[DRAFT 2] Bylwas Revision: COMMITTEES

[ Here is the second draft of the Committees section of the bylaws. I made
some of the suggested changes, and added the permanent committees which I
forgot in the last draft.

Any other permanent committees that I forgot about? Any other comments?
Otherwise, I think it's about done... Anything else I may have left out?
If not, the voting section is next (oh joy!! :)

--Nils.]

COMMITTEES
----------

Committees are an extension of the board of directors and take care of the
daily ongoing concerns and issues of the organization. They are not to be
formed for one-time or short term situations.

Committees are governed by the board of directors and are accountable to
the board and the membership.

Committees may propose resolutions and motions within the scope of their
charter. Discussions should be held in a public forum, but the committee
may have private discussions if they are deemed necessary.

Charter
-------
The committee charter completely describes the rights and responsibilities
of the committee, as well as its structure, membership policies, and any
other relevant details. The charter should also provide an outline for how
discussions will be conducted, and how the membership and public are to be
informed of its actions. Charters are issued and revoked by the board of
directors. The charter shall be put before the membership for review and
discussion before it is voted on by the board of directors.

The charter shall also define the membership structure of the committee.
Both contributing and non contributing members are eligible to serve on
committees.

Permanent Committees
--------------------
There shall be several permanent committees within the organization.
These committees are necessary for the basic operation of the
organization, and their charters shall not be revoked. The charters may,
however, be modified by the board of directors if necessary.

The permanent committees shall be as follows:

- Membership Committee
This committee is responsible for handling all membership related
issues, including verifying the identity of new members and ensuring that
the membership rules are being observed.

- Administrative Committee
This committee is responsible for maintaining the computers and other
technical systems that Software In The Public Interest, Inc. is using and
other technical resources.

On Wed, 14 Apr 1999, Nils Lohner wrote:

> [ Here is the second draft of the Committees section of the bylaws. I made
> some of the suggested changes, and added the permanent committees which I
> forgot in the last draft.
>
> Any other permanent committees that I forgot about? Any other comments?
> Otherwise, I think it's about done... Anything else I may have left out?
> If not, the voting section is next (oh joy!! :)
>
Just curious about how difficult it will be to add more permanent
committees. I'm thinking that as the organization grows, some tasks
left to the BOD will become too onerous for them to handle, but will be
important enough to need a dedicated committee (budget work may fall in
this category if the ball really get rolling in donations/supported
projects). I think the two are fine to start with, as long as more can be
added as they become needed.

Lynn

On Wed, Apr 14, 1999 at 05:46:47PM -0500, Lynn Winebarger wrote:
> Just curious about how difficult it will be to add more permanent
> committees. I'm thinking that as the organization grows, some tasks
> left to the BOD will become too onerous for them to handle, but will be
> important enough to need a dedicated committee (budget work may fall in
> this category if the ball really get rolling in donations/supported
> projects). I think the two are fine to start with, as long as more can be
> added as they become needed.

"Permanent committees" can be added by just activating a charter and never
deactivating it. The idea behind putting commmittees in the By-Laws is to
make it very difficult to ever disband the commitee. Because it's not
listed here doesn't mean it has to expire...

--
Please cc all mailing list replies to me, also.
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