The Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Mikey Finnegan presented on a proposed Arizona State Senate bill regarding tuition rates during the ASUA Senate meeting on Jan. 25.
If no amendments are made to the proposal, SB 1061 will cap the increases to tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students at 2 percent annually and it will establish a four-year pledge program for these students.
The bill is in committee now and will be discussed during the State Senate meeting on Jan. 26. Finnegan said he, along with others, will be going to the meeting.
“It gives us an opportunity to sit at the table with both parties to see what we can do to better our university,” Finnegan said.
ASUA senators discussed amending their own constitution in regards to college-specific senators. As of now, the constitution states that if no one is elected as a college-specific senator, the seat will become an at-large position.
Senator Kincaid Rabb argued that it is not a good idea to step on a college’s toes during this process if the college cannot find representation.
“I don’t see the relevance of leaving a seat vacant,” Senator Ledezma responded. “We still have interest from a lot of areas.”
Senator Enrico Trevisani said it is important to know why these college-specific seats were created. It will help build a “regular relationship” between colleges. Discussion was then closed.
Other senators informed the meeting of upcoming events, including the deadline to submit an application for ASUA elections and that the dates of the “I Will Campaign” will run from April 3-7.