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Bylaws

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Bylaws

Adopted November 1, 2000

ARTICLE I
NAME

1.01 The name of this organization is the Green Party of Butte County/Butte County Greens (hereinafter "County Greens").

ARTICLE II
GOVERNANCE

2.01 The administrative body of the County Greens is the Butte County Green Party Council (hereinafter "Council").

2.02 These bylaws shall govern the organization, operation, and function of the County Greens and the Council. In the event of an omission or ambiguity in these bylaws, relevant provisions of the bylaws of the Green Party of California shall be interpreted by the Council for purposes of governance until the membership amends these bylaws.

ARTICLE III
PURPOSE OF THE COUNTY GREENS

3.01 The purpose of the County Greens is to further the following ten key values through political and social action:

  1. Grassroots Democracy
  2. Social Justice
  3. Ecological Wisdom
  4. Nonviolence
  5. Decentralization
  6. Community-Based Economics
  7. Postpatriarchal Gender Equity
  8. Respect for Diversity
  9. Personal and Global Responsibility
  10. Future Focus and Sustainability

ARTICLE IV
MEMBERSHIP

4.01 Members of the County Greens shall be

  1. All persons residing in Butte county with a current and valid registration in the Green Party of California
  2. Individuals who would independently choose to register in the Green Party of California but are not legally able to do so.

ARTICLE V
THE COUNCIL

5.01 The primary purpose of the Council is to support the members of the County Greens in the work of the Green Party. To this end, all Council meetings shall be open to any member of the Butte County Green Party, who may participate in discussion and the consensus process. Only members of the Council may vote in decisions that are the responsibility of the Council, however, unless the Council chooses otherwise.

5.02 The Council serves as the elected representative body of the County Greens and has responsibility to administer the County Greens according to these bylaws. The Council serves in the role of County Central Committee pursuant to Division 7 of the California Election Code.

5.03 Members of the County Council of the Butte County Green Party shall be elected at large for two-year terms at each general primary election, and shall take office at noon on the Tuesday following the 30th day after their election. If, by the time a new County Council is to take office, no one has been elected or qualified to take office, or if the entire Council is vacated during its term, a General Meeting may elect at least one member to the County Council. The State Coordinating Committee must be notified immediately if such an action takes place.

5.04 In the event of vacancies on the Council, new members of the County Council may be appointed to fill vacancies. The Council shall nominate, and with the consent of the next scheduled General Meeting, appoint new members to the Council to complete unexpired terms. If the Council is vacant, a General Meeting may elect at least one member to the County Council. The council will notify the Green Party of California Coordinating committee and County election officials of any change in the composition of the Council within five days.

5.05 The number of members to be elected to the County Council shall be the greater of: 1) The number seven, or 2) The integer nearest the resulting quotient obtained by dividing 100 times the number of Green Party registered voters in Butte County on the 135th day prior to the next direct primary election in Butte County by the number of Green Party registered voters in the state on that date. If any modification of this formula is made by amending these bylaws, the council will notify the Green Party of California Coordinating Committee of such changes no later than 150 days before the direct primary election.

5.06 A Council member may designate in writing an alternate to serve in his or her absence. A designated alternate shall have full voting rights on the Council while the elected member is absent. Written notice of designation of an alternate shall be delivered to the Council before any actions in which the alternate participates as a voting member of the Council.

5.07 A Council member shall be deemed as resigned if s/he

  1. no longer maintains residence in Butte County
  2. no longer is registered in the Green Party
  3. misses three consecutive Council meetings without appointing an alternate.


5.08 The duties of the Council shall be

  1. to propose the agenda and choose facilitators for General Meetings;
  2. to see to it that minutes of General Meetings are kept, and that the records of the Butte County Green Party are maintained;
  3. to set dates for General Meeting sessions, and to take steps to see that the membership is informed of those dates;
  4. to make recommendations and proposals to General Meetings;
  5. to set up working groups and committees to further the work of the Green Party;
  6. to ask for and receive reports and recommendations from working groups and committees;
  7. to coordinate the efforts of the various working groups and committees;
  8. to dissolve working groups and committees that have completed their work or are not meeting or functioning;
  9. to make every reasonable effort to see to it that decisions of General Meetings are faithfully carried out;
  10. to make such decisions as are normally reserved to a General Meeting, but cannot be delayed until the next possible General Meeting session;
  11. to develop strategy and implement policy for the Butte County Green Party;
  12. to be ultimately responsible for seeing that the legal and fiscal responsibilities of the Butte County Green Party are met;
  13. to see to it that any necessary action which does not fall within the duties of any particular working group is carried out;
  14. to speak for, or to authorize individuals to speak for the Butte County Green Party;
  15. to carry out any duties required of it by the Green Party of California; and,
  16. to make any other decisions which, within reason and without abusing either the spirit or letter of these bylaws, help to carry out the powers and duties of the Council, any working group or committee, or the General Meeting, as stated here and elsewhere in these bylaws.

