1 Bylaws of Progressive Oregon 2 3 4 Article I: Name The name of the organization shall be Progressive Oregon. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Article II: Purpose The objective of this transpartisan organization shall be to work for progressive change in Oregon through Economic Justice, Environmental Justice, Racial Justice, and Social Justice. The organization shall achieve its objective by conducting, but not being limited to, the following activities: 1) Recruiting and electing progressive candidates for municipal, city, county, and state elections; 2) Advancing progressive legislation; 3) Coalition building with progressive community organizations; 4) Promoting progressive change within Oregon s political parties; and 5) Ensuring the political process is representative of all progressives through equity, diversity and inclusion. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Article III: Members Section 1: Eligibility Any resident of Oregon is eligible for membership. Section 2: Membership A person shall be declared a Member upon agreement to the Progressive Oregon Pledge. Agreement is accomplished by electronic registration at the organization website. No dues shall be required. Recommended one-time or recurring contributions of time and/or money shall be requested at regular intervals from members. Section 3: Removal or Resignation A) Resignation from Membership (1) Any member desiring to resign from the organization shall submit their resignation in writing via mail or email to the Membership Committee or the Chair of the Organization. B) Inactive Membership
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 (1) Any member who has not participated in the Organization in the past 6 months shall be automatically removed from membership. Participation in General Membership meetings and Standing Committees qualifies as participation in the Organization. C) Member Removal (1) A motion to remove any member of this organization from membership must be for cause and is only in order upon recommendation of the Executive Board or with a petition signed by no fewer than ten members. (2) An Ad-hoc Committee will conduct a fair and complete Investigation and determine if there is cause. If cause is found, the committee will give a recommendation to the membership regarding removal. (3) Removal from membership shall require a two-thirds vote by electronic ballot sent to the entire membership via SurveyMonkey or a similar service following the disciplinary procedures outlined in Robert's Rules. The individual shall be given written notice via email with an attempted confirmation of receipt by phone within 48 hours of the proposed action and the specific grounds of the proposed removal at least ten days before any meeting is held on the subject. The individual may respond to the charges at a meeting held prior to a vote on removal. (4) Any member so removed may re-apply for membership no sooner than two years from the date of removal. Section 4. Member Information Members shall determine how and with whom their personal information may be shared. Section 5. Progressive Oregon Pledge A) The Pledge must be agreed to and signed by all new members. (1) An exception to signing the pledge will be allowed for people who must remain neutral for legal reasons. This exception must be approved by the Executive Board. B) Changes to the Pledge must be approved by a majority vote by an electronic ballot sent via SurveyMonkey or a similar service to the entire membership. C) To remain a member, the Pledge must be re-signed within 45 days of: (1) The Organizational Meeting;
62 63 (2) Announcement of a new platform; or (3) Notice being sent out of changes to the Pledge or Platform. 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 Article IV: Officers Section 1. Officers The officers of the Organization shall be Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Section 2. Duties of Officers A) Chair (1) The Chair is responsible for guiding the organization in a manner consistent with the purpose of the Organization as set forth in these Bylaws and as directed by the body. (2) The Chair shall convene and conduct all regular meetings of the Organization. (3) The Chair shall draft the agenda for each membership meeting and present the agenda to the Executive Board for approval. (4) The Chair shall be an non-voting ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nominating Committee. (5) The Chair may appoint a Parliamentarian, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Time Keeper(s) as deemed necessary. (6) The Chair shall be an authorized spokesperson for the Organization and may compose and/or authorize press releases. (7) The Chair shall, with the Secretary, execute all contracts on behalf of the Organization. (8) The Chair shall be an alternate signer of checks with the Treasurer. B) Vice Chair (1) In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall assume all duties, responsibilities, and authority of the Chair. (2) The Vice Chair shall perform any and all duties in furtherance of the purpose of this Organization as directed by the Chair. (3) The Vice Chair shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of all standing committees, except the Nominating Committee, and shall be charged with assisting the standing committees in fulfilling their duties. (4) The Vice Chair shall be an alternate signer of checks with the Treasurer.
