- Rules - list.sfgreens.org

[SFGP Rules] meeting tomorrow night?
by John-Marc Chandonia 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

Hi, Are Bruce and Sue able to make tomorrow night's Rules meeting? We discussed last month the points we need to include in ammendments, so now we need to sit down and write the language. There should be time on the October GM agenda to bring proposals, if we can complete them tomorrow night. If you can confirm by tonight, I'll post notice on the website. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

3 4

[SFGP Rules] meeting tomorrow
by John-Marc Chandonia 06 Sep '06

06 Sep '06

Reminder... we have a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) from 7-9. The main agenda item is to draft bylaws for locals based on feedback from the 7/19 GM. The minutes from that meeting are posted on the website, as is a notice for the Rules meeting tomorrow. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

2 1

[SFGP Rules] next meeting
by John-Marc Chandonia 17 Aug '06

17 Aug '06

We had discussed meeting tomorrow, but I see no reason to hold a special meeting since there isn't time on this Wednesday's agenda to bring up a new bylaws proposal (only a 2nd reading for ones we passed last month). That brings us back to the issue of when we want to hold regular meetings: the 1st Wednesday is still open, if that still works for everybody. If so, our next meeting will be 9/6. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

3 2

[SFGP Rules] next meeting
by John-Marc Chandonia 07 Aug '06

07 Aug '06

Hi, I'll be out of town until August 6. If others can meet at our regular time next Wednesday, go ahead. Otherwise, let's reschedule sometime after I get back. We might discuss a change to our regular meeting time as well. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

3 3

[SFGP Rules] bylaws - CC attendance requirement
by John-Marc Chandonia 15 Jul '06

15 Jul '06

Here's language based on discussion at the CC meeting, and other county bylaws: A member will be automatically removed from the Council in the event that the member: a) Moves out of the county; or b) Registers with another political party or Decline to State; or c) Is absent from at least three out of any six consecutive regularly scheduled County Council meetings, without being excused by the CC. Absences may be excused by the CC (business decision) in advance of a scheduled absence or at the next CC meeting following an absence. Note that this language places an additional restriction on registered voters (b), but does not prevent us from appointing CC members who can't register to vote. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

1 0

[SFGP Rules] GM agenda posted
by John-Marc Chandonia 15 Jul '06

15 Jul '06

Hi, I just posted a partial GM agenda to the website; a couple more proposals are still forthcoming. Please look over the list of Rules Cmte proposals and straw polls before the meeting. We are in the process of changing the bylaws to allow more autonomous locals (currently described in the bylaws as neighborhood groups), and there are a lot of issues there to consider. One intriquing idea is to give each chartered local a spot on the CC, as is done by the Riverside Co GP. This should allow better cooperation and communication between the GM and locals, without much change in the current balance of power. There is also the idea of defining SFGP caucuses to have power and autonomy that would make them more like Locals than like Working Groups (as FIG is currently defined, and as Mixed and Lavender Greens were). Of course, FIG could elect to remain a WG if they choose. We would like to take straw polls on these issues at the GM to see people think. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

1 0

[SFGP Rules] new Rules committee
by John-Marc Chandonia 15 Jul '06

15 Jul '06

The new CC has nominated a new Rules committee... same as the current one. Bruce, are you still willing to serve? Do you want to change the meeting time to a more convenient one? JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

