1. WHEREAS, the Student Government Association (SGA) promotes the welfare of the undergraduate student body and supports student group activities; and,

2. WHEREAS, the SGA Finance Committee has discussed current regulations on student group help funds determined by the constitutional by-laws; and,

3. WHEREAS, the SGA constitutional by-laws allow each student group to apply for group help once per fiscal year for a maximum amount of five hundred dollars ($500); and,

4. WHEREAS, the Finance Committee has suggested amending these regulations to offer better student group support; and,

5. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the SGA constitutional by-laws be amended to the following:

Subsection C. Group Help

1. SGA will have a Group Help account used to fund:

1. Fall programs when the requesting organization did not receive funding in the primary allocation process

2. Spring programs when the requesting organization did not receive funding in the secondary allocation process

3. New programming not originally budgeted for by organization

4. Unexpected, last minute emergency costs

5. Any other reason(s) determined appropriate by the Legislature and/or Joint Committee on Finance.

2. The Vice President of Financial Affairs shall make a Group Help application available to student groups and oversee the Group Help Fund.

3. All applications for Group Help shall be reviewed and approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Finance Committee.

4. Each student group is entitled to apply an unlimited amount of times for funding each semester but may receive no more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2500) of Group Help funds per fiscal year.

5. The guidelines used by the Joint Committee on Finance in the budget allocation process shall apply to all Group Help requests.

1. If the Legislature approves new guidelines for an upcoming budget allocation process, those guidelines take effect as Group Help guidelines upon the passage of the legislation.

2. The Joint Committee on Finance may choose to deny requests for any of the following reason(s):

1. Financial infeasibility

2. Repetitive programming (too many similar events in one year or too many planned programs on the suggested date)

3. The program is an annual event and is not new. Annual programs are based on the program, not the organization seeking funds. The Joint Committee on finance reserves the right to define annual events.

4. The program is a banquet or awards ceremony

5. It requests funds for the purchase of clothes, hats, other wearables, giveaways, office supplies, or other items determined by the Finance Committee to be inessential to the success of a program.

6. The event’s primary purpose is to collect money for fundraising or other charitable purposes.

7. The event is not open to the entire University of Maryland Community

1. This section does not apply if the event is a tournament or competition.

8. Any other reason the Finance Committee may deem reasonable in accordance with University Policy or SGA Finance Guidelines

6. The Director of Student Groups or his/her designee shall conduct an audit of the Group Help account once per semester.