5.09 The Council shall use the consensus process for decision-making. The Council may, however, establish its own rules of procedure.

5.10 The Council shall choose from its membership a chair, a secretary, and a treasurer. These bylaws do not determine a length of service for these officers individually or severally, but the Council may not specify terms of office that extend beyond the date when Council members elected in the next primary assume their duties.

5.11 Any vote of the Council shall require the presence of a quorum at a meeting. A quorum of the Council shall consist of 2/3 of the current members of the Council rounded down to the nearest whole number. When a quorum is present for any part of a meeting, the meeting shall qualify as having a quorum present, even if the number of members of the Council present at any time subsequently falls below the number needed to achieve a quorum.

5.12 The Council may delegate any of its duties and powers to committees. Committees may contain members drawn from outside the Council, but they shall remain responsible to the Council.

5.13 The Council may recognize working groups that voluntarily come together with a stated purpose that furthers one or more Green Party values in the community. The Council shall maintain a list of recognized working groups with appropriate contact information and shall make available to the working groups such communication and other resources of the Butte County Green Party as the Council deems appropriate. Recognition of a working group does not authorize that group to speak for the Butte County Green Party, nor to make endorsements or commitments in its name without prior written approval of the Council.

5.14 The Council shall hold regular meetings eleven months of the year. Additional meetings may be held as needed. Upon taking office or as soon as practicable, the Council shall determine a tentative calendar of meetings for the first year of its two-year term. This calendar shall be made public at the following General Meeting and posted on the Butte County Green Party's web site. Modifications to this calendar shall be announced in a timely way in these same venues.

5.15 A 2/3 vote of a General Meeting may override a vote of the Council.

ARTICLE VI
GENERAL MEETINGS

6.01 The active membership shall participate in the decision-making of the Butte County Green Party through General Meetings.

6.02General Meetings are gatherings for the purpose of consulting together, making decisions, sharing knowledge and information, and otherwise maintaining the cohesiveness of the Butte County Green Party.

6.03 General Meetings shall be open to all members of the Butte County Green Party and interested observers, but only active members may vote, or present concerns that require a vote.

6.04 General Meetings must be held at least once every three months, but may be held more frequently. General Meeting dates and locations will normally be set by the Council, but a General Meeting may propose and vote on the date and time of the next General Meeting if the Council has not yet set a date and time or if the date and time set by the Council are unacceptable to the General Meeting. General Meetings should be held in locations that are accessible to all interested individuals.

6.05 As the main deliberative body of the Butte County Green Party, the General Meeting shall:

  1. define general goals, policy, and priorities of the Butte County Green Party;
  2. make statements in the name of the Butte County Green Party;
  3. make recommendations and proposals to the Council;
  4. elect delegates to the General Assembly of the Green Party of California;
  5. review the decisions and actions of any other body of the Butte County Green Party; and,
  6. discuss and deliberate on issues of policy, strategy, or structure that face the Butte County Green Party.

6.06 A General Meeting may delegate any decision to the Council.

6.07 The first order of business at a General Meeting shall be a determination by the council that a quorum exists. A quorum for a General Meeting shall consist of five current members, present at the time and location previously set and legally announced for the General Meeting to take place. If a quorum is lost at any point in the meeting, no vote of the General Meeting shall be binding from that time until the number of current members in attendance meets the level required for a quorum.

6.08 At each General Meeting as the second order of business, the Council shall recommend a Facilitator and Time-Keeper. The General Meeting shall approve these recommendations or make and approve others.

6.09 The Secretary of the Council shall keep a record of the decisions of the General Meeting. If the Secretary cannot fulfill this duty for any reason, the council shall appoint a Record-Keeper who shall hold that position until the General Meeting ends or until a different Record-Keeper is appointed by the Council, whichever comes first.

6.10 The Council shall prepare in advance an agenda for each General Meeting. This agenda shall be accepted by the General Meeting or amended and approved.

6.11 Decisions of the general Meeting shall be made by consensus when possible. If discussion becomes unproductive at a certain point, the Facilitator may call for agreement to limit discussion to a particular time or number of speakers.

