Student government leaders who feared they wouldn’t have a budget can rest assured.
Aaron Titus and Jeff Neu, both past Assembly members who had appealed the passage of the annual Associated Students of the University of Utah’s budget, have withdrawn the appeal from ASUU Supreme Court review.
Titus and Neu had alleged the ASUU General Assembly meeting decisions were carried out without the minimum necessary members.
They also said proxy voters, who stood in for elected officials, were illegal because they did not fill out an official voting record.
“Since the original vote, three more proxies handed in a voting record, meaning they actually did have a quorum present,” Titus said. “Jeff and I felt it was in the best interest of the students and for ASUU to not paralyze their budget. It wouldn’t be fair for the students.”
According to 2002-2003 Attorney General Kelly Ann Booth, the appeal was withdrawn also because the new administration was addressing the issues.
In addition to the bill affecting the budget, there was legislation calling for executive raises and changes to ASUU’s constitution, which are still up for review by the ASUU Supreme Court, if the court decides to hear the cases.
“We aren’t appealing the bills themselves, we’re appealing the process. The best-case scenario will be if the Supreme Court rules in our favor, then gives direction on what the definition of a quorum is and exactly what constitutes a proxy vote,” Titus said.
He also claims the president and attorney general voted in the assembly meeting, which according to his interpretation of ASUU’s constitution, is not allowed. Members of the executive branch cannot participate in other branches at the same time.
“I have served as a proxy in other sessions when necessary…according to last year’s administration’s interpretation, merely serving as a proxy is not actually serving on two branches,” Booth said.
Titus adds, however, that the 2003-2004 administration is “proactive” about improving the way the Assembly is run.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” Titus said. “They are trying to fix these problems and make sure they never happen again.”
However, before the cases are presented to the Supreme Court, they must first be approved for hearing.
While Titus and Neu are confident the court will accept the appeals, Booth disagrees.
“These bills already failed and no longer exist, so the court likely won’t seek them up,” Booth said.
The 2003-2004 administration, however, would not comment on what their stance will be if the decision is made to bring the cases in front of a judge.
“I doubt that whatever changes we make on the Executive Cabinet is a direct result of what Titus and Neu say or do,” said this year’s ASUU Attorney General, Colby Harmon. “We’ve been working to improve the Assembly and [Student] Senate and make members more accountable since the beginning.”