Bylaws Proposals 

submitted by David Spitzley,
Chair of the GPMI Bylaws Committee
for August 2001 GPMI State Quarterly Meeting


For each Bylaw Proposal below, please circle "Accept", "Modify",
or "Reject" or "Abstain".  In addition to the voting options,
there is also an area for Comments.  If you vote to Modify a
plank, please write suggestions on what needs to be changed in
the plank.  In any case, feel free to add any comments you wish;
improvements are always possible.  If the final vote on a plank
(disregarding Abstain votes) is:

- 2/3 or more "Accept": The plank will be adopted as written and
added to the official GPMI platform

- 2/3 or more "Reject": The plank will be discarded, and no
further work will be done on the plank

- Otherwise: The plank will be sent back to the Platform
committee for revision, taking into account 

In any proposal where reference is made to Section[X], the Bylaws
Committee will determine final numbering (in accordance with
their editorial powers under Article V, Section 4B).

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ADDITION TO ARTICLE IV

This is a proposal to add the text below to Article IV of the
GPMI Bylaws.  The purpose of the proposal is to protect against
excessive concentration of both power and responsibilities, and
to ensure that party members who wish to participate in the
administration of the party are not excluded due to overloading
of other members.

Article IVI - Officers
Section [X]: Concentration of Positions

A. A list of who holds each position listed in Article IV
(Officers), each SCC seat, and each Committee Chair will be
presented at each SQM.

B. In the event that a single member holds two or more of the
positions listed in A above (excluding shared Committee Chairs
and National Representative posts), all posts they hold, except
one of their choice, must be opened to re-election under the
applicable rules; the current office holder may participate as
normal. In the event that no nominations are made and/or accepted
for a post, the member may retain that post without need for an
election. This does not alter the regular election schedule for
the affected posts.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS:




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REVISION/ADDITION TO ARTICLE IV

This is a proposal to amend the existing text of Article IV of
the GPMI Bylaws with the text below.  The purpose of this
proposal is to formalize the post of National Representative to
the national party organizations with which the GPMI is
affiliated.

Part 1: Replace the opening text of Article IV, Section 1 with 

"Elected Officers: The Green Party of Michigan shall have six
elected officers, plus two Representatives to each national party
organization with which the GPMI is affiliated. These officers
and their responsibilities are:"

Part 2: Add the following to Article IV (Officers)

Section [X]: National Representatives

A) Each representative will be an active participant on the
e-mail work lists of the appropriate national body. 

B) Each representative will strive to present the views of GPMI
as a whole and/or as decided by voting, position paper, et al, on
topics that require GPMI's position to be established by vote
within the appropriate national organization. 

C) Each representative will strive to attend the national
gatherings of the appropriate national organization. If party
finances allow it, GPMI will compensate reps for reasonable costs
incurred in attending such gatherings, or, pending available
cashflow, forward funds for use by reps to attend such
gatherings.

D) In the event that only one representative is able to attend
said gatherings, each representative will attempt to work with
their corresponding partner to the appropriate organization by
agreeing to proxy the appropriate number of votes so that
Michigan maintains its proper representation in any vote that may
be called. 

E) Each representative will be responsible for providing detailed
report on all activities of the national groups and disseminating
them among the membership of GPMI at each SQM or convention. Each
rep will also relate critical or time-sensitive information to
the appropriate state officer for dissemination to locals or GPMI
membership between SQMs as needed.

F) National reps will be chosen by election in the manner of
other officer selections. 

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS:




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REPLACEMENT OF ARTICLE VI

This is a proposal to replace the existing text of Article VI of
the GPMI Bylaws with the text below..  It is intended to
formalize the method by which people are nominated as GPMI
candidates for elected office.

Article VI - Candidates and Officeholders

Section 1: Nomination of candidates for President, U.S. Senate,
and Michigan statewide offices.

A)The Green Party of Michigan may nominate candidates for
President, U.S. Senate and statewide office at a statewide
convention on or before the Tuesday following the first Monday of
August in election years, in accordance with state law.

Section 2: Reserved for rights and responsibilities of persons
nominated or elected to public office as candidates of the Green
Party of Michigan.

Section 3: Nomination of candidates for U.S. House of
Representatives, State Legislature, County, City and Township
offices

A) The Green Party of Michigan may nominate candidates for U.S.
House of Representatives, State Legislature, County, City and
Township offices at district and county caucuses as required by
state law. Such caucuses shall be open to any and all Green Party
of Michigan members as defined in Article II of these Bylaws that
live in the district or county for which the caucus is called.

B) One or more Green Party Local(s) operating under Article III
of these Bylaws and formally recognized by the Green Party of
Michigan may request and obtain permission from the Green Party
of Michigan at any statewide membership meeting to convene a
county and district caucus for the purpose of nominating
candidates for state legislative, county, city and township
offices as provided by state law. Such request shall be made at a
statewide membership meeting no earlier than 190 and no later
than 110 days before the statewide convention held in accordance
with Article VI, Section 1 of these Bylaws and Section 3A above..

C) The State Central Committee may convene county and district
caucuses for districts and counties in which no Local has
requested permission under Article VI, Section 3, Subsection A)
of these Bylaws.  In the case of nominations for general election
candidates, the SCC will request and obtain permission to convene
such a caucus from the Green Party of Michigan at a statewide
membership meeting no earlier than 190 and no later than 110 days
before the statewide convention held in accordance with Article
VI, Section 1 of these Bylaws.  The SCC may convene such caucuses
to nominate candidates for special elections without obtaining
permission from a statewide meeting if there is full consensus on
the committee.

