Senate Bill S5436

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5436

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a student
activity fee to fund the student assembly of the state university of New
York

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that the SUNY Student
Assembly has enough funding to accomplish its purpose of providing
programs and services for the SUNY student body.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new Section 355-E to the Education Law that provides
for a $1 student activity fee per semester that shall be the property of
the SUNY Student Assembly and the revenue derived shall be spent at its
sole discretion.
              

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The SUNY Student Assembly provides programs and services for the nearly
1.4 million students at 64 SUNY campuses across the state and serves as
the representative voice for those students. For many years, however,
the Student Assembly has been underfunded making it extremely difficult
for the Student Assembly to adequately serve and represent the interests
of SUNY students. For example, the SUNY Student Assembly, which is fund-
ed by the state, received an appropriation of $57,100. Compare that to
the CUNY University Student Senate that has an annual budget of approxi-
mately $768,000; the California State Student Association that has an
annual budget of approximately $1.7 million; and the University of Cali-
fornia Student Association that has an annual budget of approximately
$732,000.  In 2019 and 2021, the SUNY Student Assembly passed resol-
utions calling for the SUNY to adopt a student activity fee so that the
Student Assembly can be properly funded. A student activity fee of $1
per semester has the potential to raise $800,000.  Having sufficient
funding would allow the SUNY Student Assembly to better advocate and
lobby the interests of the SUNY student body, connect and offer
resources to students and student government associations within SUNY,
and provide greater engagement opportunities between the Student Assem-
bly and the student body.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.