At its weekly meeting at Nordy’s Place on Tuesday, Student Government Board introduced the Omnibus Bill, which aims to improve the board’s governing code and internal processes. The board also responded to rumors of potential Immigrations and Custom Enforcement presence on campus.
Vice President Lauren Rubovitz introduced an April 2025 Omnibus Bill, which will update “a myriad” of SGB’s governing code and allocations processes if passed. The bill will be voted on at the next public meeting after a week of public debate.
“It’s a bill to give the student government board more opportunities to hold referendums and design a process to consider future student leader remunerations.” Rubovitz said. “It will also clarify parts of the allocations manual and lower the honoraria cap.”
If passed, the omnibus bill will edit the governing code to allow SGB’s Elections and Judicial committee to hold campus-wide referendums at any point in the academic year.
“The bill includes a diverse array of changes to the student governing code,” Rubovitz said. “If the bill passes, we will be able to hold referendums outside of only SGB election day.”
Rubovitz said the bill also includes governing code revisions that would allow the SGB assembly to put forward a vote for student leaders to receive monetary compensation for their work.
“The assembly section of the governing code gives recommendations for student leader remunerations which have been updated since that governing code was passed last year,” Rubovitz said. “We’re updating [the code] so it’s reflecting the right things and adding a process for the assembly to vote on remunerations in the future.”
Rubovitz discussed how the omnibus bill will lower the amount of money going towards funding honorarium allocations, which are typically used to pay special event guests. The bill will also revise two lines of the allocation manual to “increase the document’s clarity.”
“Another part of [the bill] is lowering the honorarium cap to $15,000,” Rubovitz said. “The current honoraria cap is $25,000.”
In the next part of the meeting, Board Member Andrew Elliott said that the board is aware of rumors of ICE presence on campus. He assured students that the board is “ready to respond,” despite the lack of official sightings.
“I want to assure everyone that we are watching and we will respond appropriately [to ICE] with help from administration,” Elliott said. “Currently, there have been no official reports of unwanted visitors in residence halls, only rumors.”
SGB President Sarah Mayer said she has discussed the potential ICE presence on campus with the Office of International Services and highlighted what steps the office is taking to protect vulnerable students.
“The office is working on a wallet card to distribute to students about ICE,” Mayer said. “They are also open to answer any outstanding questions students have, so I would direct anyone with concerns there.”
Mayer said she has also reached out to the Pittsburgh Police Department to inquire about the city’s official policy concerning ICE.
“I reached out to the chief of police asking about any specific procedures they have regarding ICE at Pitt,” Mayer said. “She is looking into it and will hopefully get back to me soon.”
Later on in the meeting, Community and Government Relations Chair Marley Pinsky discussed her committee’s letter-writing event, which will aim to combat the proposed cuts to the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus system. The event will be held in the William Pitt Union Lower Lounge on April 18 from noon to 2:30 p.m.
“We are planning to write letters to state representatives to secure funding for Pittsburgh Regional Transit, which is at risk right now,” Pinsky said. “They are proposing cuts to forty percent of lines as well as increases to fares. We all rely on buses and the city does as well, so [every student] should care.”
Allocations:
Muslim Student Association requested $2,461.38 to hold a charity event. The board postponed this request until the next public meeting.
Men’s Lacrosse Club requested $9,810.11 to attend a competition. The board amended and approved this request to $9,405.11.
Men’s Soccer Club requested $9,571.74 to attend a competition. The board amended and approved this request to $3,000.
Bethel Campus Fellowship requested $2,550.02 to hold an event. The board amended and approved this request to $2,195.