94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 C) Secretary (1) The Secretary shall take notes at meetings and shall provide a written draft of the minutes to be distributed with the next meeting notice. The approved minutes shall be posted no later than fourteen days after they are approved. (2) The Secretary shall keep and maintain all records, including correspondence, reports, press releases and publications. These records will be made available to the membership upon request. (3) The Secretary shall be an ex-officio member of the Communications Committee and is expected to attend all Communications Committee meetings. D) Treasurer (1) The Treasurer shall provide for the custody and safekeeping of all Organization funds. (2) The Treasurer shall issue checks in accordance with the Organization s approved budget, with the Chair or Vice Chair as alternate signers. (3) The Treasurer shall prepare a quarterly Financial Report on all finances of the Organization to be presented to the Membership at the regularly scheduled meetings. (4) The Treasurer shall receive funds and disburse properly authorized expenditures for the organization as required. (5) The Treasurer shall meet all campaign finance reporting requirements and follow any other applicable laws. (6) The Treasurer shall provide financial reports to the Organization, which shall be provided with the meeting notice and shall be made available on the website. These reports shall include any expenditures approved by the Executive Board. (7) The Treasurer shall chair the Budget Committee. Section 3. Nominating Procedure, Time of Elections At a regular meeting held in September of odd-numbered years, a Nominating Committee of three members shall be elected by the Organization. Those members shall not seek a position as either an officer nor a CD Director. It shall be the duty of this committee to solicit and receive nominations for the positions to be filled at the Organizational meeting in November. The committee shall strive to find at least two candidates for each position and shall seek candidates who help increase the diversity of the Organization in regard to race,
126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, geographical location, and party affiliation. All eligible nominations shall be presented to the body at the Organizational meeting and be provided in the notice. Additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted. Section 4. Election and Term of Office The officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for two years and until their successors are elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the Organizational meeting at which they are elected. Section 5. Removal from Office Officers may be recalled from office for cause by a majority vote at a membership meeting, provided that: A) A petition stating the grievances and being signed by no less than 10 members has been provided to the Executive Board; and B) Notice of the recall vote has been provided to the membership at least twelve days prior the membership meeting, including the full language of the petition. If the Executive Board fails to provide timely notice, the petitioners may use the listserv and notify the membership at least seven days prior to the meeting and the recall vote will take place at that meeting. Section 6. Office-Holding Limitations No member shall hold more than one office at the same time and no member shall be eligible to serve more than three consecutive terms in the same office. Officers may not serve as a CD Director or Standing Committee chair, unless otherwise provided in these bylaws or approved by a two-thirds vote at a membership meeting with prior notice. 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 Article V: Meetings Section 1. Membership Meetings A) Regular Meetings Regular meetings of the Organization shall be held each month unless otherwise ordered by the Organization. B) Special Meetings Special membership meetings may be called by the Chair or by the Executive Board or
157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 upon the written request of eleven members of the Organization. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call for the meeting. Normal notice requirements still apply to Special Meetings. C) Organizational Meeting The Organizational meeting shall be held in November of odd-numbered years. The purpose shall be to elect officers, CD directors and standing committee chairs. Those members present shall constitute a quorum. D) Quorum Eleven members of the Organization shall constitute a quorum for Regular and Special Meetings. Section 2. Executive Board Meetings Unless otherwise ordered by the Executive Board, regular meetings of the Board shall be held each month at least 7 days prior to the monthly membership meeting. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chair and shall be called upon the written request of three members of the Board. A quorum for the Board shall be five members. Section 3. Notice of Meetings Email notification of meetings of the membership, Executive Board, and committees shall be issued by email 6 days and 1 day prior to the meeting to the respective membership. Notice shall include time, date, location, and agenda for the meeting. A public electronic calendar of meetings will be maintained and meetings will be posted on the calendar at least 6 days prior to the meeting. Section 4. Electronic Meetings A) Membership meetings, Executive Board, Standing Committees and Ad-hoc Committees may conduct electronic teleconference meetings. B) Members are encouraged to use a computer or smartphone app to participate in meetings as it provides better communication than only an audio connection. C) Hybrid in-person/teleconference meetings may occur at the discretion of the chair, only when the need arises. D) Electronic meetings require the same notice as other appropriate meetings. E) Electronic meetings must be run as follows: (1) Identities of members will be verified after calling in. Verification may be done visually or aurally by Membership Committee.
