Florida Senate - 2012 SJR 1508
By Senator Montford
6-01131-12 20121508__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 7
3 of Article IX of the State Constitution to replace the
4 president of the Florida Student Association or the
5 equivalent as a member of the Statewide Board of
6 Governors with the student body president of a state
7 university.
8
9 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 That the following amendment to Section 7 of Article IX of
12 the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
13 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
14 general election or at an earlier special election specifically
15 authorized by law for that purpose:
16 ARTICLE IX
17 EDUCATION
18 SECTION 7. State University System.—
19 (a) PURPOSES. In order to achieve excellence through
20 teaching students, advancing research and providing public
21 service for the benefit of Florida’s citizens, their communities
22 and economies, the people hereby establish a system of
23 governance for the state university system of Florida.
24 (b) STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. There shall be a single state
25 university system comprised of all public universities. A board
26 of trustees shall administer each public university and a board
27 of governors shall govern the state university system.
28 (c) LOCAL BOARDS OF TRUSTEES. Each local constituent
29 university shall be administered by a board of trustees
30 consisting of thirteen members dedicated to the purposes of the
31 state university system. The board of governors shall establish
32 the powers and duties of the boards of trustees. Each board of
33 trustees shall consist of six citizen members appointed by the
34 governor and five citizen members appointed by the board of
35 governors. The appointed members shall be confirmed by the
36 senate and serve staggered terms of five years as provided by
37 law. The chair of the faculty senate, or the equivalent, and the
38 president of the student body of the university shall also be
39 members.
40 (d) STATEWIDE BOARD OF GOVERNORS. The board of governors
41 shall be a body corporate consisting of seventeen members. The
42 board shall operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible
43 for the management of the whole university system. These
44 responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to, defining
45 the distinctive mission of each constituent university and its
46 articulation with free public schools and community colleges,
47 ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the
48 system, and avoiding wasteful duplication of facilities or
49 programs. The board’s management shall be subject to the powers
50 of the legislature to appropriate for the expenditure of funds,
51 and the board shall account for such expenditures as provided by
52 law. The governor shall appoint to the board fifteen fourteen
53 citizens dedicated to the purposes of the state university
54 system, one of whom must be the student body president of a
55 state university. The appointed members shall be confirmed by
56 the senate and serve staggered terms of seven years as provided
57 by law, except that the state university student body president
58 appointed to the board shall serve a term of one year and is not
59 subject to senate confirmation. A student body president is not
60 eligible for appointment if the student body president appointed
61 to the board in the previous year was from the same state
62 university. The commissioner of education and, the chair of the
63 advisory council of faculty senates, or the equivalent, and the
64 president of the Florida student association, or the equivalent,
65 shall also be members of the board.
66 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
67 placed on the ballot:
68 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
69 ARTICLE IX, SECTION 7
70 APPOINTMENT OF STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS
71 OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM.—Proposing an amendment to the
72 State Constitution to remove the president of the Florida
73 Student Association, or the equivalent, as a member of the Board
74 of Governors of the State University System and to require that
75 the Governor appoint a state university student body president
76 to the Board of Governors. Specifically, the amendment requires
77 that a state university student body president must be one of 15
78 citizen members appointed to the Board of Governors by the
79 Governor, except the state university student body president is
80 not subject to confirmation by the Senate and the term of
81 appointment is 1 year. The amendment also provides that a
82 student body president of a state university is not eligible for
83 appointment if the student body president appointed to the Board
84 of Governors in the previous year was from the same state
85 university.