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Name, Identification, and Location

1.2    The principal office shall be located on the Southern Polytechnic State University Campus located at 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, Georgia 30060-2896.

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Article II

Definition and Purposes

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Article III

Composition

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Article IV

Officers

4.1   President: The President shall be the chief officer of the SGA.

4.1.1  The President shall call meetings of the Student Council.

4.1.2  The President shall nominate, for appointment by the Student Council, the Judiciary Chairman and Judges, the Chairmen and members of the Internal Affairs and Public Relations Committees, and the Chairmen and members of all special committees. The President shall also appoint two at-large students to the Student Life committee.

4.1.3  The President shall have the authority to veto any action passed by the Student Council within seven days of passage. Any action vetoed shall become the first order of business at the next regularly scheduled meeting and may be overridden by a three-fourths vote of the Student council.

4.1.4  Before the president shall assume office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the Student Government Association of the Southern Polytechnic State University, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of The Student Government Association of the Southern Polytechnic State University."

4.2   Vice-President: The Vice-President shall be the Chairman of the Student Council. The Vice-President shall perform any other duties as directed by the President.

4.2.1   The Vice-President may nominate, for appointment by the Student Council, the SGA Parliamentarian, and the Sergeant-at-arms. The Vice-President shall nominate for appointment by the Student Council the Chairmen and the members of the Budget and Finance Committee and Election Committee.

4.2.1.1  If no nomination is made for Parliamentarian or Sergeant-at-arms, the vice President shall assume these responsibilities.

4.2.2    The Vice President shall open the meetings at the appointed time by calling the meeting to order and shall announce, in proper sequence, the business that comes before the Student Council.

4.2.3    The Vice-President shall recognize members who are entitled to the floor, state and put to vote all questions that legitimately come before the Student Council, and announce the results of each vote. If a motion is made that is not in order, he shall rule it out of order.

4.2.4    The Vice-President shall enforce the rules relating to debate and decorum within the Student Council.

4.2.5    The Vice-President shall authenticate by signature, when necessary, all acts, orders, and proceedings of the Student Council.

4.3   Secretary/Treasurer

4.3.1    The Secretary/Treasurer shall administer the SGA Operations Fund with the approval of the Student Council.

4.3.2    The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of fees due by the members for any reason and shall use proper accounting procedures for the handling of all of the SGA funds and expenditures.

4.3.3    The Secretary/Treasurer shall report on the financial condition of the SGA at all meetings and at other times as directed by the President.

4.3.4    The Secretary/Treasurer shall serve as Ex-officio member of the Finance Committee.

4.3.5    The Secretary/Treasurer shall record, preserve, and keep available to the Student Council all minutes, bylaws, charters, bills, resolutions, attendance rolls, and other permanent records of the SGA. The Secretary/Treasurer shall notify officers and committee members of their election or appointments, furnish committees with whatever documents are required for the performance of their duties, and have on hand a list of all existing committees and their members.

4.3.5.1  The Secretary shall submit minutes containing a list of all members in attendance, time, duration, place of meeting, and a complete report of all subjects dealt with at that meeting to the SGA Student Council one (1) week prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting.

4.3.6    The Secretary/Treasurer shall notify the membership of all meetings. Prior to each meeting, the Secretary/Treasurer shall prepare an agenda for use by the Chairman. The Secretary/Treasurer shall conduct the general correspondence of the Student council.

4.3.7    The Secretary/Treasurer shall, in the absence of the chairman, call the meeting to order and a Chairman Pro Tem shall be immediately elected.

4.3.8    The Secretary/Treasurer shall have the authority to make editorial changes not affecting substantive requirements, and to re-arrange, re-title and re-number the various Articles, Sections, and Clauses of the constitution as may become necessary because of amendments thereto or for ease of reference, provided that no substantial objection is taken to any such change by any member and as approved by the Student Council.

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Article V

Student Council

5.1      Composition

5.1.1  Officers: The officers of the SGA shall serve as the officers of the Student Council.

5.1.2  Student Council Members: There shall be ten Student Council members. They are to be elected by the student body of the Southern Polytechnic State University.

5.1.3  Faculty/Staff Advisor: The Faculty/Staff Advisor shall be a Southern Polytechnic State University staff member that acts in a consulting capacity on matters not defined by this Constitution. The advisor has no vote.

5.2   Qualifications for Office: Any student enrolled in the Southern Polytechnic State University in good standing shall be eligible to run for any position of the SGA. A student in good standing shall be defined as any student who is not on probation and maintains a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 minimum for Officers or 2.0 minimum for Student council Members.

5.3   Term of Office: All Officers and Council Members shall take office on the first day of the administrative year following election and shall serve for a term on one year or until their successors assume office.

5.4   Elections: Elections for the office of President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and all Student Council Members shall be held the seventh full week of spring Term annually. Each student shall be allowed one vote for each position. All elections for positions in the SGA shall be decided through a plurality vote. In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be held the week following the regular election.

5.4.1  Students who desire to run for a position on the Student Council shall complete and submit to the Election Committee, an application for office.

