URL: http://www.elcerritogreens.org/by_laws.txt EL CERRITO GREENS BYLAWS (El Cerrito, Calif., USA) (Last Amended Sep. 13, 2004) PREAMBLE Adoption of the bylaws: These bylaws go into effect once they have been adopted by consensus or an 80% vote at a meeting of the El Cerrito Greens. For the purposes of these bylaws, the monthly meetings by the El Cerrito Greens prior to adopting bylaws are considered General Meetings. All decisions made by the El Cerrito Greens up until now at these meetings still stand, and the money in the El Cerrito Greens' treasury still belongs to the El Cerrito Greens. Goals of the By-Laws: A. Don't let process get in the way of action. B. Be able to act without full consensus. C. Be able to disagree and still be friends. D. Treat people as equals. BY-LAWS OF THE EL CERRITO GREENS I. Name A. The name of this organization is the El Cerrito Greens. B. Subject to certification by the Green Party of Contra Costa County, the El Cerrito Greens is a local representing the Green Party within the city of El Cerrito, and may also be referred to as the El Cerrito Green Party, or the Green Party of El Cerrito. II. Purpose A. To empower Greens and other like-minded people to be better activists. B. To be a viable and successful political force in the City of El Cerrito. C. To otherwise make the 10 Key Values of the Green Party become a reality in El Cerrito and the world: i. Social Justice ii. Community-Based Economics iii. Non-Violence iv. Decentralization v. Future Focus/Sustainability vi. Feminism vii. Personal and Global Responsibility viii.Respect for Diversity ix. Grassroots Democracy x. Ecological Wisdom III. Membership A. Voting membership is open to any person registered to vote with the Green Party, in Contra Costa County. B. A person who is unable to register to vote (because of age, lack of citizenship, etc.) may become a voting member until such time as he or she is able to register to vote, if this is approved by the General Membership at two consecutive meetings. (see section IV.G) IV. General Meetings A. Purpose 1. The primary purpose of the General Meeting is to make actionable decisions on behalf of the El Cerrito Greens. 2. The voting members of the El Cerrito Greens who attend a General Meeting (hereafter called simply the "General Membership") are the highest authority, other than the By-Laws. The decisions of the General Membership take precedence over those of any officer or committee. B. Meeting Time & Place 1. General meetings must be publicly announced at least 36 hours in advance, and must be open to all voting members. 2. General Meetings must be held in El Cerrito, or at a location no more than five miles from the borders of El Cerrito. 3. No two consecutive General Meetings shall be held less than 14 days apart, or more than 70 days apart. 4. General Meetings shall begin no earlier than 8 AM, and end no later than 10 PM. D. Quorum 1. Quorum is at least three voting members. 2. The General Meeting may not begin, and no motions may be passed, without quorum. 3. If the General Meeting loses quorum at any point, it may be adjourned by the consent of the voting member(s) present. E. Meeting Officers 1. General Meetings shall, at all times, have a Facilitator, a Timekeeper, and a Secretary. i. The purpose of the Facilitator is to help members reach consensus when possible, ensure that all concerns are understood and addressed, keep discussions on-topic, promote a friendly, non-confrontational atmosphere, and otherwise lead the General Meeting and ensure that it runs smoothly. ii. The purpose of the Timekeeper is to keep track of the ensure that no agenda item goes over its budgeted time. The Timekeeper shall inform the General Membership when the time budgeted for a particular agenda item has run out. iii. The purpose of the Secretary is to take accurate Minutes (see section IV.H). The Secretary may temporarily stop the meeting and ask clarifying questions in order to ensure that the Minutes are properly recorded. 2. Choosing Meeting Officers is the first order of business, and must be done before approving the agenda. If at any point the meeting is without one or more Meeting Officers as specified in section IV.E.1, no other matters may be handled until these positions are filled. 3. One person may fulfill the role of more than one Meeting Officer at the same time. 4. The Facilitator must be a voting member (the Secretary and Timekeeper need not be). 5. If the Facilitator feels strongly about a particular agenda item, it is highly recommended that a new Facilitator be chosen for that item. F. Agenda 1. Meetings shall have an agenda which specifies the items to discuss and/or act on, and the time budgeted for each item. 2. Approving the agenda is the second order of business in any General Meeting, and must be done before continuing the meeting. G. Making Decisions 1. All people present are invited to take part in the decision-making process of the El Cerrito Greens. People need not be voting members in order to participate in discussion, or to make motions. 2. Nothing in these By-Laws is meant to limit the ability of people to adequately discuss matters up for consideration and seek consensus, or to use the General Meeting to plan future actions, or to solicit suggestions from members. 