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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	394
Proposal	BRPP Policies Procedures, AMENDED
Presenter	Bylaws Rules, Policies and Procedures
Floor Manager	Jason Nabewaniec
Phase	Closed
Discussion	05/19/2009 - 05/20/2009
Voting	05/21/2009 - 05/27/2009
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	34 0.6666
Consens Quorum	97 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

This will repeal the "Mission, Policies, & Procedures" of the BRPP,
adopted on December 7th, 2003; and replace this with a new document
entitled "Rules, Policies and Procedures of the Green Party of the
United States Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures." The
new document will provide for new duties, powers and responsibilities
for the Committee, including compiling and archiving changes that have
been or will be made from time to time to the Party's governing
documents; the ability to create subcommittees, adopt special rules,
recess and adjourn; clarification of rules related to inactive members;
rules for the election of Committee Co-Chairs, and for succession in
the event of a vacancy; the official organs for communication among
committee members; clarification of rules for notice for meetings of
the Committee; clarification of rules related to decision making within
the committee, including the role of consensus, definition of quorum,
and definition of adoption thresholds; outline of a process for the
consideration of business online, including the timing of discussion
and votes; meetings by teleconference or in-person; and the use of
Roberts Rules of Order where they are not inconsistent with Party
bylaws and rules.

Proposal

Section 1:

Resolved, that the following "Rules, Policies and Procedures" of the
Green Party of the United States Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies
and Procedures are hereby adopted.

Rules, Policies and Procedures of the Committee on Bylaws, Rules,
Policies and Procedures

ARTICLE I Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures

Section 1-1 Mission

The mission of the Committee shall be to support the development of
bylaws, rules, policies and procedures which serve the growth and
development of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS), and which
do not conflict with the Ten Key Values.

Section 1-2 Duties and Responsibilities

The Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures shall have the
power, duty and responsibility to:

1-2.1 Compile, document and archive, in a form accessible to the
membership of the GPUS and the public, the governing documents of the
GPUS as they have existed over time, subject to the actions of the
National Committee to amend them.

1-2.2 Compile, document and archive, in a form accessible to the
membership of the GPUS and the public, the governing documents of each
committee and caucus of the Party as they have existed over time,
subject to the actions of the National Committee to amend them.

1-2.3 On its own initiative or in response to a requests by a committee,
caucus or member state party, review the governing documents of the
GPUS and its committees and recommend amendments to such documents to
the National Committee.

1-2.4 Conduct periodic reviews and recommend amendments to the
structure of the GPUS in order to make the organization more effective.

1-2.5 Assist in the development and documentation of the structure and
functioning of all committees.

1-2.6 Develop model rules for committees and caucuses.

1-2.7 Create sub-committees as needed to complete its work.

1-2.8 Adopt such special rules as it deems advisable to govern the
conduct of internal Committee business which are not inconsistent with
this Policy, or the Bylaws or Rules and Procedures of the GPUS.

1-2.9 Adopt special rules governing any recess proposed as part of a
schedule for committee business.

ARTICLE II STRUCTURE

Section 2-1 Membership

2-1.1 The Committee shall consist of Green Party members appointed
according to the process for Committee Membership defined in GPUS
Bylaws and Rules and Procedures.

2-1.2 No member state party shall have more than three members on the
Committee.

2-1.3 Experience

The following criteria are recommended to be taken into account by
state parties and caucuses when selecting members:

2-1.3(a) Familiarity with the governing documents of the GPUS and its
committees and caucuses

2-1.3(b) Familiarity with the governing documents of the state party
and/or caucus of which one is a member

2-1.3(c) General experience with organizational bylaws, rules and
procedures

2-1.3(d) Commitment to Green process

2-1.4 Terms

2-1.4(a) The term of membership shall commence once reported to the
Co-Chairs and the GPUS Secretary.