D) Caucuses held under this section shall be convened no earlier
than 60 days before and no later than 15 days before the
statewide convention held in accordance with Article VI, Section
1 of these Bylaws.

E) The body convening a caucus under this section shall notify,
by U.S. mail or E-mail, all Green Party of Michigan members
eligible to participate in the caucus of the time and place at
least 14 days prior to the beginning of the caucus.

F) No caucus held by a local Green Party shall nominate a general
election candidate for an office that will supplant the GPMI's
choice for the "Top of Party Column" on the Ballot as defined by
MCL Section 168.685 and clarified by Attorney General's opinion
No. 5306, May 8, 1978, or the most recent applicable legislation
and decisions.

Section 4: The State Central Committee may convene a special
district or county caucus to nominate candidates for special
elections. The State Central Committee shall notify, by U.S. mail
or E-mail, all Green Party of Michigan members eligible to
participate in the caucus, of the time and place at least 14 days
prior to the beginning of the caucus.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS:




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REVISION OF ARTICLE V

This is a proposal to modify the existing text of Article V of
the GPMI Bylaws.  It is intended to open participation in
committees to a larger portion of the membership, while
formalizing the traditional assumption that all committees have
at least three members.

Article V - Committees

Part 1: Add Section [X]: All standing committees must maintain at
least three active members in order to conduct business.

Part 2: Remove the phrase "maintain at least three and no more
than twelve members and" from Section 4A.

Part 3: Remove the phrase "maintain at least three and no more
than twelve members together which will " from Section 5 

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS:




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ADDITION TO ARTICLE VI

This is a proposal to add the following text to Article VI of the
GPMI Bylaws.  It is intended to place requirements on Locals of
the GPMI in endorsing candidates of other parties for elective
office.

Article VI - - Candidates and Officeholders
Section [X]:  Cross-Endorsements

Green Party of Michigan locals shall be permitted to endorse
candidates from other political parties, under the following
provisions:

1) There is no official Green Party candidate running for the
specific office being sought, 

2) That the person being endorsed, sign a statement of support of
the Ten Key Values or Four Pillars of the Green Party of
Michigan,

3) That the person being endorsed make public to the media and
political officials their support of the 10 Key Values or Four
Pillars of the Green Party of Michigan,

4) The candidate gives written agreement that the local endorsing
them is clearly labeled as a local of the party only, whether
making such statement verbally or in writing, and that no mention
of the Green Party of Michigan (other than their own membership,
if they so choose) is to be made in terms of endorsement. The
document should follow this general form:

"I accept the endorsement of the ________________________ local
chapter of the Green Party of Michigan, which is granted under
the following conditions:

1) I support the Ten Key Values, or alternatively, Four Pillars,
of the Green Party of Michigan, and will make public statement to
that effect,

2) I will make no statement, written or verbally, that the Green
Party of Michigan supports my candidacy or positions, but may
mention only the local chapter that has endorsed my candidacy,

3) I declare that I am not an official candidate of the Green
Party of Michigan, nor any of its affiliated entities."

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS:




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CREATION OF NEW ARTICLE VIII

This is a proposal to add the following text to the GPMI Bylaws
as a new Article.  It is intended to formalize the process of
amending the Bylaws so as to simplify the conduct of SQMs.

Article VIII - - Amendments to Bylaws
Section 1: Proposing Modifications

A) Except where noted below, only the Bylaws Committee can
present Bylaws amendment Proposals to the GPMI for adoption.

B) Any member of the GPMI has the right to submit suggestions for
Bylaws Amendments to the Bylaws Committee for development as a
formal Proposal. If for any reason the Committee fails to present
for adoption a Proposal based on the suggestion within 6 months
of the original submission, the submitting member may draft and
submit a Proposal directly to the GPMI any time within 12 months
of the original submission.

C) A State Quarterly Meeting may direct the Bylaws Committee to
draft as a formal Proposal any suggested modification of the
Bylaws.  The Bylaws Committee shall then present a formal
Proposal for adoption by the next SQM.

Section 2: Presenting Proposals

A) All Bylaws amendment Proposals that are to be presented at an
SQM must be submitted to the Meeting Manager and State Central
Committee in accordance with the schedule set by the Meeting
Manager for distribution of materials to attendees, and no later
than 14 days before the applicable SQM.

B) Proposals properly submitted by the Bylaws Committee come
before the state meeting for consideration as the report of that
committee and do not require a second in order to be discussed. 

C) Bylaws amendments may be proposed and considered at any GPMI
statewide meeting if every member in attendance is in agreement
that an emergency situation requiring an immediate change to the
bylaws exists. For these purposes, an emergency situation is one
where, if no immediate action is taken, the GPMI's ability to
sustain itself or comply with legal or contractual requirements
is presently or will be harmed. Amendments proposed under this
provision will be adopted by consensus only.

Section 3: Adopting Proposals

A) Proposals to amend these Bylaws shall be adopted by decision
of the GPMI as described in Article VII of these Bylaws.

B) Bylaws amendments become effective immediately upon passage
unless otherwise specified in the Proposal.

C) This Bylaw takes effect immediately after the end of the
Summer 2001 SQM.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT		ABSTAIN
COMMENTS: