The Association may levy one or more General Fees upon its membership; such General Fees shall be levied on either the graduate or undergraduate population, but not both. Each General Fee must have an explicit statement of purpose, which must be approved by the same procedure used to set the base amount for the General Fee. Funds may be disbursed from a General Fee upon the approval of the relevant legislative body, and only in accordance with the approved statement of purpose.

1. Each General Fee levied on an Association population shall increase each year by a percentage equal to a nationally-recognized index of inflation, specified in the Association By-Laws.
2. The relevant Association legislative bodies may, by a 2/3 vote, place a proposal to create, abolish, or modify the base amount of a General Fee of the relevant population, or to change its statement of purpose, on the ballot of the Association Spring Quarter General Election. Only members of the relevant population shall be eligible to vote on such proposals. Proposals to modify the base amount must include the specific proposed new base amount; proposals to modify its statement of purpose must include the proposed new statement of purpose. Such a proposal will be adopted if 2/3 of the relevant population voting is in favor, and if those in favor make up 15 percent of the relevant population.

1. During the Association Spring Quarter General Election, the Association may levy one or more Special Fees via referenda. Special Fees shall be sought by student organizations to cover their organizational and basic programming expenses.
2. The Association legislative bodies shall have the authority to specify the form in which the detailed budget and summary of actual expenditures must be presented and the information they must contain, and to establish regulations defining the proper form for petitions and governing the circulation thereof.
3. No Special Fee budget may include a buffer of more than 25 percent to guard against Special Fee refunds.
4. Each student organization must choose the population from which it will seek a Special Fee; neither Association legislative body shall have the power to alter this choice.
5. Student organizations that receive a Special Fee may not deprive any member of the Association of any or all of its services unless that member has obtained a refund of that organization’s fee. However, during a given year, a student organization may not charge a total amount greater than its per capita Special Fee for services provided to members of the Association outside of that organization’s funding population.
6. A student organization shall have its request for a Special Fee placed on the ballot by any one of the following procedures:
   1. Prepare a detailed budget for the student organization for the next fiscal year, including the amount sought from the Special Fee, and submit this, along with the current budget and a summary of actual expenditures, to the Association in the form of a petition. Such petitions must bear the signatures of 15 percent of the members of each population of the Association from which the student organization is seeking a Special Fee, and request the placement of the Special Fee on the ballot for consideration by that population. Such petitions shall be presented to the Elections Commissioner, who must examine for authenticity the signatures on the petitions within seven days after receiving it. Upon verifying a petition, the Elections Commissioner shall then authorize the placement of the Special Fee on the ballot for Association consideration.
   2. Prepare a detailed budget for the student organization for the next fiscal year, including the amount sought from the Special Fee, and submit this, along with the current budget and a summary of actual expenditures, to the relevant Association legislative bodies. This information must also be submitted to the relevant population of the Association in the form of a petition. Such petitions must bear the signatures of 10 percent of the members of each population of the Association from which the student organization is seeking a Special Fee, and request the placement of the Special Fee on the ballot for consideration by that population. Such petitions shall be presented to the Elections Commissioner, who must examine for authenticity the signatures on the petitions within seven days after receiving it. Upon verifying the petition, the Elections Commissioner shall then authorize the placement of the Special Fee on the ballot for Association consideration, provided that this request has also been approved by a 3/5 vote of the relevant Association legislative bodies.
   3. Prepare a detailed budget for the student organization for the next fiscal year, including the amount sought from the Special Fee, and submit this, along with the current budget and a summary of actual expenditures, to the relevant Association legislative bodies. Upon approval by a 3/5 vote of the relevant Association legislative bodies, the Elections Commissioner shall then authorize the placement of the Special Fee on the ballot for Association consideration, provided that: 1) the last time this student organization appeared on the ballot for a Special Fee, those in favor of the Special Fee constituted a majority of the members of the Association voting on the Special Fee, and 2) the fee presently sought is not substantially higher than the fee requested the last time this student organization appeared on the ballot for a Special Fee.
7. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall be those that represent the population from which the student organization is requesting a Special Fee. The Association By-Laws shall contain procedures for dealing with a student organization that needs approval from both Association legislative bodies for placement of its Special Fee request on the ballot, but receives approval from only one.
8. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall not have the power to remove a Special Fee from the ballot once one of the above procedures has been completed for that Special Fee. However, each Association legislative body may vote on Special Fees already approved by the Elections Commissioner for the ballot, and a notation may be included on the ballot indicating the results of such a vote on the Special Fee.
9. One of the above procedures must be completed by a deadline specified in the Association By-Laws, but no later than 21 days before the general election. The Elections Commission shall give public notice in the largest general circulation student newspaper and/or mass distribution of flyers or through inclusion in an election pamphlet/handbook of the Special Fee requests which will appear on the ballot and their amounts at least 7 days before the general election.

