[Lnc-business] Bylaws, and members, and alternates! Oh, my!

Thu Mar 28 11:49:11 EDT 2019

Agreed.  Problem on it is education since it *seems* like a demotion of
rights which delegates will instinctually oppose.

On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 9:16 AM Richard Longstreth <
richard.longstreth at lp.org> wrote:

> Thank you for this. I found it to be a great read. We need to be sure to
> get this to the Bylaws committee again for the 2020 convention as something
> for their consideration.
>
> Richard
>
> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:32 AM Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business <
> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>
>> I agree with you and would today vote differently.
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 2:15 AM Alicia Mattson via Lnc-business <
>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>>
>> > As a follow-up to a prior discussion about whether LNC regional
>> alternates
>> > are “members” of the national committee, I’ve composed this longer essay
>> > about the messy implications.
>> >
>> > RONR p. 3 explains that, “A member of an assembly, in the parliamentary
>> > sense, as mentioned above, is a person entitled to full participation in
>> > its proceedings, that is, as explained in 3 and 4, the right to attend
>> > meetings, to make motions, to speak in debate, and to vote.  No member
>> can
>> > be individually deprived of these basic rights of membership—or of any
>> > basic rights concomitant to them, such as the right to make nominations
>> or
>> > to give previous notice of a motion—except through disciplinary
>> > proceedings.”
>> >
>> > Bylaws Article 7.2.c provides for the regional alternate position, but
>> in
>> > the rest of the bylaws, the only role assigned to them is in the
>> context of
>> > email ballots.
>> >
>> > Bylaws Article 13 :
>> > “The chair or secretary shall send out electronic mail ballots on any
>> > question submitted by the chair or cosponsored by at least 1/5 of the
>> > members of the board or committee.  The period for voting on a question
>> > shall remain open for seven days, unless all members have cast votes, or
>> > have stated an intention to abstain or be absent during the voting
>> period,
>> > by electronic mail to the entire board or committee.  Votes from
>> alternates
>> > will be counted, in accordance with previously defined ranked order, in
>> the
>> > absence of the corresponding committee member(s).”
>> >
>> > Article 13 of the bylaws makes it clear that regional alternates do not
>> > have full voting rights as do regional representatives, since their
>> email
>> > ballot votes aren’t counted if the regional representative votes.
>> Article
>> > 13 doesn't see an alternate as a “member” under the RONR p. 3
>> definition.
>> > The final sentence of that Article 13 makes a specific distinction
>> between
>> > the alternate(s) and the “corresponding committee member(s).”
>> >
>> > The LNC has generally not perceived regional alternates to be “members”
>> of
>> > the LNC.
>> >
>> > Article 13 above says that “members” can cosponsor email ballots, but in
>> > all the years I’ve been involved, the LNC has never allowed alternates
>> to
>> > do that.
>> >
>> > We have never included alternates in quorum calculations, though Bylaws
>> > Article 7.10 says, “A majority of the membership of the National
>> Committee
>> > shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all
>> meetings.”
>> >
>> > We have never declared alternate seats vacant under Bylaws Article 7.6,
>> “A
>> > National Committee member who fails to attend two consecutive regular
>> > sessions of the National Committee shall be deemed to have vacated his
>> or
>> > her seat.”
>> >
>> > The chair asks the LNC for consent to allow a regional alternate to
>> speak
>> > in debate during our in-person meetings.  The RONR p. 263 footnote says
>> > this is required for “nonmembers”, but p. 3 says “members” have the
>> > automatic right to speak in debate.
>> >
>> > There are other parts of the bylaws that would be interpreted
>> differently
>> > if alternates are considered “members”, though they’re in provisions
>> that
>> > don’t often come into play.
>> >
>> > Then there’s Bylaws Article 9.2, which says, “The non-officer members of
>> > the National Committee shall appoint a standing Audit Committee of three
>> > members with power to select the independent auditor.  One member shall
>> be
>> > a non-officer member of the National Committee and the other two shall
>> not
>> > be members of the National Committee.”
>> >
>> > As noted above, in many ways the LNC does not consider alternates to be
>> > members.  But in September, a regional alternate was nominated for the
>> > “member of the National Committee” seat on the Audit Committee.  I
>> raised a
>> > point of order and argued that I didn’t believe a regional alternate was
