<div dir="ltr"><div><div>Laws come with sections of the code that create particular definitions of terms. They can say basically, any time we say "car" in this statute, we mean a thing with wheels, such that it would include a truck, a bike, a Big Wheel, a trailer, a large toolbox, etc. When you read statutes about a car, then, it's not the everyday layman's meaning of car. They can define "pig" to mean "horse", I suppose.<br><br>FEC laws define a lot of common words/phrases to have particular legal meanings. You think you know what a "committee" is, but when it's in FEC statutes, it only applies to very precise conditions that they have defined.<br><br></div>Yes, convention package purchases meet the FEC definition of "contribution" such that we report it to them.<br><br></div>-Alicia<br><br><div><div><br></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 7:01 AM, Wes Benedict <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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I believe that the bylaw :<br>
<b>"3. “Sustaining member” is any Party member who has given at
least $25 to the Party in the prior
twelve months, or who is a life member."</b><br>
was added at the 2006 convention. I'm not certain, but I'm thinking
maybe Geoff Neale and Dan Karlan were on the bylaws committee.<br>
<br>
You might want to ask our FEC consultant if the 2014 convention
packages counted as a "contribution" to the Libertarian National
Committee. <br>
<br>
Our 2014 convention registration form, approved by the APRC, said:<br>
<blockquote type="cite">*Federal law requires political committees
to report the name, address, occupation, and name of employer for
each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in
a calendar year. Political contributions are not tax deductible.</blockquote>
<br>
And Mr. Craig's convention package gift or purchase or whatever you
call it was reported to the FEC. <br>
<br>
<br>
<div>Wes Benedict, Executive Director<br>
<small><small>Libertarian National Committee, Inc.<br>
<b>New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314</b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></small></small><br>
<br>
</div><div><div class="h5">
<div>On 4/28/2015 11:52 PM, Tim Hagan wrote:<br>
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<div dir="ltr"><span>I
will co-sponsor the Secretary's appeal. <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
To me, the Bylaws' definition of sustaining member
could be ambiguous, depending on which definition of
"give" applies. One is "to present voluntarily and
without expecting compensation." Another is "to pay or
transfer possession to another in exchange for
something." Using the later would mean that those who
buy the LNC's surplus or leftover equipment could
count the payments to apply to being a sustaining
member. To me, counting any purchases, instead of
using the first definition I gave for "give", is not
logically the intent of the convention. The Bylaws
could be cleared up by changing "given" to "donated".
(Hint to the Bylaws Committee)<br clear="none">
</span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><br clear="none">
<span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr"><span>Tim
Hagan</span></div>
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<hr size="1"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b>
Alicia Mattson <a href="mailto:agmattson@gmail.com" target="_blank"><agmattson@gmail.com></a><br clear="none">
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b>
lnc-business <a href="mailto:lnc-business@lp.org" target="_blank"><lnc-business@lp.org></a> <br clear="none">
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b>
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 3:09 PM<br clear="none">
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b>
[Lnc-business] requesting co-sponsors to appeal
Chair's ruling<br clear="none">
</font> </div>
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<div dir="ltr">
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<div>
<div>I
am requesting co-sponsors to appeal the
Chair's ruling that a person's purchase
of a convention package should count as
a gift for purposes of determining
sustaining membership. Recall that the
motion for an appeal is phrased as a
motion to sustain/uphold the chair's
ruling, even though my already-stated
position is to not overturn it.<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Therefore I am seeking co-sponsors for
the following motion:<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px">To sustain the
Chair's ruling that a person's purchase
of a convention package in the prior
twelve months meets the requirement of
Bylaws Article 5.3 that a sustaining
member must have "<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">given
at least $25 to the Party in the prior
twelve months".<br clear="none">
</span></div>
<br clear="none">
</div>
I interpret Norm's previous statements as
his being willing to co-sponsor this motion
unless he tells me otherwise. So two other
co-sponsors (or the chair) would be needed.<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
</div>
-Alicia<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
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