1 0

[SFGP Rules] summary of other counties' bylaws
by John-Marc Chandonia 06 Jul '06

06 Jul '06

Here's my quick summary of issues we're interested in (CC attendance requirements and locals). I didn't look at all the smaller counties. For the more complex bylaws, I did cut/paste of the relevant sections. Alameda: 3.3 Locals and Associations Locals are community or municipality-based clubs composed of GPAC members for the purpose of addressing local issues and providing for greater participation in GPAC activities. Associations, also known as caucuses or circles, are groups of GPAC members united by a particular interest or concern, i.e., gender, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation or political issue. Locals and associations may be certified or uncertified. To be certified, locals and associations must meet the requirements given herein and be confirmed by the County Council. 5.3 Locals and Associations 5.3.1 Certification Locals and associations desiring certification should present a written proposal to any Councilor. The proposal shall include a statement of purpose, any membership requirements, a decision-making process, and an endorsement process for specifically listed local elections. Within six (6) weeks of receipt the Council must determine whether or not to certify. If the Council decides not to certify it must send written notice to the local or association as to why certification was not granted. The Council may grant variances for the requirements for certification. The Council may also decertify locals and associations. 5.3.2 Membership There must be at least eight GPAC members who claim membership in the local or association and at least three quarters of the organization's membership must be GPAC members. 5.3.3 Points of Contact Certified locals and associations shall have a phone number where outgoing and incoming messages may be left and a mailing address. 5.3.4 Existing Locals and Associations The following existing locals and associations shall be considered certified. The County Council reserves the right to decertify these locals and associations. Alameda Greens (City of) Berkeley Greens Fremont Greens Hayward Greens Oakland Greens San Leandro Greens The GPAC Women's Caucus Locals/assoc get to 1) submit proposals to CC, and 2) decide on local endorsements (GPAC decides on endorsements outside locals). Attendance requirement: can't miss 2 meetings in a year without setting a proxy (somebody from same district). Butte: Attendance: can't miss 3 meetings in a row without designating an alternate (written notice). CoCo: The County Council shall certify or decertify local chapters of the GPCC. A certified local must meet the following requirements: 1. Define their geographical boundaries 2. Adopt By-Laws in accordance with the By-Laws of the Green Party of California 3. Comply with regulations of the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Federal Election Commission 4. Select a Treasurer Fresno: Attendance: Miss 3 w/o alternate (written proxy for each meeting) -> gone. Humboldt: Attendance: Same as Fresno. Locals: 5 active members, basically a distributed GM meeting. LA: CC recognizes locals Attendance: same as Fresno, but w/ notice. ARTICLE 13 ACTIVE GREEN LOCALS An "Active Green Local" is a group of Green Party members in Los Angeles County, recognized by the County Council and organized on a geographical basis. Section 13.1 Recognition In order to be recognized as an Active Green Local by the County Council a local must submit 13.1.1 Its bylaws, membership requirements, decision-making process and mission statement 13.1.2 A description of its local activities 13.1.3 A proposed geographic boundary 13.1.4 A petition requesting recognition. The petition must be signed by at least as many registered Greens within the proposed boundary area, as would be required to run for County Council from the same area. If a local exists over the boundary of more than one State Senate District, then the number of petition signatures required shall be the largest of any of the Districts. 13.1.5 A 3/5 vote of the County Council is required to recognize a local. Section 13.2 Resources Active Green Locals shall receive information directly from the GPLAC about GPLAC matters, as provided for in these bylaws, and will be listed upon the GPLAC web site. Section 13.3 Responsibilities 13.3.1 Active Green Locals are encouraged to conduct voter registration drives, organize local Greens, meet on a regular basis, be involved in local Green issues, develop and support Green candidates, and facilitate participation in the GPLAC of its members 13.3.2 Active Green Locals must submit minutes of its meetings to the County Council, and include a record of attendance, votes cast and decisions made. 13.3.3 Active Green Locals must follow all applicable laws. 13.3.4 Active Green Locals may use "Greens" in their name, but may not use "Green Party". Section 13.4 Review 13.4.1 The County Council shall regularly review the status of Active Green Locals every two years, starting from the original date of recognition. Additional review may be scheduled upon a 2/3 vote of the Council. 13.4.2 Recognized Active Green Locals shall retain their status with a simple majority vote. The Council County may also agree to continued recognition, but only within changed boundaries. Mendocino: same as Fresno Napa: Attendance: miss 3 consecutive w/o notification and approval -> gone Locals: same as CoCo Nevada: same as Fresno Orange: same as Fresno Section 7. Local Meetings 7.1 A "local" is a geographic grouping of Green Party of Orange County members. a. It may be defined by city boundaries, postal zip codes, supervisorial districts, State or Federal legislative districts, or by naming streets or other landmarks to define the local. b. If any of the boundaries used to define a local change, the local must submit a notification to the County Council within 30 days to maintain its recognized status. 7.2 To be recognized as a local, a group of registered Greens must present a petition signed by one half of one percent of all registered Green voters in Orange County, and describing the geographic area to be included in the local. All signers of the petition must reside within the geographic area proposed to be covered by the local. The petition must also describe a method by which it proposes to elect a liaison to the County Council. 