At tonight’s Senate meeting, Associated Student Government senators will hear a proposal to formally recognize active ASG members who are not senators.

Currently, students who work on committees without being elected senators are not recognized in ASG’s constitution.

The new bylaw amendment, presented to the Senate tonight, would create executive departments within each committee. Members of the departments would include non-Senate students. The departments would aid and advise standing committees, those permanent committees such as academic or student services that are written into the constitution.

The amendment also would apply to the external relations, campus public relations and Senate technology committees.

Originally, the bill proposed that non-Senate members would be allowed to vote within the committee. However, the bill was changed after it was discussed in two rules committee open forums.

Jonathan Webber, the bill’s author, was under the impression the bill might not pass in its original form, he said before a rules committee meeting Tuesday night.

“It was pretty clear that Senate would not be in favor of allowing them to vote in committee,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “The sentiment I was getting was that people were concerned about diluting the power of the Senate.”

While the bill would not have a very noticeable impact, it creates an official role for non-Senate members in the constitution, Webber said.

“The constitution will finally recognize non-senators for doing something,” he added. “I hadn’t thought of this path before, and I think it’s a better path.”

– Diana Samuels