Resolution 2003-01-06.wta.2: Charter for the bylaws committee

The following resolution has been accepted by the Board of Directors
of Software in the Public Interest:

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Resolution 2003-01-06.wta.2
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Charter for the bylaws committee

A charter is hereby granted for the formation and operation of a
committee within the guidelines and objectives stated herein. The
committee shall operate in the best interest of SPI and is responsible
to the board of directors and membership of the organisation.

Preamble

The current by-laws of Software in the Public Interest need to be
updated to reflect the current status of the organisation. Since
the current by-laws were written SPI has grown, gained an active
membership and accepted resolutions that require a revision of the
current by-laws.

Purpose of the Committee

It is the responsibility of this committee to propose changes to the
existing by-laws to the SPI board of directors and its membership.
These changes will be reviewed and voted upon in accordance with article
twelve of the current by-laws.

In particular, the Committee is directed to consider

i. The changes needed to make SPI a membership-controlled, rather
than Board-controlled organisation, including:
* Election of the Board by the Membership
* Recall of (members of) the Board

ii. Specific authorisation for the Board (and other similar bodies
established by the bylaws or otherwise) to regulate their conduct,
including to give explicitly the power to determine other methods
of passing resolutions than by meeting.

iii. Review and clarification of the guidelines for granting
contributing membership.

iv. Other clarifications and improvements that may be helpful.

Operating guidelines

This committee shall operate openly in view of the public. The committee
itself shall determine reasonable procedures for transacting its
business, both for its operations and decisionmaking. The board
reserves the right to veto or modify those procedures.

Membership and organisation

The committee will consist of five (5) members selected by the board of
directors, all of whom have to be contributing members of SPI. It will
present its proposals in time for the next general meeting in July.
After completing its intended purpose the committee will be dissolved.

--
Wichert Akkerman <wichert(at)wiggy(dot)net> http://www.wiggy.net/
A random hacker