After approving one of the most high-profile bills of the University of Colorado Boulder Student Government’s legislative session, the university has faced challenges in implementing the bill’s biggest selling point: free emergency contraceptives on campus.

In March 2023, the University of Colorado Boulder Student Government (CUSG) passed 98 LCB 03: A Bill to Provide Free and Subsidized Emergency Contraceptives, enabling access to contraceptives on campus at no cost to the student. Legislative Council President Elizabeth Craig said the body faced challenges implementing this bill but remains optimistic about other goals she hopes to achieve as her term comes to an end this December.

The bill, which was co-authored by former Health and Safety Chairwoman Nimisha Mallela, President  Craig, CMCI Senator Gabbie Burton, and other members of CUSG,  allows for the distribution of free emergency contraceptives to fee-paying students at CU Boulder. The funds for this bill were pulled from a terminated UMC program that originally provided students who suffered from concussions with free helmets. The money previously set aside for this program was reallocated to the contraceptive bill.

Initially, legislators proposed making emergency contraceptives available at all of the markets around campus, which would have been funded by CU’s Housing and Dining Services. However, Craig detailed some challenges in implementing the bill related to funding.

“Towards the end, we did run into some issues … there’s a lot of fee regulations that are involved in where your student fees go and where we can use them,” Craig said. “So eventually, Wardenburg, God bless their souls, took on the responsibility of funding the contraceptives, and so the program has been launched, and you’re able to get free contraceptives at Wardenburg if you just bring your BuffOne.”

The emergency contraceptive pills would have cost a student up to $50 without the program.

Since Wardenburg has taken on the association of the cost, the rollout of the program is “starting smaller,” according to Craig. Additional funding has not been allocated to the program by the student government, which is currently facing a $2.8 million deficit after the legislative council’s 2024 fiscal year budget package totaled approximately $33.4 million, which exceeds their projected $30.6 million in revenue.

The budget is on President Craig’s mind as she nears the end of her term, and she said she wants to help students understand how CUSG spends their fees while in office.

Craig said she wants to “[make] sure students are aware of where exactly their money is going and how student government is so heavily involved in their lives.”

Craig emphasized the role CUSG has in funding student cost centers.

“When I say the word cost center, I mean, places like the [Student Recreation Center], UMC, all of the money that’s being allocated towards things like new weights, treadmills … That’s all coming from the CUSG budget,” she said.

With the responsibility to fund these cost centers, as well as student organizations and programs such as the pilot contraceptive initiative, the coming weeks will be vital to bodies responsible for financial management in the CUSG. The legislative council continues to discuss these issues in their weekly Thursday meetings, which are open to anyone who wants to attend and can be accessed via Zoom, or in person in UMC 247.

The Finance Board will begin hearings on 2024 fiscal year spending on Feb. 7, 2024, with deliberations taking place throughout the month of February. 

Driving home the importance of student involvement, President Craig highlighted the impact CUSG has on daily student life.

“We really wanted to make it a goal… that students on campus know that student government is an organization that’s there to advocate on behalf of them… I feel like it kind of permeates every aspect of students’ lives at CU,” she said.