may vote to recall the member of the Undergraduate Senate.
   2. The Undergraduate Senate may by a two-thirds vote expel a member of the Undergraduate Senate. Previous notice of the vote to expel a member of the Undergraduate Senate must be given at the regular meeting of the Undergraduate Senate immediately prior to the meeting at which the expulsion vote takes place. An expulsion vote shall only take place at a regular meeting of the Undergraduate Senate, and the member to be expelled shall have the right to speak in her/his defense before the vote takes place.
2. Grounds for dismissal from the Undergraduate Senate shall include, but not be limited to, actions which clearly violate the intent of this Constitution, consistent failure to attend regular meetings of the Undergraduate Senate, actions deemed unbecoming a member of the Undergraduate Senate.

Section 4. Graduate Student Council: Organization and Procedures

A. Election of the Graduate Student Council

1. The fifteen elected members of the Graduate Student Council shall be elected from one or more districts of the graduate population and shall represent the members of that district.
2. The Graduate Student Council may redistrict seats for its elected members, so long as they are based on an equitable apportionment amongst the graduate population.
3. Each member of the graduate population voting may cast one vote in each district to which s/he belongs for each of as many Graduate Student Council seats are assigned to that district.
4. In each district, the candidates equal in number to the number of Graduate Student Council seats assigned to that district who receive the largest number of votes shall become elected members of the Graduate Student Council.
5. No member of the Association shall vote in a district of which s/he is not a member.
6. If at any time a district has a vacant seat, the Graduate Student Council shall immediately act to fill it, by a procedure specified in the Graduate Student Council’s By-Laws. New members of the Graduate Student Council resulting from this procedure shall be considered elected members for all intents and purposes.

B. Apportionment of votes in the Graduate Student Council

1. The number of voting members at all meetings of the Graduate Student Council shall depend solely on the number of members in attendance.
2. The Vice President of the Association shall have a vote only when the other voting members of the Graduate Student Council are evenly divided.
3. No member of the Graduate Student Council in attendance at a meeting of the Graduate Student Council may for any reason be disenfranchised. No vote taken in violation of this rule shall be considered valid.

C. Graduate Student Council Quorum

1. Quorum for conducting votes mandated in this Constitution shall consist of a majority of the non-vacant Graduate Student Council seats.

D. Ex-Officio Members of the Graduate Student Council

1. The President of the Association, members of the Undergraduate Senate, and Financial Manager shall be ex-officio members of the Graduate Student Council.
2. The Graduate Student Council may appoint other members of the Association as ex-officio members of the Graduate Student Council.

E. Graduate Student Council Term of Office and Transition

1. The term of office and transition procedures for the Graduate Student Council shall be specified in the Graduate Student Council’s By-Laws, with the condition that whatever the procedures are, they must be completed by the end of the academic quarter in which the election for the Graduate Student Council took place.

F. Graduate Student Council Officers

1. The Graduate Student Council shall choose its Chair, Deputy Chair, and Financial Officer. The Chair shall preside over the Graduate Student Council.

G. Removal from the Graduate Student Council

1. The procedure for removing members of the Graduate Student Council shall be specified in the Graduate Student Council’s By-Laws.

Section 5. Budgetary and Financial Policy

Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the members of the Association shall have the ultimate authority to determine the budget of the Association and its agencies, as well as their budgetary, financial, investment, business, and operating policies. The members of the various Association populations shall also have the ultimate authority to establish rules ensuring that funds derived from fees levied upon those populations are expended and accounted for properly. As the representative bodies for the students, the legislative bodies of the Association shall exercise these powers in the names of the members of their respective constituencies.

Section 6. Agencies of the Association

The legislative bodies of the Association shall have the power to create, modify, and abolish agencies of the Association including, but not limited to, projects providing services to members of the Association. The functions, structure, officers, and finances of all such agencies may be specified jointly by the Undergraduate Senate and the Graduate Student Council for those agencies whose purpose involves members of both the undergraduate and graduate populations. Otherwise, the above structures may be specified only by the legislative body for the relevant population.

Section 7. Nominations Commission

1. The ASSU President shall nominate an ASSU member to fill any Nominations Commission vacancy, to be confirmed by the Legislative Bodies. No elected or already appointed member of the ASSU is eligible to serve on Nominations Commission. All other Association members are eligible to serve.
2. Student representatives for University committees shall be nominated by the Association through the Nominations Commission. Representatives shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the ASSU Legislative Bodies. These bodies may specify when the confirmation requirement can be waived in the Joint Bylaws. 
3. Student representatives may be removed from service by the ASSU legislative bodies only after Nominations Commission recommends their removal due to excessive meeting absence or not fulfilling their obligations to their committee  and that recommendation is affirmed by a ⅔ vote by both bodies.
4. Alternate procedures for ASSU nominations may be specified through agreements between the ASSU Executive Committee and representatives of the University. Such agreements must be confirmed by majority vote of both Legislative Bodies and reviewed annually by the Executive Committee. When such agreements are made, they shall supercede the general provisions of this section. 

Section 8. Elections

Each Association legislative body shall have sole power to make rules governing elections involving only members of the population it represents, in accordance with this Constitution. For elections involving the Association population, the Association legislative bodies shall have the joint power to make rules, in accordance with this Constitution.

Section 9. By-Laws

A. Undergraduate Senate By-Laws

1. Shall cover those matters affecting only the undergraduate population and its representatives.
2. May be amended at a regular meeting of the Undergraduate Senate by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that notice has been given at the previous regular meeting.

B. Graduate Student Council By-Laws

1. Shall cover those matters affecting only the graduate population and its representatives.
2. May be amended at a regular meeting of the Graduate Student Council by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that notice has been given at the previous regular meeting.

C. Association By-Laws

1. Shall cover all matters affecting both the graduate and undergraduate populations, or affecting both populations’ representatives.
2. May be amended only by joint approval of the Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council, in the manners described in Paragraphs A(2) and B(2) of this Section, respectively.

Section 10. Joint Meetings of the Association Legislative Bodies

The Executive Committee shall have the power to call joint meetings of the Association legislative bodies. The Vice President of the Association shall serve as the Presiding Officer of all such joint meetings. The procedures for calling such meetings shall be included in the Association By-Laws. The only conditions on these procedures are that public notice must be given of all such meetings, minutes must be taken at all such meetings, and these minutes must be made publicly available within one week of being approved.

Section 11. Joint Approval by Association Legislative Bodies

Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, the joint approval of any item of business by the Association legislative bodies shall not necessarily require a joint meeting of the Association legislative bodies.

Section 12. Open Ballot

All votes of Association legislative bodies shall be by open ballot.

Article III: Executive Branch

Section 1. The President and Vice President

1. The President of the Association shall be the chief executive of the Association.
2. The Vice President of the Association shall assist the President of the Association in carrying out the will of the Association.

