A motion to revise the Student Association’s bylaws regarding finance policy was tabled at the Senate meeting Sunday night.

Sen. Samuel Davis, who motioned to table the policy update until next week, said that it would be beneficial if the senators had a week to review the changes. Sen. Patrick Echols supported the tabling, which means the Senate will not discuss nor amend the issue until the next meeting.

“Taking 10 minutes to read it over doesn’t do it justice,” Echols said, referring to a failed amendment that would have tabled the motion for 10 minutes instead of until next week. “A lot of people like to read the fine print.”

The proposed policy revisions were made by Speaker Robert Batey and SA treasurer Ricky Garcia over the summer and passed by the rules and finance committees. Batey described the proposal as a general upkeep to the policy.

“It’s the most comprehensive update to the policy in four years, or at least since I’ve been here,” Batey said.

Some of the proposed changes include a broadened definition to supplemental funding. Currently, SA-recognized organizations are unable to use supplemental funding for “additional support for regular programs, such as concerts, speakers, or films.” The revision changes this, stating that “supplemental funding can also be used for unique, unexpected instances that may occur.”

The capabilities of the SA finance committee are also altered in the proposed changes. The bylaws currently state that SA-funded student organizations are permitted to have accounts with NIU only. The proposal would allow the SA finance committee to take “appropriate measures” against organizations found violating this rule.

Another proposed change also regards SA-funded organizations. According to current policy, an SA-recognized organization can receive funding if the senate has “received an annual budget in fiscal year 2005.” This has been revised to “have been recognized for the past two years.”

Also during the meeting, Garcia addressed the senate, reporting that $1.9 million was requested by 72 organizations seeking funding this year.

“Approximately, the finance committee has half-a-million dollars to cut from these various organizations,” Garcia said.

Garcia said the budgets of 22 organizations had increased by 75 percent, while 20 organizations had budget increases of 50 percent.

The SA Senate also confirmed corporate communication major Terrence Griffin as a senator, and recognized the NIU Players, a fine arts group, and the Supporting Opportunities for Latinos organization.