Green Party of Santa Clara County - By Laws

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PREAMBLE

These Bylaws of the Green Party of Santa Clara County (also referred to herein as the "GPSCC") are adopted to replace those Bylaws previously adopted in May 1996.

ARTICLE 1 MEMBERSHIP IN THE GREEN PARTY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

1.1 Any voter who has registered as a member of the Green Party and who is a resident of Santa Clara County also shall be a member of the Green Party of Santa Clara County.

1.2 Only active members will vote in official county Green Party functions, should a vote be required according to the Consensus Process described in Article 6. Official functions shall be those at which decisions are made in the name of the Party.

1.3 An active member shall be a person who has attended 2 out of the last 5 meetings of the official functions at which (s)he wishes to vote. For example, a vote at a General meeting, a committee meeting, a local meeting, etc.

ARTICLE 2 COUNTY COUNCIL

2.1 Purposes

2.1.1 The County Council will fulfill the legal requirement for a liaison between the California Green Party and Santa Clara County officials. As used in these Bylaws, the term "County Council" shall have the same meaning as the term "Central Committee" as that term is used by the Office of the Registrar of Voters for Santa Clara County, California.

2.1.2 The Council shall select a secretary and a treasurer from among its members, or may ratify the selection of these officers made at a General County Meeting. The Council and/or its officers will be responsible for complying with the financial reporting requirements of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The Council or its officers shall be responsible for obtaining an FPPC number for financial reporting. The Council may create such committees or initiate such inquiries as it considers necessary and appropriate to perform its collective responsibilities as described in these Bylaws.

2.1.3 Internal to the Green Party, the Council's primary duties include serving as a coordinating or steering committee to:
a) Facilitate communications between Green Party members within the county, at county meetings, and between locals within the county.
b) Facilitate communications between the county Green Party and the State Green Party.
c) Assist Green Party involvement in elections in the county (including recruiting, advising and assisting Green Party candidates, co-ordinating voter registration efforts and tabling, and supporting ballot issues effecting issues of concern to the state or county Green Party).
d) Enhance communications between the county Green Party and other Green Parties and/or other local organizations which support the principals and objectives set forth in the Green Party Platform.
e) Oversee and assist the work of committees formed by the Council, or outside the Council by the Party's members, to help carry out the above duties, or other duties considered necessary that are not in conflict with these ByLaws; such as an electoral reform committee, an environmental issues committee, etc.

2.1.4 The County Council shall act as the designated contact persons for the Green Party of Santa Clara County, and refer interested people to persons who may be designated as spokespeople for the Party at a General County Meeting.

2.1.5 The County Council, by agreement of eighty percent (80%) of its members, may authorize the use of the name of the Green Party of Santa Clara County as an endorser or co-sponsor of an event or public statement consistent with the principals and objectives set forth in the Green Party Platform if time issues make the decision necessary before it can be brought before the next general meeting. Any such County Council authorization shall be reported to those present at the next monthly meeting. [Adopted July 1, 2003]

2.2 Membership in the Council

2.2.1 All County Council members must be residents of Santa Clara County and registered to vote with the Green Party.

2.2.2 The County Council is designated by the State Green Party bylaws to consist of seven members elected at large from the county's Green Party constituency. Additional members may be appointed by the Council. Vacancies on the Council that reduce the membership to less than seven will be filled by appointment by the remaining County Council member(s) within 30 days of the vacancy. The State Green Party Coordinating Committee and the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters shall be informed of all appointed members within two working days of the appointment. It shall be an objective of the Green Party of Santa Clara County that its County Council reflect the diversity of the general population in the county and likewise reflect Green Party values.

2.3 Recall / Removal / Sanction

2.3.1 A member will be automatically removed from the Council in the event that the member:
a) Moves out of the county; or
b) Registers with another political party; or
c) Fails to maintain an updated, accurate registration in the Green Party; or
d) Fails to attend at least three out of five consecutive County Council meetings.

2.3.2 A member may be recalled from the Council in accordance with Article 3 of these Bylaws.

2.3.3 A member may be sanctioned by the Council in accordance with Article 3 of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE 3 SANCTIONS AND RECALL

3.1 Sanction. A Member may be prohibited from participating in official acts and functions of the Green Party of Santa Clara County where that Member has consistently expressed values or actions contradictory to the values and goals of the Green Party or hampered the achievement of those values and goals.

3.2. Recall. A Member that has been elected or given a voted endorsement to fulfill a specific function or position may be recalled for demonstrated inability to perform responsibly.

3.3. Any sanction or recall process shall be commenced by a written complaint by a Green Party member to the County Council, which shall schedule an executive (closed, nonpublic) meeting to consider the complaint. The complaining member and the person about whom the complaint has been directed will be given not less than fifteen (15) days written notice of the meeting and invited to attend that meeting. The member about whom the complaint has been made will also be provided with a copy of the complaint.

3.4. In the event the complaint pertains to another member of the County Council and that member's conduct in that office, the County Council shall have sole authority to act upon the complaint by unanimous vote of the other Council members. Furthermore, the County Council by unanimous vote may remove any member from a committee, taskforce or delegation which was created by the County Council as part of the activities of the County Council as provided by these Bylaws.