Section 2. Qualifications

1. The President and Vice President shall be, at the time of their election and during their continuance in office, members of the Association. Neither may simultaneously be an elected member of an Association legislative body.
2. Should the President become incapacitated, resign, or otherwise be removed from office, the Vice President shall assume the role of President of the Association. The President shall then appoint a member of the Association to be Vice President. This appointment must be approved by a two-thirds vote of each Association legislative body.
3. If both the President and Vice President lose office due to reasons other than the election of a new President and Vice President, the Association legislative bodies shall, within 14 days, call a general election to choose another President and Vice President. The Association legislative bodies shall, by a joint majority vote, choose a member of either Association legislative body to serve as Acting President in the interim.

Section 3. Election

1. Candidates for the positions of President and Vice President of the Association shall run for the positions in two-person slates. Each Member of the Association shall cast one vote for the President-Vice President slate of his or her choice.
2. Provisions for nominations shall be specified in the Association By-Laws. In all cases, each slate of candidates shall include exactly two members, with one candidate specifically designated as the candidate for President and the other specifically designated as the candidate for Vice President. In no case may a single member of the Association simultaneously run for election as a member of two slates. Each slate shall be identified by the first and last name of its candidate for President.
3. The President and the Vice President shall be elected by a majority of the Association voting in the Association Spring Quarter General Election.
4. Should no slate of candidates receive a majority of the votes in the Association Spring Quarter General Election, the winner will be decided by the standard “Instant Runoff Voting” procedure.
5. No member of the Association who has served previously as President of the Association for longer than four months shall be eligible to run for that office.
6. The terms of the President and Vice President of the Association shall end at a date specified in the Association By-Laws or 14 days before the end of the spring quarter after the Association has elected another President and Vice President of the Association.
7. The President and/or Vice President of the Association may be removed by a four-fifths vote of each Association legislative body.

Section 4. Executive Committee

1. There shall exist an Executive Committee of the Association. The Executive Committee shall coordinate the administration and activities of the executive branch and Association legislative bodies.
2. The membership of the Executive Committee shall be:
   1. The President of the Association, who shall chair the Executive Committee.
   2. The Vice President of the Association.
   3. The Chair and Deputy Chair of the Undergraduate Senate.
   4. The Chair, Deputy Chair, and Financial Officer of the Graduate Student Council.
   5. The ASSU Financial Manager.
3. The President of the Association shall call all meetings of the Executive Committee, and set its agenda.
4. The Executive Committee shall meet on a weekly basis to discuss all business coming before the Association legislative bodies.
5. Unless an alternate mechanism is specified in this Constitution, the Executive Committee shall have the power, by [consensus] to decide if a given issue affects either the graduate or undergraduate population individually, or both jointly. In the absence of an alternate mechanism and in the absence of [consensus] of the Executive Committee, the issue shall be assumed to affect both populations.
6. [The Executive Committee shall have the power, by [consensus], to call joint meetings of the Association legislative bodies.]
7. [The Executive Committee shall have the power, by [consensus] to force joint consideration of any item of business by the Association legislative bodies. This joint consideration shall not necessarily imply the need for a joint meeting of the Association legislative bodies.]
8. The Executive Committee shall have the power, by [consensus]7), to name any other members of the Association ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. Powers and Responsibilities

1. The President shall serve as the chief administrator and executive of all Association functions. She or he shall oversee and coordinate the day to day operations and activities of the Association. The President shall see to it that all measures adopted by the Association legislative bodies are carried out and enforced.
2. The President shall be the chief representative and liaison between the Association and all other bodies, both inside the University community and outside.
3. The President shall have the power to call special meetings of the Undergraduate Senate, the Graduate Student Council, and of the Association in general.The President may establish committees as necessary and may appoint members to those groups. All such committees shall be subject to the freedom of information restrictions outlined throughout this Constitution.
4. The President shall have the power to stop the enacting of any legislation of an Association legislative body through an executive veto. To override the executive veto, the Association legislative body must again pass the legislation at its next meeting by a two-thirds vote. Once a veto has been overridden, the President may not again veto the same legislation.
5. As the Association’s chief executive, the President shall be accountable to the Association legislative bodies and to the members of the Association for all actions carried out in her/his official capacity.
6. The President of the Association shall have the power to delegate authority to other members of the Association to carry out executive tasks within the Association. In particular, the President may form a cabinet to assist her or him in administration of the Association. The President of the Association shall have power to remove members of the cabinet at will. The members of the Cabinet may also be removed by a two-thirds vote of each Association legislative body.
7. During winter quarter, the President of the Association shall deliver a State of the Association address open to all members of the University community. Notice of the address must be made in a public place two weeks before the address. Members of the Association shall then have the opportunity to publicly address the President of the Association.

Article IV: Judicial Branch

Section 1. Judicial Authority

The Association shall recognize the authority of University judicial bodies over members of the Association only if those judicial bodies shall have been approved by two-thirds of those members of the Association voting in a general election.

Section 2. Judicial Review

A. Constitutional Council

The Constitutional Council shall adjudicate all cases where the constitutionality [under the ASSU Constitution] of an act by an Association legislative body, the President of the Association, or any member(s) of the Association is called into question.

B. Membership of the Council

The Constitutional Council of the Association shall be comprised of 5 members and shall choose by majority vote a chair each year within three weeks of the beginning of fall quarter.

1. All members must be current members of the Association. Members shall serve until they resign, cease to be members of the Association, or are removed by a 4/5 vote of both Association legislative bodies.
2. Should a seat within the Constitutional Council be vacant, the President of the Association shall select a member of the Association to fill that vacancy. This selection must be confirmed by a 2/3 vote of both Association legislative bodies.
3. No person may concurrently be a member of the Council and an elected or appointed officer of the Association. No employee of the Association may simultaneously be a member of the Council.

C. Meetings of the Council

1. Unless a majority of the Council deems it frivolous, the chair of the Council shall call a meeting of the Council within seven days of receipt of a case filing. Meetings shall be held within ten days of the issuance of a call for the meeting.
2. The Council shall make its rulings by majority vote. In ruling on any action, it may only vote to uphold the constitutionality of the action, or deem the action unconstitutional. A tie vote shall be construed as upholding the action’s constitutionality.
3. Before the Council rules on an issue, it shall offer the individual or individuals accused of acting in an unconstitutional manner the right to present a case. The Council shall also offer a representative of the individuals who believe the accused to have acted unconstitutionally the right to present a case. The Council may, at its discretion, allow other members of the Association to speak to the issue.
4. Decisions regarding the constitutionality of an action shall be made at a second Council meeting held within seven days of the first Council meeting held on the issue.
5. Four members of the Council in attendance at a Council meeting shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of voting on the constitutionality of an action.
6. All meetings of the Council shall be open to all members of the Association. All records of the Council shall be public. No meeting of the Council may ever be closed for any reason. The Council shall maintain minutes of meetings and decisions taken. Furthermore, when the Council makes a decision by a majority vote, that majority shall select a Council member to draft within seven days of the decision an official opinion of the Council. All minutes and opinions shall be made available in electronic form within ten days of the meeting.
7. Information regarding the location, time and agenda for meetings of the Council must be made available in a public place. This information must also be made available in electronic form. This information must be made available at least 72 hours before the meeting is to be held.
8. If the Council deems an act to be unconstitutional,that act becomes null and void. Acts stemming from the unconstitutional act may by a majority vote of the Council be deemed valid if they were performed in good faith.
9. [The Council shall not have the power to indict a member of the Association.]
10. The Council shall also meet to adjudicate special cases as detailed throughout this Constitution.
11. The Council shall only exist during fall, winter and spring quarters.

