Initiative, Referendum, Recall and Impeachment

Initiative, Referendum, Recall and Impeachment

ARTICLE IV

INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM, RECALL AND IMPEACHMENT

Section 1 - Initiative

The qualifications and process for submitting an Initiative shall be as follows:

Clause I.Obtain the signatures and student I.D. numbers from three (3%) percent of the San Marcos Campus Fall enrollment of the A.S.P.C. in support of the proposed legislation.

Clause II.Submit the proposals for the initiative to the ASG to be referred to the Committee on Policies, Procedures and Executive Review for a review of the constitutionality of the submitted proposals, such review to be completed within a time period not to exceed twenty (20) regularly-scheduled school days.

Clause III.After review of the proposal and verification of the signatures and the I.D. numbers by the Student Activities Office, the measure will be put to the student body for a vote. An Election Committee shall be formed and a Special Election held within (20) regularly-scheduled school days, unless a regular ASG election is held during this period, in which case the initiative will be put to the students at the regular election.

Clause IV.Required to pass the measure shall be a majority of the votes cast in favor of said proposal.

Clause V.Validity clause. -- A minimum of 400 votes must be cast by the ASPC for the Initiative Election to be declared valid.

Section 2 - Referendum

The qualifications and process for submitting a Referendum to the Associated Students of Palomar College shall be as follows:

Clause I.The measure or proposal must be on the Agenda for information at a meeting for discussion at least one week before the ASG can vote to submit the measure/proposal to the A.S.P.C. for voting.

Clause II.The measure must be referred to the Committee on Policies, Procedures and Executive Review to determine if the proposed referendum is constitutional.

Clause III.The ASG must refer the proposal to the students by a majority vote of members present.

Clause IV.Required to pass the measure shall be two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast in favor of said proposal.

Clause V.Validity clause. -- A minimum of 400 votes must be cast by the ASPC for the Referendum Election to be declared valid.

Section 3 - Recall

Any person holding an elected or non-paid, appointed position of the ASG shall be subject to recall according to the following procedure:

Clause I.A Petition for Recall shall be circulated by students who are qualified as follows:

Clause II.Petitioners must submit their names and Student Identification Numbers to the Office of Student Affairs for verification of enrollment.

Clause III.The petitioners must be currently enrolled in classes at Palomar College and be free from any disciplinary restrictions.

Clause IV.Individuals wishing to circulate recall petitions must present their reasons for such to the ASG in a regular or special meeting.

Clause V.Before the petition is circulated it must be verified by the Student Activities Office to contain the following:

  1. The names and positions of the officers to be recalled
  2. A statement, not less than fifty (50) nor more than two-hundred-fifty (250) words in length, explaining the reasons for the recall.
  3. A rebuttal written by the officers to be recalled
  4. Petitions should be numbered by the Office of Student Affairs and signed by the Director of Student Affairs in order to ensure authenticity.

Clause VI.The Student Identification Numbers and signatures of five (5%) percent of the total number of students registered at Palomar College San Marcos campus (based on the first census of the semester) shall be required to have the recall placed on a ballot.

Clause VII.Petitioners shall have not more than twenty (20) regularly-scheduled school days from the time of petition verification to submit the completed petition with the required amount of signatures for the recall to be declared valid.

Clause VIII.The ASG shall hold a recall election within fifteen (15) regularly-scheduled school days after verification of the signed petition by the Office of Student Affairs, unless a regular ASG elections will be held in not less than five (5) and not more than twenty (20) such days, in which case the recall election shall coincide with the regular election.

Clause IX.The recall election shall be held in accordance with (Article V, Election Code) of the ASG Bylaws where appropriate. Decisions relating to applicability of individual provisions of the Election Code to a recall election (excepting sections relating specifically to recalls) shall be made by the appointed Election Committee, subject to reversal by the whole ASG.

Section 4 - Impeachment

Clause I.Any elected or non-paid appointed ASG officer shall be subject

to impeachment by his/her fellow officers.

Clause II.Impeachment shall only be used to remove officers from their

positions in extreme cases, including, but not limited to the following:

  1. Proven violations of the Student Conduct Code.
  2. Flagrant and/or continuous abuse of the power of his/her position.
  3. Serious and recurring disregard for the inherent duties of his/her office.
  4. Any other conduct deemed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the ASG to be unbecoming of an ASG Officer.

Clause III.The ASG can impeach any member thereof in concurrence with

the conditions above and by adhering to the following procedure:

  1. An ASG officer considering impeachment of another ASG officer must, as the first step in the procedure, arrange for a meeting with the Director of Student Affairs and the officer(s) he/she is considering impeaching to discuss the issues leading to the impeachment.
  2. A written notice from the Accusing Officer(s) stating the reason(s) for the impeachment will be given to the officer(s) in question before any impeachment process may begin.
  3. Submit a resolution with the signatures of five (5) ASG officers to the President stating the reasons for impeachment so that it may be placed on the Agenda for the next regularly scheduled weekly meeting, in accordance with (Article II).
  4. The resolution must be considered as information only when it is first placed on the Agenda. Five (5) school days must pass before impeachment can be considered for action.
  5. The officer being impeached must be present at both the information and the action meeting.
  6. No resolution for impeachment shall apply to more than one (1) ASG officer.
  7. The ASG shall vote on the resolution. Should a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast favor impeachment, the officer shall immediately be considered removed from office.

ADOPTED 12/14/1992

REVISED 04/10/1996, 03/09/2005

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