LEGISLATION
Senate Changes name of the Pack Provisions Program
In the last meeting of the Senate of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, the senators breezed through several pieces of legislation, the first being a bill to amend the title of the ASUN Pack Provisions Program.
The bill would remove the word “program” from the University’s food pantry. The legislation said that the word “program” makes the organization seem only temporary when it is a permanent service.
The legislation passed with no discussion and unanimous support.
Senate Amends Rules of the Senate
The next piece of legislation would amend the Rules of the Senate. The amendments included adding duties to the description of the Committee on Academics and the Committee on University Affairs.
The legislation states that since the Association has grown so much in the recent years, the duties of the Committee on University Affairs have also grown. By adding some duties to the Committee on Academics, it would give both committees a more equal workload.
The legislation passed with unanimous support.
Senate Passes New Club Funding Manual
Director of Clubs and Organizations, Richard Long gave a lengthy presentation to the senators on Wednesday evening of his amended Club Support Funding Manual and asked them to approve it.
The Club Support Funding Policy Manual outlines the criteria in which clubs are reviewed to receive various levels of funding from ASUN.
The Department of Clubs and Organizations examined the manual and proposed various changes that they said needed to be amended immediately. The department changed the manual’s structure to combat confusion and overlap between separate financial tiers of funding.
Senators praised the department for their extensive work on the new manual and passed the legislation with unanimous support.
Senate to support legislation in the Nevada Legislature
The last piece of legislation the senators heard during their last meeting was a controversial bill that would support legislation going through the Nevada Legislature this session. The bill would provide tax deductions to businesses that provide paid internships to university students.
The legislation said businesses should be incentivized through tax deductions to provide internships to students in the Nevada System of Higher Education.
The Pack Internship Grant Program provides over 50 paid internships to students and 900 students applied for internships through the program in the 2016-2017 academic year. The legislation said the numbers indicated a greater need for paid internship opportunities at UNR.
Senators raise several concerns about the legislation, including the important role taxes play in the community. Senators questioned the fact that increasing tax deductions would impact resources the community relies on.
After a lengthy discussion, the senate passed the last piece of legislation of the 84th session.