6.12 The usual process for arriving at consensus at a General Meeting shall be as follows:

  1. A proposal is made either on the agenda or from the floor.
  2. The person responsible for the proposal explains it.
  3. The facilitator calls for clarifying questions and the presenter of the proposal responds.
  4. The Facilitator opens discussion for critical concerns and amendments. If the presenter of the proposal rejects an amendment, it does not become part of the proposal.
  5. The Facilitator calls for discussion of unresolved concerns, if any. If a person with a concern raises it as a cautionary note that does not impact whether the proposal should be accepted, the concern shall be recorded by the Record-Keeper in the minutes of the General Meeting and shall not be taken as a challenge to consensus. If the person raising a concern believes it provides sufficient reason for the proposal not to be accepted and does not change that view following discussion of the concern, then consensus shall not have been reached.
  6. If consensus is not reached within whatever time is allocated, a matter may be decided by a vote. For a proposal to pass at a General Meeting, it must receive 2/3 approval.

ARTICLE VII
DELEGATES TO STATEWIDE MEETINGS

7.01 The Council shall nominate delegates to statewide meetings of the Green Party of California. The Council may intentionally nominate fewer than the allowed number of delegates to open an opportunity for nominations from the floor.

7.02 The election of delegates to the Green Party of California General Assembly and any other statewide meetings shall be approved in the next occurring General Meeting. This approval shall require a 2/3 vote. If the required approval does not occur, nominations will be made from the floor. Each voting member will be able to vote for as many candidates as there are positions to be filled. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected by the General Meeting. In the case of a tie, a runoff election to be decided similarly will immediately occur.

7.03 The Council may fill any vacancies which may arise between the election of State General Assembly delegates and the State General Assembly by appointing individuals to be alternate delegates. The Council may also elect delegates if the General Meeting has failed to elect or provide for the election of sufficient delegates. If, at the General Assembly itself, an insufficient number of delegates are present, then the delegates present may choose alternates from any members of the Butte County Green Party who are present.

7.04 The Council shall insure that delegates are provided with orientation information regarding meetings they will be attending, including structure, process, bylaws, and the like.

ARTICLE VIII
FINANCES

8.01 The Treasurer of the Butte County Green Party is responsible, with the consultation of the Council, for the sound management of the finances of the organization.

8.02 The Treasurer may ask the council to appoint a Finance Committee. If a Finance Committee exists, its duties and responsibilities will include such tasks as financial planning, development and monitoring of the budget, financial record keeping, day-to-day fiscal management, and accounting of fundraising efforts. The Finance Committee shall not be a decision-making body, but it may propose specific rules and guidelines to promote the work of the Butte County Green Party, subject to the approval of the County Council.

8.03 The Treasurer is responsible for seeing to it that the day-to-day bills of the Butte County Green Party and any other duly budgeted and authorized expenses of the organization are paid. The Treasurer is also responsible for the timely reporting of all campaign-related financial activities to the FPPC in accordance with FPPC regulations. The Treasurer must maintain familiarity with the guidelines and regulations of the FPPC, and insure that the Butte County Green Party is in compliance with campaign laws.

8.04 All revenue and expenses of the Butte County Green Party are to be deposited and withdrawn from a single bank account or group of linked accounts. The Treasurer and at least one other member of the Council must be signers on the accounts.

8.05 No transaction may be made with Butte County green Party funds without proper documentation. All revenue, including cash donations, is to be deposited in one of the Butte County Green Party's bank accounts. No transactions may be made with undeposited revenue. All expenses should normally be paid from one of the Butte County Green Party's bank accounts. However, the Treasurer or designates of the Treasurer may keep a reserve of petty cash no greater than $50. Small expenses and reimbursements may be paid out of petty cash provided that all transactions are recorded.

8.06 All checks for amounts greater than $250 shall require the signatures of two members of the council.

8.07 If a cash transaction is necessary, and the expense has been budgeted, then an individual may pay the expense, to be reimbursed later.

8.08 Any individual who spends personal funds on an expense which has not been budgeted or specifically approved by the Council will not be reimbursed unless the unbudgeted expense is subsequently approved by the Council.

8.09 All potential fundraising projects that commit funds of the Butte County Green Party must be reviewed by the Treasurer. If a Finance Committee exists, it may perform the reviewing function upon request of the Treasurer.

8.10 Fundraising projects that commit funds of the Butte County Green Party and are losing money may be terminated at the discretion of the Council.

ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS

9.01 Amendments to these bylaws must be passed by both the Council and by two consecutive General Meetings using the consensus process described in Article VI.

9.02 Amendments shall take effect immediately upon passage if no effective date is specified in the proposal for amendment.