2014 LP Bylaws Committee

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Proposal #10: Eliminate Redundant Language for Officers Being LNC Members

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Alicia Mattson.

Problem: This is a redundancy cleanup proposal. The sentence proposed for elimination is redundant with Bylaws Article 8.2, which says “The National Committee shall be composed of the following members: a. the officers of the Party…” In our organization, there is no parliamentary difference between a "full voting member" as it is phrased in Article 7.3 as compared to just "members" as used in Article 8.2. It is always a risk to have the same concept in two places in the bylaws, as future changes could amend one and forget to amend the other for consistency, leaving a problematic contradiction.
Solution: Eliminate the redundant provision by deleting Article 7.3.
Benefits:

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 7: OFFICERS

~~The officers shall be full voting members of the National Committee.~~

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #9: Eliminate Roll Call Vote Announcement by State Chairs for LNC Elections

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Alicia Mattson.

Problem: Our Convention Rules call for a special procedure for announcing voting results for the Presidential ticket, for the first round of the LNC Chair election, and for the At-Large election. Under this procedure, the state chairs make a verbal announcement of the results from their state. This is a fun opportunity that makes for good TV during the Presidential nominations, but it does take up a lot of time. Once the TV cameras are off after our Presidential ticket is selected, in every convention in recent memory, delegates have chosen to suspend this rule for the LNC elections in order to save time.
Solution: Eliminate the roll call vote announcements by state chairs for LNC elections.
Benefits:

Convention Special Rules of Order of the Libertarian Party

RULE 8: ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND NATIONAL COMMITTEE

Nominations for Party Officers shall be from the floor. The election shall be conducted in the following manner:

For the first round of voting for Chair, an announcement of each delegation's vote total shall be made by delegation chairs in alphabetical order beginning with a randomly selected delegation. Subsequent announcements of each delegation's totals shall be made by the Secretary.
Nominations for the at-large members of the National Committee shall be from the floor. The election shall be conducted in the following manner:

~~At this point, an announcement of each delegation's vote total shall be made by delegation chairs in alphabetical order beginning with a randomly selected delegation.~~

[re-number subsequent clauses]

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #8: Assign Alternate Credentialing to the Correct Entity

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Alicia Mattson.

Problem: The bylaws allow alternate convention delegates to substitute for other delegates who have not yet registered in attendance provided that the Secretary has been provided with affiliate lists of delegates and alternates, and provided that the Secretary certifies the alternate. In reality, convention floor duties consume all of the Secretary's time, and the Secretary cannot be called away to the credentialing desk every time an alternate needs to be certified. The reality of past practice is that the Credentials Committee does this job, not the Secretary. The Credentials Committee maintains all of the necessary information to certify that the conditions have been met, so this duty should be reassigned in a more realistic way.
Solution: Bring the Bylaws into conformity with reality and past practice by assigning these duties to the Credentials Committee rather than to the Secretary.
Benefits:

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 11: CONVENTIONS

Voting Eligibility:
1. Duly selected alternates may be freely substituted for any members of their delegation who are temporarily or permanently absent from the floor, provided the procedure has been clearly specified by the affiliate party in advance of the Convention, and the ~~Secretary~~ Credentials Committee has been provided with lists of the affiliate party's delegates and alternates as well as a copy of the affiliate party's rules governing substitutions.
2. An alternate, upon certification by the ~~Secretary~~ Credentials Committee, may function as a delegate whenever a delegate of the same state has not been registered in attendance. This status shall continue until the absent delegate registers in attendance. If the affiliate party has made no provision for filling delegate vacancies, the alternate substitute shall be decided by drawing lots.

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #7: Make Statement of Principles a Separate Stand-Alone Document

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Geoff Neale and Aaron Starr.

Problem: The Statement of Principles is a core enduring proclamation of our Party’s values that has not been changed in over 40 years. Even though it retains a near permanent nature, its importance is obfuscated and diminished because it is submerged within the Platform, a document often amended to address current political issues.
Solution: Just as the Declaration of Independence is (and ought to remain) a separate document from the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, our proposal is to elevate our Statement of Principles by making it its own distinct document.
Benefits: As a separate document, we can proudly point to one concise stand-alone statement that presents our vision for a better world.

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 4: STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND PLATFORM

The Statement of Principles affirms that philosophy upon which the Libertarian Party is founded, by which it shall be sustained, and through which liberty shall prevail. The enduring importance of the Statement of Principles requires that it may be amended only by a vote of 7/8 of all registered delegates at a Regular Convention.
The Party Platform shall ~~include, but not be limited to, the Statement of Principles and~~ advocate the implementation of those principles in the form of planks.
The current Platform shall serve as the basis of all future platforms. The existing Platform may be amended only at Regular Conventions. Additional planks, or additions to planks, must be approved by 2/3 vote. A platform plank may be deleted by majority vote.