7.3 The local must have its own name. Recognition of a local is not not to be construed as authorizing it to use the name "Green Party of Orange County" without express permission from either the County Council or a County Assembly for each instance. 7.4 If a local engages in activities under its own name other than a local County Assembly, it takes full responsiblity for them as a separate organization from the Green Party of Orange County. 7.5 The local must, by the procedure described in its originating petition, elect a liaison to the County Council. The local's liaison shall have the following responsibilities: a. Ensure that the local's agenda in a local County Assembly covers all items on the county-wide agenda. b. Inform the County Council of all decisions reached by the local, and the results of any votes c. Forward copies of all attendance sheets from meetings of the local to the Secretary of the County Council. This will allow meeting attendance at a local meeting to count toward fulfilling Article III, Section 1.2 a. for participation in a County Assembly. 7.6 A local may choose to hold its own County Assembly at a time and place of its choosing so long as it has convened within thirty (30) days after the county-wide County Assembly. 7.7 In order to take part in the County Assembly decision-making process, a local must agree to address all proposals contained in the draft agenda of the county-wide County Assembly. 7.8 If not all locals reach consensus on a given proposal, each vote of each active member present at a local meeting shall be counted as if he/she had been present at the county-wide County Assembly. If a local reaches consensus, all active members present shall be assumed to have voted in favor of the proposal. 7.9 No decision of the County Assembly is complete until all recognized locals have had the opportunity to address the proposal. If a local fails to address a proposal circulated in the draft agenda, the members of that local shall be considered to have taken no part: they are not counted as "yes", "no", or "stand-aside" in the decision making process for that proposal. 7.10 While an active member may attend any and all local meetings of a County Assembly, he or she may only hold an "unresolved concern" or vote (should one become necessary) once per proposal. 7.11 If a local County Assembly wishes to vote on election of County Council members, it must only vote on the candidates already nominated and seconded at the county-wide County Assembly. It may not make nominations. ARTICLE VI: PETITION FOR COUNTY ASSEMBLY Section 1 1.1 Upon being presented with a petition signed by a number of active members of the GPOC equal to one half of one percent of the total number of registered Green voters in Orange County, the County Council must call a County Assembly within 60 days of the presentation. 1.2 Such a petition must include all of the following in its text: a. one or more agenda items which the petitioners feel a need to treat in a County Assembly. b. suggested time allotments for each item. c. the names of one or more presenters willing to present any proposals mentioned in item "a" above. If the only agenda item mentioned in "a" above is the election of County Council members, no Presenters are necessary. Placer: same as Fresno Riverside: ARTICLE IV - CHAPTERS A "Chapter" is an active affiliation of at least five registered Green Party voters who are members of the GPRC organized to promote Green values. Chapters have no legal responsibility to the GPRC except as is required by California Law and the GPCA bylaws for participation in the GPCA. To the extent Chapters choose to be actively involved in the GPRC, their involvement will be in accordance with these Bylaws. They must also adopt their own "Chapter bylaws" and submit the ratified bylaws to the Council. The Council shall offer an opportunity for input on all issues before the GPRC to the Chapters that are active with the GPRC. Each GPRC member may only vote with one Chapter on such issues, although GPRC members may be part of multiple Chapters. The Council shall offer Chapters non-financial assistance to the extent it is available, such as treasury and bookkeeping assistance, facilitation and consensus training and other basic support. Chapters that choose to be active with the GPRC may designate one of their members as a non-elected member of the Council. Article V - the council 1.04 The Council shall have elected and non-elected members. The elected members shall be elected by Countywide ballot in the manner and for the terms designated by the Election Code. Elected and non-elected members shall have equal voice in the deliberations and decisions of the Council. However, to the extent this provision is in conflict with applicable California law, the decisions of the elected members shall control. The vote of the elected members shall be recorded with respect to each decision made by the Council. In the event it shall be determined that California law required a decision to be made by elected Council members only, the decision as determined by the recorded vote of the elected members shall govern and shall be implemented. Sac: same as Fresno SD: Article 4 - Locals & Clubs Section 4-1 - Descriptions 4-1.1 Local Organizations and Clubs, hereafter referred to as Locals, are charged with fostering community empowerment and Party growth within their borders. There are three general types of Locals; Area-Based, Issue-Based, and Tribal/Ethnic Group Based. These classifications do not necessarily preclude other types of Locals from being recognized by the GPSD. 4-1.2 The membership of Area-Based Locals shall be the Green Party registered voters in the appropriate neighborhood or geographic area of the County. 4-1.3 The membership of Issue-Based Locals shall be based on participation. 4-1.4 The membership of Tribal/Ethnic Group Based Locals shall be that by which the Tribe or Ethnic Group currently defines itself in matters separate from the Party. 4-1.5 Only Locals officially recognized by the GPSD, as described in Section 4-2, are authorized to claim Green Party affiliation. Officially recognized Locals may select a representative to the County Council as described in Paragraph 3-2.2. Section 4-2 - Certification & Recognition 4-2.1 A newly-formed or an existing Green organization within San Diego County with at least five active members may become recognized as a Local of the GPSD by first requesting certification from the County Council then requesting recognition from the General Membership. 