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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	882
Proposal	Amend the Rules of the Green Party Peace Action Committee GPAX
Presenter	Green Party Peace Action Committee GPAX
Floor Manager	Gloria Mattera
Phase	Closed - Adopted
Discussion	10-02-2017 - 10-15-2017
Voting	10-16-2017 - 10-22-2017
Presens Quorum	Two Thirds of Active Accredited States/Caucuses
Consens Quorum	A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

GPAX has been dormant for a number of years. Recent interest has attracted state approved members from seven states to revive the committee. Several other states are in the process of approving members to GPAX.
Upon examination of the GPAX rules currently in place, current members determined that amendments were necessary in order to update outdated sections and bring our rules into compliance with GP-US bylaws.

In summary, the proposed GPAX rules amendments will serve to: 1) clarify the language regarding how decisions were made, 2) make clear that the committee would have two co-chairs and one secretary, with a statement of duties as to each, 3) update the rules and make sure they met all the requirements of the current GP-US by-laws, and 4) allow for communications and voting to occur by on-line means other than a list-serve, if it is decided to use another type of service.

Proposal

In the GPAX Rules, replace:
2. Leadership
The co-chairs shall be elected by the membership of the committee with nominations to take place at the in-person yearly meeting of the GP-US Annual National Meeting. When possible, co-chair positions shall represent gender diversity.
Persons are not required to be in attendance to be nominated. Voting will take place for one week following the meeting in an on-line election to be conducted using Preference Voting. When possible the co-chairs shall be of different genders. The job of the co-chairs is to keep the committee on task and provide leadership to the various sub groups of the committee working on specific tasks. If a co-chair resigns an elected replacement shall fill out the remainder of the term.

With
2. Officers
The officers of the Peace Action Committee shall consist of two Co-Chairs and one Secretary.
The officers shall be nominated and elected by the membership of the committee for their initial term shortly after approval of these rules and recognition of the Peace Action Committee by the Green Party National Committee. Nominations for officers for subsequent terms shall take place at the Annual National Meeting of the GP-US. The terms of the officers shall be for two years, except that, at the first election following the first Annual National Meeting, one of the Co-Chairs shall be elected to a one-year term, in order to comply with GP-US By-Law 3-3.1.
Persons are not required to be in attendance to be nominated but must affirmatively indicate that they have accepted the nomination. Voting will take place for one week following the meeting in an on-line election to be conducted using Preference Voting. When possible the co-chairs shall be of different genders.
The Co-Chairs shall be responsible for convening meetings at the times set by the committee, keeping the committee and any sub-committees on task and serving as spokespersons for the committee, consistent with the mission and decisions of the committee as a whole. If a Co-Chair resigns or is removed, the committee shall nominate and elect a replacement to fill out the remainder of the term.
The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping and posting minutes of each meeting, and maintaining a roster of approved and active members for purposes of establishing quorum. The Secretary may delegate these tasks to other committee members by agreement, as needed, provided that he/she informs the committee of the delegation. The Secretary may also serve as a spokesperson for the committee, consistent with the mission and decisions of the committee as a whole. If a Secretary resigns or is removed, the committee shall nominate and elect a replacement to fill out the remainder of the term.
Officers may be removed for cause, either by consensus or by a 2/3 vote of the voting active members.

Replace:
3. Decisions
A) Committee Decision Process
Before making a formal decision, a Peace Action Committee secretary shall publish the resolution on its email list noting that a decision will be made. The committee shall then attempt to achieve consensus on the resolution.
Following a minimum of five days, If no consensus is achieved, the Peace Action Committee shall be empowered to vote (on-line), and a 2/3 vote of the voting active members shall be required for passage. As usual for GP-US committees, each state and caucus will have one vote.
When an email vote is needed to make a formal decision, there shall be a resolution circulated on the list followed by a two-week discussion period,followed by a 5-day voting period. The co-chairs shall conduct and certify the votes. When the committee makes a decision by consensus, a shorter decision-making process is allowed as long as sufficient time for comments and concerns, at least 5 days, is given.
B) Emergency Decision Powers
In the event of an emergency or time-sensitive decision making, information will immediately be distributed to the GPAX listserv, and following a 24-hour period and in the absence of a reporting majority, consensus must be reached by the Co-Chairs and Secretaries. If consensus is reached, a decision can be made and all the subsequent procedural mandates will apply.