Article V: ASSU Fees

Section 1: Fees due to the Association

A. General

1. The Association shall levy a Student Activities Fee (the “Fee”) on the graduate and undergraduate populations. The purpose of the Student Activities Fee is to support student life at Stanford.

B. Fee Governance

1. General policies governing the Fee may be housed in appropriate Association bylaws. 

C. Management of the Student Activities Fees

1. All funds derived from the Fee shall be subject to the freedom of information requirements of the Association.
2. All costs incurred by the Association in administering the approval, disbursement, and waiver processes, and in enforcing compliance by the recipients of funds derived from a fee, shall be paid by an administrative surcharge subtracted from the net amount received from that fee. The money remaining after subtracting the administrative surcharge shall be the allocable amount.
   1. The Association Joint Bylaws shall define which entities are eligible for funding from the ASSU.
3. The University may block the distribution of funds derived from the Fee to any cause that it finds to be contrary to the policies and/or regulations established by the University, or outside of the educational mission of the University. The Financial Manager shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with any such University mandate, and shall not be penalized for any actions taken consistent with such a mandate.
4. Funds disbursed according to a specific budget and/or purpose may not be spent except in a manner that follows that specific budget and/or purpose. The Financial Manager shall have the responsibility for ensuring that such budgets are followed, within the regulations established by the relevant legislative bodies and within the financial policies that the Financial Manager may enact.

Section 2: Collection of Student Activities Fees

A. Collection Schedule

1. By the end of the sixth week of Spring Quarter, the Financial Manager shall devise and submit to the Association legislative bodies, for approval, a schedule for the levying of the Fee. This collection schedule must conform to the following three principles:
   1. The amount levied during each academic division of the year should be substantially the same. No Fee shall be levied during the Summer break. 
   2. The amount levied on each student each quarter shall be an integral amount of dollars. The schedule may add a rounding surcharge, which shall be the minimum practical to accomplish this goal.
   3. The schedule shall specify the exact amount of administrative overhead charged to each fee.

B. Fee Collection

1. The University shall collect the appropriate amount in fees every quarter, at the same time it collects charges for tuition.
2. The University shall transfer all collected monies to the Financial Manager, who shall then distribute them into the appropriate financial accounts.

Section 3. Fee Distribution

A. Fee Oversight

1. The relevant legislative body shall retain ultimate authority over the disbursement of money from the Fee, subject only to the limitations imposed by this Constitution. Decisions regarding the Student Fee must be made by a 2/3rds majority of the relevant legislative bodies.

B. Allocable amounts

1. The allocable amount of the Fee shall be the total amount that may be disbursed from the Fee in a fiscal year. The Financial Manager shall not disburse funds from the Fee if such disbursement would cause the total amount disbursed to exceed the allocable amount.
2. The allocable amount of a Fee shall be calculated as: the gross amount received from the fee, minus the administrative surcharge charged to the fee, minus all waivers granted, plus the gross amount of reserve and excess funds added to the allocable amount.
   1. The allocable amount for a Fee shall be approximately budgeted according to this calculation in the Spring Quarter by the Financial Manager, and this budget shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies.
   2. The Financial Manager may make adjustments to this formula in his/her discretion, and such adjustments shall be binding in the calculation of the allocable amount.
   3. The Financial Manager shall be responsible for making all estimations necessary in the calculation of the allocable amount, and his/her estimations shall be binding in the calculation of the allocable amount until actual figures are available to replace the estimations.
3. The Financial Manager shall be responsible for monitoring the total disbursed amount, ensuring that the allocable amount reflects the most accurate available data, and providing regular updates to the relevant bodies about the status of all Fees.
4. The Financial Manager may adjust the allocable amount at any time where it is necessary to ensure that the Association retains sufficient liquid assets to pay expenses, including but not limited to monies previously disbursed from that Fee.

C. Excess Funding

1. If any non-Annual Grant money remains unspent at the end of the fiscal year, the Joint Bylaws will specify instructions for transferring the remaining funds.

Section 4. Fee Waiver

 A. General

1. Any member of the Association shall be entitled to a full refund of any fees he/she paid to the Association under this Article. This amount shall be specified in the collection schedule for the fees, and should be as close as practical to the actual per-member amount collected for the fee in question.
2. Obtaining a waiver may deprive the member of the Association of some or all of the services derived from the fee.

B. Refund Schedule

1. The Financial Manager shall set a timeline by which the Undergraduate Fee may be waived, consistent with the Constitution, this Fee Statement, the Association bylaws, and the bylaws of the relevant Association legislative body.
2. This timeline shall occur once every quarter, excluding Summer Quarter.
3. The Financial Manager may present a bill to alter or extend the timeline, and its approval shall require a 2/3 vote of the relevant Association legislative body.

C. Waiver Buffer Surcharge

1. The Association may set a surcharge on top of the Undergraduate Fee to guard against waivers of this fee.
2. The amount charged shall be set annually by the Financial Manager, and shall be appropriately calculated according to the Fee waiver rate from the previous fiscal year.

Section 5. Routine Analysis of Funding System

1. Three years after the full implementation of the system, and at least every three years thereafter, the ASSU Financial Manager shall call a special meeting of the Executive Committee and develop a plan to analyze the funding system. By the first meeting of Spring Quarter, the Executive Committee shall jointly present a report detailing the impact of the funding system, and propose any appropriate changes to ensure the funding system results in optimal outcomes for students and student organizations.
2. The analysis shall include, at minimum, a public survey and analysis of financial data from the past three years.

Section 6: Determination of the Fee 

A. General Process

1. The Fee shall be determined by the Association’s budgetary costs divided by a reasonable estimate of graduates and undergraduates populations who are each charged a separate fee. The Association budget includes overhead costs, programming costs (i.e. Annual Grants), and relevant administrative charges. Article VI of the Constitution details the budgetary process.

B. Population

1. All members of the Association shall be charged the portions of the Fee that pertains to their enrollment status.
   1. Coterminal students shall be charged the undergraduate fee when paying undergraduate tuition and the graduate fee otherwise.
   2. Students on a leave of absence shall not pay the Fee.
   3. Students registered as “permit to attend for services only” (PSO) shall pay the Fee. 
   4. Students registered for a graduation quarter shall not pay the Fee.
   5. Students studying off the home campus shall pay the Fee.

