In their last meeting of the academic year, outgoing SGA legislators amended the body’s bylaws to increase transparency on next year’s election ballot and ban non-reusable plastic water bottles from legislative meetings — a measure that could get a representative impeached for violating the rule.

Through the Student Government Association’s annual omnibus bill — legislation that serves to reshape the body’s guiding rules — the organization made several additional changes to how it will operate next year, including combining committees and retaining the transfer legislator position.

Next year’s incoming legislators will have the opportunity to overturn the changes made in Wednesday night’s seven-hour meeting. Speaker of the Legislature Kevin Ford said this process should be preserved to ensure new legislators can tailor it to their goals.

“We shouldn’t take away next year’s right to have that conversation,” Ford said.

n Altering the referendum

A major change, which mandates that next year’s MaryPIRG referendum include the breakdown of salary funding allocated to the group in the last two years, comes on the heels of one of body’s most contentious decisions.

Every two years, students vote on the SGA elections ballot whether they want to continue to fund the work of MaryPIRG, an on-campus lobbying organization, because the mandated student activities fee is its primary money source funding two non-student salary positions.

But after the SGA allocated more appeals money to MaryPIRG than any other student groups last week, several student leaders questioned how well students understood what they were voting for on the referendum. In response to these concerns, legislators moved last night to provide dollar amounts of MaryPIRG’s funding on the upcoming ballot.

“It’s asking them to put in information that really is relevant,” said engineering legislator Carson McDonal, who proposed the change. “I really don’t see how this information couldn’t be provided. … Since it’s students’ activities fees, the students have a full right to know what is going on.”

n Banning plastic water bottles

The SGA also voted to formally add a prohibition against non-reusable plastic water bottles at legislative meetings into its bylaws, meaning that if legislators are caught using these bottles, they could be expelled from the organization. The body passed a bill banning non-reusable water bottles from SGA functions last semester, a move freshman legislator Rachel Burke, who led the charge, described as precedent.

But other SGA members, including Senior Vice President Brandon Cuffy, said adding it to the by-laws seemed extreme.

“Think about the implications of this bill,” Cuffy said. “If you bring a water bottle into this room, you could be referred to [the constitutions and by-laws committee]. You could be impeached.”

Outgoing SGA President Steve Glickman also argued against making the measure so concrete.

“I am more in favor of educating the legislature rather than mandating the legislature,” Glickman said.

n Merging committees

The organization reinstated a student affairs committee, which will serve as a combination of this year’s residential affairs, campus affairs and off-campus affairs committees. It was split into separate committees at the beginning of the year, but because these committees served many of the same roles, legislators said it was more efficient to combine them.

“I think it’s superfluous, and frankly I don’t think it’s a good idea for these things to remain separate,” said campus affairs committee Chairman and Leonardtown legislator Andre Beasley.

Computer, mathematics and natural sciences legislator Kevin Roshdieh, who chaired the residential affairs committee, said it was often unclear which committee should deal with certain departmental issues that often overlapped.

“There’s way too much gray area as far as what falls under the jurisdiction of campus affairs and what falls under residential,” Roshdieh said.

n Retaining a transfer legislator

At the beginning of the meeting, Glickman and Ford proposed axing the transfer legislator position. But current transfer legislator Jen Choudry argued that transfer students have needs that are often ignored by the body as a whole — a point the rest of the legislators ultimately agreed upon. The position was kept.

“I think that a transfer legislator can provide insight that no other legislator can,” Choudry said.

Other representatives recognized the experience transfer legislators have.

“These groups deserve and need representatives. … There are things transfer students have to face their first semester here that are things I didn’t have to face,” Vice President of Finance Rob Mutschler said. “They need their own representative, their own voice in their body.”

But some legislators argued transfer students are also represented by their academic and residential legislators, giving them an equal voice in the SGA regardless of whether a separate transfer legislator is included.

The SGA also added responsibilities to the programming and traditions committee, including planning Wild and Crazy Terps Field Day, Byrd Beach and the SGA Homecoming float. Additionally, residential legislators will now be required to attend Residence Hall Association and hall council meetings.

meehan at umdbk dot com