With:
3. Decisions
A) Committee Decision Process
Any member of the committee may submit an action proposal or resolution for consideration by the committee, either at a phone conference meeting, in-person meeting, or by email or other on-line mode of communication.
If a proposal or resolution is submitted at a phone conference or in-person meeting, members can indicate their support or raise concerns at that time, but the proposal or resolution shall still be submitted to the entire committee on-line for decision-making as described in this section before being adopted by consensus or vote.
The committee shall first attempt to achieve consensus on the resolution or proposal. There shall be a minimum period of at least five full days allowed to test for consensus, the time to be extended by the Co-Chairs as needed if concerns have been raised. If no concerns are raised within the designated period, then the proposal or resolution will have been adopted by consensus.
Following a minimum of five days, if no consensus is achieved, the Peace Action Committee shall be empowered to vote (on-line), and a 2/3 vote of the voting active members shall be required for passage. As usual for GP-US committees, each represented state and caucus will have one vote.
When an online vote is needed to make a formal decision, the resolution or proposal will again be circulated on the list followed by a two-week discussion period, followed by a 5-day voting period. The Co-Chairs shall conduct and certify the votes.
B) Emergency Decision Powers
A member may submit a proposal or resolution as an “emergency or time-sensitive matter.” If all three officers agree that the proposal or resolution is of a time-sensitive nature, then the proposal or resolution may be submitted for consensus within a 24-hour period and, if no blocking concerns are raised, may be adopted by consensus, provided that all three officers are among the consenting members. This provision shall only be used when extraordinary circumstances require a fast decision in order for the intent of the proposal or resolution to be fulfilled.

Replace:
4. Quorums and Active Members
An active member of the Peace Action Committee shall be defined as a duly-acknowledged member who has been active within the last three months, taking part in discussion, decisions, or subgroup work within that period.
The secretaries shall be responsible for keeping a roster of active members, though they may ask other committee members to actually keep the list.
One third of the active membership shall constitute a quorum for formal decision making. There shall be no quorum requirements for the committee to take on projects, designate people to work on projects, or other informal work that moves the committees operations and projects along.

With:
4. Quorums and Active Members
An active member of the Peace Action Committee shall be defined as a duly-acknowledged member who has been active within the last three months, taking part in discussion, decisions, or sub-committee work within that period.
One third of the active membership shall constitute a quorum for formal decision making. There shall be no quorum requirements for the committee to take on projects, designate people to work on projects, or other informal work that moves the committee’s operations and projects along.

Replace:
5. Teleconferences and In-Person Meetings
The Peace Action Committee shall use teleconferences and in-person meetings to conduct business.
All formal decisions made at a teleconference or in-person meeting shall be reviewed on line using the committee list and the normal decision-making process.
6. Reports
The Peace Action Committee shall make regular reports to the GPUS CC on its work. The co-chairs shall lead that process.

With:
5. Communications
The Peace Action Committee shall use agreed upon platforms to conduct business. This may include teleconferences, video conferences, email, social media or in-person platforms. All formal decisions made at meetings shall adhere to the normal decision-making processes and will be documented on the official committee list.
6. Reports
The Peace Action Committee shall make regular reports to the GP-US Steering Committee on its work. The Co-Chairs shall lead that process.
7. Sub-Committees
The committee may establish sub-committees as needed to perform specific tasks or work on designated projects. These shall be created through the normal decision-making process described in these rules. Each sub-committee should designate an individual to serve as chair, responsible for ensuring that the sub-committee stays on task and for reporting its work to the committee.
8. Civility and Respect for Minority Viewpoints on Issues and Decisions
Within the parameters of the Ten Key Values, committee members shall strive to respect differences of opinion, remain civil and respectful in their communications, and refrain from name-calling or labeling of other committee or party members. When a decision is made over the expressed concerns or objections of a minority of members of the committee, those members remain free to communicate their concerns to their state-party delegation or other members of the National Committee or Steering Committee of the GP-US, provided, however, that such communications should be shared or copied to the committee as a whole, in the interest of transparency.

Resources

IMPLEMENTATION/TIMELINE/RESOURCES: The proposal will take effect immediately upon adoption by the NC.
CONTACTS:
Deanna Dee Taylor, 801-403-0121, deedeelivesgreen@greenpartyutah.com
Rich Whitney, 618-967-0840, richwhitney@frontier.com

References

REFERENCES:
Bylaws of the Green Party of the United States, http://gpus.org/bylaws
3-6.4 Propose such amendments to its Committee Rules for approval by the National Committee as are necessary to fulfill its mission, duties and responsibilities.
Rules and Procedures of the Green Party of the United States, http://gpus.org/rules-procedures
Article VI: Procedures for Proposals to the National Committee
Section 6-2 Types of Proposals and their Approval Threshold (Consens Quorum)
6-2.2 The following proposals before the National Committee shall require a majority of all 'yes' and 'not' votes cast for passage.
6-2..2(f) Rules, Policies, and Procedures for GPUS Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, Caucuses, and Networks
Peace Action Committee Rules,
http://gpus.org/committees/peace-action/committee-rules

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