C. Purpose and Philosophy

1. The Fee shall support extra-curricular, co-curricular, and social programming expenses for student organizations that serve or involve the students.
2. The following criteria should be considered before Grants are allocated using the Student Fee: 
   1. Established funding policies for each line item
   2. Evaluation of outside revenue
   3. Impact on student body and/or community impact
   4. Benefit to the relevant population, past and future
   5. Past performance/budgeting
   6. Waiver rates
3. To the maximum extent practical, exactly 100% of the Fee should be spent every year, to give students the benefit of the money they paid. Administrative surcharges are excluded. 

D. Disbursement

1. The Fee shall be disbursed in three processes, known as Annual Grants, Standard Grants, and Quick Grants. The rules of these processes will be provided for in this Article and relevant Association bylaws.
2. The relevant Association legislative body, and its funding committee, shall oversee most decisions related to their populations’ Fee portion. .
3. Wherever practical, the distribution of the Fee shall be coordinated to reflect the approximate benefit that students receive from any distribution of funds.
4. The relevant Association legislative body shall attempt to allocate exactly the amount of allocable funds derived from the fee each quarter. The Financial Manager shall determine the apportionment of Annual Grants funds among each quarter to provide maximum opportunity for Standard and Quick Grants while ensuring the stability of the Association cash flow.

Section 7: Annual Grants

A. General

1. Annual Grants shall be allocated prior to the beginning of Fall Quarter each year and shall be the primary means of funding large expenses from the Fee.

B. Approval of Annual Grants

1. Annual Grants shall be given only for expenses that can be predicted accurately. Accurate predictions shall include, but are not limited to, actual figures from one or more previous similar expenses, or actual quotes for the proposed expenses. Expenses that cannot be predicted accurately, or expenses that are tentative, are not appropriate for Annual Grants.
2. The relevant Association legislative body bylaws shall set a timeline and a process for the approval of Annual Grants. The relevant Association legislative body shall enforce any deadlines strictly. Exceptions shall only be given for special circumstances, and require approval of the relevant Association legislative body.
3. To request an Annual Grant, a student organization shall follow the standard process set by the relevant Association legislative body in their bylaws.
   1. The process shall require that the organization submits a specific budget detailing the expenses for which an Annual Grant is sought, a full current budget and a summary of actual expenditures to the relevant Association legislative body’s  Funding  Committee.
   2. The relevant Association legislative body Funding Committee shall have the power to modify requests as it sees fit, and shall recommend a full package of Annual Grants to the relevant Association legislative body for approval at least 31 days before the Spring Quarter General Election.
   3. The relevant Association legislative body must approve the package of recommended Annual Grant requests by a 2/3 vote; if the package of Annual Grants is not approved, the Funding  Committee must propose a new package of Annual Grants requests within five days.
   4. The Elections Commissioner shall authorize the placement on the ballot of all approved Annual Grant requests. 
4. If a student organization is not satisfied with the Annual Grant approved in the standard process, they may petition the student body directly for a different Annual Grant.
   1. The organization shall prepare a budget detailing the expenses for which an Annual Grant is sought, and submit this, along with the current budget and a summary of actual expenditures, to the Elections Commissioner in the form of a petition. The budget detailing the expenses may only include expenses requested in the budget originally presented through the UG Senate’s standard process. Such petitions must bear the signatures of 15 percent of the members of the relevant Association population, and request the placement of the amended Annual Grant on the ballot for consideration.
   2. The Elections Commissioner must examine for authenticity the signatures on the petitions within seven days after receiving it. Upon verifying the petition, the Elections Commissioner shall place the Annual Grant on the ballot for consideration by the relevant population of the Association.
   3. The relevant Association legislative body  shall have the authority to specify the form in which the detailed budget and summary of actual expenditures must be presented and the information they must contain, and to establish regulations defining the proper form for petitions and governing the circulation thereof.
   4. Petitions shall not be accepted less than seven days before the election, and the Elections Commission shall have the power to set a specific deadline consistent with this section that shall be binding upon groups.
   5. The ballot shall list the amended Annual Grant, and shall contain a statement approved by the relevant Association legislative body that explains why the Annual Grant is listed separately from the Annual Grants package. 
   6. The Association legislative bodies shall not have the power to remove an Annual Grant from the ballot which has properly qualified under this section.
   7. The relevant Association legislative body  may, by 2/3 vote, allow an Annual Grant to qualify for the ballot under this section even if it has not properly qualified under this section due to extenuating circumstances.

C. Approval by the Association

1. All members of the Association who are charged the  Fee shall be eligible to vote on each Annual Grant. During the general election, each member of the Association may cast one vote either in favor or in opposition to each Annual Grant. An Annual Grant shall be deemed to have passed if a majority of those voting on it were in favor.
2. During the general election a summary of all financial information submitted by the student organization seeking an Annual Grant shall be made available to all members of the Association.

D. Unapproved Annual Grants

1. If an Annual Grant is not approved because a majority of voters did not approve the grant, the relevant Association legislative body shall not fund the same expenses in the same amounts through another process, and shall consider the Annual Grants rejection in their funding decisions.

E. Modifications to an Annual Grant

1. Although it is mandated that Annual Grants be allocated to expenses that can be projected accurately, if it becomes necessary, a group may request to modify the Annual Grant it received at any time during the fiscal year. This request shall pass by a 2/3 vote of the relevant Association legislative body .

Section 8: Standard Grants

A. General

1. Standard Grants shall be allocated routinely by the relevant Association legislative body, and shall be the primary means of funding VSO expenses.
   1. Applications for Standard Grants shall be solicited at most twice per month.
   2. The relevant Association legislative body’s  funding  committee, with the guidance of the Financial Manager, shall set allocation targets for Standard Grants funds to ensure the efficient distribution of events and the proper balancing of funds during each round to effect maximum benefit for the student body without reducing available funds during the year.

B. Approval of Standard Grants

1. The bylaws of the relevant Association legislative body shall set a timeline and a process for the approval of Standard Grants. Deadlines shall be enforced strictly.
2. To request a Standard Grant, a student organization shall follow the standard process set by the relevant Association legislative body in their bylaws.
   1. The process shall require that the organization submits a specific budget detailing the expenses for which a Standard Grant is sought.
   2. The relevant Association legislative body funding  committee may require additional materials to be submitted, and shall have the power to determine the form of the budgets to be submitted. The funding  committee shall ensure that the process appropriately balances efficiency with the need for completeness.
3. The relevant Association legislative body may, by majority vote, approve each Standard Grant. Grants that are not approved shall not be disbursed.
4. The Financial Manager shall disburse approved Standard Grants as quickly as practical.

Section 9: Quick Grants

A. General

Quick Grants shall be allocated by the funding  committee on an as-needed basis for expenses that could not be predicted in time for an Annual or Standard Grant. The funding committee should make all practical efforts to approve or deny Quick Grants within seven days of receipt, consistent with this section.

