V. Fiscal Policy

A. This Fiscal Policy will apply only for all funds allocated through the Joint Funding Committee.

B. Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly jointly possess the authority to allocate funds from the undesignated portions of the Undergraduate Activities Fee and Graduate Activities Fee, as specified by Article V of this Constitution, for use by student organizations.

C. Budgeting Restrictions

1. Funds may not be requested in the following categories:

a. Student Salaries

b. Alcohol

2. Funds may not be requested may spend money in the following categories only with the approval of a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Joint Funding Committee:

a. Transportation

b. Travel expenses

c. Outside-organization membership dues

d. Taxes

e. Coaching expenses

f. Management and consulting fees

g. Subscriptions

h. Food and non-alcoholic beverages

i. Leasing of off-campus facilities.

3. The above-mentioned categories may also be financed by supplementary income.

4. All groups may be required to finance a portion of their budgets by supplementary income.

5. All of an organization's events which are financed by the Activities Fee must be germane to the primary purpose of the group.

6. Uniforms

a. Student Government will consider subsidizing up to twenty-five (25) percent of the cost of uniforms per person, not to exceed fifteen (15) dollars per person per uniform.

b. The Joint Funding Committee may allow subsidies greater than twenty-five (25) percent of the cost of uniforms per person or greater than fifteen (15) dollars per person per uniform with a three-fourths (3/4) vote.

c. Uniforms will be subsidized no more than once every three (3) years.

d. Student Government will not subsidize personal equipment, which is defined as equipment or clothing which will not be available for use by subsequent club members (mouthpieces, socks, etc.).

7. Buggy

a. A buggy program funded by Student Government must provide at least seventy-five (75) percent of its buggy maintenance budget each year from non-subsidy income.

b. Student Government will only consider funding the construction of a buggy by as funded buggy program once every four (4) years. At that time, at least thirty-three (33) percent of the cost of the buggy must be provided from non-subsidy income. The Joint Funding Committee shall have the power to set a cap for the subsidy of buggy programs for non-funded organizations. If the Joint Funding Committee does not announce a cap by the deadline for budget submission, the cap shall be the equivalent of the cap for the previous year, adjusted for inflation as specified in this document.

8. Booth

a. A funded student organization or funded activity must provide at least fifty (50) percent of it booth-building budget each year from non-subsidy income.

b. The Joint Funding Committee shall have the power to set a cap for the subsidy of booth-building for non-funded organizations. If the Joint Funding Committee does not announce a cap by the deadline for budget submission, the cap shall be the equivalent of the cap for the previous year, adjusted for inflation as specified in this document.

9. The Joint Funding Committee will submit to the Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly, with the budget, a line-item list of all expenditures that were approved as uses of an organization‚s subsidy by a three-fourths (3/4) vote, as specified in Article V, Section V, Subsection B, in Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 5, Subparagraph b.

D. In order to protect itself from financial loss, Student Government is to keep between seven (7) and fifteen (15) percent of its budget on reserve in a separate account prior to the allocation of any other money, including that specified in Article V, Section II, Subsection A, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph a. This contingency fund may only be used for covering a net deficit in the Master Activities Fee account. This figure should be appropriately adjusted annually by the Joint Funding Committee to protect against any financial loss.

E. At the end of the fiscal year, each organization shall return to the Master Activities Fee account the amount of its surplus. The amount returned shall not exceed the amount of the organization's subsidy. The Joint Funding Committee reserves the right to remove the excess funds of an organization if the committee deems it necessary. The excess amount which can be removed shall not exceed the Student Government subsidy.

F. Deficits

1. For all organizations incurring a deficit, Student Government will bear financial responsibility only for an amount not to exceed the amount of money originally budgeted to the organization by the Joint Funding Committee.