5.5   Re-election: Any Officer or Student Council member shall be eligible for re-election to the same office.

5.6   Vacancies

5.6.1  Officers: If the office of President is vacated for any reason, said office shall be filled upon approval of the Student council by the Vice-President for the balance of the term. If the office of Vice-President or Secretary/Treasurer is vacated for any reason, said office shall be filled by a Student Council Member through a three-fourths vote of the Student Council.

5.6.2  Student Council Members: If a Student council chair is vacated for any reason, the President shall nominate a student in good standing for appointment to said chair pending a three-fourths vote of the Student Council.

5.7   Stipends: All officers, Student council Members, and standing committee chairmen shall, at the end of each term, receive for services, a compensation, which shall be prorated for the period for which elected or appointed and shall not receive any other compensation from the SGA. Stipends shall be denied to any Officer, Student Council Member, or standing committee chairman who leaves office for any reason before the end of the term. Stipends may be reduced for failure to perform outlined duties of the various positions.

5.8   Attendance

5.8.1  Attendance: All Officers and Student Council Members shall be required to attend all Student Council meetings. The maximum number of unexcused absences per term is one (1). An absence shall also be defined as tardiness in excess of one-third the duration of the meeting.

5.8.2  Excused Absences: Any member that shall miss a regularly scheduled meeting due to academic requirement, such as class trips, or in performing SGA business shall have an excused absence. Other absences may be judged to be excused at the discretion of the Internal Affairs Committee when provided with written documentation of the absence within one week from the missed meeting. An excused absence shall count as being present for the purposes of impeachment.

5.9   Impeachment: Any Member of the SGA (including Officers, Student Council Members, the Judiciary Cabinet chairman and the Judiciary Cabinet members) may be removed from office on Impeachment for and Conviction of any violation of this Constitution or Student Conduct Code. Impeachment shall be defined as the permanent loss of membership in any branch of the SGA. A confidential investigation of charges against any member shall be conducted by the Internal Affairs Committee of the Student council. The Student Council shall afford "due process" to anyone affected by this section before a removal vote is taken.

1. Written notice, including complete reasoning of proposed action.
2. The opportunity to submit written rebuttal;
3. The right to a hearing, including cross-examination of accusers, before the Student Council. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern in the case of impeachment.
    

5.10   Resignation: Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Student Council.

5.11   Duties of Student Counsel Members

5.11.1 Parliamentarian: The Parliamentarian is a consultant who advises the Chairman of the Student council on matters of parliamentary procedure. During a meeting the parliamentarian is restricted to giving advice to the Chairman and to the members when requested.

5.11.1.1  The Parliamentarian shall be assigned a seat next to the Chairman so as to be convenient for consultation.

5.11.2    Sergeant-at-Arms: The Sergeant-at-arms shall assist in preserving order as the Chairman may direct and shall handle certain physical arrangements in the hall as well as being responsible for seeing that the furnishings are in proper order for the meeting.

5.11.3  Committee Chairs: All committees, except for the Judiciary committee, shall be chaired by Student Council Members.

5.11.3.1  Committee Chairpersons shall be responsible for submitting a written report to the SGA Student Council about each meeting of their committee. The committee meeting report must contain a list of committee members in attendance, time, duration, place of meeting, and a complete report of all subjects dealt with at the meeting.

5.11.3.2   Committees shall meet as deemed necessary by the Committee Chair.

5.11.3.3   Committee Chairpersons shall be responsible for porting the date, time, and place of the committee meetings at least three (3) days in advance of the meeting on the SGA bulletin board.

5.12   Special and Standing Committees

The Student Council shall have four standing committees that shall not be dissolved unless by Legislative order, subject to a three-fourths majority vote of the Student Council. These shall be the Internal Affairs committee, the Budget and finance Committee, the election Committee, and the Public Relations Committee. Any student in good standing may serve on a committee.

5.12.1  Internal Affairs Committee: The Internal Affairs Committee shall conduct annual reviews of all officially recognized organizations, the SGA, the SGA Constitution, and shall perform other tasks as directed by the Student Council.

5.12.1.1  All student organizations must be officially recognized in accordance with procedures set forth in the Southern Polytechnic State University Student Life Regulations.

5.12.2  Budget and Finance Committee: The Budget and Finance committee shall be headed up by a Budget and finance chairperson whose purpose shall be to receive all requests for funds from the Student Development fund, review the requests, and recommend an acceptance, denial or partial acceptance of the request to the SGA. It will be the decision of the SGA to appropriate funds.

5.12.2.1    During the spring Term, the Budget and finance Committee will present a completed budget to the SGA for approval no later than the eighth (8^th) week of said term.

5.12.2.2    The Budget and finance Committee must discuss every student development request in a Budget and Finance Committee meeting.

5.12.2.3    All student organizations will submit to the Budget and Finance Committee their budget request form for the next academic year no later than the fourth (4^th) week of Spring Term. Any budgets submitted after this time will not be considered.

5.12.2.4    The Budget and Finance Committee will not review any budget requests (including both yearly and student development fund requests) for an organization not having an approved constitution on file with the Internal Affairs Committee of the SGA by the due date set forth according to 5.12.2.3.

