The Student Government Association's Judicial Council voted unanimously today that the Notification of Non-Compliance the Legislative, Judicial and Rules Committee issued against the Activity and Service Fee Budget Committee was unconstitutional.
According to the notification, issued Jan. 19, the ASF Committee failed "to comply with Article VI, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Student Body of the University of Central Florida and its requirement that Graduate Students shall receive funds from the Activity and Service Fees." It also states that the "Graduate Student Assembly fees shall be allocated to the Graduate Student Assembly by the Activity and Service Fee Committee at the start of the annual budget process…"
The Constitution of the Student Body of UCF was amended in September of last semester with Constitutional Amendment 43-04 (Constitutional Revision Regarding the Graduate Student Assembly), which added Article VI: The Graduate Student Assembly to the constitution.
Assistant Chief Justice Dalya Bordman, who was the first to speak after the council reviewed the documents, cited Title IX, Chapter 901: Authority to Issue Notification of Non-Compliance, as the reason she did not believe the LJR Committee had the right or jurisdiction to issue the notification.
According to the statute, "The Legislative Judicial and Rules (LJR) Committee shall have jurisdiction over all statutes and Student Government legislative actions, except for the allocation of Activity and Service Fee Funds, the Finance Code, and the Election Statutes."
On the day the notification was issued, LJR Chair Nick Simons said one of the thoughts expressed in his committee was that LJR does have jurisdiction over constitution because of the way it's worded in statutes, which doesn't specifically include the constitution.
Comptroller and ASF Budget Committee Chair Josh Miller said he was not surprised by the council's ruling.
"The LJR Committee was wrong, it says so in statutes. They have no jurisdiction over the ASF Budget Committee because they don't have jurisdiction over the constitution," Miller said. "I'm surprised that LJR issued it in the first place."
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