GREEN PARTY OF PIMA COUNTY BYLAWS
The following bylaws were adopted Green Party
of Pima County at the statutory meeting of the County Committee on
December 12, 2000. Please see section VI for procedures to amend
the bylaws.
Contents: (click triangles on left-side to jump to specific sub-section)
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
A. The
Green Party of Pima County (hereinafter "GPPC") is a
political party created to represent all voters resident in
Pima County who have designated "Green Party" as
their party preference on their voter registration.
B. The
GPPC shall foster, encourage, and promote the aims and
objectives of the Greens, particularly in matters concerning
candidates for political office, ballot initiatives, and other
legislative matters affecting Pima County.
C. Present
Arizona law (Statutes A.R.S. §§ 16-821 et seq.) require
political parties to function at times in an undemocratic,
hierarchical manner. While abiding by these laws, the GPPC
will work through legislative channels to make such statutes
more democratic. The GPPC shall seek consensus in its own
decision making processes (as outlined in these bylaws) and
respect the input and concerns of all Greens in Pima County.
II. OFFICIAL MEMBERSHIP AND DEFINITIONS
A. Throughout these bylaws, Pima County residents who have
designated "Green Party" as their party preference on
their voter registration constitute and are collectively referred
to as the "Green Party of Pima County" or GPPC.
B. The membership of the County Committee of
the GPPC (hereinafter referred to as the "County
Committee") shall consist of all qualified Green Party
Precinct Committeepersons serving in Pima County, as addressed in
A.R.S. §§ 16-821 et seq..
C. The membership of the Steering Committee
of the GPPC (hereinafter referred to as the "Steering
Committee") shall be composed of five County Committee
Officers (Chairperson, 1st Vice-Chairperson, 2nd Vice-Chairperson,
Treasurer, Secretary) and four at-large representatives (two
Outreach Representatives and two GPPC Representatives). All
members of the Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as
"Party Officers") shall be elected pursuant to bylaw
III.D.
D. Persons not properly registered as members
of the GPPC may not seek or hold office in any GPPC committees.
E. No properly registered member of the GPPC
shall be prohibited from attending any meeting of a committee of
the GPPC or any general GPPC meeting, except as outlined in
section IV.B.
F. The County Committee and the Steering
Committee recognize that they serve the GPPC and, as such, are at
all times fully accountable to the general membership of the GPPC.
III. PARTY STRUCTURE AND OFFICERS
A. COUNTY COMMITTEE
1. Terms. Terms of office for all County
Committee officers are for the period between duly noticed
Statutory Meetings, which take place once per year. Elections for
County Committee Officers shall take place at each Statutory
Meeting. Newly elected officers shall take office immediately upon
being elected. Outgoing officers shall promptly transfer all
relevant documents and materials to incoming officers.
2. Resignation. Any officer may resign at any
time. In addition, each officer will be given the opportunity to
resign at each Regular Meeting of the County Committee.
3. Vacancies. Vacancies created by
resignation or removal shall be filled pursuant to Bylaw III.D.
B. STEERING COMMITTEE
1. As defined in section II.C, the Steering
Committee consists of the five County Committee Officers
(Chairperson, 1st Vice-Chairperson, 2nd Vice-chairperson,
Treasurer, and Secretary) and the four At-large Officers (two
Outreach Representatives and two GPPC Representatives).
2. All decisions regarding substantive
actions and business of the GPPC shall be taken by the Steering
Committee.
3. Terms of Office.
(a) County Committee Officers: see section
III.A.1 above.
(b) Terms of office for Outreach
Representatives are for the period between duly noticed Statutory
Meetings. Elections for Outreach Representatives shall take place
at each Statutory Meeting. Newly elected Outreach Representatives
shall take office immediately upon being elected. Outgoing
Representatives shall promptly transfer all relevant documents and
materials to incoming Representatives.
(c) GPPC Representatives shall serve for the
span covering twelve duly noticed meetings of the GPPC. At the
twelfth meeting following the meeting at which the previous
election took place, new GPPC Representatives to the Steering
Committee will be elected. Newly elected GPPC Representatives
shall take office immediately upon being elected. Outgoing
Representatives shall promptly transfer all relevant documents and
materials to incoming Representatives. The first and only the
first GPPC Representative elected, however, shall serve for the
span of eighteen meetings, in order to ensure a staggered
succession among GPPC Representatives.