3. Any person present at the meeting may submit a proposed course of action (hereafter referred to simply as a Motion). Motions may encompass any action that is to be taken by the El Cerrito Greens as a group, including: i. To decide to hold an event or action. ii. To make an endorsement or resolution. iii. To spend money from the treasury. iv. To appoint someone as a spokesperson on a particular issue. v. To make decisions related to the internal management of the El Cerrito Greens, including creating a position or committee, appointing someone to a position, or removing someone from a position (for any reason). vi. To make decisions related to the General Meeting itself, such as extending time for a particular agenda item, choosing a new Facilitator, or adjourning the meeting. vii. To change the time or place of future General Meetings. viii.To refer decisions to another meeting or committee 4. Motions relating purely to the particular General Meeting where they are made (such as extending time or choosing a new Facilitator) need not be recorded (see section IV.H, minutes). All other Motions are not valid until the Secretary indicates that they have been recorded. 5. Once a Motion has been recorded by the Secretary (if necessary), the Proponent shall ask if there are any objections. Any voting member (including the Facilitator) may object. If no voting member objects, the Motion passes by consent. 6. If there are objections, the Proponent may, if he or she wishes, put the Motion to a vote. 7. If the Motion receives at least a 2/3 vote, it passes. H. Minutes 1. The minutes need not be a comprehensive description of everything that was said and happened at a meeting. Their primary purpose is to record decisions taken by the General Membership. 2. The minutes must include at least: i. Who attended the meeting. ii. Any motion not relating purely to the particular General Meeting where it was made, and, if it was voted on, the results of the vote. iii. The membership of the Steering Committee, as of the end of the meeting. (see section V.A.2) 3. The Secretary shall send out a copy of the Minutes to the members (on the discussion list) no more than seven days after the General Meeting. V. Positions A. Steering Committee 1. Purpose i. The purpose of the Steering Committee is to make decisions on behalf of the El Cerrito Greens between General Meetings on urgent matters which can not reasonably wait until the next General Meeting. ii. The Steering Committee is the highest authority other than the By-Laws and the General Membership. 2. Steering Committee Members i. The Steering Committee shall be composed of two or more voting members appointed by a decision of the General Membership at the previous General Meeting, or, if the Membership did not make such a decision, the Steering Committee shall be composed of all voting members who attended the previous two General Meetings. 3. Making Decisions i. The Steering Committee may make decisions by the approval (see section V.7.ii) of at least 2/3 of its members, or, if it has three members or less, by unanimous consent of its members. ii. As time allows, the Steering Committee shall make a good faith effort to make open to all members discussion of issues taken up by the Steering Committee. 4. Representing the General Membership i. All decisions made by the Steering Committee must be presented at the next General Meeting, to be ratified (approved) by the General Membership. Decisions which the General Membership chooses not to ratify become null and void. ii. The Steering Committee does have the power to amend or modify decisions made by the General Membership at a previous General Meeting, except when the General Membership explicitly specifies otherwise. iii. The Steering Committee may not spend more than $100 between any two consecutive General Meetings. Notwithstanding section V.4.i, any decisions by the Steering Committee to spend money are final once the money is spent. B. Treasurer 1. The Treasurer is responsible for collecting, managing, and disbursing the El Cerrito Greens' funds. 2. The Treasurer shall make a report of the El Cerrito Greens' finances at every General Meeting, or appoint someone to do so if unable to attend. 3. The Treasurer shall ensure that the El Cerrito Greens complies with the regulations of the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Federal Election Commission, and make any necessary filings. C. Other Positions and Committees 1. Other positions and committees may be created and filled by the General Membership or (in order to deal with urgent matters) the Steering Committee. 2. Nothing in these By-Laws is meant to limit the ability of members to organize people, take a leadership role, or handle important tasks for the El Cerrito Greens, without official approval. VI. Amending the By-Laws A. The By-Laws may be amended by passing the identical proposed amendment at two consecutive General Meetings (see section IV.G). Proposed amendments come into effect the moment they are passed at the second consecutive General Meeting. B. It is highly recommended that proposed amendments be made with the Goals of the By-Laws (see preamble) in mind. C. The By-Laws may not be suspended, overridden by a vote, executive decision, or agreement with another group, re-written by a higher-level organization, or otherwise changed or overriden, except as described in section VI.A.