RESIGNATIONS

Associate Justice resigns

Associate Justice Taylor Stichauf handed in her resignation letter. She is graduating at the end of the semester.

REPORTS

BLF programming starts

President Noah Teixeira met with the director of the Joe Crowley Student Union, Chuck Price, to talk about the possible expansion of the JCSU and the roles and steps needed to be taken by the senate in order for it to happen. Teixeira said the expansion would probably be funded by student fees. Price talked to Teixeira about bringing new vendors to JCSU and creating more areas for student activities, including a 24-hour study hall.

Director of Programming Mia Kinel said that she has started planning for the Biggest Little Festival. She also mentioned that she hoped tickets would be available by June 1. The artists are still in negotiation with ASUN.

Director of Legislative Affairs Veronica Charles reported to the senate that the department is watching and supporting five different bills in the Nevada Legislature. These include tuition reimbursement for children of people killed in the line of duty and reimbursement and consolidation for student loans.

Sen. Derek Bussman from the College of Liberal Arts reported as committee chair for the Committee on University Affairs. He announced that his committee is working on a resolution to expand disability resources with Speaker Hannah Jackson.

APPOINTMENTS

Director of Legislative Affairs, Attorney General confirmed

According to President Teixeira, he nominated Spencer Shultz for the director of Legislative Affairs because when they met, he knew Shultz was an “impressive individual” because he commanded attention in every room he was in and knew what to say and how to say it. Shultz was president at TMCC until he transferred to UNR. He previously worked with Director Charles. He wants to create a strong foundation for Legislative Affairs so they can register more voters and push more bills in the Nevada legislature. He also wants to create a place on campus where students can speak for 2 to 5 minutes, similar to at the University of California, Berkley, and other campuses. He was nominated unanimously by the senate.

President Teixeira also nominated Cameron Harris for Attorney General because he was the Attorney General last session and worked hard to make sure everyone was following the Statutes of the Associated Students. He plans to make the senator election code easier to understand by making the language simpler. He said there are more things that are in the SAS that need to be revised to avoid discrepancies. He was nominated unanimously by the senate.

LEGISLATION

ASUN budget approved

Senate Bill 85 was submitted by the Committee of Budget and Finance, led by Sen. Justin Kuykendall, and was passed by the senate to approve the budget for fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. The budget raised wages of ASUN senators due to a rise in the cost of living per credit, which is what the senators’ pay is based off. There is an increase in the wages for Center for Student Engagement professional staff. This is required by the state. The budget was depleted by over $16,000.

Madeline Purdue can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @madelinepurdue.