Article VI: Finances

1. After considering the advice of the Financial Manager, the relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt and may amend such policies governing the budgetary and financial practices of the Association as are provided for in these By-Laws, and may adopt and amend such additional policies as may appear necessary for the sound governance of the Association’s finances. These policies shall be known as the “Financial Policies” of the Association.
2. The procedure for the adoption or amendment of all such Financial Policies shall be specified in the By-Laws of the relevant Association legislative bodies.
3. Each year during the Autumn Quarter, the Financial Manager shall publish the texts of all such Financial Policies then in effect, and shall distribute copies to the relevant Association legislative bodies.

1. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt and may amend such policies ensuring that funds derived from fees levied upon the members of the Association are expended and accounted for properly as are provided for in these By-Laws, and may adopt and amend such additional policies as may appear necessary to
2. The procedure for the adoption or amendment of all such Funding Policies shall be specified in the By-Laws of the relevant Association legislative bodies.
3. Each year during the Autumn Quarter, the Financial Manager shall publish the texts of all such Funding Policies then in effect, shall distribute copies to the relevant Association legislative bodies. The Financial Manager shall also make copies available to the treasurers of all student organizations receiving Special Fees or funding from a General Fee upon their request.

The relevant Association legislative bodies may not establish any Funding or Financial Policies which unduly restrict public access to the financial records concerning expenditure of ASSU-allocated money, whether that be by an ASSU organization, a Voluntary Student Organization receiving ASSU funding, or an individual exercising ASSU spending authority.

1. Every department or agency of the Association belongs to a sector that designates its primary operation. Other entities may also be classified as belonging to a sector.
2. The Governance sector shall consist of:
   1. the Association Office;
   2. the US Senate Associates;
   3. the President and Vice President of the Association;
   4. the Elections Commission;
   5. the Financial Office;
   6. the Nominations Commission
   7. the Association legislative bodies;
   8. those departments so specified by Acts of the Association legislative bodies.
3. The Service Sector shall consist of the Service Organization of the Association as specified in these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, and the GSC By-Laws.
4. The Service Affiliate sector shall consist of the myriad undergraduate Class Presidents and those agencies specified in these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, or by Acts of the Association legislative bodies which are associated with the Association.
5. The Business sector shall consist of Stanford Student Enterprises.
6. The Business Affiliate sector shall consist of all subsidiaries and partnerships specified in these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, and the GSC By-Laws.

1. For the rest of this section, the Financial Manager Selection Committee shall be referred to as the FMSC.
2. The current Financial Manager shall be responsible for advertising the position of Financial Manager in a manner designed to maximize the number of qualified applicants, and shall serve as Chair of the FMSC.
3. The FMSC shall nominate an individual to serve as Associate Financial Manager during Winter Quarter. This nomination shall be submitted to the Association legislative bodies for approval at each regularly scheduled meeting held after the FMSC has made its nomination.
4. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall consider the nomination in closed session. The identity of the person nominated shall not be made public until after both Association legislative bodies have approved the nomination.
5. The new Financial Manager shall take office at the close of business on the Friday prior to Commencement.
6. A Financial Manager has the option to re-apply for an additional one-year term in an accelerated re-application process.
7. The FMSC shall only nominate a Financial Manager for a second term in case of an extraordinary circumstance.
8. For the purposes of this subsection, an extraordinary circumstance shall be defined as one of the following:
   1. An Association emergency necessitating the continuance in office of an experienced Financial Manager.
   2. highly skilled Financial Manager who brings significant strength and growth in performance as compared to previous Financial Managers.
   3. The FMSC shall have the power to establish criteria for Subsection E.8.b. Such criteria may include, but are not limited to, significant strength in financial and/or organizational performance.
   4. The FMSC shall prepare a report detailing the criteria for performance and stating how the Financial Manager has met the criteria. This report shall be presented to both Association legislative bodies at the same time that the nomination of the Financial Manager is submitted.
9. No Financial Manager shall serve more than two terms
   1. If a Financial Manager has been appointed to serve at least six months of a term to which someone else was originally appointed, then that term shall be considered a one-year term for the purposes of this subsection.
   2. If a Financial Manager has been appointed to less than six months of a term to which someone else was originally appointed, then that term shall not be considered a one-year term for the purposes of this subsection.