2-1.5 Biography

2-1.5(a) A short biography along with contact information shall be
provided for each new member by the member, or by state party or caucus
from which the member comes.

2-1.6 Duties and Responsibilities

2-1.6(a) Monitor and participate in the Committee email list

2-1.6(b) Participate in Committee conference calls and in-person
meetings

2-1.6(c) Volunteer for Committee tasks

2-1.6(d) Join and participate in a Committee sub-committee

2-1.6(e) Participate in Committee decision-making as defined in Section
2-3.2 and Article IV, including voicing any outstanding concerns with
proposals before they come to a vote.

2-1.7 Inactive Status

2-1.7(a) Members shall be considered inactive and not counted towards a
quorum, who have in the previous three months not participated in
committee or subcommittee deliberations as evidenced by their voting
history, postings to the listserv or wiki of the committee, or
participation in teleconferences or in-person meetings of the
committee.

2-1.7(b) Members who have taken no steps to correct their inactive
status within three months of being reported as inactive to the
National Committee shall no longer be considered members of the
Committee.

Section 2.2 Advisers and Observers

2-2.1 The Committee may select advisers according to the process
described in GPUS Bylaws and Rules and Procedures.

2-2.2 Advisers shall be selected on the basis that their experience and
expertise may aid the Committee in its work.

Section 2-3 Co-Chairs

2-3.1 Two Co-Chairs, preferably gender balanced, shall be elected to
staggered two years terms. Terms begin on January 1st and end on
December 31st.

2-3.2 Duties and Responsibilities:

2-3.2(a) Facilitate the work of the Committee

2-3.2(b) Maintain and publish to the Committee and the GPUS Secretary,
an updated Committeee membership list at least quarterly, as well as
upon changes of membership and membership status

2-3.2(c) Conduct votes of the Committee

2-3.2(d) Communicate on behalf of the Committee with GPUS committees,
caucuses and the National Committee

2-3.2(e) Submit formal annual reports to the National Committee
detailing committee activities.

2-3.2(f) Propose a schedule for the conduct of Committee business
including any recess during which Committee business shall not be in
order.

2-3.3 The Co-Chairs shall come to explicit agreement and continue to
consult with each other about how their joint responsibilities under
2-3.3 are to be shared.

Section 2-4 Elections

2-4.1 Elections shall be conducted so that nominations may be made and
elections held and concluded between the second Tuesday in November and
the 20th of December. Elections shall be conducted using Instant Runoff
Voting (IRV), with No Other Candidate as an option. Members may
nominate themselves. Nominations do not need to be seconded.

2-4.2 Each election held by the Committee shall be conducted and
tabulated pursuant to The Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of
the United States, Article 7., related to "Preference Voting Rules for
Steering Committee Elections", adopted June 18th, 2006, and as such
rules may be subsequently amended, except as provided in this Section.

2-4.3 For purposes of this section related to the 'Conduct on Internal
Committee Elections', the term 'Election Supervisor' shall mean that
Co-Chair of the Committee whose successor will not be named by the
election over which they preside, or in the event that no such Co-Chair
exists, by the Co-Chair of the GPUS designated by the Steering
Committee to reorganize the Committee in the absence of both its
Co-Chairs.

2-4.4 Nominations for candidates for such election shall, upon the call
of the Election Supervisor be opened not later than the Friday,
following the Second Tuesday of November and shall remain open for not
more nor less than seven days.

2-4.5 Upon the close of nominations, each candidate whose name has been
placed in nomination will be afforded no less than seventy-two hours to
submit a candidate statement for distribution to the Committee.

2-4.6 The polls shall be opened and closed any time after the first
Sunday of December, upon the call of the Election Supervisor, with the
election conducted by secret ballot and beginning no earlier than the
first Monday of December and closing neither earlier nor later than
five days following the beginning of balloting and no later than the
16th of December.

