(Updated 07/17/08)
1.0 DIRECTIVE.
All monies held by the Associated Students of The University of Montana (ASUM) are ultimately State funds and, thus, under the control of the Board of Regents of Higher Education. These funds are collected by The University of Montana. Provided they are legal and conform to all State and Board of Regents' policies, all allocations and expenditures of these funds are controlled by the ASUM. In addition to these legal and policy requirements, the ASUM is hereby adopting a fiscal policy regarding procurement, distribution, and expenditure of the ASUM Activity Fee.
2.0 STATEMENT OF SCOPE
The ASUM shall fund only those activities whose primary beneficiary is the student population at The University of Montana. No ASUM funds may be used for alcohol, awards, gifts, or private investment. Any individual participating in or utilizing any ASUM funded program must pay the ASUM Activity Fee and/or another specifically designated ASUM assessment.
3.0 STUDENT GROUP RIGHTS
3.1 Student groups that deposit monies with the ASUM that are not allocated from the ASUM have the right to withdraw and use the funds for any purpose as long as they are in compliance with University policy, Montana Law and Federal Law.
3.2 Should a student group's ASUM recognition lapse, the active membership of the group will retain the right to withdraw non-ASUM allocated funds for group activities as specified in Item 3.1 above.
3.3 The ASUM will, to the best of its abilities, expedite student group transactions.
3.4 Student groups have the right to request funds from ASUM without fear of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, creed, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, campus agency, political affiliation, or outside funding source.
4.0 DEFINITIONS
4.1 "Academic Week" refers to a week in which there are four or more days of instruction.
4.2 "Accountant" refers to the ASUM Accountant.
4.3 "Board" refers to the Board on Budget and Finance.
4.4 "Business Manager" refers to the ASUM Business Manager.
4.5 "Office Manager" refers to the ASUM Office Manager.
4.6 "Organization" means agency, member group, or organization.
4.7 "President" refers to the ASUM President.
4.8 "Senate" refers to the ASUM Senate.
4.9 "Senator" refers to a member of the ASUM Senate.
4.10 "S.T.I.P." refers to State Term Investment Pool.
4.11 "University" refers to The University of Montana.
4.12 "Vice President" refers to the ASUM Vice President.
5.0 REFUNDS OF THE ASUM ACTIVITY FEE.
5.1 Pursuant to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and the decision rendered by the California Supreme Court in Smith v Regents of the University of California, ASUM may not compel a person to contribute money to support political, religious or ideological causes.
5.2 Therein, all activity fee paying students of The University may request a pro-rata refund of any activity fee monies allocated to (a) support organizations whose sole purpose is political, ideological or religious or (b) organizations or agencies for events or activities that are political, ideological or religious.
5.2.1 The Business Manager shall. upon the receipt of a request for a refund . determine the percentage of the activity fee affected. This percentage of the activity fee shall be the refund.
5.3 Refund monies will be removed from the Zero Based Carryover Fund.
5.4 Students must come before the Business Manager and fill out an ASUM Activity Fee Request Form to receive a refund of funds allocated to organizations or agencies who have activities or events that demonstrate political, religious or ideological beliefs.
6.0 ASUM RECOGNITION.
6.1 No organization shall be eligible for ASUM funding unless it has obtained recognition from the Board on Member Organizations and approval from the Senate by majority vote.
6.2 Any organization which conducts an event, activity, or program funded with monies originating in whole or in part with the ASUM shall provide on any program, poster, or other advertisement or promotional material, a credit referring to the partial or total funding by the ASUM. Examples of such credit shall include at least one of, but are not limited to, the following:
6.2.1 Presented by (organization), an organizational member of the Associated Students of the University of Montana.
6.2.2 An official ASUM insignia authorized by the Senate.
6.3 Any member organization not in compliance with Item 6.1 may face disciplinary action as stated in Item 21.0 of the Fiscal Policy, unless this requirement has been previously waived by the Senate.
6.4 Any member organization not in compliance with Item 18.3 may be denied recognition by the Board on Member Organizations or the ASUM Senate. Organizations denied recognition for this reason shall not be eligible for ASUM funding until they have complied with The University of Montana's Policy regarding off-campus accounts, gained recognition from the Board on Member Organizations and approval from the ASUM Senate.
7.0 LIABILITY.
As provided by Board of Regents' policy, the ASUM's liability for the actions of individuals or organizations is limited to those actions conducted directly with approved ASUM funds.
8.0 LEGISLATION.
8.1 A quorum for the Board meetings shall be defined as a minimum of four members, one of whom may be the Business Manager.
8.2 The Executives and the Senate shall submit all proposals of any financial nature to the Board for its recommendation, unless provided for otherwise in the Fiscal Policy.
