Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Senate should abandon laws revision
Given the recent revelations about the cases filed against the Senate and other ASUN officials challenging their legal sufficiency, the Senate might want to wake up and take notice about what is happening.
Just today the Judicial Council informed the parties that it intends to grant summary judgment against ASUN on all remaining cases in light of two ASUN officers admitting liability in the cases.
Sen. Sean Hostmeyer's project to revise and codify all ASUN law is in serious jeopardy given these cases. Practically, the Senate should scrap this project so it can get its bearings in light of the Judicial Council decisions. Much of what ASUN has done during the 76th Senate Session is now invalid, and the application of the precedents could invalidate much of what the 77th Session has done.
The biggest problem at this point is it is entirely unclear what is the law and what is not the law given the decisions against ASUN. Sen. Hostmeyer's project only works if what is being revised and codified is in fact currently law. But under the Open Meeting Law (OML), any action taken in violation of that law is void. The Judicial Council has now ruled that the Senate has engaged in countless OML violations. This is fatal to the revised statutes (now called the revised code) project.
Although in three of the cases the Judicial Council declined to declare the ASUN actions invalid under the OML, ASUN should nonetheless treat them as invalid for a couple of reasons. First, it is the right thing to do. Second, the University and Board of Regents could later step in and invalidate the acts with much more severe consequences. And if some other entity invalidates the underlying acts, the revised statutes would instantly become worthless. There would be no ability to rely on it, defeating its very purpose. The safest thing to do is treat any actions taken as invalid, within the scope of the considered cases, and fix them. Therefore, the senators should scrap the revision proposal, at least until they determine where everything stands. This will take some time.
Most of my previous concerns with the project still apply. I have new concerns about the implementation bill because it creates an inherent conflict in what is the law. The original enactment and the codification? This isn't how codification works. Since ASUN's law and constitution borrows much from the federal system, the Senate would be well advised to borrow the code style the feds use. This would promote consistency and stability, as well as promote the ability for students to learn the styles because many resources are readily available.
Update: For anyone who cares, this is our 200th post. Yay us!
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