University of Houston-downtown Student Government Association

Fall 2013 Legislative Update

Representative Tarah Taylor

Bills Passed:
Constitutional Amendment to add a Senator of Online Students Senate Resolution to start a Constitution and Bylaws Review Ad Hoc Committee Budget Amendment to get nametags and placecards for SGA members Bylaws Amendment to implement an SGA committee signup timeframe Bylaws Amendment to specify excused absences in SGA

Bills Proposed:
Senate Resolution to implement business casual attire in SGA meetings Budget Amendment to send 4 SGA members to the 50th March on Washington in Washington DC Bylaws Amendment to expand on the SGA Ethics Code

Initiatives:
SGA Meeting Livestream Will enable students at the North West Campus to participate in the SGA meetings via audio/visual enabled meeting room on their campus. Allows online students and students who cannot attend the meeting to participate and watch via webinar on their phone, computer or tablet. Picked the Scopia platform Need to train Executive Board on how to use it Would like to implement this Fall 2014 Constituency: All UHD Campuses Status: In Progress Girard Street Parking Lot Repavement and Added Lighting Continued this initiative that originally began under Ivan Sanchezs administration. The City of Houston Girard street parking lot was unsafe, very dark, and pavement was uneven and riddled with potholes. Worked with the universitys city councilmember Ed Gonzales and was joined by several members of SGA to testify about student safety in these lots. City Council passed a budget the next day to fix several of the city-metered parking lots on campus. Constituency: UHD students and visitors Status: Complete, Winter 2013 ADA Accessible Vending Machines Several vending machines on campus are not accessible to individuals in wheelchairs. After working with the companies that maintained the machines nearest to the Disabilities office on the fourth floor, they all happily agreed to change those machines to meet ADA compliance in the State of Texas. To further this initiative, a Resolution passed by the Diversity Governance Committee to make every machine in every building compliant. Coca-Cola will be touring with Facilities Management to assess how many machines need to be replaced soon. Constituency: Differently-abled students and visitors Status: In Progress

Shea Building Food options Students have been complaining about the lack of adequate food options on the Shea Building for years. There is a temporary solution to address this by allowing food trucks on campus near the building. I decided to take this a step further and talk with Food Services about adding a permanent solution to that building. Food Services wanted to know what food options we would like to see there so the students were polled to find out what they would like. Those results have been turned in and I will be meeting with Food Services in the Spring semester to see if something permanent can be added in the building. Constituency: Students attending class in the Business Building Status: In Progress Handicap Door Maintenance The handicap door at the front of the Academic building had remained broken for weeks. After inquiring with the Disabilities Office, several doors n campus were broken and had not been fixed. I toured the whole building and took note of all doors that needed to be serviced and reported my findings to the Disabilities Office. All doors were fixed within that week. I have made it a point to spot check all doors at least once a month and report broken doors. I have also listed the information for other students to report doors that are broken on my Facebook Fan Page. Constituency: Differently-abled students and visitors Status: Ongoing

Committees
Constitution & Bylaws Review Ad-Hoc Committee Role: Chair 10 statutes were reviewed to be revised 3 bills have been authored, 2 passed Committee dissolved at the end of Fall 2014 Special Services Committee Role: Chair Administered 3 surveys: o Bottle Filling Station Survey for the Sustainability Committee o SGA Diversity Climate Survey for the Diversity Committee o Shea Building Food Options Survey Prepared to relaunch WTF (What's The Frustration) o Online survey and graphics are already completed External Affairs Committee Role: Member Visited the Texas Southern SGA Retreat with Senator Locke