Proviso: The Statement of Principles shall be detached from the Party Platform and serve as its own stand-alone document.

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #6: Require National Delegates to be Party Members

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Rich Tomasso and Alicia Mattson.

Problem: Our bylaws establish an affiliate relationship between the national party and state parties. For this reason, the national party cannot (and should not) compel state affiliates to accept as voting members at their conventions, national party members based solely on their national party membership. That same courtesy in the bylaws is not extended the other way – a state affiliate can compel the national party to accept as a national delegate someone who is only a member of that state party.

All a person has to do to become a national member is to certify in writing that they oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals. In spite of how easy it is to become a member, our current rules allow delegates to attend Libertarian Party conventions and vote on our leadership, platform, and bylaws even if they are not members of the Libertarian Party.
Solution: To create a relationship where both the national and state parties are on equal footing, we propose requiring that national delegates be members.
Benefits: This change further commits us to the model that both the states and the national party are truly affiliates, with neither being subservient to the other.

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 11: CONVENTIONS

Delegates:
1. Delegates shall be required to be members of ~~either~~ the Party ~~or an affiliate party~~. At all Regular Conventions delegates shall be those so accredited who have registered at the Convention. At all Non-Regular Conventions, any person who wishes to attend may do so.

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #5: Re-Authorize LNC Establishment of Dues with a Two-Thirds Vote

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Aaron Starr.

Problem: Back in 2004/2005 the National Committee, with a bare majority, first increased dues from $25 to $50, and several months later decreased dues from $50 to $0. The delegates at the 2006 convention responded by setting the dues at $25, not taking into account future debasement of the U.S. Dollar. In hindsight, we believe that this was the wrong solution to a legitimate problem.
Solution: Return the setting of dues to the National Committee, but only allow changes to be enacted with a super-majority vote. We are also taking this opportunity to clean up the existing language, eliminate redundancy and correct a conflicting provision. For example, counting sustaining membership requirements for delegate apportionment (Article 11.4) and national committee representation (8.2.c), and sustaining membership requirements to hold national party office (7.1 and 8.4) and be our candidate for President (14.2) are addressed elsewhere in the bylaws.
Benefits:

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 5: MEMBERSHIP

Members of the Party shall be those persons who have certified in writing that they oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals.

The National Committee may offer life memberships, and must honor all prior and future life memberships.

"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.

The National Committee may create other levels of membership and shall determine the contribution or dues levels for such memberships.

Higher levels of contribution by or on behalf of a Party member qualify as sustaining member status for any provision of these Bylaws.

Only sustaining members shall be counted for delegate apportionment and National Committee representation. Only sustaining members shall be eligible to hold National Party office or be a candidate for President or Vice-President.

Members of the Party are those persons who have certified in writing that they oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals.

“Sustaining members” are members who:

Are life members; or

During the prior twelve months have donated, or have had donated on their behalf, an amount prescribed by a two-thirds vote of the National Committee.

ARTICLE 14: PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

No candidate may be nominated for President or Vice-President who is ineligible under the United States Constitution, who has not expressed a willingness to accept the nomination of the Party, who served as a stand-in candidate during the current election cycle, or who is not a sustaining member of the Party. A stand-in is an individual who has agreed to be placed on a state affiliate’s nomination petition prior to the selection of nominees bythe Libertarian Party at Convention.

Proviso: The minimum dues for a Sustaining Member shall remain at $25 until and unless a change is adopted by a two-thirds vote of the National Committee.

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic

Proposal #4: Limit National Committee Ability to Obligate Future National Committees

DRAFT This is a draft proposal which has not yet been voted on by the committee.

Proposed by Aaron Starr.

Problem: With just a majority vote, the National Committee can enter into long-term contracts that bind future National Committees. As a consequence, even when delegates want to replace the National Committee, the incoming National Committee can be stuck with the prior administration’s decisions for a very long time.
Solution: Require a two-thirds vote for any agreement that effectively binds the National Committee beyond its current term, with the exception of conventions, which need to be planned years in advance to obtain available space and minimize their cost.
Benefits:

Bylaws of the Libertarian Party

ARTICLE 10: FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

The Party shall not borrow in excess of $2,000 total without prior approval by 2/3 vote of the National Committee. This shall not include current operating debt for trade payables. With the exception of convention-related contracts and ongoing monthly operating expenses that may be terminated without penalty with one month’s notice, the Party shall not impose a financial commitment binding upon a future National Committee unless approved with a 2/3 vote of the National Committee.

Key

removed - ~~red, strikethrough~~
added - blue, underline, italic