4-2.2 A Local seeking certification must submit a request through the County Council secretary, accompanied by its mission statement and a description of its organizational structure and decision-making process. After confirming that these documents conform to recognized Green values and the goals of the GPSD, the Council shall appoint a volunteer among its membership to perform a site visit. This Council member shall attend the next available meeting of the Local and report back to the Council. The Council may request more information or submit concerns to the Local before deciding on certification. After a positive certification, which requires at least a "high threshold" vote, the County Council must submit a 'Proposal For Recognition Of A Certified Local' to the General Membership at the next available meeting. Recognition requires prior notice and at least a "high threshold" vote of the General Membership for approval. 4-2.3 Any uncertified Local may attempt to bypass the certification proceedure and submit a 'Proposal For Recognition Of An Uncertified Local' directly to the General Membership at the next available meeting. Such a proposal is submitted as 'information' during the first available meeting and decided during the following meeting. 4-2.4 Recognized Locals must remain active to retain their affiliation status. Any Local which fails to maintain an up-to-date membership list and a calendar of its meetings and events with the Membership Coordinator OR which fails to meet at least once within the past six months OR whose membership falls below five persons for the same period shall be considered to be inactive. The County Council shall remove any inactive Locals from the affiliation list and notify the General Membership. SLO: 5 people Recognized by CC or GM Contact person Must present yearly report at GM. Can't take position on county issues contrary to SLO or GPCA. SM: ARTICLE 7: LOCALS 7.1. Organization Any two or more members of the Green Party of San Mateo County residing in the same area may create a Green Party Local by submitting the following to the County Council: 1. A statement of the name and purpose of the organization; 2. A description of the area to be included in the local; 3. A list of names of the members; 4. The name, address, phone, and other contact information for a person who will serve as liaison to the County Council. 7.2. Continuance in good standing The Local shall continue to be recognized as long as it maintains regular communication with the county council and adheres to Green values and the requirements of these bylaws. The Local shall provide copies of all meeting agendas and minutes to the county Secretary. If the county Secretary has received no communication from the local liaison for a period of three months, the Secretary shall send a letter to the local liaison to determine if the local is still in existence. If the local liaison does not respond to that letter, the Secretary shall inform the county council that the Green Party Local is no longer in good standing. 7.3. Meetings The Green Party Local shall adhere to the same requirements for meeting notification, agendas, and minutes as the County Council. 7.4. Fundraising 7.4.1. The Green Party Local may raise or expend funds for the cost of meetings and publicity so long as such funds and expenditures do not constitute campaign donations or expenditures as defined by the Political Reform Act of 1974 as amended. 7.4.2. Should the Green Party Local wish to raise and expend funds that would constitute campaign donations or expenditures as defined by the Political Reform Act of 1974 as amended, the Local shall proceed as follows: 1. Turn all receipts over to the county Treasurer along with all documentation needed to comply with requirements of the Political Reform Act of 1974 and submit requests for expenditures to the County Council; OR 2. Appoint a Treasurer and register as a political action committee in accordance with the Political Reform Act of 1974. 7.5. Public Statements 7.5.1. The Local may not make public statements on behalf of the Green Party without prior approval of the County Council. Santa Clara: ARTICLE 5 COUNTY LOCALS 5.1 Consistent with Green Party values supporting decentralization and personal responsibility, individual members may form locals of the Green Party of Santa Clara County in the various subregions of the county. 5.2 To be duly recognized as an official GPSCC Local, such a group must: a) Be approved as a County Local -- either by the County Council or at a general meeting of the GPSCC -- after submitting a written request signed by at least five (5) Members describing their intent to form a Local and the boundaries of the proposed Local. b) Minutes will be recorded for all official meetings and a copy will be made available to the County Council on request. c) Duly elect a contact person who will facilitate communication between the local and the county organization. d) Have clearly defined geographic boundaries and notify the Council in writing of any subsequent changes of those boundaries. e) Conduct Local activities in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Green Party's 10 Key Values. 5.3 A GPSCC Local shall not take any public position on county-wide or state-wide issues contrary to that taken by the GPSCC or the California Green Party, without receiving consensus at a County general meeting. A Local shall not assert any authority expressly reserved to the GPSCC in these Bylaws or to the California Green Party in the state party's bylaws. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

1 0

[SFGP Rules] reminder - Rules mtg next Wed
by John-Marc Chandonia 31 May '06

31 May '06

Hi, Just a reminder about the meeting next Wednesday. I'll check on which rules and bylaws I've received and which I'm still looking for, and try to have them all in hand by next week. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc(a)sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/

3 8

[SFGP Rules] Meeting date
by Bruce Wolfe 04 Apr '06

04 Apr '06

I am still quite sick and not ready to expose my lungs full force yet but let's think about a day to start things going over the next two weeks. Bruce

3 2