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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	279
Proposal	Apportionment Standing Committee Policies And Procedures
Presenter	Illinois Green Party
Floor Manager	Elizabeth Arnone
Phase	Closed
Discussion	05/21/2007 - 06/03/2007
Voting	06/04/2007 - 06/10/2007
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	32 0.6666
Consens Quorum	38 A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

The Green National Committee recently approved Proposal 272, modifying the
rules for apportionment of delegates to the GNC. Included in Proposal 272
was a provision that a Policies and Procedures document for the new
Apportionment Standing Committee would be introduced in a short period of
time, so that the new committee would be able to get on with its
work. This proposal is introduced to satsify the condition of Proposal
272. The language closely mirrors the boilerplate P&P language currently
used by other GPUS standing committees.

Proposal

The Green National Committee hereby approves the following Policies and
Procedures document for the Apportionment Standing Committee (ASC):

GPUS Apportionment Standing Committee (ASC)
Policies and Procedures

I. Mission Statement

The GPUS Apportionment Standing Committee (ASC) will make decisions
regarding the implementation of apportionment formulas as specified in GPUS
Bylaws and GPUS Rules and Procedures. ASC will consult with state parties
on state party numbers and apply the criteria stated in GPUS Bylaws and
GPUS Rules and Procedures, as interpreted by the committee.

II. Objectives

The following is a non-exhaustive list of objectives and goals which the
ASC will be charged with carrying out. Additional objectives may be added
by the GPUS National Committee, Steering Committee, or full ASC.

A. Designing spreadsheets that perform the calculations of the formulas
described above for delegate apportionment.

B. Soliciting the state parties to send the relevant data so that
apportionment can be undertaken with the most complete data. (If a state
party does not submit numbers in a timely fashion, the committee is
empowered to use publicly available data or to allocate the delegate
minimum to that state party until the next apportionment.)

C. Applying the criteria of this proposal to the data, plugging the most
accurate available numbers into the formula, and completing the computations.

D. Developing a formal challenge process for data submitted by a state
party or to the data entry or computational analysis, reviewing any such
challenges, and making the final decision regarding the numbers to be used.

E. Reporting the results of apportionment to the NC in a timely fashion and
presenting the proposal to approve the completed computations.

III. Committee Structure

A. Voting Membership. The voting membership of the committee shall consist
of Green Party members from the various state parties and caucuses who have
been approved to serve by their state party or caucus. No state party or
caucus shall have more than three voting members on the committee. Each
voting member, not each state or caucus, is entitled to one vote.

B. Advisors and Observers. The voting members of the committee may at
their pleasure approve committee advisors and/or observers who are not
voting members from states or caucuses, per the decision-making process
specified in these policies and procedures.

C. Inactivity. Members who have not participated on-line, in
subcommittees, or on teleconferences in the last three months shall be
considered inactive members and shall not be counted toward a quorum. An
updated roster shall be sent to the e-mail list at least every three months.

D. Co-Chairs.

1. Two co-chairs, preferably reflecting gender balance, shall be elected
with staggered terms of two years each. If more than two candidates are
nominated, the committee shall vote using IRV (with a Droop
threshold.) Members may nominate themselves. Vacancies shall cause a vote
for a replacement co-chair. A recall election of a chair may be called,
following the procedure for any proposal.

2. The responsibilities of the co-chairs shall include keeping the
committee on task, maintaining a current roster of committee members,
conducting votes, and communicating with CC and SC members for the ASC and
any of its subcommittees. Co-chairs shall submit formal reports on at least
a quarterly basis to the CC list detailing committee activities. The
co-chairs shall come to explicit agreement and continue to consult with
each other about how their joint responsibility is to be shared.

E. Other Subcommittees and Working Groups. The voting membership of the
committee may at their pleasure create working groups and subcommittees.

IV. Committee Membership

A. Joining the Committee

1. New members shall be verified by written permission from their state
party or caucus to serve on the committee. State parties are required to
vet candidates for the knowledge and skill set needed for apportionment
calculations, including the necessary mathematical understanding and
spreadsheet skills.

