The Student Association passed legislation Tuesday to establish a board to oversee the distribution of Mississippi State’s share of Starkville’s food and beverage tax.
The Food & Beverage Tax Allocation Board will consist of the SA president, treasurer, senate appropriations chairperson and four at-large members.
In Starkville, food and beverages are subject to a 9 percent sales tax, which is 2 percent more than the statewide sales tax. The university receives 20 percent of the 2 percent food and beverage tax.
SA treasurer Kathryn Spencer said MSU’s portion of the tax money amounted to about $185,000 this year and is projected to come to $200,000 next year. This is the first year MSU will receive money from the tax.
The money does not go directly into the student association’s budget, but the student association has been given the responsibility of deciding how it’s used. “It’s not actually ours, but we have the privilege to decide how the money is split up,” SA president Adam Telle said.
The tax revenue will be divided into four categories: programming-intensive groups, annual events, general student association appropriations and the vice president for student affairs discretionary fund.
Programming-intensive groups are groups that have a campus-wide benefit, Telle said.
“It’s kind of going to be an elite group. They’re going to receive more funding than the groups that receive money from the general appropriations,” Spencer said.
Annual events include events such as Bulldog Bash and Miss MSU, Telle said.
MSU president Charles Lee and Student Affairs Vice resident Bill Kibler support student control of the money, Spencer said.
“Dr. Lee and Dr. Kibler really want this to go directly to students and directly to student programming,” she said.
Lee gave the SA a one-time gift of $75,000 per year for the past two years, Telle said.
“This is going to take that burden off him,” he added.
The Senate also passed legislation that sets the third Tuesday in February as the date for SA officer elections. The new date will not take effect until after this semester’s elections.
“This is kind of the beginning of legislation to make a universal inauguration date in all the Universities in Mississippi,” SA Senator and legislation sponsor Christy Vinson said.
In addition, the Senate passed an appropriations bill that distributed $3,225 among seven campus organizations.