If a student organization has completed one of the above procedures within 21 days of the general election, and the relevant Association legislative bodies determines that extenuating circumstances prevented an earlier completion of one of these procedures, then the relevant Association legislative bodies may authorize the placement of a Special Fee on the ballot for Association consideration. For the Undergraduate Senate, this authorization shall require a 2/3 vote; for the Graduate Student Council, it shall be by a procedure specified in the Graduate Student Council's By-Laws. In this case within two days after authorization, the Elections Commission shall give public notice in the largest general circulation student newspaper and/or mass distribution of flyers or through the inclusion in an election handbook of the Special Fee(s) and their amount(s) to be placed on the ballot for student consideration.

During the general election a summary of all financial information submitted by the student organization seeking a Special Fee shall be made available to all members of the Association

Regardless of which procedure for placement of a Special Fee request on the ballot was followed, the detailed budget for the next fiscal year of a student organization seeking a Special Fee may be divided into two sections by each of the relevant Association legislative bodies. These sections may consist of, but are not limited to, line-items, events, or populations.For the Undergraduate Senate, this shall require a 3/5 vote; for the Graduate Student Council, it shall be by a procedure specified in the Graduate Student Council's By-Laws. The Association By-Laws shall deal with those cases in which the two partitions do not coincide. Each section, along with an appropriate amount sought from the student organization’s initial Special Fee request, its current budget, and the summary of actual expenditures to date, shall be considered as a separate and independent Special Fee request, shall appear separately on the ballot, and shall require separate approval by the members of the Association as provided herein. The sum of the partitioned Special Fee requests appearing on the ballot shall equal the amount sought in the organization’s initial Special Fee request.

Undergraduate members of the Association shall be eligible to vote on each Special Fee for which the student organization in question is seeking funding either from the undergraduate population or the entire Association population. Graduate and Professional School members of the Association shall be eligible to vote on each Special Fee for which the student organization in question is seeking funding either from the graduate population or the entire Association population.

During the general election, each member of the Association may cast one vote either in favor or in opposition to each Special Fee for which he is eligible.

A Special Fee shall be deemed to have passed if a majority of those voting on it from each of the relevant populations were in favor and if those in favor constituted at least 15 per cent of those members of the Association eligible to vote on that Special Fee.

[See note at ¹⁾]

After the Association Spring Quarter General Election results have been certified by the Association legislative bodies, the Financial Manager shall devise and submit to the relevant Association legislative bodies, for approval, a schedule for the levying of the General and Special Fees levied on their respective populations. This collection schedule must conform to the following five principles:

1. The amount levied during each of Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters shall be substantially the same. While the graduate population may have a fee levied on it during the Summer quarter, no fee shall be levied upon either the undergraduate population or the Association population during the Summer quarter.
2. The amount levied each quarter shall be an integral amount of dollars.
3. The amount levied each quarter shall be apportioned among the General and Special Fees in a manner that shall provide an adequate cash flow for the concerned student organizations.
4. All costs incurred by the Association in administering the approval, disbursement, and refund processes, and in enforcing compliance by the recipients of such funds with their authorized budgets, along with an appropriate portion of the general election costs, shall be paid by a surcharge levied on the authorized General and Special Fees. This surcharge shall be a uniform percentage of each Fee.
5. General and Special Fees may only be levied on members of the Association who are members of the population which was eligible to vote on those General and Special Fees in the general election.

The University shall collect the appropriate amount every quarter at the same time it collects charges for tuition. The University shall transfer all collected monies to the Financial Manager, who shall then distribute them into the appropriate financial accounts.

1. Any member of the Association shall be entitled to a refund of at least the amount assessed in support of the entire, or any portion of, any General or Special Fee. This amount shall be specified in the collection schedule for the Fees, and should be as close as practical to the actual per capita amount collected for the Fee in question.
2. Obtaining this refund may deprive the member of the Association of some or all of the services offered by the student organizations receiving these monies.