1. The Financial Manager shall be assisted in her/his duties by the Assistant Financial Managers as needed.
2. For the rest of this section, the Assistant Financial Managers’ Selection Committee shall be referred to as the AFMSC.
3. Assistant Financial Managers shall be nominated in the Winter Quarter by the AFMSC, which shall consist of:
   1. the Financial Manager (who shall chair the AFMSC);
   2. the Associate Financial Manager;
   3. the President of the Association;
   4. one Undergraduate Senator (as an ex-officio member);
   5. one GSC designee (as an ex-officio member)
4. A quorum of the AFMSC shall consist of 3 voting members of the AFMSC.
5. All decisions of the AFMSC, including initial screening of applicants, shall be by a quorum of the AFMSC.
6. No decision of the AFMSC shall be valid unless approved by 3 members of the AFMSC.
7. The Association legislative bodies shall confirm all Assistant Financial Mangers. The requirements for doing so shall be listed in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies.
8. The removal of Assistant Financial Managers shall require the approval of the Association legislative bodies. The requirements for doing so shall be listed in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies. All such removals shall be subject to the Usual Guidelines for the Untimely Removal of an Appointed Officer.

The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

1. No funds shall be expended, encumbered, or otherwise disbursed by the Association or the Students’ Organizations Fund (except for funds withdrawn from the accounts of student organizations by their treasurers) other than in accordance with the procedures for the authorization of expenditures or investments contained in these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, and the GSC By-Laws.
2. All funds expended by the Association shall be used for the basic operating expenses of the Association, or for programs initiated by and under the control of the Association and its agencies.
3. No funds shall be expended as salaries or wages by any Association department or agency, except as specifically provided in the Association operating budget or the budget of that agency, or pursuant to the authority contained in these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, and the GSC By-Laws.

1. The Association shall formulate its request for the Operating Budget allowance from the University for the following fiscal year, and shall submit that request to the University. This request shall be formulated by a committee consisting of the Financial Manager (who shall chair the committee), the President of the Association, the Chairs of the Association legislative bodies, the US Treasurer, and the GSC Financial Officer.
2. By the third week of Winter Quarter, the Financial Manager shall prepare and present to the US Treasurer and the GSC Financial Officer for their approval estimates of the Indirect Cost Recovery charges to be made to each Association agency for the following fiscal year. This information shall then be supplied to the appropriate agencies for use in preparing their budget requests.
3. By the third week of Spring Quarter, the Financial Manager shall in consultation with the President of the Association, the US Treasurer, and the GSC Financial Officer prepare and issue a timetable for the preparation of the Operating Budget for the following fiscal year. This timetable shall meet all of the requirements contained in these By-Laws.
4. The Operating Budget shall be drafted by a committee consisting of the Financial Manager (who shall serve as chair), the Associate Financial Manager, the Chairs of the Association legislative bodies, the President of the Association, the US Treasurer, and the GSC Financial Officer. The incoming President Elect, US Chair Elect, and GSC Chair Elect shall be ex-officio members of this committee. This proposed budget shall be submitted for review and modification to the US Treasurer before the dissolution of the outgoing US during Spring Quarter, and to the GSC Financial Officer before her/his term of office expires.
5. The draft Operating Budget shall include appropriate budget detail for each income and expense line item, including but not limited to the line items for salaries (except for the salaries paid to the University employees in the Association Office), the expenses of the Association legislative bodies, Presidency, and Financial Manager, and the Nominations and Elections Commissions. This budget detail shall be submitted to the Association legislative bodies for approval along with the Operating Budget and, once approved, shall be equally as binding as the Operating Budget itself. However, it shall not form part of the budget submitted to the President of the University for approval.
6. The US shall approve the proposed Operating Budget by the method specified in the US By-Laws.
7. The GSC shall approve the proposed Operating Budget by the method specified in the GSC By-Laws.
8. The Operating Budget approved by the Association legislative bodies shall be transmitted to the President of the University (or designee) for approval within fourteen days after it has been approved by the Association legislative bodies.