2. If any organization incurs a deficit at the end of the year, an amount up to the amount of the deficit, not to exceed the Student Government subsidy, may be subtracted from their next year's Student Government allocation. If an organization incurs a deficit for two (2) years, it shall be subject to a review by the Joint Funding Committee, the Student Body Treasurer, or the legislative bodies of Student Government, which may result in probation, suspension of funds, or removal of funded recognition.

G. Audits and Inventory Lists

1. All financial records of organizations or funded activities receiving funds from Student Government shall be open to the Chair of the Joint Funding Committee, the Chair of the Funding and Recognition Committee, the Graduate Student Assembly Treasurer, the Student Body Treasurer, and the Account Director. Audits of the financial records of all funded organizations or funded activities will be held at least once a year.

2. Inventory lists may be requested at any time by the Chair of the Joint Funding Committee, the Chair of the Funding and Recognition Committee, the Graduate Student Assembly Treasurer, the Student Body Treasurer, or the Account Director. If no inventory list is submitted the funds of the organization or funded activities may be frozen. Organizations or funded activities must be made cognizant of this contingency at the time of the request of the inventory list.

H. No outside bank accounts will be permitted for any organization recognized as a funded organization.

I. Funding Disclosure (100%) Rule

1. If one hundred (100) percent of an organization‚s, activity‚s or event‚s budget is financed by the Activities Fee, then all advertising and printed material of that organization must include the phrase: "Funded by your Activities Fee"

2. If less than one hundred (100) percent of an organization‚s, activity‚s or event‚s budget is financed by the Activities Fee, then all advertising and printed material of that organization must include the phrase: "Funded in part by your Activities Fee"

J. Funding of Events

1. Events which donate any portion of their proceeds to charity will not be funded by the Activities Fee.

2. Events which are discriminatory will not be funded by the Activities Fee.

K. Account Director

1. All purchases or reimbursements from University accounts are to be made through the account director\

2. The Account Director reserves the right not to reimburse any money spent without the prior approval of the Account Director

3. On-campus purchases are to be made with a purchase requisition, available from the Account Director prior to the purchase

4. A purchase of less than fifty (50) dollars can be reimbursed by the Account Director using a reimbursement request

5. Funded Organizations must acquire a purchase requisition from the Account Director in advance for all purchases greater than fifty (50) dollars

6. Funded Activities may submit receipts for line items approved by the Joint Funding Committee for any amount up to the complete amount of their subsidy

7. Funded Activities may only request purchase requisitions from the Account Director which specify only item approved by the Joint Funding Committee

L. All organization business managers are required to do the bookkeeping for their organizations using the accounting categories of their approved budgets.

M. Expenditures submitted for payment after the close of the fiscal year will be paid out of current fiscal year funds. This does not apply to purchases made prior to the close of the fiscal year but not invoiced until after the close of the fiscal year.

N. Information and Time Considerations

1. All organizations recognized as funded by the Student Senate or the Graduate Student Assembly will be subsidized by the Student Activities Fee between the first July 1 following the date that the Student Senate and GSA approve their budget and the following June 30.

2. The Chair of the Joint Funding Committee will schedule at least two (2) information sessions within the first month of the spring semester to explain the budget process and hand out the budget information packets. 

3. All organizations that wish to schedule a budget hearing with the Joint Funding Committee must be represented by their appropriate officers at one of these sessions

4. The organization is required to submit the completed allocation request form, inventory forms, and organizational survey forms by the time specified in the budget packet.

5. At the end of the committee budget hearings, all organizations requesting subsidies from the Student Activities Fee will be listed in The Tartan along with the subsidies recommended by the Joint Funding Committee and the date for the joint Student Senate/Graduate Student Assembly hearing of the budgets.

6. At the joint budget hearings, any students with opinions of the budgeting process should explain their views to Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly.

O. Spring Carnival and Sweepstakes will automatically be allocated twenty-five (25) percent of their previous year's allocation upon submission of a completed budget packet, unless that group is affected by Article V, Section IV Subsection E above.