2-4.7 In consultation with each candidate, properly nominated to appear
on the ballot, the Election Supervisor shall appoint an election
tabulation committee to review the ballots and the preliminary
tabulation of those ballots produced by the election software and to
report its recommendation related to the certification of such
preliminary results back to the Committee within forty-eight hours of
the close of the polls; and further to file with the Committee within
two weeks of the close of the polls, its report on the extent to which
these rules and any standing special rule of the Committee anticipated
the demands of this election and gave adequate guidance to the election
committee on the conduct of its responsibilities.

Section 2-5 Vacancies

2-5.1 A vacancy shall exist upon the resignation or recall of a
Co-Chair or thirty days after the finding by a Co-Chair, published to
the official organs of the committee, that a member elected as a
Co-Chair has been inactive and their membership on the committee is no
longer considered in the computation of quorum.

2-5.2 Vacancies shall cause an election for a replacement Co-Chair.
Such election would fill the remainder of the term and shall follow the
proces in 2-3.2.

2-5.3 A recall election of a Co-Chair may be called, following the
procedure for any proposal, except that the approval threshold to
approve the recall shall be a majority of all active committee members.

ARTICLE III OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

Section 3-1 Methods of Communication

3-1.1 The official and primary organ for Committee communication shall
be an archived email listserv, accessible to Members, Advisers and
Observers of the Committee. The Committee is also authorized to meet by
teleconferences and in-person meetings.

3-1.2 The official organ for the markup and development of Committee
proposals under 1-2.3 shall be a wiki. Committee members who are not
able to access the wiki may communicate their input on such proposals
via the email listserve.

3-1.3 The official organ for voting on all proposals before the
committee, except calls for Unanimous Consent as defined in 4-6, shall
be an on-line voting application. If the on-line voting application is
not available, votes may be taken on the email listserve.

3-1.4 The archives of the email listserv, the committee wiki and the
voting application shall be internet accessible to authenticated and
authorized members, advisers and observers of the Committee; and the
voting application shall be accessible to the public.

3-1.5 Notice of all committee business and formal decision-making,
including the conduct of voting, the voting applications' report on the
result of votes and any clarification by a Co-Chair to apply the
Committee rules to the results reported by the voting application,
shall be published to the email listserv of the committee.

Section 3-2 Non-Decision Making Meetings

3-2.1 The Committee may meet by teleconference or in person at the
Annual National Meeting for specific non-decision making purposes,
including holding hearings on proposals before the Committee and issues
pending before the Party. Such meetings may be called at the discretion
of either active Co-Chair, or whenever a majority of the Committee
publishes to the Committee email list, their support for holding such a
meeting or hearing. The Committee may by special rule provide for rules
governing the conduct of such.

3-2.2 Notice shall be published to the e-mail listserv at least three
days prior to the convening of such teleconference or twenty-one days
prior to any meeting held in conjunction with the Annual National
Meeting of the Party. Notice for such meetings shall be republished to
the email listserv of the committee not less than twenty-four hours nor
more than forty-eight hours prior the teleconference nor less than five
days nor more than ten days prior to an in-person meeting. Each such
notice shall include the purpose and a proposed agenda.

Section 3-3 Committee Schedule

3-3.1 The Committee is urged to conduct on at least an annual basis,
internal discussions on how to best schedule and satisfy its
obligations as determined by GPUS Bylaws and Rules and Procedures,
these Rules, Policies and Procedures and other requests and directions
from the National Committee and the Steering Committee; and to
communicate to the Steering Committee the potential timing of any
proposals for National Committee consideration it may consider bringing
forward during the coming calendar year.

ARTICLE IV DECISION-MAKING

Section 4-1 Consensus Seeking

4-1.1 The author of any proposal before the Committee is urged to make
a good faith effort to achieve consensus through addressing concerns
and considering amendments; and may substitute or withdraw a proposal,
at any time until the question is put.