Once the Operating Budget has been approved, the Financial Manager shall be authorized to approve specific expenditures of funds in accordance with it, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, and to the following requirements:

1. The Financial Manager shall report to the US Treasurer and the GSC Financial Officer on the actual expenditures from each Operating Budget line item according to the following schedule:
   1. no later than the second week of each quarter, on the actual expenditures as of the end of the previous quarter;
   2. whenever the actual expenditures for a given detailed line item (or a line item, where no detail was approved) have exceeded the budgeted amount, or appear likely to exceed the budgeted amount before the next regularly scheduled report.
2. The Financial Manager shall report to the US Treasurer and the GSC Financial Officer on any changes in circumstances which would cause total income to be less than budgeted, or total expenses to be greater than budgeted, as soon as such changes come to her/his attention, and shall suggest such corrective action as may be required for the fiscal soundness of the Association.
3. Upon the request of the Financial Manager, the relevant Association legislative bodies may approve modifications to the Operating Budget, where such modifications are in support of the program initially authorized by the Operating Budget approved by the Association legislative bodies. The requirements for doing so shall be listed in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies. Such modifications shall become effective 48 hours after approval, unless the President of the Association notifies the Financial Manager and the Chairs of the relevant Association legislative bodies in writing of her/his objections within that period of time.
4. The relevant Association legislative bodies may modify the corresponding parts of the Operating Budget. The requirements for doing so shall be listed in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies.
5. The Financial Manager shall not approve any expenditure which would result in a detailed line-item (or a line-item, where no detail was approved) being overspent by more than either $100 or 15% of the authorized amount, whichever is greater; nor any overspending of any salary or discretionary line-items; nor any overspending resulting from changes in the nature of the programs on which funds are being expended; unless and until an appropriate budget modification has been approved by the relevant Association legislative bodies, or their designee(s).
6. Any changes to any budget line item for salaries in the Association Operating Budget or the budget of any Association agency, and any payment of bonuses to any employee of the Association (except for incentive payments included in the regular compensation of Managers of Business Projects), shall require the approval of the relevant Association legislative bodies, or their designee(s) before becoming effective.
7. No salary or compensation shall be paid to any individual performing the duties of an office or position for which confirmation of the relevant Association legislative bodies is required, until that person has been confirmed by the relevant Association legislative bodies. All budget detail for line items involving salaries shall specify the time period for which the salary is paid and the salary per individual. Individuals shall be paid according to this detail for the time they actually perform the responsibilities of their office
8. Except for the budget line items for the operating expenses of the Presidency, the Association legislative bodies, and the Nominations and Elections Commissions, the Financial Manager shall be directly responsible for authorizing all specific expenditures of funds from the Association Operating Budget. The Financial Manager may delegate this authority, but shall be responsible to the Association legislative bodies for all expenditures made under such delegated authority.
9. Funds from the Contingency line of the Operating Budget shall be available for reallocation by the relevant Association legislative bodies to other lines in the budget. No funds shall be directly expended from any Budget Reserve or Contingency line of the Operating Budget.

The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt an appropriate Financial Policy specifying the degree to which income from various sources shall be considered expendable. This policy shall provide for such reinvestment of income as is required for the long-term financial soundness of the Association.

The Association shall make a charge against the funds of each Business and Service project or affiliate, and against the Fee system, to recover the indirect costs which they impose upon the Operating Budget of the Association. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt an appropriate Financial Policy providing for the calculation of such charges. No expenses in the part of the Operating Budget which are funded by the Operating Budget Allowance provided by the University shall be included in the calculation of such charge.

The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt an appropriate Financial Policy providing for the smoothing of expected income from Association Business Projects and other sources of income, and for such contributions to reserves as are required to insulate the basic operating expenditures of the Association from short-term fluctuations in income.

1. Approval of the placement of a Special Fee request on the ballot, or approval of an allocation of funds from a General Fee, shall constitute approval of the budget of an Association Service Project for the appropriate year. However, this approval shall be null and void if the Special Fee request is defeated.
2. The budgets of the Undergraduate Program and Undergraduate Publications Boards shall be approved as provided in the US By-Laws.
3. For Service Projects not receiving budgetary approval under the foregoing provisions, the relevant Association legislative bodies shall approve a budget during Spring Quarter for the following fiscal year.
4. None of the unrestricted funds of the Association shall be expended by any Association agency that is classified by these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, or the GSC By-Laws as belonging to the Service Sector, except as provided in the Association Operating Budget, nor shall any agency so classified be allowed to incur a deficit.

