Regular Allocations hearings are underway for the next fiscal year.

During a period of 43 hours and six hearings, the Government of the Student Body Finance Committee meets with more than 140 student organizations to discuss budget requests for the next fiscal year.

These hearings occur every spring and are responsible for the funding of over a million dollars to student organizations.

GSB receives its income from the mandatory student fee that every ISU student pays. The regular allocations process accounts for nearly 85 percent of student fee spending every year.

Currently the student fee is $35.25 and will remain that through at least fall 2014. 

Every year, the GSB finance director recommends how to divide the student fee money after regular allocations takes place.

Each group that requests funding is required to attend an informational session with the finance committee before the hearings begin and then submit their budget online.

Student organizations have one fiscal year to spend the money funded by GSB.

“We want them to spend all of it,” said Arjay Vander Velden, finance director for GSB. “It’s a good use of student fee money, and it’s better then sitting in a pot.”

Funds that are unused or leftover from student organizations are then returned to GSB and divided evenly between the GSB Events account and the Capital Projects account.

Approval by the finance committee of a student organization’s budget is one of the first steps to receiving funding.

After the regular allocations hearings, senators can pull budgets for further review. If an organization’s budget is pulled, their budget will be discussed again in more detail.

Once an organization’s budget is approved, GSB senate will review all of the funding in the form of a bill that will then be voted on during a senate meeting.

The second read and final debate of this years regular allocations funding will be during the March 27 GSB Senate meeting.

As always, the meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.

Student organizations that either miss regular allocations, or encounter unexpected expenses can attend Special Allocations in the fall.

This is a process similar to that of regular allocations; the only difference is it takes place in the fall and groups request funding for the upcoming spring semester.

Special allocations typically fund approximately $20,000 to student organizations, which is tiny in comparison to the funds granted during regular allocations.

During the school year, the GSB senate is also able to allocate funds at their discretion. This amount typically varies from $20,000 to $50,000.

GSB senators draft legislation that is then reviewed by the Finance Committee. The bill is either sent favorably or unfavorably from the Finance Committee to the Senate floor and then discussed and voted on by the senate.

Funding allocated this way can come from any of the three GSB accounts, depending on what kind of funding it is.

The GSB Events account funds events that are free and available for all students and are entertaining in nature.

The GSB Capital Projects Account funds large expenditures that will last at least three years and provide a major benefit to ISU students.

The Senate Discretionary Account funds anything the Senate can and chooses to fund within their bylaws.