Section 4-2 Quorum

4-2.1 Quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the active Committee
members either voting ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘abstain’ as determined by the
Co-Chairs. Active membership for the purposes of quorum shall include
only those who are members of the Committee at the time a motion is
considered recognized by the Co-Chairs.

Section 4-3 Approval Threshold

4-3.1 Any motion to endorse a proposal for National Committee
consideration, or to adopta Special Rule of the Committee shall require
the support of at least two-thirds of those voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’, so
long as such shall constitute at least a majority of the Committee.
Abstentions do not count towards the approval threshold.

4-3.2 Any motion other than those considered under 4-3.1 require the
support of at least a majority of those voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to be
approved, except that a recall of a Co-Chair requires a majority of all
active committee members. Abstentions do not count towards the approval
threshold.

Section 4-4 Process for New Proposals

4-4.1 Publishing a proposal by any member of the Committee on the
Committee's email listserv may initiate an informal discussion of the
proposal without starting its formal consideration.

4-4.2 The Co-Chairs shall within seventy-two hours recognize any
explicit motion, properly seconded, for the Committee's consideration
of a written proposal published to the listserv and wiki of the
Committee. Should the Co-Chairs fail to recogize a motion within
seventy-two hours, the motion shall be considered recognized for the
purposes of this Article. Any such motion, when published to the
listserv, shall use a Subject line prefix: 'Mtn: << description of
motion >>'.

4-4.3 The question on the adoption of any proposal shall be in order
when moved by the author, supported by a second when at least five days
of discussion have ensued since the recognition of the motion
initiating Committee consideration.

4-4.4 On substantive questions, the Co-Chairs may in their discretion
schedule a longer period of discussion and/or voting, including
opportunities for hearings and mark-up by teleconference or
face-to-face meetings of the Committee. However, the author may on a
motion properly seconded call the question anytime after the
twenty-eighth day following the motion for its formal consideration.

4-4.5 Votes shall be conducted using such online accessible voting
application as may from time to time be certified for its use by the
National Committee or by Special Rule of the committee. In the event
that such a voting application is not available for the committee's
use, votes may also be conducted on the email listserv of the
committee.

4-4.6 On all substantive questions, a vote shall be opened for not more
nor less than five days. On procedural questions, the vote shall be
open for two to five days, at the discretion of the Co-Chairs.

Section 4-5 Process for Amending Proposals before the National
Committee

4-5.1 When any proposal endorsed by the Committee is under
consideration by the National Committee, a motion, supported by a
second, to amend the Committee's previous position and submit a
substitute for the National Committee shall be in order when the
explicit form of such amendment had been published to the listserv of
the Committee and applied to the document on the Committee's wiki.

4-5.2 Discussion on any such motion shall be in order for no fewer than
three days, and the question shall be put by either or both Co-Chairs
in consultation with, but requiring no further motion from the author
of the proposed amendment. Any such amendment may be scheduled for a
vote to be opened either for two or five days, as time permits for its
consideration without causing delays by the National Committee in its
resolution of the underlying question.

Section 4-6 Recording the Results of Decision-Making

4-6.1 The results of all Committee decisions, including any special
rules passed, shall be accessible through the Committee home page on
the GPUS web site.

4-6.2 All special rules passed shall be reported to the National
Committee and the Steering Committee.

-----------------------

Section 2.

Resolved, that the National Committee of the Green Party of the United
States here repeals the "Mission, Policies, & Procedures of the Bylaws,
Rules, Policies & Procedures Committee", as such were adopted December
7th, 2003 in National Committee consideration on Proposal #61, and
which reads as follows:

COMMITTEE MISSION

The primary mission of the Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures
Committee (BRPP) is to maintain consistency between Green values, on
one hand, and the bylaws, rules, policies and procedures of the GPUS on
the other. This is done by focusing on the following areas:

1) Periodic review of the GPUS bylaws, rules, policies and procedures;

2) Assist in the development and documentation of the structure and
functioning of all GPUS committees;

3) Development of the role and functioning of caucuses;

4) Periodic review of the structure of the GPUS in order to make the
organization more effective;

5) Research, analysis, writing and proposing of bylaws, rules, policies
and procedures at the request of the SC, CC and committees of the GPUS.