All capital expenditures of the Association and its agencies (including the Business Projects) shall be contained in the Capital Budget, along with the sources of funds required to finance those expenditures, unless they are either (1) contained in the Operating Budget of the Association, or (2) contained in the budget of a Business Project and fully financed by the current operating revenues of that Project, or (3) a capital expenditure by the GSC to further graduate programming, in which case it may be derived from the Graduate Student General Fee. The Capital Budget shall be approved by the relevant Association legislative bodies during Spring Quarter for the following fiscal year. If no Capital Budget is approved by the relevant Association legislative bodies by the beginning of the fiscal year, the Capital Budget for that year shall be zero; however, this shall not prevent the relevant Association legislative bodies from approving a subsequent modification to it. The requirements for doing so shall be listed in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies.

The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt, upon the advice of the Financial Manager, an appropriate Financial Policy specifying the range of financial assets in which the Association’s funds, and the funds of student organizations on deposit with the Students’ Organizations Fund, may be invested, and the distribution of funds across such assets. Within the limitations of this policy, the Financial Manager shall be responsible for the investment of all such funds, provided that:

1. The Financial Manager may at her/his discretion extend short-term loans to student organizations, providing that appropriate guarantees are made for their repayment. The maximum amount that may be loaned to any one organization, and the maximum amount of such loans that may be outstanding at any one time, shall be specified in a Financial Policy. Such loans shall bear an appropriate rate of interest that reflects the opportunity cost and high risk involved, as specified in this Financial Policy.
2. The relevant Association legislative bodies may authorize specific investments to be made in other activities, including projects or programs of the Association and its agencies, and corporations and partnerships in which the Association is an investor, on an individual basis. The requirements for making such authorizations shall be in the respective By-Laws of the Association legislative bodies.
3. The expenditure of funds on the purchase of capital equipment as provided in the Operating or Capital Budgets of the Association or its agencies, as authorized by the relevant Association legislative bodies, shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.

Within the limitations of these By-Laws and the appropriate Financial Policies, the Financial Manager shall have the authority to establish and close deposit accounts, to withdraw funds from such accounts, and to purchase and sell financial instruments, in the name of the Association. The Financial Manager may delegate this authority, but shall continue to be responsible to the relevant Association legislative bodies for its exercise. The Financial Manager shall report to the relevant Association legislative bodies (or their designee(s)) each year during the Autumn Quarter on all such delegations in effect, and shall report any changes in such delegations on a timely basis.

The Financial Manager shall report to the Association legislative bodies (or their designee(s)) on the investments of the Association on a quarterly basis.

All borrowing by the Association must be approved in advance by the relevant Association legislative bodies, except for normal short-term trade credit extended by vendors.

The Financial Manager shall be authorized to approve contracts and agreements, provided that the contract or agreement will cease to be in force no later than the end of the current fiscal year, or, for a contract or agreement made after June 15 of a fiscal year, no later than the end of the following fiscal year. The Financial Manager shall report to the Association legislative bodies (or their designee(s)) on any contract or agreement approved under the authority of this section at the first meeting after the contract or agreement was approved. All other contracts and agreements shall require the approval of the relevant Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.

Approval of borrowing, and approval of contracts and agreements requiring action by the relevant Association legislative bodies, shall normally be considered by their designee(s) before being submitted to the relevant Association legislative bodies.

The rules and regulations governing the SOF shall be those published in the Treasurer’s Handbook or otherwise established and promulgated by the Financial Manager, provided that they are consistent with the Constitution, these By-Laws, the US By- Laws, the GSC By-Laws, and any Financial Policies approved by the relevant Association legislative bodies.

The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt, upon the advice of the Financial Manager, an appropriate Financial Policy specifying the types of accounts available to 2009-04-14-JointBylaws.doc 34 student organizations through the SOF, as well as the terms and the rate of interest for each type of account.