The By-Laws of the relevant Association legislative bodies shall govern the distribution of the General and Special Fees. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall retain ultimate authority over the distribution of General and Special Fees.

The Financial Manager shall notify the relevant Association legislative bodies whenever a student organization who has obtained a Special Fee significantly deviates from its budget. The relevant Association legislative bodies may then direct the Financial Manager to halt any distribution of funds from the concerned student organization’s account that would force it outside of its budget.

Any student organization who has obtained a Special Fee may modify its budget, subject to the approval of the Financial Manager. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall retain ultimate authority over the approval of such modifications.

1. If the total amount spent from a General or Special Fee is less than was allocated, then the Financial Manager shall transfer the remaining funds into a Reserve Account for that fee.
2. The Financial Manager may distribute funds from the Reserve Account of a group to that group upon authorization by the relevant Association legislative bodies. In this case, relevant shall be determined from the funding status of the group during the current fiscal year. For the Undergraduate Senate, this authorization shall require a 2/3 vote; for the Graduate Student Council, it shall be by a procedure specified in the Graduate Student Council's By-Laws.

1. All Association funds shall be expended within the purposes of the Association, and within the educational purposes of the University. All funds derived from fees levied upon members of the Association shall be expended within the educational purposes of the University.
2. No funds shall be received or expended by the Association or its agencies unless authorized by the Operating Budget or Capital Budget of the Association or by the budget of the relevant Association agency. Authorization shall consist of the approval by the relevant Association legislative bodies of the appropriate budget or a modification thereof.

1. The Operating Budget of the Association shall be used for the basic operating expenses of the Association. These shall include, but not be limited to, the Association legislative bodies, the President and Vice President, the Financial Office,the Association Office, the Students’ Organizations Fund, the Nominations and Elections Commissions, and such other activities and expenses as are so classified by the Association legislative bodies. The Operating Budget shall be divided into two parts, representing those expenses funded by the Operating Budget Allowance provided by the University, and those expenses not so funded.
2. Sources of funds for the Operating Budget shall include, but not be limited to, the Operating Budget Allowance provided by the University, the income earned from the investment of funds owned by or in the custody of the Association, the net operating profit of the profit-making agencies of the Association, indirect cost recovery charges, and gifts. The Association legislative bodies shall adopt policies governing the rates of reinvestment, if any, out of income from different sources. Solicitation of gifts from sources outside the University shall be undertaken in accordance with University policies regarding gift solicitation and acceptance, and in consultation with the appropriate University officers.
3. The Association shall annually negotiate with the University an Operating Budget Allowance. The funds in this allowance are to be used for the basic operating expenses of the Association, including but not limited to all or part of the expenses of the Association legislative bodies, the President and Vice President, the Financial Office, the Association Office, the Students’ Organizations Fund, and the Nominations and Elections Commissions. The procedures by which the Association formulates and approves its annual request for this allowance, negotiates this request with the University, and accepts the results of these negotiations, shall be specified in the Association By-Laws.
4. By a date specified in the Association By-Laws, but in any case no later than the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Association legislative bodies shall approve the operating budget for that fiscal year. If the Association legislative bodies do not approve a budget by this deadline, the budget for the new fiscal year shall be identical to that of the previous fiscal year. All modifications to the operating budget shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.
5. Upon approval by the Association legislative bodies, but in any case no later than the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Financial Manager shall submit the operating budget approved by the Association legislative bodies, or the previous year’s budget if no new budget has been approved, to the President of the University or designee. Within 14 days after the receipt of this budget, the President or designee shall either approve the Operating Budget, or shall return it to the Association legislative bodies with a statement of the modifications necessary for it to be approved. Any adjustments to that part of the operating budget funded by the Operating Budget Allowance shall require the approval of the President of the University or designee.

The budgets of all Association agencies shall be prepared in accordance with procedures provided in the Association By-Laws, and shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies prior to the beginning of each fiscal year. All modifications to these budgets shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.

All capital expenditures of the Association and its agencies shall be contained either in the Operating Budget of the Association or the budgets of such agencies, or in a separate Capital Budget. This Capital Budget, and all modifications to it, shall be approved by the Association legislative bodies before becoming effective.