4. Resignation. Any officer may resign at any
time. In addition, each officer will be given the opportunity to
resign at each meeting of the Steering Committee.
5. Vacancies. Vacancies created by
resignation or removal shall be filled pursuant to Bylaw III.D. A
vacancy created by resignation or removal shall count towards the
establishment of a quorum until such vacancy is filled.
C. DUTIES OF OFFICE
1. MEETINGS. All County Committee members
shall attend duly noticed meetings of the County Committee when
they are able. All members of the Steering Committee shall attend
meetings of the Steering Committee.
2. COUNTY CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson shall
cooperate with the other members of the County and Steering
committees in coordinating county-wide Party activities and is
responsible for the following:
(a) The Chairperson shall notify each County
Committee member of the time, date, and place of all meetings of
the County Committee. Such notification shall be mailed to each
County Committee ember at least ten days prior to the date of the
meeting.
(b) The Chairperson may act as the
spokesperson of the County and Steering Committees.
(c) The Chairperson may set the agenda for
"Other Business" at Statutory and Regular Meetings.
3. FIRST VICE-CHAIRPERSON. The First
Vice-Chairperson shall perform any duties specified in Bylaw
IV.B.1 if the Chairperson is unable to perform them. The First
Vice-chair shall also provide, within one week of any GPPC
election, a certificate to the elected officer outlining at a
minimum the following:
(a) The officer's name and office.
(b) The term of office.
(c) The duties of office.
4. SECOND VICE-CHAIRPERSON. The Second
Vice-Chairperson shall perform any duties specified in Bylaw
IV.B.1 if the Chairperson and First Vice-Chairperson are unable to
perform them.
5. TREASURER. The minimum duties of the
Treasurer are to oversee all financial matters regarding County
and Steering Committee business in accordance with established
financial regulations, including the filing of any and all reports
and forms as required by state and county law, including tax
forms.
6. SECRETARY. The minimum duties of the
Secretary are:
(a) To inform, within ten days, the secretaries of
all related committees, including the GPPC, of a change or vacancy
in a County Committee or Steering Committee office.
(b) To keep in a secure, organized, and
verifiable manner the minutes compiled by the note-takers of the
various committee meetings and to forward, within twenty-eight
days, copies to the secretaries of all related committees,
including the GPPC.
(c) To maintain all County and Steering
Committee records.
(d) To handle County and Steering Committee
correspondence.
(e) To file an Amended Statement of
Organization with the Pima County Division of Elections whenever a
Chairperson of the County Committee and/or a Treasurer of the
County Committee is replaced.
7. OUTREACH REPRESENTATIVES
(a) The Minority Outreach Representative
shall ensure that issues regarding the various ethnic, religious,
national and other minorities present in our community are taken
into account in the decision-making of the Steering Committee.
(b) The Gender Outreach Representative shall
ensure that gender and sexual-orientation issues are taken into
account in the decision-making of the Steering Committee.
(c) Both Outreach Representatives shall
attend all Steering Committee Meetings and participate in that
body's decision-making processes.
8. GPPC REPRESENTATIVES
(a) The GPPC Representatives shall ensure
that the opinions, points of view, and concerns of the GPPC
general membership are taken into consideration in the
decision-making of the Steering Committee.
(b) The GPPC Representatives shall attend all
GPPC meetings in order to meet and confer with the GPPC general
membership. They shall also attend all Steering Committee Meetings
and participate in that body's decision-making processes.
9. STATE COMMITTEEPERSONS are the
representatives of the GPPC to the Arizona Green Party and shall
ensure that the issues, concerns, and opinions of the GPPC are
represented to, considered, and respected by the Arizona Green
Party. State Committeepersons shall attend all meetings and
conference calls of the Arizona Green Party and shall report
directly to the Steering Committee.
10. LIMITATIONS ON OFFICE. No party officer
may hold more than one elected GPPC Party Office at one time,
except:
(a) Precinct Committeeperson. This position
is open to any GPPC person who is statutorily qualified to serve.
