In the past two weeks, ASUC senators have been presenting an unusually high number of blank or incomplete bills at their weekly meetings, using a technique many say undermines transparency.

Six such bills have come before the senate this academic year, and three of them have appeared in the last two weeks. The bills are typically presented at senate meetings with ellipses in place of text, before the complete bill is decided upon by a committee.

One blank bill, entitled "A Bill to Amend the By-Laws to clarify the procedures for Recall Elections," was submitted at last Wednesday's meeting.

Cooperative Movement Senator Christina Oatfield, who sponsored the bill, said it will reduce costs for the upcoming recall election of Senator John Moghtader by eliminating unnecessary polling places and workers.

"The title of the bill makes it clear what the content of the bill will be," she said.

Since the start of the academic year, five bills have been submitted to the senate with little to no text beyond a title. A sixth, which moved reserve funds to the senate's contingency fund, was submitted with an empty dollar amount because the figure had not yet been provided by ASUC Finance Officer Madelaine Batac.

Bills are normally submitted to the senate and then referred to committee for discussion. After reviewing the bill, the committee sends it back to senate, where it faces a final vote.

When blank bills are included in weekly ASUC meeting agendas, their contents are not fully known until after the following committee meeting.

This year's ASUC Senate is the first to use the technique of blank bills in the past three years, according to meeting agendas.

Some senators said the lack of notice interferes with the committee process.

"We can't get to it until the night of committee," said CalSERVE Senator Kifah Shah. "It makes it hard to understand what we are allocating funds to."

Critics of the technique also say blank bills undermine the spirit of transparency put forward in the ASUC bylaws.

"There is nothing that explicitly prevents blank bills," said ASUC Attorney General Michael Sinanian. "(But) blank bills run counter to being transparent ... they indicate no discussion has taken place."

The ASUC Constitution and By-Laws permit amendments to bills until final approval by the senate, allowing dramatic change in the final version.

"Just because you submit a bill with text doesn't mean that's what it is going to look like out of committee," said Moghtader, who sponsored a blank bill two weeks ago.

Some senators said blank bills are a necessary measure for quickly putting bills on the next week's agenda.

"Sometimes they are really time-sensitive," Shah said.

She added that senators have used blank bills this year to meet deadlines for student groups trying to receive funding.

But some students said they were skeptical of a process allowing blank bills to be passed by a senate that has struggled to conduct business efficiently all year.

"Sounds hella sketch," said fifth-year Laurie Leduc. "It just seems to be the same sort of arguments, but it never seems that anything substantial gets accomplished."

Tags: RECALL ELECTION, ASUC