8.3 All decisions regarding financial affairs must be passed by simple majority of the Board. Voting down or amending a motion of the Board's shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate.
8.4 When introducing recommended legislation, the Board has seconded motion status. The Business Manager may introduce matters of a financial nature to the Senate without being required to wait one week for the legislation to become "Unfinished Business" as described in Robert's Rules of Order and the ASUM House Rules.
9.0 STUDENT APPROPRIATIONS.
9.1 The ASUM shall allocate and monitor the use of the ASUM Activity Fee.
9.1.1 Pursuant to the First Amendment of The Constitution of the United States of America and the decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court in Rosenberger vs. the University of Virginia, funding will not be denied to organizations that are religious in nature or promote religion on the basis of the views, beliefs and opinions they promote or support.
9.1.2 ASUM organizations shall not directly contribute to a campaign or political organization with ASUM-allocated funds.
9.1.3 Notwithstanding any other provision of these Student Activity Fee funding guidelines, no student news, information, opinion, entertainment, academic or media communication shall solely be deemed ineligible for funding because of the ideas or viewpoints expressed or advocated by the recognized organization.
9.2 Budgeting Time Period. Budgeting for the next fiscal year shall be accomplished during the first seven academic weeks of the Spring Semester.
9.3 Recognition for Budgeting. Recognition status shall have been determined by the Board on Member Organizations before an organization may apply for any funds from the ASUM as designated in ITEM 6.1.
9.4 Budget Request Form and Budgeting Packet. The Business Manager shall prepare a budget request form and a comprehensive packet explaining the budget process including a time line. The budget request form and packet shall be made available to all organizations by the third academic day of the Spring Semester in the ASUM office. The form and packet shall be available until Student Forum as designated in ITEM 9.6.
9.5 Allocation Figures. During the second academic week of the Spring Semester, the Business Manager and the Accountant shall determine the total allocation figures for the upcoming fiscal year. This shall be done by determining the actual activity fee income for the prior fiscal year and budgeting 100% of that amount as well as the balance in the Unused Allocation account. The Administrative Assessment and Special Allocation budgets must be included in this amount. These figures shall be forwarded to the President, the Board, and the Senate. Upon receipt of allocation figures, the Board shall develop preliminary Categorical Funding Percentages.
9.6 Student Forum. Upon receiving the total appropriation figures, the Board shall hold a minimum of one (1) publicized student forum, which shall be organized by and presided over by the Business Manager. A forum shall be held during the second academic week of the Spring Semester. The Business Manager shall explain the budgeting procedure to participants and answer questions. The Board shall present the proposed Categorical Funding Percentages at the Student Forum. Categorical Funding Percentages refer to the percentage of the Activity Fee budget allocated to each funding category.
9.7 Funding Categories. The Board shall categorize every ASUM recognized organization into one of the following Funding Categories:
9.7.1 Interest Organizations. Groups that provide education and activities centered around a specific idea or area of interest.
9.7.2 Academic/Honors Organizations. Groups that provide enhancement in a field or study by providing a specific service or support to students involved in that field or area of study.
9.7.3 ASUM Administrative Agencies.
9.7.4 Student Service Organizations. Groups that provide service to the campus or community and may develop skills used when performing the service.
9.7.5 Sports Organization Union. Groups that provide recreation primarily for students at the University. The SOU shall submit one budget for all clubs being so recognized, that budget and budgets of each subsidiary organization shall be submitted to the ASUM Business Manager one week prior to the executive recommendation.
9.7.6 Student Support Organizations. Groups that provide support for minority students on campus and/or ethnic or cultural celebration or education thereof.
9.7.7 Student Programs. University programs that involve students under the direct supervision of University staff. They may be funded and/or housed in part by a University department.
9.7.8 Music Organization Union. The MOU will be composed of all ASUM-recognized music groups. The MOU shall submit one budget for all clubs being so recognized and that budget - along with budgets of each subsidiary organization - shall be submitted to the ASUM Business manager one week prior to the executive recommendation.
9.7.9 Senate Discretionary.
9.8 Budget Request Form Due Date and Approval. Budget Request Forms shall be due at the end of the third academic week of the Spring Semester. The Business Manager shall inform organizations of the due date for Budget Request Forms. No Budget Request Form shall be accepted after that date. Budget Request Forms shall be submitted to the Business Manager so that each one can be approved solely on the basis of accuracy and adherence to the Fiscal Policy. If the Business Manager does not approve a budget request form due to its apparent deviation from the Fiscal Policy, the request form shall be taken to the Board. A majority vote of the Board shall be required to approve any Budget Request Form not initially approved by the Business Manager.