P. A member of a funded organization who does not pay the Activities Fee must pay into the organization an amount equal to the average contribution to the organization of a student who does pay the Activities Fee. This amount is in addition to any dues levied by the organization. If more than five (5) percent of an organization does not pay the Activities Fee, said organization is required to submit a list of the non-Activities Fee- paying members, including its additional contributions, to the Funding and Recognition Committee when its budget is being considered.

Q. Budget Process

1. The Joint Funding Committee is responsible for publicizing all of the deadlines specified above. In addition, an announcement should be made in The Tartan and The Student Union that an organization must be recognized as a funded organization or must be recognized as non-funded organization and seeking a subsidy from a specific activity to benefit the campus community by Student Senate or the Graduate Student Assembly if it wishes to be subsidized by the Activities Fee.

2. Scheduling for budget hearings will be done on a first-come, first-served basis for organizations or funded activities who have submitted their budgets by the specified deadline.

3. Upon approval by a majority of the Joint Funding Committee, a paid secretary may handle all of the paperwork for the Joint Funding Committee.

4. All organizations or funded activities have the option of withdrawing from the budget allocation process by informing the Joint Funding Committee

R. The Joint Funding Committee has the right to reevaluate any budget that has not been approved by Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly, and also the right to enact retroactive across-the-board cuts to all organizations and funded activities if deemed necessary, pending the approval of Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly.

S. By order of the executive committee of either the Student Senate or the Graduate Student Assembly, pending an investigation by the ordering executive committee, violations of Student Government Fiscal Policy may result in:

1. The immediate impoundment of an organization's inventory and Student Government-allocated funds

2. Probation. Organizations on probation must follow the Probation Regulations set forth below.

a. Approval of Events

(1) All of the organization's events must be approved by the Executive Committees of the body which has recognized the organization.

(2) Multiple events may be approved at one time.

(3) This approval requirement applies to all postering, meetings, practices, social gatherings, or any other event conducted by the organization.

b. The Executive Committees reserve the right to commission an audit of the organization's financial records without notice.

c. Membership Information

(1) The organization will routinely report the number of Carnegie Mellon students maintaining active membership in the organization to the Executive Committees of Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly. Routine reporting shall be defined as issuing a report at the time any change in the number of Carnegie Mellon students maintaining active membership status occurs.

(2) The organization will keep the Executive Committees supplied with a current list of names of all members of the organization who are not Carnegie Mellon students.

d. Violation of Probation Regulations

(1) If the Executive Committees find that an organization on probation violates these regulations, the Executive Committees may suspend the recognition of that organization pending an investigation.

(2) Within four (4) weeks of suspending recognition of an organization, the Executive Committees will make recommendations to Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly concerning said organization. If the bodies fails to ratify the suspension of recognition, the organization will have its recognition reinstated.

3. Suspension of recognition.

4. Change in recognition status.

T. Selling of equipment

1. Any plans to sell an organization‚s equipment that was purchased even partially with monies allocated by Student Government must be approved by the Joint Funding Committee or the legislative body that recognized the organization.

2. All money, up to the amount allocated by Student Government, collected through the sale of an organization‚s equipment will be returned to the Master Activities Fee account unless otherwise redirected by the Student Senate or the Graduate Student Assembly.

3. Student Government will accept the loss caused by depreciation on all equipment purchased through allocations of Student Government.

U. Student Government will not be financially responsible for, and shall not be required to reimburse the organization for, the loss of or damage to any property in possession or care of any organization.

V. Organizations not previously funded

1. New organizations, or organizations not receiving funding during the previous year, will not be funded in excess of $500.

2. Organizations not previously funded are those that:

a. Are new to the Carnegie Mellon campus.

b. Have been recognized as non-funded and have recently received funded recognition.

c. Have funded recognition but were not funded during the previous year.

W. Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly can override Student Government Fiscal Policy with a two-thirds (2/3) vote of each body, provided at least one (1) week's notice has been given of the proposed override.