The Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, more commonly known as OSPIRG, received $45,ooo at Wednesday’s ASUO Senate meeting. Within hours of the the motion passing Jacob ‘Jake’ Gram challenged the decision.
The Climate Justice League sponsored the request by OSPIRG, which cannot request it’s own funds until it is officially recognized. The funds will be used to pay dues for the UO’s chapter to OSPIRG, specifically the personnel costs for the 2013-2014 program. OSPIRG was defunded in 2012 and has struggled to find funding ever since.
Immediately after the ASUO Senate gave $45,000 from surplus to OSPIRG a petition for review, more commonly referred to as a grievance or complaint, was filed with the ASUO Constitution Court. Gram’s petition Gram asks, “Whether the special request by the Climate Justice League, as approved by Senate, violates the prohibition on incidental fees being donated to charitable causes.”
Senate Rule 12.2.1 states that “Incidental fee monies shall not be donated to a charitable cause.” 501(c)(3) organizations are not specifically mentioned in the ASUO Constitution. In the petition Gram said that OSPIRG is a 501(c)(3) organization, “which means people get a charity deduction on their taxes for donating to it, so it should be considered a charitable cause.”
Gram is requesting that the Constitutional Court declare the funding of $45,000 under the CJL to OSPIRG in violation of Senate Rule 12.2.1 and order an immediate injunction to prevent the money from being spent.
The ASUO Constitution Court is currently on summer recess until August 11. Constitution Court Chief Justice Allison Apana said the grievance will be placed on the Constitution Court’s docket until the Court reconvenes in August.
In the petition Gram urged the Court to act fast because the money has not yet been spent by the CJL.
“The sooner the Court rules on this, the less likely any funds will be spent that cannot be gotten back,” Gram said in the petition.
Gram said that the funding of OSPIRG didn’t seem consistent with the ASUO constitution. He has been following the issue on campus and specifically the senate live feed. Gram said he had been turned onto the issue by former ASUO Senator Ben Rudin but that Gram was the primary author.
Current ASUO Senator Andrew Lubash attributes the petition to Rudin.
“This is a new low for Ben Rudin, a former UO student who literally called this grievance a trick up his sleeve,” Lubash said. “The premise of this grievance would mean that the ASUO could not fund critical services like Sexual Assault Support Services, the Daily Emerald, and the Family Center Co-Op, because they share the same 501(c)(3) tax status.”
According to the IRS website 501(c)(3) organizations are commonly referred to as charitable organizations and generally apply to tax-exempts nonprofits. The Co-Op Family Center, the Daily Emerald and the Sexual Assault Support Services all confirmed that they are 501(c)(3) organizations. The OSPIRG Foundation is listed as a 501(c)(3) on its website.
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