UH’s next SGA meeting will vote on climate change measures and town halls

The Student Government Association at the University of Houston will meet for the second time during the Summer Senate session this coming Wednesday, June 28th. At this meeting, senators will be voting on proposed legislation in regards to climate change and sustainability, as well as amendments to the bylaws in regards to town halls.

The climate change bill, named “Climate Commitment,” is being proposed by President Winni Zhang and Director of External Affairs April Alex. It is also being sponsored by Vice President Adrian Hernandez and Honors College Senator Garrett Clark. The bill discusses carbon emissions and previous actions by the University of Houston to reduce them, such as the Board of Regents deciding to “prioritize sustainability efforts throughout the University of Houston system in 2009,” as well as the creation of the Office of Sustainability in the fall of 2012. The bill ultimately asks the Chancellor of the University of Houston, Dr. Renu Khator, to sign a Climate Commitment with a non-profit organization called Second Nature, which aims to “help build a sustainable and positive global future through leadership networks in higher education.” In addition, if passed, the University of Houston would “…develop a comprehensive Climate Action Plan within the timelines presented by Second Nature.” Passing this legislation would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, as well as the approval of the President.

The second bill addresses a lack of clarity in the bylaws of the Student Government Association in regards to the publicizing of town hall meetings. As written, town hall meetings must be “publicized in an appropriate way.” The new bill is being proposed by myself and College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Senator Valerie Campos. It is also being sponsored by College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Senator Matthew Stell and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Senator Chelsea Cheung. The bill defines what “publicized in an appropriate way” will mean, stating that “associated SGA representatives” will publicize such town halls “to the constituency involved, through both physical (can include tabling) and digital means, 10 days in advance, with seven day and 48 hour scheduled repetition.” This bill sets both the methodology and time-frame of the publicizing of town halls and provides clarity to the Bylaws. Again, passing this legislation would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, as well as the approval of the President.

In other news, there are seven vacant senate seats that you can apply for – find out more here.