5.12.2.5    The Budget and Finance Committee may remove funds appropriated for an organization that has been determined inactive, or has been placed on probation, prior to, during, or any time after any fund request following a formal meeting with the faculty advisor of said organization.

5.12.2.5.1 An organization shall be determined inactive by three-fourths vote of the SGA.

5.12.3  Election Committee: The Election Committee shall consist of not less than five members.

5.12.3.1   The Election Committee shall determine the exact time, place, and date of all elections. One week before Winter Term Exams, the Election Committee shall publicize information concerning all positions open, qualifications of all positions, the locations of applications, the date, time, and location of the balloting, the campaign period, and if applicable, the date, time, and location of any debates. The Election Committee shall maintain publicity throughout the campaign and election periods.

5.12.3.2    The Election Committee shall verify all candidates’ qualifications and insure that no member of the election Committee is a candidate. The Election Committee shall insure and verify that no member shall attempt to hold more than one position in the Student Council.

5.12.3.3    The Election Committee shall require that all candidates be enrolled in the Southern Polytechnic State University.

5.12.3.4    The Election Committee shall conduct the elections, count the ballots, and only after the voting is complete, prepare Teller’s reports, for submission to the Dean of Students, listing, by position, the number of votes each candidate received. The Election Committee shall officially publish the election results in the next available issue of the school newspaper.

5.12.3.5    The Election Committee shall review and investigate any written protest of the election results forwarded to the Election Committee Chairman within three school days of the official publication of the election results and submit their findings to the Judiciary Cabinet.

5.13   Public Relations Committee: The Public Relations Committee shall be headed by a Public Relations Chairperson whose purpose shall be to handle any publicity of SGA meetings and SGA-sponsored events that the SGA Council shall deem necessary.

5.14   Special Committees: The Student Council shall appoint other committees as necessary that are not in conflict with this Constitution.

5.14   Honors and Awards: The Student council may establish, declare officially, and bestow certain honors, awards, and other forms of non-monetary recognition  to individuals or groups as they may so designate.

5.15      Meetings

5.15.1  Notice of Meetings: Written notice of the meetings of the Student Council shall be posted in conspicuous locations on all bulletin boards allowable on the Southern Polytechnic campus and shall be published in the university newspaper. Meetings shall be held at 12 noon, bi-weekly, and as necessary, beginning the second week of each term.

5.15.2  Special Meetings: Special meetings of the Student Council shall be called by the President at any time or upon receipt of a written request by 50% of Student Council Members

5.15.2.1 Stipends will be prorated through any additional meetings of the Student Council other than regularly scheduled meetings

5.16   Voting

5.16.1  Voting at Meetings: At any Student Council meeting, the Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, and each Student Council Member shall have only one vote. The President shall only have a vote in the case of deadlock. Proxy and absentee voting shall not be allowed. Unless otherwise specifically provided by this Constitution, a quorum vote of the Student Council Members shall govern.

5.16.2  Quorum of Members: A quorum shall consist of a majority (51%) of the Student Council Members

5.17    General Support Fund

1. A request for funds form to be filled out and submitted prior to any regularly scheduled meeting.
2. A Presentation of the proposed expenditure before a quorum of the Student Council.
3. A quorum vote of the Student Council in favor of the expenditure.

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Article VI

Judiciary Cabinet

6.1   Judicial Chairman

6.1.1   The Judiciary Chairman shall have the power to decide, pronounce a judgment, and carry it into effect between persons or parties who bring a case for decision and shall have the power to appoint investigators and auditors to provide the Judiciary Cabinet with appropriate instruments required for the performance of its duties whether the Judiciary Cabinet sits in law or equity.

6.1.2   The Judiciary Chairman shall make rules governing the ability of the Judiciary Cabinet’s process in the absence of statutory authorizations or prohibitions and shall have inherent equitable powers over the Judiciary Cabinet to prevent abuse, oppression, and injustice, and to protect its own jurisdiction and officers in custody of this Constitution.

6.1.3   The Judiciary chairman shall have the authority to make editorial changes in the records of the Judiciary Cabinet, provided that no substantial objection is taken to any such change by any member and as approved by the Student Council.

6.2     Qualifications for Office: Any student enrolled in the Southern Polytechnic State University in good standing shall be eligible for nomination by the President and appointment by the Student Council to a position of Judicial Cabinet Chairman or Judge. A student in good standing shall be defined as any student who is not in violation of the Student Conduct Code and maintains a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0.

6.3   Attendance: Any Judicial member absent form two regularly scheduled meetings of the Judiciary Cabinet, in any given term, shall be disqualified from further service and may be impeached.

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Administrative Periods

7.2     Fiscal year: The fiscal year shall start on July 1 and end June 30.

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Article VIII

Rules of  Order

8.1     All appointments shall be subject to a three-fourths majority vote of the Student Council

8.2     All members of the SGA shall be bound by the provisions set forth in this Constitution.

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Dissolution

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Article X

Amendments

10.2   Approval: Amendments to, or repeal of this Constitution shall be approved upon a three-fourths majority vote of the Student Council. Any changes to this Constitution shall be documented by the Secretary/Treasurer.

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