9.9 Executive Recommendation. The President, in consultation with the Vice President and Business Manager, shall propose a budget. The Senate Discretionary shall remain at a minimum level of two percent of the total allocation amount throughout the Executive Recommendation. Should the President choose an executive recommendation below the amount provided, the excess amount must be placed in the Senate Discretionary category. The President shall submit copies of the Executive Recommendation and an explanation thereof by Wednesday of the fourth academic week to the Senators. A copy shall be made available in the ASUM office for organizations to review.
9.10 Formal Lobbying. A minimum of three (3) formal lobbying sessions shall be scheduled in advance for the fifth academic week. Each organization shall schedule a ten (10) minute period to explain their budget request. The Business Manager shall schedule these appointments on a first come, first serve basis; however, each organization shall have the opportunity to schedule an appointment. Formal lobbying for any organization shall be limited to the scheduled appointment for that organization. Senate lobbying sessions shall be publicized during the fourth academic week. All Senators and Executives shall attend the formal lobbying sessions. Any Senator or Executive unable to attend must have prior written approval from the Vice-President. Unexcused absence from a lobbying session shall be considered equivalent to an unexcused absence from a Senate meeting.
9.11 Informal Lobbying. Not less than one (1) hour of informal lobbying shall occur after each night of Formal Lobbying.
9.12 The Order of Funding Categories. The order of discussion on categories for Final Budgeting shall be selected by lottery during the Business Manager's report no less than one (1) week prior to Final Budgeting.
9.13 Senate Call may occur by the Tuesday of the seventh academic week, if requested by a majority of Senators. At this time, Senators can request organizations to appear and justify their budgets and ask questions of their functions. Organizations cannot appear without being officially called by a Senator. Senate Call procedures shall be as follows:
9.13.1 Each Senator may call a maximum of two member organizations.
9.13.2 Each Senator has the right to the floor when his or her organization has been called.
9.13.3 Each organization called may answer a question from any Senator, but no lobbying shall be allowed.
9.13.4 No member organization may be called more than once during the Senate Call except by a two-thirds majority vote on a privileged motion, which shall not be debatable.
9.14 Final Budgeting. Final Budgeting shall occur by the weekend of the seventh academic week. The Senate may, by a simple majority vote, schedule Final Budgeting for more than one (1) day. If this option is chosen, specific categories shall be scheduled for budgeting each day not less than one week prior to the first budgeting meeting.
9.14.1 Beginning Final Budgeting. Final Budgeting shall come under the Business Manager's Report.
- The order of the categories shall be written prominently at the front of the meeting area.
- During the Final Budgeting Session, the Vice-President shall preside over the meeting. The Accountant and the Office Manager shall be present to record transactions of the meeting.
- The total amount in the budgeted Senate Discretionary Account shall be prominently written in plain view of the meeting area. All motions to add or subtract funds from an organization shall be made into or out of this fund. No motion shall be made by the Senate to directly move any funds from one organization's proposed budget to that of another. Two motions must be made: First, to place funds from an organization's budget into the Senate Discretionary Account, and, second, to remove funds from the Discretionary Account into the proposed budget of an organization.
- The Sports Organization Union and the Music Union shall be funded as a category, without regard to specific member organizations.
- An unexcused absence by a Senator from final budgeting is automatic grounds for impeachment.
9.14.2 (NOTE: In ITEM 9.14.2 "Executives" excludes the Chair.) Amendments to the Executive Recommendation. Final Budgeting shall not be closed until the first round has been completed.
- Discussion of categories shall follow the order selected by lottery as mentioned in 9.12.
- Once a category has been opened, by a simple majority vote of the Senate, in the first round of discussion, every organization in that category will be recognized, in an order established by the Chair, for the proposal of amendments to the Executive Recommendation. The proposal of amendments shall be open to the Senators and Executives. During the first round of budgeting, budget line-items may be decreased by a simple majority vote and may only be increased by a four-fifths majority vote of the Senate.
- Categorical Funding Percentages will not be adhered to during final budgeting.
- All subsequent rotations shall follow the same procedure.
- A category shall remain open for discussion until the end of the first rotation. The motion to end discussion on a category shall be passed by a two-thirds majority vote. Once the first round of discussion on a category has been closed, it shall not be reopened until all other categories have been closed for the first round of discussion.
- If any funds remain in the Senate Discretionary Account after all the categories have been closed for the first round of discussion, a second lottery shall select the order of categories to be reopened for a second round of discussion. During the second round, budgets of organizations can only be increased. During the second round, budgets of organizations can only be decreased with a four-fifths majority vote of the Senate.
- Once no funds remain in the Senate Discretionary Account and all categories have been closed for the first round of discussion, Final Budgeting shall be concluded by approval of the Executive Recommendation with amendments by a two-thirds majority vote.
9.14.3 Proposed organizational budgets for an upcoming fiscal year shall go into effect when the Executive Recommendation is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.
