[Lnc-business] Convention Oversight Committee Housekeeping

[Joshua Katz]

I strongly oppose the first option, and would prefer to rework the language
in the second.  My objection to the first, and part of the second (although
I think it can be resolved in the second) is that the motion to Ratify may
only be used for that which the assembly had the power to do in advance.
Did we, say, sitting at a meeting, have the power to appoint more LNC
members/alternates than are allowed?  I say no, since I believe the rule
may not be suspended - it is a standing rule having its application outside
the meeting context.  (I recognize some think that committee appointments
are a rule of order, but I do not.)  Furthermore, Ratify may only be used,
in my opinion, when the action that was taken was unauthorized at its
inception, for a reason of the sort to which Ratify applies, such as lack
of quorum.  Here, no unauthorized action was taken; rather, an unauthorized
condition later emerged as a result of fully authorized actions.  I do not
believe we have the power to ratify in that case.

Regarding the second option, I think it's an unnecessary clutter to insert
sunset clauses into the Policy Manual.  I say just change it, and either
the next LNC will change it back, or it won't.  I recognize it changes the
vote thresholds on the next LNC, but that's true for every amendment we
make.  If it's good enough for us to have this number, perhaps the next LNC
will decide it should be permitted in general, perhaps not.  I don't see
why that would be a problem.  In short - if we're deciding it's okay to
have an extra alternate on the committee, I don't see any reason we should
be horrified at the next committee having the same make-up, if the next LNC
both decides against changing it, and appoints such a committee.  Further,
for the reasons above, I oppose any talk of "ratifying" in this context.
In my view, once you make the amendment, all will be good - you can have up
to 5, and that's what we have.

However, your language has another issue I'd look to smooth out.  It says 7
members, but then gives a make-up that permits up to 8 (and as few as 0).
I'd like to tighten that up in some way, although I'm not sure how.

An overall provision, for all committee appointments under the control of
the LNC seems neater and to address many of these concerns.  It also just
seems to make sense, since committees we form, as opposed to
bylaws-mandated committees, are rarely supposed to be checks.  (It is also
helpful that the CoC description explicitly tells us what to do with
alternates, while some other committees do not specify and result in us
deciding that alternates are in limbo - incapable of being appointed to a
non-LNC position, according to us, yet also not qualified for an LNC seat.)


Joshua A. Katz


On Wed, Jun 28, 2017 at 1:00 PM, Daniel Hayes <danielehayes at icloud.com>
wrote:

> All,
>
> We find ourselves with a bit a problem that needs fixing.  The policy
> manual defines the Convention Oversight Committee as follows:  "Four LNC
> Members or Alternates, plus 3 non-LNC members who are recommended by the
> Convention Oversight Committee"  "LNC members selected by the LNC, non-LNC
> members selected by the LNC Chair".
>
> Erin Adams has moved from being a non-LNC member to being a LNC
> Alternate.  I have two alternatives on how to do it.  I highly value Erin's
> work ethic and contribution to the COC and wish to keep her as a full
> voting member of the committee.
>
>
> First, we could just do the following:
>
> "Move to ratify Erin Adams, Whitney Bilyeu, William Brackeen, Sam
> Goldstein, Daniel Hayes, Alicia Mattson, and BetteRose Ryan as members of
> the Convention Oversight Committee for the current term, notwithstanding
> any rules in the LNC Policy Manual."
>
> I included all the names because if we ratified one person but not the
> others, that might create some other problem.
>
>
>
> This following option is a bit messier but more certain:
>
> "Move to amend the chart in the LNC policy manual section 1.03 to define
> the size of the Convention Oversight Committee as,
> 'Seven members composed of up to five LNC Members or Alternates, plus up
> to three non-LNC members who are recommended by the Convention Oversight
> Committee.';
> to sunset upon expiration of the current COC term and to ratify Erin
> Adams' position as a member of the Convention Oversight Committee."
>
>
> My reason for the "up to" language is because life has a funny way of
> throwing us twists.  IF for some reason a LNC member of the COC were to
> vacate their seat before the end of their term, I would expect us to
> restore the composition to 4 LNC and 3 non LNC members of the COC. The
> sunset is there to restore the original intent once this term is over.
>
> I am not seeking co-sponsors for either motion yet, as I am checking a
> sense of the body to see which route we prefer to use.
>
> Daniel Hayes
> LNC At Large Member
> LNC COC Vice-Chair
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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