3.5. The County Council shall have authority to act upon a complaint which does not involve the activities of the County Council or a County Council member by a unanimous vote to reject the complaint or by an 80% majority vote to refer the complaint to the next general meeting of the county party. In the absence of the County Council vote described in this Section 3.5, the complaint shall not be a part of the agenda of any county party meeting. Any proposal for censure or removal of a member of the GPSCC shall be passed by an 80% majority vote of those present at the next general meeting of the county party following the referral by the County Council.

3.6. The decision of the County Council in response to a complaint described in this Article 3 shall be communicated in writing to both the complaining member and to the subject of the complaint within fifteen (15) days of the decision. In the event the subject of the complaint fails to attend the general meeting where a complaint is considered, the decision of that meeting shall be communicated in writing to that person.

3.7. The making of a false or unsubstantiated complaint as provided in this Article 3 shall be grounds for sanctions proceedings as herein described.

3.8. Except as a sanction by the County Party may have effects under the Bylaws of the State Party, the sanctions powers described herein apply only to membership in the Green Party of Santa Clara County and shall not otherwise effect a person's eligibility to register as a member of the Green Party of California.

ARTICLE 4 STATE DELEGATES

4.1 State delegates must be registered to vote with the Green Party and be residents of Santa Clara County.

4.2 The number of delegates for Santa Clara County is determined according to the rules and Bylaws of the California Green Party.

4.3 Delegates and alternate delegates to State Party meetings will be selected at a general County Party meeting preceding that event. Whenever practical, the designation of such delegates will be set as an agenda item at the preceding general meeting and information of that agenda item will be distributed to the members.

4.4 An alternate delegate may serve as a delegate to a State Party meeting where a primary delegate is unable to act as such at that meeting or any part of it. No person shall represent themself to be a delegate of the Green Party of Santa Clara County at any state meeting unless that person was designated as a delegate or alternate delegate at a county general meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event there is a vacancy which cannot be filled by a duly designated alternate delegate, a delegate may be chosen ad-hoc by and from the attending members.

4.5 The delegates shall represent the will of the county as expressed in a general meeting held before the next State Party meeting, on all issues on the pre-announced agenda of the State meeting. The county's opinions may also be communicated to the State Party's working groups. Delegates need not always vote as a unanimous bloc. They shall caucus with attending county members on new issues brought up at the meeting. If such a caucus is not practical, however, delegates shall vote individually as they see fit on such new issues.

ARTICLE 5 COUNTY LOCALS

5.1 Consistent with Green Party values supporting decentralization and personal responsibility, individual members may form locals of the Green Party of Santa Clara County in the various subregions of the county.

5.2 To be duly recognized as an official GPSCC Local, such a group must:
a) Be approved as a County Local -- either by the County Council or at a general meeting of the GPSCC -- after submitting a written request signed by at least five (5) Members describing their intent to form a Local and the boundaries of the proposed Local.
b) Minutes will be recorded for all official meetings and a copy will be made available to the County Council on request.
c) Duly elect a contact person who will facilitate communication between the local and the county organization.
d) Have clearly defined geographic boundaries and notify the Council in writing of any subsequent changes of those boundaries.
e) Conduct Local activities in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Green Party's 10 Key Values.

5.3 A GPSCC Local shall not take any public position on county-wide or state-wide issues contrary to that taken by the GPSCC or the California Green Party, without receiving consensus at a County general meeting. A Local shall not assert any authority expressly reserved to the GPSCC in these Bylaws or to the California Green Party in the state party's bylaws.

ARTICLE 6 DECISION MAKING PROCESS

6.1 Consensus

All bodies within Santa Clara County acting in the name of the Green Party shall use a consensus-seeking process as follows:
a) Consensus is sought after adequate discussion including the repeated asking for, and discussion of, any unresolved concerns within the time and content limits of the agenda.
b) All stand-asides will be recorded. However, if stand asides are 20% or more of the voting body, the proposal shall not be accepted. If the voting option is used, stand asides are not included in the calculations.
c) If unresolved concerns remain, there will either be a vote, or the presenter may withdraw the proposal. All unresolved concerns will be recorded and addressed as described in the procedure below.
d) Voting will be on the basis of a two-thirds majority for business and procedural issues, and an 80% majority for policy issues.
e) If there is dispute as to which voting count is applicable, the higher percentage will be used.

6.1.1 The general procedure for dealing with questions and concerns about a proposal is as follows:
1) Presenter presents the proposal with clearly defined actions or questions for the general body to decide.
2) Facilitator asks for clarifying questions, which the presenter will answer.
3) Facilitator asks for affirmations, concerns and friendly amendments. If there are no amendments or concerns, consensus has been achieved and the proposal is adopted.
4) Friendly amendments may be accepted at the presenters discretion. Unaccepted amendments may be restated as unresolved concerns.
5) If concerns are stated, the group seeks to resolve the concerns and incorporate them into the proposal. The presenter must agree to modifications before they can be accepted.
6) If unresolved concerns remain, the facilitator asks those holding concerns if they are willing to stand aside and allow the group to adopt the proposal. If concerns remain, go to the closing options.
7) The presenter's closing options are:
a) Return the proposal to committee for further refinement and an attempt to resolve the concerns.
b) Request additional time to reach a resolution of any remaining concerns.
c) Request the voting option be used.

