Wednesday, July 23, 2008

LPNOVA Bylaws

Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia
We, The Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia (LPNOVA), do here by take up the charge to affect a change, through peaceable measures, in the governing bodies that affect our lives. We commit ourselves to working toward a smaller, less intrusive government. We will promote personal freedom and property rights. Through peaceful assembly, education of the public and politicians, and running candidates for local, state, and federal offices, we will maintain a visible presence in the Northern Virginia area.

“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”—Thomas Jefferson


BYLAWS
1. Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia (LPNOVA) Membership
1.1 Members of LPNOVA will be dues paying members of both the national and Virginia libertarian parties.
1.2 Members will complete the LPNOVA membership form.
1.3 Members will reside in the counties of Fairfax, Prince William, or Arlington, or the cities of Falls Church, Fairfax or Alexandria.
2. Board of LPNOVA
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2.1 LPNOVA shall be governed by an elected board. Members of the board will be elected by majority vote at the LPNOVA convention to be held in the last week of November each year.
2.2 Members seeking positions on the governing board will be dues paying members of both the national and Virginia Libertarian Parties. These members should be in good standing with LPNOVA and have attended at least two thirds of monthly board meetings in the year which the wish to run for office.
2.3 The governing board shall consist of five positions; Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, and one At Large member.
2.3.1 The Chairman will run the day to day operations of LPNOVA. He will set the agenda for the year to come. At the monthly board meeting he will be granted one votes.
2.3.2 The Vice Chairman will stand in for the Chairman in his absence. He will supervise the advisory committees. He will have one vote at monthly board meeting.
2.3.3 The Treasurer will keep records of fundraising and expenses for all party functions, and file reports as required by local, state, or Federal law. He will receive one vote at the monthly board meeting.
2.3.4 The Secretary will keep minutes of board meetings and file any reports required of LPNOVA by local, state, or Federal law. He will receive one vote at monthly board meetings.
2.3.5 The At Large member will serve as liaison to the members of LPNOVA. He will be given one vote at monthly board meetings.
2.4 In the event that a board member must vacate or is removed from his post, a new officer will be appointed by the remaining board members. If the chairman must vacate his post, the vice chair will become the chairman and the board will appoint a new vice chairman.
2.5 An officer of the governing board may be removed if he is deemed to be no longer affective in his position. A two thirds vote of members at the meeting where a motion for removal is passed will be required to remove an officer.
2.6 The governing board will meet once a month to assess and set goals, vote on issues relevant to LPNOVA and address issues brought forward from advisory committees. Members will be welcome at all board meetings and are encouraged to participate.
3 Advisory Committees
3.1 As membership allows, advisory committees will be created by the governing board. These committees will inform the board on issues pertaining to local, state, and federal governing bodies.
3.2 Committee chairs will be appointed by the governing board.
4 LPNOVA Convention
4.1 The LPNOVA convention will be held in the last week of November every year.
4.2 The convention will elect new board members by majority vote.
4.3 LPNOVA will solicit, from its members, candidates for elected office in the following year.
4.3.1 Those that wish to be considered for office must be dues paying members of both the national and Virginia Libertarian parties.
4.3.2 If more than one person would like to run for the same position, the LPNOVA candidate will be decided by majority vote.
4.4 Amendments to the LPNOVA Bylaws may be proposed at the convention.
4.4.1 Amendments may only be sponsored by LPNOVA members in good standing (those that have attended one half of monthly board meetings and are dues paying members of both the national and Virginia Libertarian parties).
4.4.2 Amendments will be passed when approved by two thirds of the LPNOVA membership.
5 Governing Law
5.1 LPNOVA will be subject to the bylaws of the Libertarian Party of Virginia, the laws of the commonwealth of Virginia, and all federal laws pertaining to the formation of a political party and the governing there forth.



Please post comments.

5 comments:

  1. Overall, I like the simplicity of these bylaws; however, I believe there are two provisions that will be unworkable in the long run unless they are rethought or reworded.

    1) It appears that candidates for the governing board must have attended at least two thirds of the board meetings in the prior year. From my experience from serving on the board of the predecessor organization for four years, you may have few if any candidates each year except for reelecting the existing board members.

    2) Amendments to the bylaws must be approved by 2/3 of the membership. If all dues paying members of the state and national party residing in the jurisdiction are members, you will never, ever amend these bylaws. I believe this should be changed to "members in attendance at the convention."

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  2. I agree with Chuck's comments. Myabe the 2/3 clause should be ammended to say, 2 out of the last 3 meetings. I would also like to see a clause that either allows or dis-allows a board member to abstain from voting. I don't much care whether it is allowed or not, but I think this should be specified. I think a good compromise would be to say that in the event of a tie a member who has abstained must place a yes or no vote.

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  3. I too like the simplicity of the bylaws and I like Matt's idea about not being able to abstain when a tie-braking vote is necessary.

    I have a couple of issues though. I feel like "in good standing with LPNOVA" is confusing. I feel that the definition seems different in the clauses I pasted below.

    The first seems to insinuate that this means being a dues-paying member and have attended 2/3 of meetings. The second seems to to say be a dues-paying member and have attended 1/2 of meetings.

    I think I understand what these are intended to mean but feel the first clause should be amended to simply leave out "be in good standing with LPNOVA" as if the other two qualifications are met you are, in fact, in good standing with LPNOVA. (see below)

    2.2 Members seeking positions on the governing board will be dues paying members of both the national and Virginia Libertarian Parties. These members should be in good standing with LPNOVA and have attended at least two thirds of monthly board meetings in the year which the wish to run for office.

    4.4.1 Amendments may only be sponsored by LPNOVA members in good standing (those that have attended one half of monthly board meetings and are dues paying members of both the national and Virginia Libertarian parties).

    Also, I do not think we need to say anything about how many meetings someone should have attended to propose amendments or to become a board member.

    I don't believe we should ever discourage either of those actions. If there's an exceptionally well-qualified candidate that just moved to NOVA the month before the election, he should be able to act for LPNOVA in any capacity that the membership feels comfortable enough with to approve. If they did not perform, they'd be removed. If people did not know them, they probably would not vote for them anyway.

    Also, many people are "ideas" people but don't want to be activists. If a dues-paying member has a great idea about our bylaws, I want to hear it regardless of if they've ever been to a board meeting or not.

    I feel like these laws just create an unnecessary layer of beauracracy. However, I'm sure I could be convinced otherwise if someone can give me some legitimate reasons for these laws.

    Good job on the bylaws! Overall, they look great!

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  4. I was thinking about it and maybe the rule about attending X number of meetings the prior year should be imposed on those seeking the chair position but the other seats could be up for grabs as long as you're a dues-paying member of the national and state Libertarian parties. That way, if an interested party comes along, no matter when (or if a long-time member just happens to be out of town during the last 2 or 3 meeting of the year), they can still run for a board position but we will also always be sure that the Chair position will be filled by someone that is more familiar with the group and its goals.

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  5. I agree with Kara's second idea, or something along those lines.

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