(c) Mandatory fees. Where students at a State-operated campus have determined to make the payment of student activity fees mandatory, the appropriation, collection and disbursement of such fees, whensoever collected, shall be governed by the following regulations:

(1)(i) Preparation and certification of the budget. The student government shall prepare and approve a budget governing expenditures from student activity fees in accordance with the constitution and by-laws of the student government, and consistent with the principles of equal opportunity and viewpoint neutrality, prior to registration for each academic year. The constitution and by-laws of such student government shall specify the criteria governing eligibility for funding of and allocations to student organizations from student activity fees. [The student government may provide for use of advisory referenda of the student body with respect to particular funding decisions but may not agree to be bound by such referenda.] While referenda of the student body may not be used to help determine specific allocations to particular student organizations, mechanisms such as polls or surveys may be used to ascertain student interest and participation in programs or events. Allocations included in the budget shall fall within programs defined in paragraph (3) of this subdivision. The approved budget shall thereafter be presented to the chief administrative officer prior to the registration for each academic year for review and certification that the allocations from the fee and any proposed sources of revenue are in compliance with the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subdivision. Upon determination by the chief administrative officer, or designee, that the approved budget is in compliance with these regulations, he or she shall so certify, and such certification shall authorize the collection of the fee at registration.

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(3) Use of funds. Funds which are collected under provisions of this section which require every student to pay the prescribed mandatory fee and all revenues generated from use of the fee shall be used only for support of the following programs for the benefit of the campus community:

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(vi) assistance to recognized student organizations including religious student organizations, for the purposes and activities of the organization that are of an educational, cultural, recreational or social nature, and provided further that the criteria for recognition of student organizations, the criteria governing eligibility for funding of and allocations to such student organizations from student activity fees [and the advisory nature of any referenda held by the student government to aid in particular funding decisions] shall be specified in the constitution and by-laws of the student government;

The proposed rule will amend provisions of the Trustees' Regulations governing the Student Activity Fee for state-operated campuses of the State University of New York. The amendment is needed to comply with the holding of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of Amidon v. Student Ass'n of State University of New York at Albany, 508 F3d 94 [2d Cir. 2007]. State University of New York has determined that no person is likely to object to the rule as written since it merely makes legally-required revisions to Part 302.14 of SUNY's regulations by eliminating language that provides for use of no-longer-permissible advisory referenda and adding language allowing for polls or surveys, which the court in Amidon said were still permissible.

No job impact statement is submitted with this notice because the proposed rule does not impose any adverse economic impact on existing jobs, employment opportunities, or self-employment. This rule makes legally-required revisions to Part 302.14 of SUNY's regulations by eliminating language that provides for the use of advisory referenda and adding language allowing for polls or surveys. Such a change will not have an impact on the number of jobs or employment.