(b) County Committee Officers are
automatically placed on the Steering Committee and as such are not
holding duplicative office.
(c) County Committee Officers or Outreach
Representatives may also serve as State Committeepersons
D. ELECTION OF COUNTY COMMITTEE PARTY
OFFICERS. The officers shall be elected in the following order.
1. THE CHAIRPERSON. The following procedure
shall be used to elect a Chairperson at a duly noticed meeting of
the County Committee:
(a) Any County Committee member may nominate
a candidate to run for the position of Chairperson.
(b) All nominations must be seconded by at
least one committeeperson of each gender.
(c) When a nomination has been made and
seconded, the facilitator shall open the floor to discussion.
(d) Once all members desiring to speak have
done so, the facilitator shall open the floor to additional
nominations.
(e) The facilitator may request that speakers
request a specific amount of time; speakers must then confine
their comments to the specified amount of time.
(f) If the facilitator calls for an end to
discussion on a particular nomination and no more than one-third
of the Members present object, then discussion is ended and the
floor is opened to further nominations.
(g) When there are no more nominations the
County Committee shall elect a Chairperson. Each member votes by
secret ballot for one candidate. The candidate with more than
one-half of the votes becomes the new Chairperson.
(h) In the event no candidate receives over
one-half of the votes cast, a run-off will be held between the two
highest vote-getters. Members will be allowed time to caucus and
for discussion before the run-off is held.
2. THE FIRST VICE-CHAIR AND SECOND
VICE-CHAIR. The following procedure shall be used to elect a First
and Second Vice Chairperson at a duly noticed meeting of the
County Committee:
(a) Any County Committee Member may nominate
a candidate to run for the position of Vice-Chairperson.
(b) All nominations must be seconded by at
least one committeeperson of each gender.
(c) When a nomination has been made and
seconded, the facilitator shall open the floor to discussion
pursuant to bylaw III.G.
(d) When there are no more nominations the
County Committee shall elect a First Vice-Chairperson and a Second
Vice-Chairperson. Each Member votes by secret ballot for one
candidate. The candidate with the most votes becomes the First
Vice-Chairperson and the candidate receiving the second highest
number of votes becomes the Second Vice-chairperson.
(e) Ties for either office will be resolved
by a runoff. Members will be allowed time to caucus and for
discussion before the runoff is held.
3. THE TREASURER AND SECRETARY. The following
procedure shall be used to elect a Treasurer and a Secretary at a
duly noticed meeting of the County Committee:
(a) A Treasurer shall be elected first, and
then a Secretary.
(b) Any County Committee member may nominate
a candidate to fill a position.
(c) All nominations must be seconded by at
least one committeeperson of each gender.
(d) When a nomination has been made and
seconded, the facilitator shall open the floor to discussion
pursuant to bylaw III.G.
(e) When there are no more nominations the
County Committee shall elect a Treasurer and a Secretary.
(f) The voting shall be by roll call unless
one-half of the Members present indicate a preference for secret
balloting.
(g) Ties for either office will be resolved
by a runoff.
E. ELECTION OF AT-LARGE PARTY OFFICERS
1. OUTREACH REPRESENTATIVES. Separate
caucuses shall be held at Statutory County Committee Meetings and
may be held at other meetings where elections are held in order to
choose Outreach Representative(s). Half the County Committee
members present shall participate in the Gender Caucus, the other
half in the Minority Caucus. The division shall be made by
consensus. If only one caucus is being held, then at least half of
the County Committee members present shall participate in that
caucus. The following procedure shall be followed to elect
Outreach Representatives:
(a) The highest ranking officer of the
County Committee in the caucus shall be the facilitator of the
caucus. If there is no officer present in a given caucus, the
caucus members shall select a facilitator by roll call vote or
consensus.
(b) Any member of a caucus may nominate a
candidate to represent that caucus. The candidate is not required
to be a member of the County Committee but must be a member of the
GPPC.
(c) All nominations must be seconded by at
least two additional members of the caucus.
(d) When a nomination has been made and
seconded, the facilitator shall open the floor to discussion
pursuant to bylaw III.G.
(e) When there are no more nominations, the
caucus shall elect a representative. Each caucus member votes by
roll call for one candidate. The candidate with more than one-half
of the votes becomes the new Outreach Representative.
