| 1 | House Joint Resolution |
| 2 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 7 of |
| 3 | Article IX of the State Constitution to require the |
| 4 | Governor to appoint a state university student body |
| 5 | president to the Board of Governors of the State |
| 6 | University System. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | That the following amendment to Section 7 of Article IX of |
| 11 | the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to |
| 12 | the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next |
| 13 | general election or at an earlier special election specifically |
| 14 | authorized by law for that purpose: |
| 15 | ARTICLE IX |
| 16 | SECTION 7. State University System.- |
| 17 | (a) PURPOSES. In order to achieve excellence through |
| 18 | teaching students, advancing research and providing public |
| 19 | service for the benefit of Florida's citizens, their communities |
| 20 | and economies, the people hereby establish a system of |
| 21 | governance for the state university system of Florida. |
| 22 | (b) STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. There shall be a single |
| 23 | state university system comprised of all public universities. A |
| 24 | board of trustees shall administer each public university and a |
| 25 | board of governors shall govern the state university system. |
| 26 | (c) LOCAL BOARDS OF TRUSTEES. Each local constituent |
| 27 | university shall be administered by a board of trustees |
| 28 | consisting of thirteen members dedicated to the purposes of the |
| 29 | state university system. The board of governors shall establish |
| 30 | the powers and duties of the boards of trustees. Each board of |
| 31 | trustees shall consist of six citizen members appointed by the |
| 32 | governor and five citizen members appointed by the board of |
| 33 | governors. The appointed members shall be confirmed by the |
| 34 | senate and serve staggered terms of five years as provided by |
| 35 | law. The chair of the faculty senate, or the equivalent, and the |
| 36 | president of the student body of the university shall also be |
| 37 | members. |
| 38 | (d) STATEWIDE BOARD OF GOVERNORS. The board of governors |
| 39 | shall be a body corporate consisting of seventeen members. The |
| 40 | board shall operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible |
| 41 | for the management of the whole university system. These |
| 42 | responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to, defining |
| 43 | the distinctive mission of each constituent university and its |
| 44 | articulation with free public schools and community colleges, |
| 45 | ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the |
| 46 | system, and avoiding wasteful duplication of facilities or |
| 47 | programs. The board's management shall be subject to the powers |
| 48 | of the legislature to appropriate for the expenditure of funds, |
| 49 | and the board shall account for such expenditures as provided by |
| 50 | law. The governor shall appoint to the board fifteen fourteen |
| 51 | citizens dedicated to the purposes of the state university |
| 52 | system, one of whom shall be a state university student body |
| 53 | president. The appointed members shall be confirmed by the |
| 54 | senate and serve staggered terms of seven years as provided by |
| 55 | law, except that a state university student body president |
| 56 | appointed to the board shall serve a term of one year and shall |
| 57 | not be subject to senate confirmation. A student body president |
| 58 | is ineligible for appointment if the student body president |
| 59 | appointed to the board in the previous year was from the same |
| 60 | state university. The commissioner of education and, the chair |
| 61 | of the advisory council of faculty senates, or the equivalent, |
| 62 | and the president of the Florida student association, or the |
| 63 | equivalent, shall also be members of the board. |
| 64 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be |
| 65 | placed on the ballot: |
| 66 | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT |
| 67 | ARTICLE IX, SECTION 7 |
| 68 | APPOINTMENT OF STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS |
| 69 | OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM.-Proposing an amendment to the |
| 70 | State Constitution to remove the president of the Florida |
| 71 | Student Association, or the equivalent, as a member of the Board |
| 72 | of Governors of the State University System and to require that |
| 73 | the Governor appoint a state university student body president |
| 74 | to the Board of Governors. Specifically, the amendment requires |
| 75 | that a state university student body president shall be one of |
| 76 | 15 citizen members appointed to the Board of Governors by the |
| 77 | Governor, except that a state university student body president |
| 78 | is not subject to confirmation by the Senate and the term of |
| 79 | appointment is 1 year. The amendment also provides that a |
| 80 | student body president of a state university is ineligible for |
| 81 | appointment if the student body president appointed to the Board |
| 82 | of Governors in the previous year was from the same state |
| 83 | university. |