The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt an appropriate Funding Policy specifying the terms and conditions under which, and the process by which, a student organization receiving funds from a General or Special Fee may receive an exemption from the Constitutional requirement that it deposit all of its fund with the SOF. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall adopt an appropriate Financial Policy specifying the terms and conditions under which, and the process by which, a student organization not receiving funds from a General or Special Fee may receive Association endorsement for an exemption from the University requirement that it deposit all of its fund with the SOF.

1. Umbrella Groups
   1. Groups of Voluntary Student Organizations (henceforth referred to as VSOs)shall be recognized as Umbrella groups upon the approval of the relevant Association legislative bodies. The requirements for such approval shall be specified in the relevant By-Laws.
   2. Umbrella Group Organization
      1. Each Umbrella group shall, at the time of its application, identify one VSO that shall assume fiscal responsibility for the entire group, which shall be known as the principal organization.
      2. All member VSOs, including the principal, shall be known as constituent members.
      3. This certification shall last for a period of one year, corresponding to the annual funding cycle.
      4. By entering into an Umbrella group, every constituent member other than the principal agrees to forfeit its right to place a Special Fee on the ballot for the funding cycle for which the certification is valid.
      5. The principal may disband its Umbrella group at any time provided that the Umbrella group is not at that time receiving any allocation from a Special or General Fee. Disbanding shall make all pending allocations null and void.
   3. All rules that apply to VSOs shall apply to all constituent members of Umbrella groups, except as stated otherwise.
2. No organization receiving funds from a General or Special Fee may loan, grant, or otherwise distribute any of its restricted funds to another organization, with the following exemptions, as well as the exceptions listed in the US By-Laws and the GSC By-Laws:
   1. The Club Sports Council may distribute funds to the various clubs belonging to the Club Sports program. Any organization receiving funds from the Club Sports Council shall not be eligible for General or Special Fee funding from any other source.
   2. The principal of an Umbrella group may fund constituent groups via monies received from a Special or General Fee, but may not transfer such funds, in accordance with the approved budgets.
3. Organizations receiving funds from a General or Special Fee may co-sponsor events with other organizations, provided that all co-sponsoring organizations shall have actual involvement in the planning and implementation of the co-sponsored event. Except as specified elsewhere, organizations and publications may not be co- sponsored.
4. No organization may receive funds from both a Special Fee and a General Fee from the same population of the Association during the same fiscal year. For the purposes of this provision, organizations receiving funds from a Special Fee levied on the Association population shall be considered to have received a Special Fee from both the graduate and undergraduate populations.
5. Non-Association organizations which are eligible to apply for a Special Fee or funds from a General Fee may not receive any unrestricted funds from the Association Operating Budget, except in the form of loans.
6. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall approve Schedules for the Collection, Disbursement, and Refunds, of the General and Special Fees for the following fiscal year no later than the final meeting of each outgoing Association legislative body before it dissolves during Spring Quarter.
7. At the time that it approves these Schedules, the relevant Association legislative bodies shall set the amounts of the following surcharges, and approve line-item budgets for their expenditure where appropriate:
   1. Graduate Refund Cost and Undergraduate Refund Cost surcharges — shall cover the direct and indirect costs of providing refunds of the General and Special Fees for the relevant populations. This surcharge shall be calculated independently for the Graduate and Undergraduate populations. They shall be held in a Graduate Student Refund Cost surcharge account, a Graduate Student Administrative Cost surcharge account, an Undergraduate Refund Cost surcharge account and an Undergraduate Administrative Cost surcharge account.
   2. Rounding surcharge — shall cover any excess of the amount to be refunded per student for a given Fee (as provided in the Refund Schedule) over the amount to be collected per student for that Fee (as provided in the Collection Schedule).
   3. Election Cost surcharge — shall reimburse the Association Operating Budget for an appropriate fraction of the budgeted cost of Association elections, as provided by these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, the Special Charge of the Elections Commission, and the Policies of the Elections Commission, including interest from the time the election costs are incurred until the time the surcharge funds are received.