BRPP COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

The Committee shall consist of Green Party members from the various
state parties who either have been approved by their state parties or
are currently serving as delegates to the GPUS Coordinating Committee.

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.

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. 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.

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 BRPP
committee and its subcommittees. Co-chairs shall submit formal monthly
reports 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.

The committee may create working groups and subcommittees.

BRPP INTERNAL DECISION-MAKING

ON-LINE VOTING

BRPP shall maintain an e-mail list for all committee business and
formal decision-making.

Before a proposal is forwarded to the Coordinating Committee, it shall
first be sent to all BRPP members, via the list, for formal approval.
BRPP members shall attempt to reach consensus on all proposals.

When a proposal is sent to the BRPP list, there shall be a two-week
discussion period. If consensus is not reached within two weeks, the
group may decide to add more time to the discussion period or to go to
a five-day voting period. The co-chairs shall conduct and verify the
voting. Two-thirds or more of all active BRPP members must vote in
favor for a decision for it to be approved. If a proposal is passed by
a vote, the submission to the CC shall include a section for the
unresolved concerns of those who opposed the measure.

TELECONFERENCES AND IN-PERSON MEETINGS

When needed, BRPP shall conduct teleconferences for specific purposes.
Notice of any committee teleconference shall be sent out to the e-mail
list at least two weeks in advance and a reminder sent out two days
before the teleconference. Such notice shall include the purpose and a
proposed agenda.

During teleconferences and face-to-face meetings, the committee shall
seek consensus and, when necessary, vote using a 2/3 majority of
participants to pass a proposal. Any decisions that are made during
teleconferences or in-person meetings shall be posted on line for final
approval. Five days shall be adequate time to test for consensus; if
concerns are raised, the standard two weeks, plus five days for voting,
shall apply.

-----------------------

Section 3.

Resolved, by the Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures,
that the following Special Rule shall be considered adopted by the
Committee upon the effective date of National Committee action to
revise the Committee's Charter, and authorize the adoption of Special
Rules.

Special Rules of the Committee on Bylaws, Rules, Policies and
Procedures of the Green Party of the United States

Article 1. Committee Operations

Section 1. Recess of Committee Business

1-1.1 The Committee may schedule such recesses as would acknowledge the
volunteer nature of the work done by Committee members, and their other
family, work, community and party obligations in which Committee
members may be engaged.

1-1.2 Each scheduled recess shall last at least one week, but in no
case longer than 45 days. The Committee shall not schedule recesses in
excess of 90 days per calendar year. No recess may commence prior to 20
days following adoption of the schedule providing for such recess.

1-1.3 Recesses of between one to two weeks shall require a majority
vote of those voting 'yes', or 'no', provided that at least a majority
of the committee votes 'yes', 'no' or 'abstain'. Recesses longer than
two weeks, but not to exceed 45 days shall require a 2/3 vote of those
voting 'yes', or 'no', provided that at least a majority of the
committee votes 'yes', 'no' or 'abstain'.

1-1.4 For purposes of a recess, no motion shall be recognized during a
scheduled recess, no vote shall be opened which would close during a
scheduled recess, nor may a vote be opened earlier than one week after
the close of a recess. Any procedural timelines for the consideration
of a proposal before the Committee shall be suspended for the duration
of any scheduled recess.
Retrieved from
"http://brpp.campaignfoundations.com/index.php?title=BRPPCharter"
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Resources

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References

http://brpp.campaignfoundations.com/index.php?title=BRPPCharter
http://green.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=61

CONTACTS:
Hugh Esco - hesco - at- greens.org
Audrey Clement - aclement65 - at - hotmail.com

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