B. Approval of Quick Grants

1. The bylaws of the relevant Association legislative body shall set a timeline and a process for the approval of Quick Grants.
2. To request a Quick Grant, a student organization shall follow the standard process set by the relevant Association legislative body in their bylaws.
   1. The process shall require that the organization submits a specific budget detailing the expenses for which a Quick Grant is sought.
   2. The relevant Association legislative body funding committee may require additional materials to be submitted, and shall have the power to determine the form of the budgets to be submitted. The relevant Association legislative body shall ensure that the process appropriately balances efficiency with the need for completeness.
3. Quick Grants under $6,000 shall not require the approval of the relevant Association legislative body, though approval may be sought if the relevant Association legislative body funding committee deems it necessary, or if unanimous consent of the funding committee is not reached.
4. Quick Grants of $6,000 or more shall require the 2⁄3 approval of the relevant Association legislative body prior to being disbursed.
5. The Financial Manager shall disburse approved Quick Grants as quickly as practical.

Section 10: Reserve Funds

A. General

1. It is the intent of the students of Stanford University to rein in the long-term growth of groups’ reserve funds. To balance this goal with the diverse reasons for groups to have retained reserve funds historically, all unspent funding allocated to a group in a given year through Annual Grants shall be taxed, unless otherwise exempted by the relevant Association legislative body. 
2. The remaining unspent funding that is not taxed shall be added to that individual group’s reserve account, if one currently exists. All unspent funding allocated to a group in a given year through Standard or Quick Grants will be automatically added to the allocable amount for the next year at the close of the fiscal year.

B. Tax on Unspent Funding

1. The Tax on Unspent Funding shall be assessed on the total amount of funding (from Annual, Standard, or Quick grants) unspent in a given fiscal year.
2. Tax rates will be indexed to the size of a group’s existing reserve funds, plus its amount of unspent funds, as a percentage of its budget in a fiscal year.
3. For the purposes of this subsection, a group’s “budget” will be defined as the sum of its Annual, Quarterly, and Quick grant allocations in a given fiscal year.
4. The Financial Manager will have the power to set progressive tax rates, subject to majority approval by the relevant Association legislative body. No tax rate shall exceed 100%.
5. For groups with reserve holdings no greater than 80% of their budget, the Tax on Unspent Funding shall be 0%.
6. Revenue from the Tax on Unspent Funding will be deposited in a fund to support Standard and Quick Grants in the next fiscal year.

C. Exemption from the Tax on Unspent Funding

1. The relevant Association legislative body shall have the power to exempt groups from the Tax on Unspent Funding.
2. A group may apply for an exemption for one of the following reasons:
   1. Holding reserves to pay for up-front costs that are not covered entirely by other ASSU funding sources
   2. Extenuating circumstances that necessitate additional funds being held untaxed into the following fiscal year. Extenuating circumstances shall be discretionarily defined by the Financial Manager. The relevant Association legislative body may overrule.
3. To request an exemption, a group shall submit a request to the Senate funding committee detailing, among other things:
   1. The reason they need an exemption
   2. The anticipated balance of their reserve account throughout the year
   3. The group’s requested maximum reserve amount
4. An exemption may be approved by a 2/3 vote of the relevant Association legislative body.
5. Every two years, the Funding Committee shall review the size and use of a group’s reserve during winter quarter to determine whether it is consistent with the group’s initial plan. Upon a 2⁄3 vote of the relevant Association legislative body, the group’s reserves shall be transferred into the Quick Grants Fund and the group will be unable to apply for an exemption in the next academic year.

Article VI: Association Finances

Section 1. Budget

A. General

1. All Association funds shall be expended within the purposes of the Association, and within the educational purposes of the University. All funds derived from fees levied upon members of the Association shall be expended within the educational purposes of the University.
2. No funds shall be received or expended by the Association or its agencies unless authorized by the Operating Budget or Capital Budget of the Association or by the budget of the relevant Association agency. Authorization shall consist of the approval by the relevant Association legislative bodies of the appropriate budget or a modification thereof.

B. Operating Budget

1. The Operating Budget of the Association shall be used for the basic operating expenses of the Association. These shall include, but not be limited to, the Association legislative bodies, the President and Vice President, the Financial Office,the Association Office, the Students’ Organizations Fund, the Nominations and Elections Commissions, and such other activities and expenses as are so classified by the Association legislative bodies. The Operating Budget shall be divided into two parts, representing those expenses funded by the Operating Budget Allowance provided by the University, and those expenses not so funded.
2. Sources of funds for the Operating Budget shall include, but not be limited to, the Operating Budget Allowance provided by the University, the income earned from the investment of funds owned by or in the custody of the Association, the net operating profit of the profit-making agencies of the Association, indirect cost recovery charges, and gifts. The Association legislative bodies shall adopt policies governing the rates of reinvestment, if any, out of income from different sources. Solicitation of gifts from sources outside the University shall be undertaken in accordance with University policies regarding gift solicitation and acceptance, and in consultation with the appropriate University officers.
3. The Association shall annually negotiate with the University an Operating Budget Allowance. The funds in this allowance are to be used for the basic operating expenses of the Association, including but not limited to all or part of the expenses of the Association legislative bodies, the President and Vice President, the Financial Office, the Association Office, the Students’ Organizations Fund, and the Nominations and Elections Commissions. The procedures by which the Association formulates and approves its annual request for this allowance, negotiates this request with the University, and accepts the results of these negotiations, shall be specified in the Association By-Laws.
4. By a date specified in the Association By-Laws, but in any case no later than the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Association legislative bodies shall approve the operating budget for that fiscal year. If the Association legislative bodies do not approve a budget by this deadline, the budget for the new fiscal year shall be identical to that of the previous fiscal year. All modifications to the operating budget shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.
5. Upon approval by the Association legislative bodies, but in any case no later than the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Financial Manager shall submit the operating budget approved by the Association legislative bodies, or the previous year’s budget if no new budget has been approved, to the President of the University or designee. Within 14 days after the receipt of this budget, the President or designee shall either approve the Operating Budget, or shall return it to the Association legislative bodies with a statement of the modifications necessary for it to be approved. Any adjustments to that part of the operating budget funded by the Operating Budget Allowance shall require the approval of the President of the University or designee.

C. Other Budgets

The budgets of all Association agencies shall be prepared in accordance with procedures provided in the Association By-Laws, and shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies prior to the beginning of each fiscal year. All modifications to these budgets shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.

D. Capital Expenditures

All capital expenditures of the Association and its agencies shall be contained either in the Operating Budget of the Association or the budgets of such agencies, or in a separate Capital Budget. This Capital Budget, and all modifications to it, shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.

Section 2. Students’ Organizations Fund

A. General

1. The Students’ Organizations Fund (herein after referred to as “the Fund”) shall be the depository for the receiving, holding, disbursing, and accounting for the monies of the various organizations using the Fund.
2. The Financial Manager shall have the power to make rules and regulations governing the operation of the fund and the handling and protection of the monies deposited with it, including the powers to make a charge against any organization to cover the expense of handling that organization’s funds and to determine the disposition of funds deposited in inactive or unclaimed accounts. The Association legislative bodies shall retain the ultimate authority over all rules and regulations of the Fund.
3. The Financial Manager shall be responsible for the enforcement of the rules of the Fund.

