Heavy and politicized debate over the “Green Fund” continued on Wednesday as the University of Wisconsin’s student government sought to approve its internal budget.

The Associated Students of Madison ultimately passed the $1,325,624.86 budget in a 18-4 vote, an increase from $1,260,290.38 last year. The Green fund allotted for $80,000 of the budget.

Green Fund

One week ago, the Student Services Finance Committee voted to remove the amendment from the Green Fund that stated funding was contingent on ASM bylaw alterations for an allocation committee.

Rep. Maria Giannopoulos moved to reinstate the rider amendment and said if the Green Fund does not pass its bylaws, it would result in a “slush fund” of $80,000. She added if there was money in the budget without stipulations, it would be a waste of student money because there would be no parameters.

Rep. Justin Bloesch said he originally put forth the motion because he was concerned it would not receive the two-thirds vote to pass with the bylaws.

ASM Sustainability Committee Chair Will Mulhern said in his conversations with members of administration, none have expressed concern with removal of the amendment.

Giannopoulos said putting money into a budget with no clauses on it would be terrible for students.

“I understand you want to pass it. I get it…it is also right of student council to say we may not want it…[you are] basically shackling people to a vote,” she said.

Rep. Jamie Wheeler said the Green Fund should be regulated like all other money ASM distributes, which is heavily regulated to ensure ASM members are “good stewards” of the money.

After the motion to reinstate the rider amendment failed, Rep. Sarah Neibart motioned to tie the Green Fund to the student referendum in the spring and said if the Green Fund was something students wanted, they should vote on it.

Rep. Kayla Van Cleave said if the Green Fund was placed on the student referendum it would “greatly impede” planning.

The motion to tie Green Fund to the spring referendum ultimately failed.

Outreach

Neibart motioned to add $6,000 to the internal budget for text messaging marketing software.

The software would be a good way to reach and recruit students, as they would likely be more responsive to texts. It would help keep ASM present in students’ minds, she said.

ASM members brought up concerns about privacy issues, as well as students who did not have texting plans and would be charged for receiving the messages.

ASM spokesperson Grace Bolt said not enough research had been done to justify allocation of that amount of money and this was an initiative the press office board would be taking up next semester.

The motion failed.

Campus Committee on Civic Engagement

Neibart also presented a framework for the development of CCCE, which would provide campus community members with a platform for long-range policy planning.

The idea of the committee came out of the student vote coalition last year when there were issues surrounding registering students to vote, Neibart said. CCCE would focus on voter education and registration, she said.

Members agreed this was an issue that transcends party lines, and the motion was passed unanimously.