(f) In the event no candidate receives over
one-half of the votes cast, a run-off will be held between the two
highest vote-getters. Members will be allowed time for discussion
before the run-off is held pursuant to section III.G.
2. GPPC REPRESENTATIVES. The Pima County
Greens Representatives must be GPPC members but shall not be
members of the County Committee. They shall be elected as follows:
(a) When a vacancy for the position of GPPC
Representative arises or at the end of the Representatives' term,
the Secretary shall notify the GPPC membership by the most
expedient means possible that new representative(s) are needed. At
the next duly noticed GPPC general meeting, an agenda item shall
be included regarding the election of new GPPC representative(s).
(b) Any GPPC member may nominate a candidate
to fill a position.
(c) All nominations must be seconded by at
least one GPPC member of each gender.
(d) When a nomination has been made and
seconded, the facilitator of the meeting shall open the floor to
discussion pursuant to bylaw III.G.
(e) When there are no more nominations the
GPPC shall elect new GPPC representative(s).
(f) The voting shall be by roll call unless
one-half of the members present indicate a preference for secret
balloting.
F. ELECTION OF STATE COMMITTEEPERSONS. The
following procedure shall be used to elect State Committee
members:
1. All County Committee Members (Precinct
Committeepersons) wishing to be State Committeepersons are
automatically eligible for election to the state committee.
Candidates shall so signify whereupon their names shall be place
upon the ballot.
2. Should the number of open positions equal
or exceed the number of candidates, all candidates are
automatically elected State Committeepersons. The total number of
State Committeepersons may not exceed one-third of the total
number of County Committee Members.
3. Should the number of open positions be
less than the number of candidates, an election shall be held
using the following procedure:
(a) Each member of the County
Committee shall vote by casting votes equal to one-sixth the total
number of County Committee Members. Each vote must be for a
separate candidate.
(b) Those candidates receiving the most votes
are elected to the state committee until all open positions are
filled.
(c) In the event of a tie resulting in an
inability to properly fill all positions, there will be runoff
elections until all positions are filled.
G. LIMITED DISCUSSION shall take place as
follows:
1. A time-keeper shall be chosen.
2. Any candidate for office may make a
statement of up to five minutes.
3. Any other member may make a statement of
up to two minutes on issues relating specifically to the
qualifications of any candidate(s) running for office.
4. The candidate shall answer whatever
questions the membership has.
IV. REQUIRED MEETINGS
A. LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT COMMITTEES.
Legislative District Committees of the GPPC shall not be
established until such time that Green Party members living in a
given legislative district feel it would be useful to organize at
that level and petition the County Committee to amend these bylaws
accordingly, pursuant to Bylaw VI.
B. OPEN-MEETING POLICIES. All committee
meetings are open to all GPPC members subject to the following:
1. GPPC members who are not members of the
committee whose meeting they are attending may not take part in
the discussion of the committee, except to make announcements,
state opinions, pose questions at the start of the meeting. Such
comments shall be made at the beginning of the meeting pursuant to
a call to the audience made by the facilitator of the meeting and
shall be limited to two minutes per non-member unless the Steering
Committee chooses to extend the time by consensus.
2. Committee members shall be seated in an inner
circle or shall otherwise occupy a cohesive space that facilitates
discussion among members. Non-committee members shall be seated in
an outer circle.
3. Committee members may, by consensus, decide
to expel a non-committee member from a meeting if that person is
causing undue disturbance during the meeting.
C. THE COUNTY COMMITTEE
1. STRUCTURE AND DECISION-MAKING. The County
Committee shall operate pursuant to the procedures outlined in
section V, unless otherwise indicated.
2. STATUTORY MEETINGS. Upon achieving ballot
status, the County Committee is required by law to meet from time
to time for the purpose of organizing and electing officers. These
meetings shall take place after each general election, but no
later than the second Saturday of January in the year following a
general election. The order of business for County Committee
statutory organizational meetings shall be:
(a) Call to order.
(b) Declaration of quorum
(c) Call to the audience
(d) Treasurer's Report
(e) Election of Chairperson, 1st Vice-chair,
2nd Vice- chair, Treasurer, and Secretary pursuant to bylaw III.D.