   4. Advance Disbursement surcharge — shall reimburse the Association for the opportunity cost of making available General and Special Fee funds to student organizations in advance of the receipt of those funds from the University.
   5. Administrative Cost surcharge — shall cover the direct and indirect costs incurred in the processes of the approval and disbursement of the General and Special Fees, and in enforcing compliance by the recipients of such funds with their authorized budgets.
   6. Buffer Recharge Surcharge — in the event that the buffer fund of either undergraduate or graduate population reaches an unsafe level as determined by the Financial Manager in consultation with the Executive Committee the relevant legislative bodies may levy a charge on their respective populations to replenish the buffer fund, with a 2/3-majority approval. This charge can only be approved for one year at a time.
8. At the end of the fiscal year, any balance in the Graduate and Undergraduate Refund Costs, Graduate and Undergraduate Rounding, and Graduate and Undergraduate Administrative Cost surcharge accounts shall be debited or credited to the relevant population’s Buffer Fund.
9. The Disbursement Schedule shall provide that each student organization receiving a Special Fee shall receive 1/3 of the net amount of that Fee at the beginning of each of the Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters.
10. The Disbursement Schedule for each General Fee shall be specified in the By-Laws of the relevant Association legislative body.
11. Disbursements of funds to student organizations receiving a Special Fee in advance of the disbursement authorized by the appropriate Schedule, to student organizations receiving annual allocations from a General Fee in advance of the disbursement authorized by these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, and the budget of the appropriate Board, may be authorized by the Financial Manager at her/his discretion. Such advances shall bear an appropriate rate of interest to compensate for the opportunity cost involved, as specified in an appropriate Financial Policy.
12. Approval by the relevant Association legislative bodies, the Financial Manager, or the Association of any particular line item of a Special Fee request or allocation from aGeneral Fee does not commit the Financial Manager to approval of any particular expenditure at the time it is requested by the organization.
13. Any student organization requesting or receiving funds from a General or Special Fee shall prepare its budget in a manner that complies with the requirements of the Constitution, these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, and any Funding Policies adopted by the relevant Association legislative bodies.
14. Any student organization receiving a Special Fee or funds from a General Fee during the current fiscal year, or having unexpended funds originally derived from such a source, shall be required to expend all funds of that organization in accordance with its budget as authorized by the members of the Association (when its Special Fee request was approved) or by the relevant Association legislative bodies (when an allocation of funds from a General Fee was approved), unless and until a budget modification has been approved. The process by which budget modifications may be approved shall be specified in a Funding Policy adopted by the relevant Association legislative bodies. No funds shall be disbursed to a student organization not satisfying this requirement.
15. At the close of a fiscal year, any unexpended funds (including budget reserve funds) in the account of a student organization which were originally derived from a General or Special Fee shall remain subject to the budgetary supervision of the Association. The process by which a budget for the expenditure of such funds is authorized shall be specified in a Funding Policy adopted by the relevant Association legislative bodies. No such funds shall be expended except in accordance with an authorized budget.
16. Any student organization requesting a Special Fee or funds from a General Fee and which has been exempted from banking with the SOF (and which has not done all of its banking with the University) must submit a report to the Financial Manager from an independent auditor approved by her/him which fully accounts for the finances of said organization for the previous fiscal year, and which especially emphasizes the uses to which any previously received General or Special Fee funds have been put.
17. The Graduate Buffer Fund and Undergraduate Buffer Fund shall be administered by the relevant legislative bodies in a manner specified in their by-laws. The Graduate Special Distribution Buffer Account shall be administered by both the Undergraduate Senate, the GSC, and the ASSU Financial Manager as specified in the Bill ‘To Implement the Partitioning of the Association Buffer Fund into the Undergraduate Buffer Fund and the Graduate Buffer Fund’. Funds from the Undergraduate Buffer Fund, Graduate Buffer Fund, and Graduate Special Distribution Buffer Account may not be used for any purpose unrelated to special fees without 2/3 majority approval from both legislative bodies.

