Authority. These codes are established under the power and authority of the Associated Students (AS) Bylaws and the AS Senate.
Purpose of the Audit & Rules Board is to serve the Senate to manage and give advice and counsel to the Senate on the appointment of an internal auditor, bylaws & codes, rules regarding officers, appeals of officers, and appointments & removal of officers.
Article II – Membership & Process of the Board
Membership of the Audit & Rules Board shall consist of three voting members of the AS Senate, one of which will be the AS Executive Vice-President (who shall serve as chair.)
If a member of the board is the subject of an evidentiary hearing as part of the office removal process, the AS Senate will temporarily appoint a replacement member of the board.
Advisor. The AS Executive Director, or their designee, shall serve as the non-voting advisor to the Board.
Meetings. The board shall meet no less than twice during each month the Senate is in session for a full month, they shall meet no less than once during each month the Senate is in session for a partial month.
The board shall have the authority to meet and conduct business as delegated specifically by the Senate, or through this code, while the AS Senate is not in session.
Article III – Audit & Rules Board Duties & Responsibilities
General Responsibilities of the Audit & Rules Board will be to serve to review and recommend all internal auditors, bylaws & codes revisions, rules regarding officers, appeals of officers, and the appointments and removal of officers.
Audit Committee. The Board shall serve as the formal audit committee of the corporation to officially receive the annual audit of the corporation and work on engaging the audit firm.
Vacancies of AS Offices. In such cases where vacancies occur in the elected AS officers, the Audit & Rules Board will solicit, review, and interview applicants for the vacant position(s). The board will forward the name of the individual they believe to be the best applicant for the vacant position to the AS Senate for approval.
The AS Audit & Rules Board will not handle the vacancy of the AS President unless officers indicated in the bylaws to fill the vacant position refuse the right to assume the position provided to them in the AS Bylaws, or as indicated in Article IX Section 4(a) of the AS Bylaws.
The AS Audit & Rules Board may, after reviewing all available applicants, choose to forward no candidate to the AS Senate, if they determine that all available applicants are unacceptable.
Applications for all vacancies will be available for no less than one week.
Notice of available vacancies shall be announced, either in person or in writing, to SSU student organizations and student leadership organizations.
Bylaws, Codes & Policies. It is the responsibility of the AS Audit & Rules Board to review and recommend changes to the AS Bylaws, Codes, and/or Policies of boards of the Senate, and forward a recommendation to the AS Senate.
The AS Audit & Rules board will review the AS Bylaws for possible revision each fall semester.
The AS Audit & Rules Board will review all board codes for possible revision each spring semester.
Changes to the board codes suggested by another Board shall be submitted in writing to the chair of the Audit & Rules board.
The primary responsibility of the AS Audit & Rules board when reviewing the code changes sponsored by a board (for their own code) is to ensure consistency with the AS Bylaws.
Code revisions sponsored by a board, of their own code, will go directly to the AS Senate. The AS Audit & Rules Board will give a separate recommendation to the AS Senate.
Removal of AS Officers. The AS Audit & Rules Board will serve to review the evidence presented as part of the process to remove an AS Officer.
The process for this hearing is detailed in the AS Bylaws, Articles IX, Section 3,d.
The AS Audit & Rules Board will require a majority vote of the board membership to forward a request for removal to the AS Senate for action.
As stated in the AS Bylaws Article IX, Section 3, d iv, the vote of the AS Audit & Rules Board is based on the board's funding that sufficient evidence is present to forward the request for removal to the AS Senate for action.
An affirmative vote of the AS Audit & Rules Board is not an indictment or a recommendation for removal but shall serve to notify the AS Senate that sufficient evidence exist to move the removal processes forward to the floor of the AS Senate.
In a case where a member of the AS Audit & Rules Board is the subject of an evidentiary hearing the member will not be entitled to vote, engage in discussion, or any other rights associated with board membership in the evidentiary hearing
In the case where a member is the subject of an evidentiary hearing the member is entitled to all rights guaranteed to the "officer in question” in the AS Bylaws, Article IX, Section
Absence Appeals. The AS Audit & Rules Board will serve to review and make recommendations to the AS Senate with regards to appealing recorded, unexcused absences and tardies.
AS Officers wishing to appeal a recorded unexcused absence or tardy must file a notice of appeal with chair of the AS Audit & Rules Board no more than 7 days after the minutes are signed for the meeting in which the unexcused or tardy was recorded.
The notice of appeal should detail pertinent information as to why the officer believes the decisions to record an unexcused absence or tardy should be reversed.
The AS Audit & Rules Board shall conduct a hearing on the appeal no more than 14 days after the notice of appeal was filed with the chair.
The board will review the information provided in the notice of appeal.
The board may recommend to reverse the unexcused absence or tardy by a 2/3 vote of the membership of the board.
The approved recommendation for reversal of an unexcused absence or tardy will be forwarded to the AS Senate for action on their next regularly scheduled meeting.
Conflict of Interest. The AS Audit & Rules Board will serve to receive from General Counsel and review potential conflicts of interest, issues related to the Nonprofit Integrity Act and/or evidence of a conflict of interest by a member of the Senate or Senior Officer.
If the General Counsel of the Corporation determines a possible conflict of interest, issues related to the Nonprofit Integrity Act and/or sufficient evidence of a conflict of interest by a member of the Senate or Senior Officer exists the board will devise and recommend a resolution to the AS Senate.
The Chair of the Audit & Rules Board shall be responsible to receive evidence of Conflicts of Interest by members of the Senate or Senior Officers.
Officer’s completion of duties. The AS Audit & Rules Board will issue a report to the AS Senate at least three times a semester that details the completion of required duties by each officer of the corporation.
This report shall be limited to attendance at AS Senate and Board meetings, office and outreach hours, advisory councils and appointed committee attendance.
This report will rely only on officially certified records of meetings or self-reporting by the officers themselves.