(f) Election of Outreach Representatives
pursuant to Bylaw III.D.
(g) Other business
(h) Adjournment
3. REGULAR MEETINGS. At least one Regular
Meeting of the County Committee shall be held every three months.
The first official Regular Meeting shall be held within six weeks
of the GPPC achieving ballot status. The order of business for
County Committee regular meetings shall be:
(a) Call to order
(b) Declaration of quorum
(c) Call to audience
(d) A brief report from each officer not to
exceed five minutes in length and related only to the maintenance
of membership in the various committees
(e) Resignations (Chairperson shall ask each
officer if s/he is willing to commit to continue in his/her office
for the next three months; 1st Vice-chair shall ask same of
Chairperson)
(f) Confidence votes shall be taken at the first quarterly meeting
in April. Confidence votes at the second and third quarterly meetings
in July and October shall be taken if any County Committee member makes
a request to the Chairperson in writing no less than 14 days in advance
of these meeting dates. A voice vote for each of the seven officers
elected by the County Committee (the five Party Officers and the two
Outreach Representatives) shall be taken. Should an officer receive a
35% vote of no-confidence as judged by the facilitator, the County
Committee shall hold impeachment proceedings immediately pursuant to
bylaws VII.C.1 - VII.C.3.
(g) Elections to fill vacant positions
(h) Other business
(i) Scheduling of next Regular Meeting
(j) Adjournment
4. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special Meetings of the
County Committee may be called at any time by a written request of
a majority of the members of the Steering Committee or by a
written request of not less than 1/3 of the membership of the
County Committee. These requests shall be mailed or hand-delivered
to the Chairperson, who shall set the meeting at a time and place
best suited to achieve a quorum. The call for any special meeting
must state the purpose of said meeting. No other business shall be
conducted at a Special Meeting other than that stated in the
written request. The order of business for Special Meetings shall
be:
(a) Call to order
(b) Proof of proper call and proper notice of
call of the meeting
(c) Declaration of quorum
(d) Call to the audience
(e) Business as stated in the call
(f) Adjournment
5. NOTICE. The County Committee Chairperson
shall ensure that all County Committee members are notified in
writing of each County Committee meeting not less than ten days
prior to the date of the given meeting. Such notification shall
include the time, place, and date of the meeting. Notice of
Special Meetings shall also include the purpose for which the
meeting is called.
6. PROXIES. No County Committee members shall
be allowed proxies at any time for any reason for either GPPC or
County Committee meetings.
7. QUORUM. Fifty-one percent of the
membership of the County Committee must be present to constitute a
quorum at any County Committee meeting. If a quorum fails to
attend at the time and place fixed for any meeting of the County
Committee, a simple majority of those present may adjourn the
meeting after posting a prominent written notice at the meeting
place.
D. THE STEERING COMMITTEE shall meet at least
once per month at a time and place to be determined by the
consensus of its members. Two-thirds of the membership of the
Steering committee must be present at a Steering committee meeting
to constitute a quorum. If a quorum fails to attend, a simple
majority of those present may adjourn the meeting after posting a
prominent written notice at the meeting place. No Steering
Committee members shall be allowed proxies at any time for any
reason for Steering Committee meetings.
1. STRUCTURE AND DECISION-MAKING. The
Steering Committee shall operate pursuant to the procedures
described in section V unless otherwise indicate.
2. The order of business for Steering
Committee meetings shall be:
(a) Call to order
(b) Declaration of quorum
(c) Call to the audience
(d) A brief report from each officer not to
exceed five minutes in length
(e) Resignations (facilitator shall ask each
officer if s/he is willing to commit to continue in his/her office
for the next three months; 1st Vice-chair shall ask same of
Chairperson)
(f) Other business
(g) Adjournment, including scheduling of next
meeting.
3. Failure to attend, in their entirety, two
consecutive Steering Committee meetings or an aggregate of three
Steering Committee meetings in one term shall subject a Steering
Committee member to removal. Removal for failure to attend
meetings is the sole exception to the removal process via the
County Committee described in section VII and may be accomplished
as follows:
(a) At the end of the agenda but before
adjournment of the second consecutive or third aggregate Steering
Committee meeting that a Steering Committee member has not
attended, any present Steering Committee member may impeach the
absent member by making a motion for his or her removal. The
moving member shall cite the dates of the missed meetings.
