UF Student Body President Joselin Padron-Rasines filed a petition with UF’s Supreme Court on Friday regarding the constitutionality of the current SG executive committee.
The petition, written by Nicholas Gurney, solicitor general, addresses issues in executive appointments this past summer. The appointments for six executive positions took 105 days to confirm. The petition states, in recent years, the executive committee has had powers not allotted in the constitution, such as the selection of the executive cabinet, advisor and agency heads.
On Aug. 25, Padron-Rasines vetoed reforms to the 500 codes because of a clause regarding the executive committee, which currently consists of the Student Body president, vice president, treasurer and Student Senate president, Senate pro tempore and Senate budget and appropriations committee chairperson.
This clause allowed for three members of Senate to vote twice for members appointed by the executive branch, once during the nomination process and once during the senate approval process. This violates the separation of powers.
The petition was created in response to the gridlock in Senate, said Rachel Wise, the SG cabinet press secretary. She said Padron-Rasines found the executive committee in the rules, but not the constitution.
"The petition was the easiest — and hopefully most successful — way to get the issue through," she said.
It will most likely take a few months for the Supreme Court to review it, she said. The Supreme Court will provide an unbiased solution so the issue will be resolved for future presidents.
"It’ll most likely take a little while to get it all worked out," she said.
Ty Robare, chairman of the Comprehensive Statute Reform Ad Hoc Committee, said the revisions to the 500 codes were constitutional. His committee created the reforms.
He said the reforms would have made sure 105 days couldn’t pass between appointments again. He said he thought Padron-Rasines was against the committee itself.
"I felt like her perception was that the committee itself should not exist," he said.
He said he thinks that Padron-Rasines didn’t like one of the provisions for appointing executive members in the reforms.
"A verdict could be reached without the consent of the Student Body president," he said.
Wise said Padron-Rasines is trying to make SG as transparent as possible.
"That’s really one of her biggest motivations," she said.
Contact Caitlin Ostroff at costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @Ceostroff
Joselin Padron-Rasines
