General Info
State Conference
Saturday, April 2, 2016 for the California NOW State Elections Conference
Location:
Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce
1444 Fulton Street, Fresno, Ca 93721
WHO CAN VOTE?
Anyone with proof of membership at least 60 days prior to the April 2, 2016 state conference date will be credentialed and therefore eligible to vote.
This is a one day conference and attendees are responsible for their own accommodations. Here are two hotels less than a 5 minutes (by car) from the conference location.
Double Tree
2233 Ventura St.
Fresno, CA 93721
1 559-268-1000
LaQuinta Inn Fresno
2926 Tulare St.
Fresno, CA 93721
1 559-442-1110
Conference Agenda
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Registration & Credentialing
10:30 – 11:00 AM
Plenary 1 Convene Annual Membership Meeting
Adopt Conference Election & Resolution Rules
Adopt Agenda Credentials Report
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Break out sessions:
How to Lobby 101 – Presenter: Jerilyn Stapleton
Leadership Development and Advocacy 101 – Presenter: Cheryl Branch
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Keynote Speaker – Dezie Woods-Jones, State President
California Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA)“The Legislative History of BWOPA”
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Resolutions
Credentials Report
Proposed By-Law Changes
Floor Nominations Closed
Nomination Committee Report
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Plenary II Officer, PAC Member
Election Speeches
2:30 PM-3:00 PM
Voting
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Break
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM
Election Results/Conference Closing
4:00 – 5:00 PM
California NOW Board/Executive Meeting
Bylaws Amendment
Section 11. Meetings of Members.
(e) Manner of Giving Notice for Meetings. Notice of any meeting of members shall be in writing and, except when otherwise specified in these bylaws, shall be sent at least thirty (30) but not more than ninety (90) days before the meeting date. Notice may be delivered either personally or by mail, charges prepaid, and shall be addressed to each member entitled to vote, at the mailing address of that member appearing on the books of the corporation or provided by the member to the corporation for purposes of notice.
Section 11. Meetings of Members.
(e) Manner of Giving Notice for Meetings. Notice of any meeting of members shall be in writing and, except when otherwise specified in these bylaws, shall be sent at least thirty (30) but not more than ninety (90) days before the meeting date. Notice may be delivered either personally, by front page website display in conjunction with electronic mail and/or phone notice or by postal mail, charges prepaid, and shall be addressed to each member entitled to vote, at the electronic and/or postal mailing address of that member appearing on the books of the corporation or provided by the member to the corporation for purposes of notice.
Section 11. Meetings of Members.
(e) Manner of Giving Notice for Meetings. Notice of any meeting of members shall be in writing and, except when otherwise specified in these bylaws, shall be sent at least thirty (30) but not more than ninety (90) days before the meeting date. Notice may be delivered either personally, by front page website display in conjunction with electronic mail and/or phone notice or by postal mail, charges prepaid, and shall be addressed to each member entitled to vote, at the electronic and/or postal mailing address of that member appearing on the books of the corporation or provided by the member to the corporation for purposes of notice.
2016 Conference Notification and Election Information
A notice with the information contained in this section was sent to the statewide chapters. January 3, 2016 was exactly 90 days from the date of California NOW’s conference happening April 2, 2016. The CANOW By-laws requires that the chapters be notified at least 90 days in advance of the annual meeting stating the date and location for California NOW’s annual meeting. Please note that there may be changes made to the program, i.e., times, speakers, breakout sessions and the like, but the changes will be made in addition to the agenda listed under “conference agenda”. Listed in this section are the officer and PAC positions available and note that all officers and PAC positions are up for election. While a qualified member can seek the nomination for an open position from the floor of the conference, the other option is accepting the nomination for that office by notifying the Nominations Committee no more than 60 days (2-2-16) prior to the elections conference. Please email CANOWElections@gmail.com if interested in any of the positions up for election or for inquiries about the upcoming conference.
Officer and PAC Positions
Except as otherwise specified, candidates shall have been a member in good standing of NOW for at least the preceding six (6) months
President – Candidates for President shall have been a member of California NOW, Inc. for no less than two (2) years, and (i) held a Chapter or State NOW elected office for no less than one (1) year, or (ii) served as Chair of a State NOW committee for no less than one (1) year, and demonstrated administrative ability, and attended at least four (4) California NOW Board meetings in the previous five years.
