HF 984

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; requiring audits of student 
  1.3             associations; requiring campus associations to make 
  1.4             certain student fees voluntary; proposing coding for 
  1.5             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 135A. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [135A.132] [STUDENT ASSOCIATION AUDITS.] 
  1.8      Each public statewide and campus student association must 
  1.9   undergo an annual financial audit, conducted by a certified 
  1.10  public accountant or other similarly qualified person who has no 
  1.11  affiliation with the student association, and must make the 
  1.12  results public and available to students and other interested 
  1.13  parties. 
  1.14     Sec. 2.  [135A.133] [STUDENT FEES.] 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [IDENTIFYING FEE-SUPPORTED 
  1.16  ORGANIZATIONS.] Each public campus student association must 
  1.17  identify that portion of a student's fees that will be used to 
  1.18  support organizations which, as their primary function, promote 
  1.19  political and ideological activities and from which any 
  1.20  educational benefit is incidental to campus activities.  The 
  1.21  campus student association must give all students notice of the 
  1.22  portion of their fees that will be used to support these 
  1.23  organizations and a list of the activities supported by student 
  1.24  fees during the preceding academic year. 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [VOLUNTARY PAYMENT.] Each public campus student 
  2.1   association must provide an opportunity for students to refuse 
  2.2   to pay that portion of their fees that will be used to support 
  2.3   those organizations identified under subdivision 1, or to 
  2.4   receive a refund of that portion of their fee any time before 
  2.5   the end of the academic term.  Students may not be required to 
  2.6   explain their decisions.  The portion of student fees collected 
  2.7   each term that will be used to support organizations identified 
  2.8   under subdivision 1 must be segregated in a separate account in 
  2.9   order to provide for student refunds. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [COMPLAINTS; APPEALS.] If a student files a 
  2.11  formal written complaint with the campus student association 
  2.12  challenging the decision to fund an organization from the 
  2.13  nonsegregated funds, the student association must rule on the 
  2.14  complaint within 30 days.  If the student or the organization 
  2.15  chooses to appeal the ruling, the parties must try arbitration 
  2.16  before an appeal may be made to the judicial system.