The procedures by which each Association legislative body considers and approves Special Fee requests for placement on the ballot shall be specified in the By-Laws of each Association legislative body.

1. General Fees should maximize the benefits to the entire population served in terms of educational value, cultural exposure, and/or services provided to their respective population.
2. Each Association legislative body shall take measures to see that all members of the Association are as equally as possible served by any General Fee. No subset of the population should suffer or benefit more than others due to their skill in navigating any system put in place.
3. VSOs and General Fees
   1. General Fee allocations to VSOs should be made in a manner that as fairly as possible disburses funds throughout the population taxed. This applies both with respect to a VSO’s participatory size relative to the population, and to that VSO’s role and purpose within the set of all VSOs.
   2. VSOs that serve a similar role or serve nearly the same subset of the population should be encouraged to combine or form Umbrella groups for the greater benefit of all members. At the discretion of the relevant Association legislative body, a set of VSOs may be treated as an Umbrella group for General Fee allocations regardless of formal Umbrella group status.
   3. Formation of VSOs strictly for the purpose of obtaining additional funding, misappropriation of funds, or misrepresentations of any kind during the funding process shall be considered violations of the Fundamental Standard.
4. Additional procedures by which each Association legislative body considers and approves General Fee allocations, as well as the procedures by which each Association legislative body places measures to create, change the base amount of, change the statement of purpose of, or modify General Fees on the ballot, shall be specified in the By-Laws of each Association legislative body.

1. The Fee Refund Coordinator shall ensure that Fee refunds are made available in a timely and efficient manner to eligible members requesting them and that all such persons are informed of the procedure to obtain refunds. These procedures shall specifically include the following:
   1. All eligible students who file a Fee refund request between 8:00AM of the first day of a quarter and 5:00 P.M. on the third Friday of any quarter shall receive the requested refund on their University Bill or as a mailed check for that quarter. Credits or checks shall be issued by the seventh week of the quarter. The ASSU Financial Manager may open the fee refund window earlier, but not later, at his or her discretion.
   2. Due to the differing schedule of the Law School Academic Calendar, Law Students shall have their refund requests automatically rollover to all future academic terms during that same Fiscal Year. Refunds will be distributed according to the schedule detailed above.
   3. When students request refunds, they shall be presented with a set of anonymous, confidential survey options for each group explain why they are receiving a refund. These questions, and the entire refund site design, will be proposed by the Refund Coordinator and approved by each of the relevant legislative bodies prior to the beginning of the Fiscal Year. Aggregate survey data may be provided to groups.
   4. Exceptions to this policy will be allowed if and only if authorized by a 2/3 vote of the relevant Association legislative bodies, provided that previous notice has been given.
   5. The Financial Manager shall make available to any student group receiving a Special Fee a list of the student identification numbers of all students who requested Fee refunds from that group. This list shall be made available no later than noon on the Monday following the Fee refund deadline.
   6. The refund amount for a group shall be defined as the total amount of quarterly refunds for the group. If this amount exceeds the Refund Cost Surcharge collected for that group for that quarter for that population, the group shall be financially responsible for covering that excess.
      1. Joint groups shall have two independent refund amounts. The Graduate refund amount shall be defined as the total amount of quarterly refunds obtained by Graduate students for the group. The Undergraduate refund amount shall be defined as the total amount of quarterly refunds obtained by Undergraduate students for the group.
      2. In the event of an excess refund amount, the Financial Manager is authorized to collect that amount from the group’s accounts in the following order:
         1. Fee Reserves
         2. Operating Budgets
         3. All other assets as specified in the contract signed prior to being placed on the ballot
2. The Financial Manager shall advertise deadlines as appropriate to ensure students are aware of these procedures.
3. Additional refund policies, specific to either the graduate or undergraduate population, shall be included in the By-Laws of the relevant Association legislative body. In the event that the specific refund policies conflict with these general refund policies on a matter affecting members of either the graduate or undergraduate population only, the specific refund policies shall take precedence.

The Financial Manager is hereby instructed and empowered to ensure that all requirements pertaining to funds derived from General and Special Fees contained in the Constitution, these By-Laws, the US By-Laws, the GSC By-Laws, and Funding Policies enacted by the relevant Association legislative bodies are strictly enforced.

The Financial Manager will present a revised Three-Year plan to the Association legislative bodies no later than the last regularly scheduled meeting of the year.

The Three-Year plan will outline goals and timelines for the financial operation of the Association. The areas included shall be: staff, Business Projects, the banking service, Fee refunds, the Operating Budget, and other services the Financial Manager deems important to operation of the Association.