2. No new member from a state party or caucus shall be seated if that
individual exceeds the state party or caucus's allocated three members on
the committee, until such time that the state party or caucus clarifies
which member(s) are to be removed.

3. State parties and caucuses, through their co-chairs or other appropriate
officers, may change permission status for any committee member from their
state at any time, subject to GPUS Bylaws.

B. Sanction or Removal of Members

1. The committee is expressly prohibited from using disagreements regarding
differing views on issues and/or business before the committee as a cause
for sanction or elimination of membership privileges.

2. The committee and its members have a responsibility for maintaining an
open, civil, productive working environment, whether meeting in person, by
telephone, online, or by any other means. The committee shall not tolerate
actions including:

a. Misrepresentation of the committee's or a member's work;
b. Financial improprieties;
c. Violent personal attacks and/or threats, verbal or physical;
d. Discrimination against federal or state (where applicable) protected
classes;
e. Harassment;
f. Any other unethical or illegal activities related to committee business
or function.

3. Inappropriate actions as outlined above can lead to sanction, suspension
of privileges, or termination of membership via the processes described below.

4. If at all feasible, the committee shall take steps to maintain a
productive working environment prior to sanction, suspension of privileges,
or removal. These steps may include:

a. Communication with the member's state party or caucus requesting they
intercede with the committee member regarding the behavior(s) in question.
b. Use of facilitation, counseling, mediation, and/or arbitration services,
as provided through the Dispute Resolution Committee or a mutually agreed
upon outside source if necessary, which shall be encouraged and expected.

5. A petition specifying charge(s) and proposed action(s) may be filed by
any three or more members of the committee from three different states
(hereafter known as "the petitioners") to require the committee co-chair(s)
to initiate and administrate formal action to curtail membership
privileges. Upon receipt of any such petition, the co-chair(s) shall
forward the petition to the state party or caucus that the member represents.

6. A 2/3 quorum and 2/3 vote, by state, of the committee, shall be
sufficient to confirm the charges and the initiate the action(s) detailed
in the petition.

7. The committee co-chair(s) shall initiate and execute follow through on
the approved action(s) and notify the member immediately following the vote.

8. In limited cases such as violent threats and/or harassment, the
co-chair(s) have the discretion to suspend listserv privileges pending a
vote of the committee.

9. After the member has been informed of disciplinary action, the
co-chair(s) shall, in writing, notify the GPUS National Committee and the
state party or caucus the member represents of the action taken.

10. The committee member in question may, within seven (7) days of these
postings, appeal the committee's action by notifying the GPUS Secretary of
the appeal. The Secretary shall forward the appeal to the National Committee.

11. Per GPUS bylaws and rules, any state party or caucus may put forward a
proposal to the National Committee to lessen or overturn the action of the
committee. A majority vote of the National Committee shall be sufficient to
pass the proposal.

V. Decision-Making

A. The voting membership shall attempt to reach consensus on all proposals.

B. Failing consensus, for decisions pertaining to finance or rules, a
two-thirds majority vote is required for approval. For simple proposals
including procedural ones, a majority vote is required for approval.

C. The committee shall maintain an email listserv for committee business
and formal decision-making.

D. Teleconferences. The committee shall, as needed, conduct
teleconferences for specific purposes. Notice of any committee
teleconference shall be sent out to the e-mail list at least one week in
advance and a reminder sent out two days before the teleconference. Such
notice shall include a proposed agenda.

E. For online votes, quorum for decision-making shall consist of one-fifth
of voting members from one-fifth of represented state parties and
caucuses. Proposals considered online must allow for at least seven days
of voting; upon any syntactical change to a proposal, a new seven-day
period must begin.

F. For teleconference votes, quorum for decision-making shall consist of a
majority of voting members from at least one-third of represented state
parties and caucuses. Failing quorum on a teleconference, decisions will
be reported out for a seven-day voting period on the listserv.

G. At face-to-face meetings at GPUS national meetings, quorum for
decision-making shall consist of a majority of voting members from at least
one-third of represented state parties and caucuses. Failing quorum on a
teleconference, decisions will be reported out for a seven-day voting
period on the listserv.

Resources

CONTACT: Phil Huckelberry

References

Proposal 272

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