189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 (2) A roll call of the verified members will take place before the agenda is adopted. (3) The chair will explain the teleconference process to all members. (4) The conference call will allow for bidirectional aural communication while the meeting is in session. (5) All members must have the ability to unmute themselves at their own discretion. Members will self-mute, except when speaking or raising a privileged motion, or raising a point of order. (6) Other than privileged motions or incidental motions, the chair will recognize, to the best of their ability, members by digitally raised hands in the order raised, when possible. (7) Digitally raising hands within the teleconference software shall be used to ascertain vote totals. If this is not possible, roll call votes shall be used instead. A vote by unanimous consent is also acceptable. (8) The votes cast by members will be recorded in the minutes. (9) The language of all motions will be displayed for all members who are visually connected. F) The members may approve a vote to be conducted by SurveyMonkey, or a similar service. Such votes will include all members of that body, vote will be tallied 72 hours after it is sent, and be announced to all members via email. No votes shall be conducted by email. 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 Article VI: Executive Board Section 1. Board Composition. The officers of the Organization, Congressional District Directors and the Standing Committee Chairs shall constitute the Executive Board. No member shall have more than one vote. Standing Committees with more than one chair may only have one chair vote during Board meetings. Section 2. Congressional District Directors A) There will be two Directors for Oregon Congressional District 2, and one director for each remaining Oregon Congressional District. B) Directors shall be elected for each Congressional District/section by members
221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 registered to vote in that district/section. Directors are responsible for being a liaison with the organizations and voters within their district/section. Directors may be recalled by the same process as for officers, except that the petitioners and voters must be registered to vote in that district/section. C) Congressional District 2 will be divided into two sections: (1) North: Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Hood River, Jefferson, Sherman, Morrow, Jefferson Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler (2) South: Malheur, Harney, Lake, Jackson, Klamath, Josephine Section 3. Duties and Powers The Executive Board shall act on behalf of the Organization between its membership meetings, fix the hour and place of the membership meetings, hire and supervise paid staff, approve the agenda for the membership meetings, make recommendations to the Organization, and perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws. The Executive Board may approve expenditures of less than $250 which are not provided for within the budget. 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 Article VII: Committees Section 1. Committee Membership Any member of the Organization may declare themselves a member of a standing committee at any time by registration in the committee, or as specified in the bylaws. Members may be removed from a standing committee by a two-thirds vote of the committee. 243 Section 2. Chairpersonship of Committees 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 A) Standing committees will elect a chair at their meeting during the Organizational Meeting, with the exception of the Budget Committee. B) The chair for a standing committee may not be an officer, unless otherwise provided in these bylaws or approved by a two-thirds vote at a membership meeting with prior notice. C) The chair for a standing committee may not be chair of another standing committee, unless approved by a two-thirds vote of each committee. D) The first meeting of the new standing committee will be chaired by the prior chair of
252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 that standing committee. If that is not possible, or if a vacancy occurs, the Chair will appoint an interim chair to serve until the committee elects its own chair. E) The newly elected standing committee chair will notify the Chair of the result of the election. F) Standing committee chairs may be replaced by a majority vote by the standing committee with proper notice of the election given, with the exception of the Budget Committee. G) Ad-hoc committee chairs will be chosen in a manner as determined by the Organization when the committee is created. Section 3. Standing Committees A) Budget Committee The Budget Committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Committee to prepare a draft budget for the fiscal year beginning the first day of January and to submit it to the Organization for adoption at its regular meeting in December. The Budget Committee may submit amendments to the budget for the current fiscal year, which may be adopted by a majority vote at a membership meeting. B) Intraparty Committee The Intraparty Committee shall be responsible for promoting progressive change within Oregon s political parties. The committee shall accomplish this through the creation of slates of candidates for Party offices, including precinct committeepersons, for the Organization to support. The committee shall also help promote rules and platform changes within political parties which are progressive in nature. The committee shall provide tools to members of political parties to help them create progressive change. C) Candidate & Elections Committee The Candidate and Elections Committee shall be responsible for drafting a multi-year plan for elected offices to be targeted by the Organization. The Committee shall solicit and identify candidates for public elections identified in the multi-year plan. The Committee shall assist the elections of endorsed candidates. D) Legislation & Platform Committee The Legislation and Platform Committee shall identify legislation and public policy resolutions to advance the progressive agenda of the Organization at the municipal,
284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 city, county, and state levels, to be brought before the membership for support and/or adoption. The Committee shall organize and support legislation approved by the Organization. E) Membership & Credentials Committee The Membership and Credentials Committee works to expand the membership of the Organization and keep that membership active. The committee shall maintain a Membership Roll, with approved contact information. The committee shall track attendance and provide a Credentials Report at membership meetings. The committee shall ensure members are contacted upon being inactive for three months. The committee shall collect, tabulate, record, and certify all ballotted votes during elections. F) Fundraising & Events Committee The Fundraising and Events Committee is responsible for generating contributions and planning and executing events. This committee maintains online contribution processes as well as physical contributions. The committee is also responsible for organizing additional Organization events as directed by the Executive Board. G) Rules Committee The Rules Committee is responsible for recommending rules and changes to the Bylaws, Special Rules of Order, and Standing Rules of the Organization. The committee shall also be responsible for other matters regarding rules which are not already assigned within these bylaws, such as drafting rules for platform conventions or advising members seeking to interpret or improve rules in other organizations. H) Rural Committee The Rural Committee is responsible for establishing a strong progressive presence in rural Oregon, representing the concerns of rural areas of the state, and rural community outreach. The Committee shall also coordinate, support members, and exchange ideas among isolated communities. The committee shall strive to amplify the underrepresented voices of rural Oregon and ensure their concerns are listened to and respected. I) Justice Committee The Justice Committee is responsible for focusing on four justice areas: economic justice, environmental justice, racial justice, and social justice. The committee shall
