Constitutional Amendments

Overview

The Student Government Constitution is the governing document that defines the overall structure, powers, and responsibilities of the UT Dallas Student Government and its members at the highest level, superseding any other rules or policies created by Student Government. As an organization run by and for the students of UT Dallas, any amendments to the constitution must be publicized and voted on by the student body at large. Specifically, any amendments must go through the following process:

A senator proposes an amendment at a regular meeting of the Student Senate.
This amendment sits on the table for fourteen days, after which the Student Senate votes on the proposed amendment. The amendment must receive two-thirds majority approval of the members present in order to proceed.
The proposed amendment is put to a vote by referendum of the student body, which must be publicized for at least two weeks in advance. If it receives two-thirds majority approval from voting students, the amendment to the constitution is enacted.

Alternatively, the amendments can also be proposed through petition of the student body, in which case the process is as follows:

A petition is support of a proposed amendment is drafted and receives at least two hundred and fifty signatures from members of the student body.
The petition is brought to the Student Senate, which must then put the proposed amendment to a referendum of the student body within thirty days.
If the proposal receives two-thirds majority approval from voting students, the amendment to the constitution is enacted.

Note: All changes to the constitution must be approved by the Student Senate’s advisors and the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Pending Amendments

A brief description of any constitutional amendments currently pending the approval of the student body will be listed below.

There are no amendments currently awaiting vote at this time.

Past Amendments

Dissolution of the Student Government Technology Committee

Senate Resolution 2022-28 to dissolve the Technology Committee was brought forward to the Student Senate on March 7th, 2023 and was approved by a two-thirds majority of the senate on March 21st, 2023. The full text of the resolution can be found here. The constitutional amendments proposed by this resolution are as follows:

Amend Constitution Article I, Subarticle A, Section 1(4) to strike “a chairperson of the
Technology Committee.”
Amend Constitution Article I, Subarticle A, Section 2(3) to strike “Technology.”
Strike Constitution Article II, Subarticle B, Section 8 and renumber each section in
Constitution Article II, Subarticle B, Section 9-13 to be 8-12.
Amend Constitution Article IV, Section 1 to strike “the Technology Committee.”

This amendment was officially ratified following a two-thirds majority vote of the voting student body on September 14th, 2023.

Amending the Senate’s Attendance Points System

Senate Resolution 2022-23 to amend the Senate’s Attendance Points system was brought forward to the Student Senate on February 21st, 2023 and was approved by a two-thirds majority of the senate on March 7th, 2023. The full text of the resolution can be found here. The constitutional amendments proposed by this resolution are as follows:

Amend Constitution Article VIII, Section 2, Subsection 5, Part 1 to change the threshold for when the Judicial Board Chair must send a warning email to senators from 7 points to 3 points.

The purpose of this constitutional amendment is to update the duties of the Judicial Board Chair to be consistent with the role of Judicial Board as specified in the Student Government Bylaws.