B. Banking Requirement

1. Any student organization which receives funds from fees assessed upon the members of the Association shall be required to deposit all funds of that organization with the Students’ Organizations Fund and to comply with its rules and regulations. This requirement shall be independent of, and in addition to, any University regulations concerning the handling of student organizations’ monies.
2. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall have the authority to specify the conditions and terms under which, and the process by which, exemptions from this requirement may be made, and to provide for the enforcement of this requirement through appropriate sanctions. No exemption shall be approved for a period longer than one fiscal year, nor earlier than during the fiscal year preceding the one for which the exemption is valid. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall retain the ultimate authority over the approval, modification, and termination of all exemptions.
3. Any other student organization recognized by the University may deposit its monies with the Fund, provided that it complies with the Fund’s rules and regulations.

Section 3. Financial Manager

A. Duties

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of the Association By-Laws, the Financial Manager shall be directly responsible to the Association legislative bodies for the performance of the following duties:

1. As chief financial officer of the Association, the Financial Manager shall exercise control over the budget and finances of the Association and its agencies on a day-to-day basis, and shall report on their condition to the Association legislative bodies.
2. As comptroller of the Association, the Financial Manager shall ensure that all expenditures of funds from the Association, its agencies, or the Students’ Organizations Fund, are duly authorized and documented and within the purpose, functions, and budget of the specific agency or organization.
3. The Financial Manager shall supervise the disbursement and refunding of funds derived from the Association and Special Fees, and shall ensure that organizations receiving such funds remain in compliance with their authorized budgets.
4. The Financial Manager shall assume such additional responsibilities as are provided in this Constitution, the Association By-Laws, the Undergraduate Senate By-Laws, and the Graduate Student Council By-Laws, or by the Association legislative bodies.

B. Selection and Term of Office

1. The process for selection of the Financial Manager shall be specified in the Association By-Laws, provided that the Financial Manager must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Association legislative bodies before taking office.
2. The term of office of the Financial Manager shall be for one year and shall begin at a date specified in the Association By-Laws. The Association By-Laws may also specify a term limit.

C. Removal

The Financial Manager may be removed by a vote of 2/3 of the membership of each Association legislative body. The Financial Manager must be notified in writing of the intent to introduce such a motion not less than forty-eight hours prior to the opening of each meeting of an Association legislative body at which the motion will be considered, and must be given an opportunity to speak in opposition to the motion at each such meeting.

D. Association Staff

The Association Staff shall provide administrative and financial services for the Association, its agencies, the Students’ Organizations Fund, and student organizations designated by the Association legislative bodies. The Office shall function under the supervision of the Financial Manager. Secretarial and other staff members shall be employees of the University, and their employment shall be under the Financial Manager, who for these purposes shall function as a department head in the appropriate University administrative structure.

Section 4. General Provisions

A. Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Association and its agencies shall be specified in the By-Laws of the Association.

B. Annual Audit

The financial records of the Association, its agencies, and the Students’ Organizations Fund shall be reviewed annually by an independent outside auditor accepted by the Financial Manager.

C. Contracts

1. Any agreement or contract proposed to be entered into by the Association or any of its agencies shall be presented to the Financial Manager for prior approval and signature. The Financial Manager shall retain copies of all approved contracts. The Association, its agencies, and the Students’ Organizations Fund will not be held responsible for contracts not signed by the Financial Manager; such contracts shall be the personal responsibility of the persons signing them. The Association legislative bodies shall have the ultimate authority over the approval of all contracts.
2. No agent, officer, employee, or other person shall make any contract, agreement, promise, or undertaking in the name of or on behalf of the Association or its agencies, except pursuant to authority contained in this Constitution or otherwise granted by the Association legislative bodies.

D. Borrowing

The Association shall have the power to borrow money. The Association legislative bodies shall jointly have the ultimate authority over the approval of all borrowing.

Article VII: Popular Legislation

Section 1. Powers of the Membership of the Association

A. Initiative

1. Initiative is the power of the membership of the Association to enact any bill, resolution, order, or other original main motion within the power of an Association legislative body (referred to in this Article as “legislation”), including By-Law amendments, except for the certification of the results of any Association election. Subject to this exception, the initiative power shall include the power to modify or repeal any legislation previously approved by an Association legislative body.
2. A measure adopted by initiative may not be amended or repealed by an Association legislative body, except through a Referendum.

B. Referendum

Referendum is the power of the members of the Association to overturn any legislation approved by an Association legislative body, except that those types of legislation which are defined in this Constitution as not being subject to initiative shall also not be subject to referendum.

C. Recall

Recall is the power of the membership of the Association to remove from office the President or the Vice President of the Association, or any or all of the members of an Association legislative body (referred to in this Article as “officers” of the Association).

D. Calling of Elections

1. The Association shall have the power to call an election at any time.
2. General elections are those in which all members ofthe Association are eligible to vote.
3. Special elections are those in which only a well-defined subset of the Association is eligible to vote.
4. The Association Spring Quarter General Election is the particular general election which shall be held on two consecutive weekdays during the second,third, or fourth week of spring quarter.

Section 2. Placement on the Ballot and Timing of Elections

A. Initiative

An initiative measure shall be submitted to the members of the Association for their approval or rejection according to one of the following procedures:

1. For resolutions, “advisory referenda”, or other initiatives whose only purpose is to express an opinion, or to take such symbolic action as may be incidental to the expression of that opinion:
   1. The resolution may be placed on the ballot by the relevant Association legislative bodies.
   2. If a petition of 5 percent of a population of the Association, containing the text of the resolution, is submitted to the Elections Commission at least 21 days prior to the Association Spring Quarter General Election, or at least 14 days prior to any other previously called election involving that population, the Commission shall, unless it or either Association legislative body determines the petition not to be in good order within the limitations of this Constitution, place the initiative on the ballot for the specified population for the specified election. “Not in good order” shall include, but not be limited to, an inappropriate choice of population. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 5 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately.
2. For all other initiative measures:
   1. The initiative may be placed on the ballot by the relevant Association legislative bodies.
   2. If a petition containing the signatures of at least 10 percent of a population of the Association, containing the text of the initiative, is submitted to the Elections Commission, the Commission shall place the initiative measure on the ballot for the next election involving the specified population, unless whether the Commission or either Association legislative body determines the petition not to be in good order. “Not in good order” shall include, but not be limited to, an inappropriate choice of population. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 10 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately.