Action Vice President – Candidates for Action Vice President shall have been a member of California NOW, Inc. for no less than two (2) years, and held a Chapter or State NOW elected office for no less than one (1) year, or served as Chair of a State NOW committee for no less than one (1) year, and demonstrated action organizing ability, and attended at least four (4) California NOW Board meetings in the previous five years.
Treasurer – Candidates for Treasurer shall have had previous experience with bookkeeping or accounting procedures, and be cognizant of the duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of being the chief financial officer of a non-profit corporation.
Outreach Vice President – An individual nominated and elected as the Outreach Vice President shall a) have been a member in good standing of CA NOW for no less than one year, b) have attended at least one CA NOW Board meeting in the previous five years.
Membership Vice President – An individual nominated and elected as the Membership Vice-President shall a) have been a member in good standing of CA NOW for no less than one year and b) have attended at least one CA NOW Board meeting in the past five years.
Program Vice President – An individual nominated and elected as the Program Vice-President shall a) have been a member in good standing of CA NOW for no less than one year, and b) have attended at least one CA NOW Board meeting in the previous five years
Secretary – a member in good standing of NOW for at least the preceding six (6) months. The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept, at the principal office or other place that the Board may designate, a book of minutes of all membership meetings and meetings of the Board and Executive Committee, stating the time and place, whether regular or special, and, if special, how authorized, the notice given, the names of those directors present, and the proceedings of those meetings…
Political Action Committee Members – The CA NOW PAC shall be composed of individuals who shall have been members in good standing for six months or more prior to their election. The makeup of the PAC shall be two CA NOW members from each District, elected by and from among the members. Districts: Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Monterey/San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara/Ventura, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Orange County/Riverside, San Diego.
The source for this information can found in the California NOW bylaws located under “About Us”.
Nomination Process
Prior to filing their Nominating Statements, all those interested in being a nominee are encouraged to read pages 15-19 of the CA NOW Bylaws which outline the requirements for office. All those members willing to be candidates for office MUST confirm their nomination in writing to the Nominations Committee by 5 pm PST February 2, 2016 with a Nominating Statement. Included in this confirmation shall be a short 1/2 page biography on their qualifications and their history with NOW. Also included MUST be evidence that the nominee has met the qualifications for the desired officer position. All of this shall be part of the Nominating Statement. Please send the statement to CANOWElections@gmail.com
On February 4, 2016, the Nominations Committee shall review the Nominating Statements and shall decide by majority vote that the requirements for office are met by the nominees. If the Nominations Committee finds that any nominee fails to meet the required qualifications, the Nominations Committee shall ask the nominee to provide further verification of qualification before making a final determination.
California NOW Election Rules
1. Pre-election
1.1 The Elections Committee will meet Saturday morning at the Conference.
1.2 All members of California NOW Inc., who have been members for at least six (6) months pre-election are considered to be nominated for each open office. Members wishing to accept any nomination are encouraged to do so and are urged to encourage other qualifying candidates for open offices.
1.3 The state officers are President, Action VP, Program VP, Outreach VP, Membership VP, Secretary, and Treasurer. The term of office is 4 years, or until the next election conference, and shall commence thirty (30) days from the close of the conference.
2. Acceptance of Nominations
2.1 Anyone wishing to run for a particular office may do so by accepting the nomination for that office by notifying the nominations committee no more than 60 days prior to the elections conference. Nominations for open positions are accepted when announced at Plenary Session I on Saturday morning.
2.2 Each candidate for any open state office must be certified by the Nominations Committee to insure at least six (6) months membership in California NOW Inc., and must present written verification of their compliance with the requirements in the bylaws for each specific office to the Nominations Committee by the close of Plenary Session I on Saturday morning.
2.3 Candidate speeches of no more than three (3) minutes in length for candidates for President and two (2) minutes in length for the other offices will be given by the candidates and/or chosen proxy during Plenary Session I on Saturday morning.
3. Campaigning
3.1 The Conference Committee shall provide a posting area for each office where candidates’ information and qualifications may be posted.
3.2 Each candidate shall be allowed a maximum of four (4) posters and a maximum of four (4) for any group choosing to run as a team or slate, not to exceed a size of 24 inches by 36 inches.
