Most of the time was dedicated to a bill on executive stipends that did not pass.
The bill was previously introduced Sept. 29, but the body tabled it for future consideration at that meeting.
In the updated version, the bill would set the total amount of money allocated for executive stipends at no more than 15 percent of IUSA’s operating budget for the year and prevent the expenditure of money on benefits exclusively for executives.
Congressman Andrew Guenther, the primary author of the bill, said stipends should slide because if stipends are set and the IUSA budget is reduced, as it was this year, then less money can go toward programming.
“What I designed this to do is establish a sliding scale for budget so that when we have a larger budget we have more money to give out ... when we have less money, that number goes down,” Guenther said.
The main issue brought up in debate of the bill was executives work, by their own estimates, 20 or more hours a week, and cannot commit themselves to another job. Therefore, executives need to know what their stipend will be before they choose to run, according to Chief of Staff Sara Zaheer.
If stipends are not set and instead slide according to the budget, that dissuade potential candidates who need to know how much money they will have, Zaheer said.
Representatives took a variety of issues with the bill and suggested some other solutions during discussion.
“I am disappointed that Congress did not pass my executive stipend amendment,” Guenther said in an email. “I look forward to working with students and staff to find a way to fairly compensate our executives while reserving our budget for policies and programs.”
Most of the passed bills dealt with internal changes for IUSA.
One bill changed quorum requirements so only a simple majority of active seats need to be filled for the Congress to vote on legislation, instead of a simple majority of all seats in Congress.
Another bill officially severed ties between IUSA and funding board. Funding board is now an entity separate from IUSA.
Bills that used to expire after the end of the legislative session now continue into perpetuity unless otherwise noted in the bill, as designated by a resolution passed.
Recruitment responsibilities were relegated to the committee for oversight and reform in one bill so more seats in Congress can be filled, Maria Halloran, head of the committee for oversight and reform, said.
“We really want to increase engagement and membership in the group so we can fill quorum more often,” Halloran said.
The other two passed bills dealing with external affairs. One bill established official ties with the newly elected local government, and the other officially honored Daniel Boyes, an IU student, for intervening in the attack on a Muslim business owner Oct. 17.
The final bill resolved IUSA will cut ties with any organization that discriminates against students on the basis of gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity or another similar criteria.
Guenther, the bill’s author, said the bill was a response to a bill tabled during the last voting meeting that denounced specifically anti-Semitic actions.
