The Associated Students of Colorado State University discussed and voted on multiple pieces of legislation during the 27th session of the 54th Senate. 

Items on this week’s agenda included addressing ASCSU President Nick DeSalvo’s veto regarding budget transparency and supporting student protesters and term limits for elected student representatives.

Following the swearing in of new senators and associates, Chief Justice Morgan Wright delivered an opinion on the ratification of the ASCSU Constitution.

In a 7-0-0 vote, the court ruled that the ASCSU constitution was voided following the most recent election, as 10% of voting members of ASCSU did not vote. ASCSU members refer to 10% of the student population, and a member of ASCSU is defined as either an individual taking at least one credit hour or doctoral candidates.

Wright then made a personal statement regarding student elections, emphasizing that the elections manager does not hold the weight of the entire election; it is on the entire organization to support the elections manager and committee.

Following executive reports and gallery input, Bill #5418, “Approval of the FY26 Student Fee Package,” was introduced. The bill aims to get Senate approval of the student fee package for the 2026 fiscal year. The report showed that the Student Fee Review Board approved all but three increases in organization funding and reported a record-low fee increase of 1.8% next year. The bill was approved with unanimous consent, and the student fee package was sent to the CSU Board of Governors for approval.

Next, Lex #5418, “Budget Sunshine Act,” was discussed. The lex, which aims to amend the ASCSU Constitution and Senate Bylaws to increase transparency and public input during the development of the budget through public forums, had previously been passed by the Senate but was vetoed by DeSalvo last week.

“There have been only four people in this organization who have ever constructed the executive budget: myself, Vice President (Braxton) Dietz and President-elect (Jakye) Nunley and Vice President-elect (Joseph) Godshall,” DeSalvo said. “Those are the only folks who have gone through that painstaking process of winning an election and then needing to find how and where to allocate $1.8 million in our budget. It’s a long, arduous process, and none of those folks were consulted in the crafting or the passage of that piece of legislation.”

DeSalvo went on to explain that he felt it was unreasonable to organize a separate forum to discuss the budget, as it already has to undergo two readings in the Senate.

Following DeSalvo’s remarks, the Senate discussed overriding the veto. Multiple senators strongly disagreed with DeSalvo and advocated for more transparency in ASCSU when it comes to something that impacts tuition.

“I kind of find it disingenuous when we talk about how strained (the executive branch) is and how hard this is when you’re talking about over 30,000 people’s tuition,” College of Business Sen. Matthew Grenier said. “In my opinion, it’s morally abhorrent to just write up a budget, from my understanding, get little to no feedback from the student body, from the senate, and then say that it’s unfair for us to ask for more transparency because it is $1.5 million. That is an unfathomable amount of money to have four people sit down and delegate out with almost no other checks or balances to it.”

Following an hour of discussion and debate, the Senate voted 20-0-5 to override DeSalvo’s veto.

Lex #5416, “Ensuring More Students are Represented,” was then approved by unanimous consent. The lex aims to increase the number of senate seats available in colleges to increase student representation within ASCSU.

Senate then moved to discuss Lex #5422, “Codification of Subcommittees.” The lex clarifies the role of subcommittees in the ASCSU Constitution and Senate Bylaws and was passed by unanimous consent.

Next, Senate discussed Resolution #5413, “Advocating for Awareness of HDS Emergency Room Procedures.” The resolution aims to increase awareness of the processes and procedures of CSU Housing and Dining Services in the case of providing emergency rooms to those living in residence halls. The legislative authors said they hope this will provide students with better safety and security in living situations.

Following discussion and debate, the legislation was accepted with unanimous consent.

Lex #5424, “Adjustments for Accessibility,” was then discussed. The lex aims to “add nuances and adjustments to the 48-hour rule to account for situations in which the 48-hour rule cannot apply.”

Following discussion and debate, the lex was continued with unanimous consent and sent to the University Affairs Committee for further review.

Senate also discussed Lex #5420, “Ensuring Fair Financial Distribution Within ASCSU Branches.” The lex aims to create a fiscal system of checks and balances to fairly compensate each branch of ASCSU.

Following discussion and debate, the legislation was continued with unanimous consent. It was sent to the University and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Affairs committees for additional review.

Moving into new business, Senate introduced Resolution #5414, “Supporting Student Rights to Protest.” The resolution aims to support fair and equal protest at CSU and shed light on an investigation initiated by CSU Human Resources following the student-led sit-in earlier this semester.

Following Q&A, the legislation was sent to the Internal, University and DEI Affairs committees for further review.

Resolution #5412, “The Numbering Bill,” was also introduced. The resolution aims to remove the portion of the Senate Bylaws that requires each type of legislation to have its own separate numbering to increase clarity in ASCSU legislation.

The legislation was expedited and was accepted with unanimous consent following Q&A and discussion and debate.

Lex #5425, “Establishing Term Limits for University-Wide Elected Positions Within ASCSU,” was introduced next. The lex aims to establish term limits for ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate positions to encourage more students to serve in student government.

Following Q&A, the lex was sent to the University and DEI Affairs committees for additional review.

Lastly, Bill #5417, “Reproductive Care Kits,” was introduced. The legislation aims to support the Women and Social Justice Caucus’ efforts to assemble kits with emergency contraceptives, pregnancy tests and other items for out-of-state students with limited access to reproductive care.

Following Q&A, the bill was sent to the Budgetary Affairs, Internal Affairs and DEI committees for review.

ASCSU Senate will resume April 23.

Reach Laila Shekarchian at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.