B. Referendum

1. If a petition of 10 percent of a population of the Association, stating the legislation of the corresponding Association legislative body on which the referendum is requested, is submitted to the Elections Commission within 21 days after that Association legislative body has enacted the legislation in question, not counting days between quarters, the Commission shall, after the petition was found to be valid, place the initiative measure on the ballot for the next election involving that population, so long as the petition is found to be in good order. Petitions covering then entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 15 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately.
2. Once a petition seeking a referendum on a piece of legislation enacted by an Association legislative body has been found to be valid, that piece of legislation shall be suspended pending the outcome of the referendum election. In particular, any funds budgeted or allocated by that Association legislative body which had not been expended or encumbered before the referendum qualified for the ballot shall be frozen pending the outcome of the election. However, any action taken by officers of the Association pursuant to an item of legislation approved by an Association legislative body after it was initially approved, and before a referendum had qualified for the ballot, shall continue to be valid.

C. Recall

1. Petitions: A petition seeking a recall election shall be submitted to the Elections Commission, as follows:
   1. A petition to recall the President or the Vice President shall not be valid unless it contains the signatures of at least 15 percent of the membership of the Association.
   2. A petition to recall an elected member of an Association legislative body shall not be valid unless it contains the signatures of at least 15 percent of the members of the population or district of the Association that was eligible to vote for that elected member.
2. Verification of Petitions
   1. The Elections Commission shall, if it determines the signatures on the petition to be authentic and sufficient in number, call and conduct a recall election on two consecutive days, not less than 10 nor more than 21 days after it has made its determination.
   2. If the Commission does not make a determination as to the authenticity of the signatures and their sufficiency in number within 7 days after the petitions have been submitted, its responsibilities devolve upon the President of the Association, or, in the case of a petition to recall the President or the Vice President of the Association, upon the relevant Association legislative body. The President of the Association (or the relevant Association legislative body, if the responsibility devolves upon it) must make its determination as to the authenticity of the signatures and their sufficiency in number within 5 days after such responsibility has devolved upon it from the Elections Commission. If the petitions are determined to be in order, the Elections Commission shall call and conduct a recall election on two consecutive days not less than 10 nor more than 21 days after the petitions were determined to be in order.
   3. The Constitutional Council shall have the power to investigate any fraud or wrongdoing in the process outlined in section 2(b) above. If such fraud is found, the Council may by a majority vote overturn any ruling on the validity of recall petitions.
   4. If a recall election against the President or the Vice President of the Association is successful, that person shall immediately lose her or his office.

D. Calling of Elections on Issues

1. An immediate election open to a population of the Association may be called by submission of petitions bearing the signatures of 15 percent of the members of that population to the Elections Commission. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 15 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately. The election shall be held not less than 7 nor more than 21 days after the Commission has found the petition to be valid. The Association legislative bodies may only find such a petition to be invalid due to an inappropriate choice of population. The Association legislative bodies may not delay such an election except as provided in section F(1) below.
2. Petitions bearing a call for elections may simultaneously bear initiatives, referenda, recalls, amendments to this Constitution. All such simultaneous legislation shall be placed on the ballot in the election, along with any other measures awaiting the approval of that population of the Association.
3. Such elections shall be held in accordance with the rules and regulations set down previously by the Association legislative bodies for an election open to that population of the Association.
4. The Elections Commission shall have the power to certify the results of such an election. Any questions about the validity of the election results shall be referred to the Constitutional Council which shall rule by majority vote on the election’s validity.

E. Calling of Association Legislative Body Elections

1. If petitions bearing the signatures of 20 percent of the members of a population of the Association are submitted to the Elections Commission calling for new elections for the corresponding Association legislative bodies, new elections for those Association legislative bodies shall be called immediately. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 20 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately. The election shall held not less than 7 nor more than 21 days after the Commission has found the petition to be valid. The Constitutional Council shall rule by majority vote on any questions about the validity of the petitions. The affected Association legislative bodies shall not have the power to postpone the call for elections except as provided in section F(1) below.
2. Such elections shall not preclude or alter the timing of the Association Spring Quarter General Election.
3. Such elections shall be held in accordance with the rules and regulations set down previously by the Senate for the Association Spring Quarter General Election.
4. The Elections Commission shall have the power to certify the results of such an election. Any questions about the validity of the election results shall be referred to the Constitutional Council, which shall rule by majority vote on the election’s validity.
5. Immediately upon certification of the election results, the relevant Association legislative bodies shall disband and the newly elected members of these Association legislative bodies shall constitute the new relevant Association legislative bodies in accordance with all rules and regulations set down in Article II of this Constitution. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall then within 14 days hold their first meeting.

F. General

1. An election on any petition seeking an election under the provisions of this Article which was submitted within 21 days of the end of the quarter may, at the discretion of the relevant Association legislative bodies, be postponed for vote until not more than 21 days after the opening of the following quarter, provided that any such postponement in the spring quarter shall be until the following fall quarter.
2. The relevant Association legislative bodies may, by a two-thirds vote, schedule an earlier election for any item which has qualified for the ballot by petition.
3. No such election conducted under the provisions of this Article shall be conducted except during the fall, winter or spring quarters.
4. The Association legislative bodies shall have the authority to establish regulations defining the proper form for petitions and governing the circulation thereof. All such regulations shall take effect 90 days after they are approved by the relevant Association legislative bodies.

Section 3. Election Procedure

A. Notice

The text of each resolution or other initiative measure, and of each item of Association legislative body legislation which is the subject of a referendum, shall be made available by the Elections Commission to all members of the relevant population of the Association at least seven days prior to the ratification election on the amendment, either through publication in the largest general circulation student newspaper and/or mass distribution of flyers or through inclusion in an election handbook distributed to members of the Association. If the latter option is chosen, the title of the proposed initiative or referendum measure, the dates of the election on that measure, and a statement explaining how to obtain a copy of the text of the measure, shall be published in the Stanford student newspaper at least seven days prior to the election. Public notice of a recall election, including the names of the officer(s) whose recall has been sought and the office(s) they hold, shall be given in the largest general circulation student newspaper and/or mass distribution of flyers at least 7 days prior to the election.

B. Voting

1. Initiative: Each member of the relevant population of the Association may cast one vote in favor of or against each initiative measure. An initiative measure shall be adopted upon approval by a majority of the members of the relevant population of the Association voting on that measure, and provided that those in favor of the measure constitute at least 15 percent of the relevant population. For an initiative measure open to the entire membership of the Association, a majority of both the graduate and undergraduate populations must separately approve the measure, and those in favor within each population must constitute at least 15 percent of their respective populations.
2. Referendum: Each member of the relevant population of the Association may cast one vote in favor of or against each item of Association legislative body legislation for which a referendum was sought. The action of the Association legislative body shall be rejected with the concurrence of a majority of those members of the relevant population of the Association voting on the referendum, and provided that those voting against the action constitute at least 15 percent of the relevant population. Otherwise, the action shall be approved. For those referenda open to the entire membership of the Association, a majority of both the graduate and undergraduate populations must separately concur in rejecting the action of the relevant Association legislative bodies, and those concurring within each population must constitute at least 15 percent of their respective populations. Otherwise, the action shall be approved.
3. Recall: Each member of the Association may cast one vote either in favor of or against the recall of each officer on whose recall they are eligible to vote, as follows:
   1. All members of the Association may vote on the recall of the President or the Vice President.
   2. In recall elections for elected members of an Association legislative body, only members of the district the member of the relevant Association legislative bodies in question represents may vote.
4. Recall, continued: The officer or officers shall be removed from office with the concurrence of 2/3 of the members of the Association voting on her/his recall, as determined by the Elections Commission, provided that those concurring constitute at least 15% of those eligible to vote for removal. If the entire membership of the Association was eligible to vote on a given removal, then approval shall require the concurrence of 2/3 of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately, with those voting in favor of removal within each population constituting at least 15 percent of their respective populations. Any office which becomes vacant as a result of a recall election shall be filled according to the relevant sections of this Constitution.

