The UF Student Senate stood united on every bill that came before it Tuesday night, approving each bill unanimously.
One of the approved bills was a revision of the Student Government's 800 codes, which are the agency's financial bylaws. It was authored by Treasurer T.J. Villamil.
The vote was delayed twice, prompting Villamil to host a public forum to discuss the changes.
As it is a vote on the codes, the bill must be approved a second time and changes can still be made.
The revisions to the bill are intended to promote fiscal responsibility in funding student organizations. SG is facing a budget shortfall of about $1 million, Villamil said.
"[The 800 codes are] putting everyone on the same page and making it consistent and fair," he said.
Villamil is seeking to reduce "personal benefit," or funding one student's activities as opposed to putting money toward a group.
"This is student money, and it shouldn't be expended in the wrong way," he said. "It should be used to benefit as many students as possible."
For example, he wanted to eliminate the funding of student travel. However, he said, after hearing from graduate students who value travel over things like bounce houses on the North Lawn, he balked.
Despite the unanimous vote the codes received in Senate, they don't necessarily have everyone's support.
Villamil has said on numerous occasions that he wanted to add the Senate's financial handbook to the codes. However, combining the documents adds some vague language to the laws - language that functions as guidelines rather than hard-and-fast laws.
The guidelines are meant to allow leeway in certain situations, such as when a student requesting funding misses the deadline for paperwork and misses out on funding.
Villamil has said twice in Senate meetings he views the codes themselves as guidelines, a term with which Senate Minority Leader Gillian Leytham takes issue.
"I'm not quite sure what universe he is living in," she wrote in a letter to the Alligator. "but under our UF Constitution, the 800 codes are, by definition, Student Body laws of permanent effect."
Villamil acknowledged that there are other ways to promote the finance guidelines other than codifying them in the bylaws, but past experience has shown him those methods lead to a very disorganized system.
"There's 10 different guides that have been created in the past five years by student leaders," he said. "Everyone wants to do things their way. The problem is it's inconsistent. I want it to be all in one place."
In another bill approved at Tuesday's meeting, the Student Government Bike Repair shop will now be moved in with UF Outfitters, which is located in the Reitz Union.
Senators agreed to commit $36,900 toward renovating the Outfitters space to allow for the repair shop, which repairs students' bikes for free. The money will be go toward construction costs and new equipment for the shop.
A wall will have to be demolished in the Reitz Union to combine the two spaces, but the bill's presenters said it should not interfere with everyday business in the building.
