The Undergraduate Student Government Senate passed its budget proposal for the 2016-2017 academic year at Thursday’s senate meeting.

The total amount of money allocated toward clubs with line budget status increased by about $6,800.

The chair of the Elections Board, Sydney G. Bryan, took the floor once the meeting was called to order to address the recent issues with USG elections, including the voting postponement.

“The person responsible for submitting the ballot on time had failed to do so,” she said, explaining why the voting period was moved from April 11-15 to April 18-22.

Since then, the Elections Board has issued numerous warnings to parties participating in the election to ensure that they follow the proper protocol. The board has disqualified one candidate through an internal vote and Google poll. 

The email chains regarding the disqualification will likely not be released until after the election, Bryan said.

“The information isn’t necessary,” she continued when questioned about the emails by a senator who said that disclosure would be valuable for transparency.

Treasurer Taylor Bouraad then took the floor to explain the budget proposal for the upcoming academic year. Notable changes include a cut in the special projects contingency fund from $10,000 to $5,000 to make room for more club spending, a $42,400 increase in administration costs and a $4,600 increase in Faculty Student Association management costs.

All clubs and organizations with line budget status submitted a budget proposal this year, but 14.85 percent of clubs saw a decrease in funding.

The budget passed 20-0-0 in a unanimous vote only 31 minutes into the meeting.

“The budget goes through multiple checks before it gets to this point by the treasurer and four assistants,” Sen. Jan Jaminal said. “This whole thing was largely a formality.”