UISG votes to uphold veto on bylaw changes
UISG voted to uphold Pres. Hira Mustafa’s veto on proposed legislation that would change the standard for the number of senators required to pass legislation.
UISG Hira Mustafa looks on during discussion of a potential senate override to her veto on funding for the First Generation Summit at the Iowa Memorial Union on Tuesday, February 19, 2019.
April 2, 2019
University of Iowa Student Government voted to uphold a veto on S.S.B 40, which proposed changes UISG bylaws regarding the number of votes required to pass a bill. The bill required 33 votes to pass and received 31, with 7 senators voting nay.
The legislation had passed unanimously before President Hira Mustafa’s veto.
The main contentious stipulation of the bill was a change that altered the definition of the 3/4ths majority of seated senators to a 3/4ths majority of senators present.
Mustafa vetoed the bill, as the standards for number of senators required to form a majority was not in line with procedures in Iowa House and Senate and U.S House and Senate, according to an email received by *The Daily Iowan*.
RELATED: UISG president vetoes First-Generation summit legislation
Sen. Joseph Verry, an author of the legislation, refuted this point, saying that student leaders should not be subject to the same regulations as State legislatures.
“Yes- we recognize that this is in conflict to what the state of Iowa and the U.S government do, but we recognize that those individuals have salaries, “ Verry said. “We are student leaders – this is something I’ve always said. If we can in these organizations, we have to support student leaders being students first.”
Senator Collin Kepner spoke in support of the veto.
“While I understand that it’s not always practical for all 50 senators to be present at a senate meeting because of other commitments, I believe our bylaws should be crafted with this underlying notion that senators are here at every meeting, which is a notion consistent with for reviewing senators who do not meet our current standards,” Kepner said.