(b) The Secretary shall provide the minutes of
those meetings as promptly as possible. Once the Steering
Committee has reviewed the minutes to verify the alleged absences,
the Steering Committee shall vote on the removal.
(c) Removal under this section requires a
unanimous vote of the Steering Committee, not including the
impeached member.
E. GPPC MEETINGS.
1. GPPC meetings shall take place on the
first Tuesday of every month at a time and place to be determined
by consensus of those present at the last GPPC meeting.
2. GPPC Meetings shall be governed by the
decision-making procedures described in section V.
3. There is no quorum requirement for GPPC
meetings.
V. DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURES FOR ALL
MEETINGS
A. DEFINITIONS
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all
substantive decisions concerning actions of the group or committee
in question shall follow the Consensus/supermajority procedure
described in section V.B below.
2. All procedural matters relating to the
implementation of the consensus/supermajority procedure shall be
decided by a simple majority vote.
B. CONSENSUS/SUPERMAJORITY PROCEDURE
1. Statement of Agenda Item: what is the
issue?
(a) Clarification of issue, if necessary
(b) Discussion of the issue, if necessary:
what are all views?
2. Proposal: synthesis; what action should
the body take?
(a) Discussion: speak to proposal, clarify
proposal, weigh good points and concerns.
(b) Modify proposal or withdraw
3. Test for Consensus
(a) Restate proposal
(b) Call for concerns
(c) Call for objections within consensus,
reservations, standing aside
(d) Call for blocks
(e) Attempt to incorporate objections of
blockers
(f) Consensus reached
(g) If unable to achieve consensus, ask for a
procedural vote to choose one of the following:
i. Supermajority vote on the issue: 80% in
favor carries the proposal
ii. Table the issue
iii. Send the issue to committee
iv. Add more time to discussion
v. Implement Decision
C. MEETING STRUCTURE
1. A facilitator will have been chosen during
the previous meeting. A meeting shall not adjourn before a
facilitator for the next meeting has been chosen.
(a) The facilitator shall prepare a proposed
agenda prior to the meeting.
(b) The facilitator shall finalize the agenda
prior to beginning the meeting, adjusting agenda items as needed.
(c) The facilitator shall guide the meeting
through the agenda.
(d) The facilitator shall not use his/her
position to manipulate the outcome of decision-making process.
(e) Time limits shall be assigned to items on
the agenda where appropriate.
2. A time-keeper will have been chosen during
the previous meeting. A meeting shall not adjourn before a
time-keeper has been chosen for the next meeting.
(a) The time-keeper shall advise the meeting
when the time for a specific task has expired, as designated by
the agenda.
3. A person to take minutes will have been
chosen during the previous meeting. A meeting shall not adjourn
before someone has been chosen to take minutes at the next
meeting.
(a) The person taking minutes shall ensure
that the Party Secretary receives the minutes prior to the next
meeting.
VI. PROCEDURES FOR THE ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT
OF BYLAWS
A. INITIAL ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
1. Following the election of party officers
at its first duly noticed statutory meeting, the inaugural County
Committee shall adopt these bylaws.
2. Following adoption of the bylaws, any GPPC
member may propose amendments to the bylaws for a period of two
weeks. Proposals shall be made in writing and shall be mailed to
GPPC, PO Box 6014, Tucson, AZ 85703 and shall be postmarked within
the two-week period following the date of initial adoption.
3. The Steering Committee only shall decide
whether to adopt all timely received proposals. Consideration
shall occur at the new Steering Committee's first meeting at which
their is a quorum and shall proceed pursuant to the procedure
described in section VI.B.3.
B. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
1. Any GPPC member may propose an amendment
to the bylaws. Such a proposal shall be made in writing.
2. SIGNATURES. The proponent of the amendment
shall gather the signatures of twenty other GPPC members who
support the proposal. The signatures and the proposal shall be
forwarded to the Party Secretary.
(a) The Secretary shall verify that the
signatories are validly registered GPPC members.