6.2 Proposals

Proposals shall be acted upon at a general meeting. Where practical, proposals shall be presented at a meeting preceding the meeting where action is taken on the proposal or presented to the County Council for dissemination to the county membership prior to such action.

6.3 Candidates For Public Office

A candidate for public office shall not be able to claim the endorsement of the Green Party of Santa Clara County unless that endorsement has previously been given at a general county meeting. No candidate for public office shall receive any support or assistance from the county organization without first receiving such an endorsement. The foregoing shall not prevent any member from assisting any candidate in their individual capacity.

ARTICLE 7 ADDITIONAL OFFICES

7.1 Archivist. The County Council or the GPSCC, at a general meeting, may appoint an Archivist to serve as the custodian of the historical records of the GPSCC.

ARTICLE 8 AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

8.1 Amendments

8.1.1 Amendments to these Bylaws will originate as a written proposal submitted to the County Council. The County Council may agree to submit any proposed amendment for decision to a general meeting after discussion and notice at not less than one preceding general meeting. In the alternative, the County Council may reject the proposal or request modification of the proposal in a written communication to the proponent(s) of the proposal not more than sixty days after the proposal has been considered by the County Council. In such case, the proponent(s) may elect to present their proposal(s) to a general county meeting rather than resubmit the proposal(s) for further review by the County Council.

8.1.2 No proposal to amend these Bylaws shall be voted upon at the general meeting where it is first presented. Voting upon any such proposal will proceed in accordance with the preceding Section 6.1. A minimum 80% affirmative vote is required to approve any proposed amendment.

8.2 The County Council, or a committee appointed by the County Council or designated at a general meeting, shall review these Bylaws in their entirety every two years for the purposes of proposing amendments and assuring that these Bylaws are consistent with the rules and Bylaws of the California Green Party.

ARTICLE 9 ELECTION OF REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES (RR) AND ALTERNATES [adopted January 2008]

9.0  Definitions in GPCA bylaws Regional Representation on the GPCA Coordinating Committee is defined by the GPCA bylaws, Articles 6, 7 and elsewhere.  This bylaws article constitutes an alternative election process as provided for in the GPCA bylaws section 7-1.5.

9.1 RR Election Meeting     RR election meetings are considered valid if they meet the following conditions: 1) the election is authorized and called by the County Council     2) the meeting is open to all county party Members and all Members present can vote in the election,     3) the election has been publicly announced on county party email lists at least 15 days in advance of the election meeting and     4) where the RR Election is a preannounced agenda item for the meeting.

9.2 Declaring Candidacy Candidates shall declare their candidacy on the email lists of the counties of the region prior to the RR Candidate Presentation Meetings at which a vacancy or replacement is considered.

9.3 Presentation and Election Meetings  The RR election process may be conducted as part of the regular monthly meetings of the GPSCC. Alternately, a special meeting may be called if so decided by the county council. Candidates shall present themselves to the electorate at a valid meeting. This presentation shall be at a separate meeting that precedes the meeting where the vote occurs.

9.4 Election Process      This election process assumes this region is allocated one representative. This section shall be amended if the allocation is increased. The Regional Representative and Alternate Representative shall be chosen by separate votes. The Regional Representative shall be chosen first. In an election where there is only one declared candidate, the decision shall be made in Accordance Article 5 of these bylaws. Regional Representative elections shall be deemed business decisions. If more than one candidate has declared their candidacy, the election shall be conducted using Instant Runoff Voting, with section 7-1.9 of the GPCA bylaws as guidance.

9.5 Regional Coordination      A candidate must be approved by all of the county parties of the region.  If different candidates are approved by the county parties the decision(s) shall be retaken by the county parties until agreement on candidates between the county parties is reached.

9.6 Representational Balance in the Region      It shall be an objective to have the Regional Representative and the first Alternate Regional representative be from different counties wherever possible.

9.7 Replacement     A Regional Representative or an Alternate Regional Representative may be replaced using the same process for election described here.

9.8 Effective Date     This amendment, Article 9 of the by-laws, shall take effect after formal approval by the GPSCC, and after the bylaws of substantially the same form have been adopted by all counties in the region. Upon adoption, the County Council from each county party shall separately and independently notify the GPCA of their bylaws amendments adding this alternative election process to the default procedures provided by the state Green Party Bylaws.

9.9 Expiration of Article 9      This article 9 detailing the selection of regional representatives to the GPCA Coordinating Committee shall expire if a county party in the region rescinds it, or if the region is redefined and a new county party added to the region decides not to adopt this bylaw.

These Bylaws of the Green Party of Santa Clara County adopted on July 13, 1999 at Santa Clara County, California.

If you have any comments about these bylaws, you can email them to Eric Meece at eameece@california.com

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