Associated Students Legislative Council has approved the 2003-04 A.S. budget with several cuts to reflect the organization’s financial crisis.

As a result of the current A.S. budget crunch, many items in next year’s budget have either been reduced or reclassified as line items. Line items are parts of the organization that will remain for the next year, but have been lowered in priority in favor of others until more money is available. Line items, such as the A.S. intern and tech support, have been allocated no money for next year. Staff salaries have also been reduced, with $482,495 allocated compared to last year’s $492,495.

Recharge fees to organizations with lock-in fees have also been increased from 6 percent this year to 8 or 10 percent next year, depending on whether the organization has staff members. Recharge fees are fees that A.S. charges to organizations with lock-in fees in order to pay for accounting and administrative costs, such as bookkeeping and check writing.

With the new lock-in fees passed by undergraduate students in this spring’s elections, the total amount undergraduate students will pay in A.S. lock-in fees will be $39.68 per undergraduate per quarter, totaling $119.04 in A.S. lock-in fees per undergraduate per year.