Chair of Legislative Affairs

AUTHORITY:
This Code is established under the authority of Article VIII, Section 3 of the Associated Students Constitution.

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this Code is to establish the office of the A.S. Chair of Legislative Affairs and to outline and define the duties and responsibilities of the A.S. Chair of Legislative Affairs

DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS:
This Code shall be effective when approved by a majority vote of the Associated Students Senate.

AMENDMENTS:
This Code may be amended by a majority of the total voting membership of the Senate.

I. APPOINTMENT AND TENURE

A. Chair of Legislative Affairs

1. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall serve as a member of the AS President's Cabinet.

2. The tenure of office for the Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be one year, to be concurrent with the term of the President who appoints them. Should the office be vacated during the school year, the new appointee's tenure of office shall end when the term of the AS President who appointed them ends.

3. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be immediately responsible for the discharge of their duties to the Associated Students President.

4. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be a student in good standing as defined in Article VIII, Section 2 of the AS ByLaws.

B. Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs

1. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be appointed by the AS President with the approval of the Senate.

a) In the event of a vacancy in the position of Chair of Legislative Affairs, the Assistant Chair may be given a 30-day appointment to fulfill that role while a search is conducted for a new Chair.

2. The tenure of office for the Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be one year, to be concurrent with the A.S. President’s term of office who appoints them.

3. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be directly responsible for the discharge of their duties to the AS Chair of Legislative Affairs.

4. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be a student in good standing as defined in Article V, Section 1 of the A.S. Constitution.

II. DUTIES OF THE CHAIR OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

A. Campus and Local Responsibilities

1. Lead community involvement events such as volunteering efforts, donation drives, and mutual aid efforts as needed.

B. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be a non-voting, ex-officio member of the External Affairs Committee.

C. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for assisting in higher education advocacy efforts on the campus, local, state, and nationwide levels. Advocacy efforts include, but are not limited to:

1. Advocacy and engagement events.

2. Arranging visits with local, state, and federal legislators and their staff

3. Conducting studies, interviews, surveys, and research necessary to advance the positions of the various student organizations at CSUN and the CSU.

4. Collaborating with A.S. Productions to host Big Politics and other Legislative Affairs-related events.

5. The Chair of Legislative Affairs organizes and creates student awareness of regular, midterm, and special elections utilizing, but not limited to, the following methods:

a. Organizing voter registration drives

b. Creating a neutral and informational CSUN Voter Guide to assist students in the voting process

1. Made to inform students about propositions and candidates.

c. Submitting voter recommendations to Senate through resolutions or reports

6. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for researching pending legislation that will affect the CSUN student population.

a. Research shall be presented as a report by the Chair of Legislative Affairs to the A.S. President and Vice President at weekly cabinet meetings.

7. The Chair of Legislative Affairs works in collaboration with the Northridge East Neighborhood Council to to stay engaged with community initiatives and city council efforts on a local level.

a. The Chair of Legislative Affairs may select themself or an individual from Associated Students Leadership to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council to serve as the CSUN Student Board Member.

b. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall complete all necessary training required to effectively represent CSUN at the Northridge East Neighborhood Council.

8. The Chair of Legislative Affairs works in collaboration with the CSUN Government and Community Relations Department to further legislative advocacy efforts, including CSU Advocacy Day and Hill Day.

9. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall delegate a member from Lobby Corps or the Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs to attend all CSUN Act Now meetings.

D. Statewide Responsibilities

1. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for representing CSUN at California State Student Association (CSSA) monthly plenaries and special meetings as appointed by the A.S. President.

i. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for carrying out the necessary preparation to adequately represent the best interests of CSUN and CSU students.

ii. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall act as a legislative advisor to the A.S. President and A.S. Vice President at monthly plenaries and special meetings.

2. The Chair of Legislative Affairs organizes the CSUN delegation to attend CSUnity, CHESS (California Higher Education Student Summit) in Sacramento, and CSSA (California Stat Student Association).

3. The Chair of Legislative Affairs will work across all segments of higher education including the California State University, University of California, and Community Colleges for greater legislative advocacy efforts.

4. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for raising student awareness about the CSU Board of Trustees and the issues being discussed on the board.

a. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall include a briefing of what was discussed and decided at the CSU Board of Trustees as needed.

5. The Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible in recruiting CSUN students to apply for the CSU Student Trustee position on the CSU Board of Trustees.

E. The Chair of Legislative Affairs will establish and maintain working relationships with city, county, special district, state, and federal elected and appointed officials.

F. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be the Chair of Lobby Corps.

1. The Chair of Legislative Affairs will recruit, onboard, and supervise up to 4 CSUN students (undergraduate or graduate) to serve as members of the A.S. Lobby Corps.

2. The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall determine a regular Lobby Corps. meeting schedule for the Fall and Spring semesters.

III. DUTIES OF THE ASSISTANT CHAIR OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

A. Under the direction of the Chair of Legislative Affairs, the Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs is responsible for assisting in higher education advocacy efforts on the campus, local, state, and nationwide levels.

B. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs will be responsible for representing CSUN at California State Student Association (CSSA) monthly plenaries and special meetings in the absence of the Chair of Legislative Affairs.

C. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs will be responsible for viewing live stream broadcasts of the CSU Board of Trustees open sessions as directed by the Chair of Legislative Affairs.

D. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs will assist with organizing the CSUN delegation to attend CSUnity.

E. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall attend meetings on behalf of the Chair as assigned by the Chair of Legislative Affairs.

F. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall compile weekly meeting minutes and submit them to the Chair to be distributed with the following week’s agenda.

G. The Assistant Chair of Legislative Affairs shall assist with the recruitment and onboarding of Lobby Corps members.

REGULATION
The Chair of Legislative Affairs shall, in the execution of their responsibilities, conform to and abide by the policies of:

• The United States Constitution
• The State of California
• California State University, Northridge
• Associated Students
  

PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY:
All meetings called by the Chair of Legislative Affairs shall be conducted according to parliamentary law as set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

ENABLING CAUSE:
This Code shall supersede all Codes on the AS Chair of Legislative Affairs passed prior to November 28, 2022.

Approved on: November 28, 2022 (16-0-0)
Amended on: April 24, 2023 (13-0-0)