>> > eligible because the bylaw specifies “member”.  The chair ruled that a
>> > regional alternate is eligible.  I appealed the ruling, but I was the
>> only
>> > person who voted no, and the ruling was sustained with a vote of 13-1.
>> >
>> > The chair’s ruling (and presumably the LNC's vote) was based on Bylaws
>> > Article 7.2, which says, “The National Committee shall be composed of
>> the
>> > following members:…” and it proceeds to list officers, at-large, and
>> define
>> > regions including the regional reps and the regional alternates.  When
>> that
>> > phrase is observed in a proverbial vacuum, there’s not much to argue
>> > about…but it is not consistent with how the LNC has handled all those
>> other
>> > things I mentioned.
>> >
>> > The chair recently responded to an inquiry as to whether alternates
>> > automatically vacate their seats under Bylaws Article 7.6 if they miss
>> two
>> > consecutive in-person meetings.  His response was consistent with this
>> > LNC’s vote to sustain his September ruling on how to apply Article 7.2
>> when
>> > it came to the Audit Committee.
>> >
>> > But now hopefully you see how problematic that is.  If we interpret
>> Article
>> > 7.2 that way, it causes a number of side effects that we’ve never
>> accepted
>> > before.
>> >
>> > The reality is that our bylaw language has a consistency problem, and it
>> > needs to be fixed.  Over time, as I’ve realized the implications, I’ve
>> come
>> > to the conclusion that it is Article 7.2 which is out of kilter with the
>> > bulk of the bylaws, and it just shouldn’t use the term “members” so as
>> to
>> > create those cascading side effects.
>> >
>> > In 2018, there was a bylaw amendment proposed to fix this, but we never
>> got
>> > to that proposal.  Hopefully in 2020, we’ll get a vote on a fix.
>> >
>> > At the same time we should probably decide in Bylaw Article 8.1 whether
>> > regional alternates are also precluded from serving on the Judicial
>> > Committee or only “members”, and in Article 11.2 whether the limit of
>> five
>> > “members of the current National Committee” serving on the Bylaws and
>> Rules
>> > Committee is meant to also count alternates.
>> >
>> > I didn’t have this lecture prepared to successfully off-the-cuff-argue
>> the
>> > point in September, but hopefully now you appreciate why I argued it at
>> > all, and that I wasn't just being a cranky-pants contrarian.  I realize
>> > that the point doesn't just leap out at you at first glance, but rather
>> > takes a bit to wrap your head around it.
>> >
>> > -Alicia
>> >
>> --
>>
>> *  In Liberty,*
>>
>> *Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary *-
>> Caryn.Ann.
>> Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> or Secretary at LP.org.
>> *Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee* - LPedia at LP.org
>> Call me at 561.523.2250 and follow my public figure page at
>> facebook.com/pinkflameofliberty/
>>
>> =========================================================================
>> Peaceful Commerce With All Nations * Non-interventionism * Re-Legalize All
>> Drugs * End Government Intrusion In The Bedroom * Repeal All Gun Laws *
>> Abolish All Taxation * Sound, Free-market Money * Abolish The Fed * End
>> Corporate & Individual Welfare * Abolish The IRS and Repeal the Income Tax
>> * Privatize Transportation Infrastructure * Free-market Emergency Services
>> * Open Migration * Transfer Government Schools To The Private Sector *
>> Eliminate Regulation *
>>
>> *VOTE LIBERTARIAN * 800-ELECT-US or http://www.LP.org <http://www.lp.org/
>> >*
>> =========================================================================
>
>
>>
>
> --
> Richard Longstreth
> Region 1 Representative (AK, AZ, CO, HI, KS, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)
> Libertarian National Committee
> richard.longstreth at lp.org
> 931.538.9300
>
-- 

*  In Liberty,*

*Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary *- Caryn.Ann.
Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> or Secretary at LP.org.
*Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee* - LPedia at LP.org
Call me at 561.523.2250 and follow my public figure page at
facebook.com/pinkflameofliberty/

=========================================================================
Peaceful Commerce With All Nations * Non-interventionism * Re-Legalize All
Drugs * End Government Intrusion In The Bedroom * Repeal All Gun Laws *
Abolish All Taxation * Sound, Free-market Money * Abolish The Fed * End
Corporate & Individual Welfare * Abolish The IRS and Repeal the Income Tax
* Privatize Transportation Infrastructure * Free-market Emergency Services
* Open Migration * Transfer Government Schools To The Private Sector *
Eliminate Regulation *

*VOTE LIBERTARIAN * 800-ELECT-US or http://www.LP.org <http://www.lp.org/>*
=========================================================================