(b) If the Secretary is able to verify twenty
signatures, he or she shall distribute copies of the proposal to
all County Committee and Steering Committee members at least seven
days before the next scheduled County Committee meeting.
(c) GPPC Representatives and Precinct
Committeepersons are responsible for informing their constituents
of the contents of the proposal.
3. APPROVAL. At the next scheduled County
Committee meeting at which there is a quorum, the County Committee
shall take the following action with regard to the proposed
amendment:
(a) If County Committee members received
copies of the proposal less than seven days before the meeting,
they shall decide by consensus whether to consider the proposal or
to table it. If they have had seven days, the proposal shall be an
item on the agenda.
(b) The County Committee shall discuss the
proposed amendment. Following discussion, the County Committee
shall decide via the consensus/supermajority procedure outlined in
Section V whether to approve of the proposal or not. The County
Committee is hereby empowered to correct technical,
non-substantive errors in the proposal if such errors are
preventing approval of the proposal.
(c) If the proposal is not approved, the
Secretary shall inform the proponent promptly of the decision in
writing.
4. RATIFICATION. If the proposal is approved
by the County Committee, the Steering Committee shall undertake
the following at its next meeting at which there is a quorum:
(a) Members shall discuss the proposal.
(b) Following discussion, the Steering
Committee shall decide via the consensus/supermajority procedure
outlined in Section V whether to ratify the County Committee's
approval of the amendment.
(c) If the Steering Committee does not
ratify, the Secretary shall inform the proponent promptly of the
decision in writing.
(d) If the Steering Committee ratifies the
approved proposal, then the amendment shall take force immediately
and shall supersede any conflicting language in the existing
bylaws.
(e) The secretary shall incorporate the new
bylaw into the body of the existing bylaws.
(f) The secretary shall ensure that the
amended bylaws are posted on the web.
(g) Outreach Representatives and Precinct
Committeepersons are responsible for informing their constituents
of the amendment.
VII. IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL OF PARTY
OFFICERS
A. WHO. In addition to the procedure outlined
in section IV.B.3.f, any officer may be impeached by any member of
the GPPC. Such an impeachment shall be in writing.
B. SIGNATURES. The proponent of impeachment
shall gather the signatures of ten other GPPC members who support
the removal. The signatures and the impeachment document shall be
forwarded to the Party Secretary.
1. The Secretary shall verify that the
signatories are validly registered GPPC members.
2. If the Secretary is able to verify ten
signatures, he or she shall distribute copies of the impeachment
to all County Committee members prior to the next scheduled County
Committee meeting, whether it be a regular, statutory or special
meeting.
3. GPPC Representatives and Precinct
Committeepersons are responsible for informing their constituents
of the contents of the impeachment.
C. REMOVAL. The County Committee shall
undertake the following regarding the impeachment at its next
meeting at which there is a quorum:
1. Members of the Steering Committee shall,
at their discretion, hear evidence from any GPPC members who have
information relevant to the impeachment. The members of the County
Committee shall then discuss the impeachment.
2. Following discussion, the County Committee
shall decide via secret ballot whether to remove the impeached
officer.
3. A 75% supermajority is required to remove
the officer.
4. If not present, the Secretary shall inform
the removed officer in writing of the decision.
D. These procedures are entirely separate and
independent from the procedures for removing a Steering Committee
member for failure to attend meetings described in section IV.C.3.
ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
COUNTY COMMITTEE MEETING 12/12/2000
Signed by Matt Scholz, Chairperson, 12/20/00
Ann Samuelson, 1st Vice Chair
Carolyn Campbell, 2nd Vice Chair
Peter Hormel, Secretary
Jeff Simpson, Treasurer
AMENDMENT OF IV.C.3.(f) OF BYLAWS
ADOPTED AT COUNTY COMMITTEE MEETING ON 01/06/2019
RATIFIED AT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING ON 01/29/2019 BY:
Sara Mae Williams, Chairperson
Eduardo Quintana, 1st Vice Chairperson
Ryan Kelly, 2nd Vice Chairperson
James Maynard, Treasurer
Mike Cease, Secretary
Bob Aros, Minority Outreach Representative
Cara Bissell, Gender Outreach Representative
Regina Brown, 2nd GPPC Representative
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