1. The Students’ Organizations Fund (herein after referred to as “the Fund”) shall be the depository for the receiving, holding, disbursing, and accounting for the monies of the various organizations using the Fund.
2. The Financial Manager shall have the power to make rules and regulations governing the operation of the fund and the handling and protection of the monies deposited with it, including the powers to make a charge against any organization to cover the expense of handling that organization’s funds and to determine the disposition of funds deposited in inactive or unclaimed accounts. The Association legislative bodies shall retain the ultimate authority over all rules and regulations of the Fund.
3. The Financial Manager shall be responsible for the enforcement of the rules of the Fund.

1. Any student organization which receives funds from fees assessed upon the members of the Association shall be required to deposit all funds of that organization with the Students’ Organizations Fund and to comply with its rules and regulations. This requirement shall be independent of, and in addition to, any University regulations concerning the handling of student organizations’ monies.
2. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall have the authority to specify the conditions and terms under which, and the process by which, exemptions from this requirement may be made, and to provide for the enforcement of this requirement through appropriate sanctions. No exemption shall be approved for a period longer than one fiscal year, nor earlier than during the fiscal year preceding the one for which the exemption is valid. The relevant Association legislative bodies shall retain the ultimate authority over the approval, modification, and termination of all exemptions.
3. Any other student organization recognized by the University may deposit its monies with the Fund, provided that it complies with the Fund’s rules and regulations.

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of the Association By-Laws, the Financial Manager shall be directly responsible to the Association legislative bodies for the performance of the following duties:

1. As chief financial officer of the Association, the Financial Manager shall exercise control over the budget and finances of the Association and its agencies on a day-to-day basis, and shall report on their condition to the Association legislative bodies.
2. As comptroller of the Association, the Financial Manager shall ensure that all expenditures of funds from the Association, its agencies, or the Students’ Organizations Fund, are duly authorized and documented and within the purpose, functions, and budget of the specific agency or organization.
3. The Financial Manager shall supervise the disbursement and refunding of funds derived from the Association and Special Fees, and shall ensure that organizations receiving such funds remain in compliance with their authorized budgets.
4. The Financial Manager shall assume such additional responsibilities as are provided in this Constitution, the Association By-Laws, the Undergraduate Senate By-Laws, and the Graduate Student Council By-Laws, or by the Association legislative bodies.

1. The process for selection of the Financial Manager shall be specified in the Association By-Laws, provided that the Financial Manager must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Association legislative bodies before taking office.
2. The term of office of the Financial Manager shall be for one year and shall begin at a date specified in the Association By-Laws. The Association By-Laws may also specify a term limit.

The Financial Manager may be removed by a vote of 2/3 of the membership of each Association legislative body. The Financial Manager must be notified in writing of the intent to introduce such a motion not less than forty-eight hours prior to the opening of each meeting of an Association legislative body at which the motion will be considered, and must be given an opportunity to speak in opposition to the motion at each such meeting.

The Association Staff shall provide administrative and financial services for the Association, its agencies, the Students’ Organizations Fund, and student organizations designated by the Association legislative bodies. The Office shall function under the supervision of the Financial Manager. Secretarial and other staff members shall be employees of the University,and their employment shall be under the Financial Manager, who for these purposes shall function as a department head in the appropriate University administrative structure.

The fiscal year of the Association and its agencies shall be specified in the By-Laws of the Association.

The financial records of the Association, its agencies, and the Students’ Organizations Fund shall be reviewed annually by an independent outside auditor accepted by the Financial Manager.

1. Any agreement or contract proposed to be entered into by the Association or any of its agencies shall be presented to the Financial Manager for prior approval and signature. The Financial Manager shall retain copies of all approved contracts. The Association, its agencies, and the Students’ Organizations Fund will not be held responsible for contracts not signed by the Financial Manager; such contracts shall be the personal responsibility of the persons signing them. The Association legislative bodies shall have the ultimate authority over the approval of all contracts.
2. No agent, officer, employee, or other person shall make any contract, agreement, promise, or undertaking in the name of or on behalf of the Association or its agencies, except pursuant to authority contained in this Constitution or otherwise granted by the Association legislative bodies.

The Association shall have the power to borrow money. The Association legislative bodies shall jointly have the ultimate authority over the approval of all borrowing.