315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 investigate issues of importance to progressives, including analysis of different perspectives. The committee shall make recommendations to other committees and officers to help ensure they maintain a focus on justice issues. This committee shall work to carry out its goals by, but not limited to, organizing and coordinating with direct actions, working with the Fundraising & Events Committee to create justice-focused events, working with the Communications Committee to help make the public more aware of justice issues, and ensuring candidates and legislation are focused on justice. The committee will work to include people with analysis and writing skills who represent diverse viewpoints. J) Outreach Committee The Outreach Committee is responsible for engaging and connecting with grassroots and progressive organizations as well as helping to engage, educate, and activate communities and individuals across the state. The committee will be responsible for running Activist Connections Events (ACEs). The committee shall inform the Organization of non-organization events which are of interest to progressives. K) Communications Committee The Communications Committee is responsible for all communications with the general public and the Organization membership, including but not limited to, press releases, newsletter, web page, other web content, and social media presence. The committee is responsible for documenting progressive events. The committee maintains an Events Calendar that lists Organization events, meetings and events of political parties, and other events which are of interest to progressives. Section 4. General Provisions for Committees Standing committees may be established, disbanded, or changed by the Organization as it shall deem necessary to carry on its work. Ad-hoc committees may be created by the Organization as needed and will have a determined end date for their work. The Chair and Vice Chair shall be non-voting ex-officio members of all committees except the Nominating Committee and any disciplinary committees. Quorum for committee meetings are those committee members in attendance. 344 345 ARTICLE VIII: Platform Convention
346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 Section 1. A) A Platform Convention shall be held biennially. This Convention shall begin no earlier than August of odd-numbered years and shall be completed no later than the November membership meeting of that year. This date is subject to change at a regular membership meeting by a two-thirds vote. B) The purpose of This Convention shall be to adopt a Platform which includes Nonnegotiable Issues for Progressive Oregon and to perform other functions assigned to it by the membership or the Bylaws and Standing Rules. C) This Convention may take place across different days. D) This Convention shall be called by the Executive Board. E) All Progressive Oregon members shall be eligible to be Delegates to This Convention and shall be selected as described in the Standing Rules. F) The quorum for This Convention shall be those in attendance. G) The membership may amend the platform between platform conventions, as described in the Standing Rules. 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 Article IX: General Provisions Section 1. Support/Endorsement Procedure for Candidates for Public Office A) Votes to support and/or endorse candidates will be conducted by an electronic ballot sent to all members. Such a vote will be closed 72 hours after the ballot is sent out. If a candidate is recommended by the Candidate & Elections Committee, the vote to support and/or endorse will require a majority vote. If a member moves to support and/or endorse a candidate without the Candidate & Elections Committee s recommendation it shall require a two-thirds vote. B) The Organization will not issue support or endorsement of a candidate running in a federal election. Section 2. Contributions to Progressive Oregon A) Any donor contributing $250 or more per year will be disclosed publicly at the end of each quarter on the Progressive Oregon website, and B) The annual contribution limit to Progressive Oregon from a single source is $2,700. 376 377 Article X: Parliamentary Authority
378 379 380 The rules contained in the current edition of Robert s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (current edition) shall govern the Organization in all cases not covered by these Bylaws, the Standing Rules and Special Rules of Order, or state statute. 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 Article XI: Rules Amendments Section 1. Standing Rules Although it is recommended that the Rules Committee review and advise on any potential standing rule or amendment, the Organization may adopt a new standing rule or amend a standing rule provided that: A) Notice, including the full text of the amendment, has been provided along with the meeting notice prior to the meeting that the amendment shall be considered. (1) Without proper notice, such an amendment may still be voted upon by the Organization. B) With proper notice, it is adopted by a majority vote; or without proper notice, a twothirds vote shall be required. Section 2. Special Rules of Order Although it is recommended that the Rules Committee review and advise on any potential special rules of order, the Organization may adopt or amend a special rule of order provided that: A) Notice, including the full text of the amendment, has been provided along with the meeting notice prior to the meeting that the amendment shall be considered. (1) Without proper notice, such an amendment may still be voted upon by the Organization. B) With proper notice, it is adopted by a two-thirds vote; or without proper notice, a unanimous vote shall be required. Section 3. Bylaws The Organization may adopt a bylaws amendment provided that: A) The Rules Committee has recommended that the amendment be adopted; (1) Without that, 5 members may recommend that the amendment be adopted. B) Notice, including the full text of the amendment, has been provided along with the meeting notice prior to the meeting that the amendment shall be considered.
409 410 411 412 413 (1) Without proper notice, such an amendment may still be voted upon by the Organization. C) With both A and B satisfied, it is adopted by a two-thirds vote; with one of A or B satisfied, it is adopted by a three-quarters vote; or without both A and B satisfied, it is adopted by a unanimous vote.