Article VIII: Amendment

Section 1. Submission of Amendments for Ratification

A. General

Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted to a population of the Association for ratification upon approval 2/3 of the membership of each Association legislative body, provided that written notice containing the text of the proposed amendment, the population of the Association that would be eligible to vote on the amendment, and indicating the parts of the Constitution affected thereby had been given at the previous regular meeting, or upon petition by members of the Association, as provided herein. All elections for the ratification of amendments to this Constitution shall be held during the fall, winter or spring quarter. In the event of a typographical error in the Constitution, the Association legislative bodies shall have power to correct the error without a vote of the population of the Association, subject to approval of the Board of Trustees or the President of the University.

B. Petitions

1. Any member of the Association wishing to propose an amendment to the Constitution shall submit the text of that amendment, along with a statement of which population would be eligible to vote on the proposed amendment, to the Chairs of the relevant legislative bodies.
2. The Chairs of the relevant legislative bodies shall then give notice of that amendment at the next regular meeting of the relevant legislative bodies,which begins at least 24 hours after the proposed amendment was received.
3. If either Association legislative body has not placed the proposed amendment on the ballot for the specified election by the end of the regular meeting of that body following the meeting at which the notice was given, then petitions proposing that amendment may be circulated by members of the Association to the corresponding population of the Association. All such petitions shall contain the text of the proposed amendment, the population that would be eligible to vote on the proposed amendment, and the parts of the Constitution to be affected thereby.
   1. If such a petition containing the signatures of at least 5 percent of the members of the Association is submitted to the Elections Commission at least 21 days prior to the Association Spring Quarter General Election, or at least 14 days prior to any other general election, the Commission shall place the amendment on the ballot in the election for which the petition was submitted, provided that it finds the petition to be valid. Grounds for the Elections Commission ruling the petition invalid shall include, but not be limited to, an inappropriate choice of population. Either Association legislative body may rule such a petition invalid, but only on the grounds that the choice of population is inappropriate. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 5 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately.
   2. If such a petition containing the signatures of at least 15 percent of the members of the Association is submitted to the Elections Commission, the Commission shall, within 48 hours after the petition was found to be valid, call an election, involving the relevant population of the Association, on the amendment except as provided below. Grounds for the Elections Commission ruling a petition invalid shall include, but not be limited to, an inappropriate choice of population. Either Association legislative body may rule such a petition invalid, but only on the grounds that the choice of population is inappropriate. Petitions covering the entire membership of the Association must bear the signatures of 15 percent of the graduate and undergraduate populations separately. The Association legislative bodies may not subsequently amend the call of the election. The election on the amendment shall be held not less than 7 nor more than 21 days after the petitions are submitted to the Elections Commission. However, if they are received within 28 days of the end of the quarter, the Elections Commission may hold the election within the first 14 days of the following quarter. For the purposes of this section, the quarter following the spring quarter shall be the fall quarter.
   3. The Association legislative bodies may, by a vote of 2/3 of each membership, schedule an earlier election for any proposed amendment which has qualified for the ballot.
   4. The Association legislative bodies and the Elections Commission shall share the authority to establish regulations defining the proper form for petitions and governing the circulation thereof.

C. Notice

Each proposed amendment, together with the parts of the Constitution affected thereby, shall be made available to all members of the Association at least seven days prior to the ratification election on the amendment, either through publication in the largest general circulation student newspaper or mass distribution of flyers, or through inclusion in an election handbook distributed to members of the Association. If the latter option is chosen, the title of the proposed amendment, the dates of the ratification election, and a statement explaining how to obtain a copy of the text of the amendment, shall be published in the largest general circulation student newspaper and/or mass distribution of flyers at least seven days prior to the election.

Section 2. Ratification

A proposed amendment shall be adopted upon its approval by 2/3 of the members of the population the Association voting on the amendment (provided that those voting in favor constitute at least 15 percent of that population of the Association) and its acceptance by the Board of Trustees. The population of the Association eligible to vote on the proposed amendment shall be the population listed in the statement of the proposed amendment. For those proposed amendments on which the entire membership of the Association is eligible to vote, approval shall require 2/3 of both the graduate and undergraduate populations voting to be in favor, and that within each population, those in favor constitute at least 15 percent of their respective populations. The Board of Trustees may designate the President of the University to act on their behalf in accepting such amendments.

Section 3. Unconditional Acceptance

Should the Board of Trustees (or the University President, if so designated) accept the proposed amendment without condition, it shall take effect immediately, unless the amendment specifies a later effective date.

Section 4. Acceptance with Conditions

Should the Board of Trustees (or the University President, if so designated) accept the proposed amendment subject to conditions or interpretations,then the amendment shall take effect only upon the approval of those conditions or interpretations by a vote of 2/3 of the membership of each Association legislative body. The amendment shall take effect immediately upon such approval, unless the amendment specifies a later effective date. [All approved letters of acceptance specifying conditions or interpretations of the Board of Trustees (or the University President, if so designated) shall be included in this Constitution.]

Section 5. Finality of Acceptance

Once an amendment has taken effect, any additional conditions or interpretations by the Board of Trustees (or the University President, if so designated) may only be imposed by amendment to this Constitution as outlined in this article.

Section 6. Integrity of This Document

[The official text of this Constitution shall consist of its original text and letters of acceptance, appended with its amendments and associated letters of acceptance, numbered sequentially. All amendments that are placed on the ballot shall be numbered sequentially without regard to year.]

Article IX: Disposition of Assets In the Event of Dissolution of the Association

Section 1. Property of the Association

Should this Association cease to exist, all its property shall be held in trust by the University for a period of not less than five years. If any general student association be formed and recognized within a five-year period by a majority vote of registered students at the University during an election in which over 15 percent of said students voted, then all such property so held shall remain and belong to this successor organization. If no such general student organization succeeds to the present Association within the specified five years, unqualified title to all the property of the Association shall then be vested in the University.

Section 2. Property in the Custody of the Association

Should this Association cease to exist, property in the custody of the Association, including monies deposited in the Students’ Organizations Fund, shall, if the owner organization continues in existence, be held by the University for the owner organization upon the same terms and conditions as the Association held such property.