3.3 Campaign materials or posters containing fraudulent or defamatory information about other candidates or advocating positions contrary to established NOW policy will not be allowed. All written campaign materials shall contain the following disclosure: “Paid for and authorized by: [name of individual], [name of group (if applicable)].” The NOW logo may not appear on campaign materials except incidentally within a photograph of the candidate. The Elections Committee will approve all
campaign materials to be used at the Conference during the Saturday morning meeting or as needed, if subsequent materials are developed. Posters and flyers must be mounted only in a way acceptable to the Feminist Majority. The Elections Committee will have the right to immediately remove or request corrections to any material violating these rules.
3.4 There will be a $2,000 campaign spending limit for each candidate, which will include fair market value of in-kind materials and services.
3.5 The Elections committee must receive campaign expense disclosures by the close of Plenary Session I on Saturday morning. They will be posted at a designated area for everyone to view. No candidate shall be allowed to distribute or display his/her election materials until such report is provided to the Elections Chair.
3.6 Any candidates exceeding the stated limit will be ruled ineligible to hold office.
4. Voting
4.1 Credentialing for the purpose of voting for CANOW Officers/PAC members shall close at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. In the event there are three or more candidates for any office, voting shall be by preferential ballot. If preferential voting is utilized, counting shall be accomplished by the policy adopted by National NOW.
4.2 The conference registration card shall be the voting card and will be appropriately punched when the member votes. Identification will be by signature and all persons will sign to receive their ballots.
4.3 Candidates’ names without chapter affiliation will appear in random order within each office on the ballot. The Elections Committee will determine ballot position by lot immediately after the close of nominations. To withdraw from the election a candidate must submit a statement of withdrawal, in writing, to the Elections Committee Chair.
4.4 Voting will take place at the time specified in the Agenda.
4.5 Each candidate may designate one person to observe polling and one person to observe ballot counting. The candidate shall notify the Elections Committee who this person shall be.
4.6 Campaigning of any sort will not be allowed within fifty (50) feet of the polling place. The Elections Committee will confiscate any material found in violation.
4.7 All persons in the credentialing line at the close of credentialing shall be allowed to be credentialed and to vote. All persons in line at the time the polls close shall be allowed to vote.
4.8 The Elections Committee is responsible for the balloting and tallying. The Elections Committee Chair shall report to the membership the official results of the balloting, including the number of ballots cast and accounting for all ballots.
5. Travel
5.1 CA NOW shall not reimburse any member for travel to an elections Conference, and does not reimburse travel for Board members to the post-Conference Board meeting.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING/ STATE CONFERENCE RULES
The following rules are intended to allow us to accomplish our goals of the conference – if you aren’t familiar with the rules, there will be moderators available at the conference to help everyone with the process.
The CA NOW conference shall govern itself with the following:
A. Bylaws of NOW, Inc.
B. Bylaws of California NOW, Inc.
C. Conference rules herein decided and adopted at Plenary I on Saturday.
D. Robert’s Rules of Order newly revised where applicable and when not in conflict with any of the above mentioned rules and bylaws.
Personnel
A. A timekeeper(s) shall be appointed by the presiding officer as needed.
B. Tellers for counting the votes at plenary sessions shall be appointed by the presiding officer as needed.
C. A Parliamentarian and The Secretary shall be at the podium during all plenary sessions.
Plenary Sessions
A. The CA NOW Conference shall be open to all NOW members and all persons properly registered.
No California NOW member shall be required to pay a fee in order to participate in the business of the Conference and no distinction of any kind shall be drawn between those members able to pay fees and those unable to do so. Only members in good standing who meet voting requirements shall be entitled
to vote, but all NOW members shall be entitled to speak unless the presiding officer limits debate to credentialed members. Motions may be made only by CA NOW members credentialed to vote. The proponent of each motion shall submit that motion in writing on the appropriate form to the Secretary, signed with the proponent’s name and chapter or at-large designation. The maker of the motion shall be allowed to open or close debate on that particular motion.
B. No person shall speak a second time to a motion until all other persons who wish to speak have had the opportunity to do so.
C. Debate shall alternate between pro and con. Debate shall not be closed until at least one pro and one con speaker have the opportunity to debate.
D. At the discretion of the presiding officer, debate may be limited to credentialed members.
E. Debate on a resolution shall be limited to 10 minutes per resolution.
F. Members who wish to speak from the floor shall take their proper turn at the microphone. Only those who have stood in line will be allowed to speak, and no one may relinquish their place in line to another speaker.
G. Upon recognition by the Chair, speakers shall state their name, and chapter or at-large designation.
H. Any challenge to the voting rights of a member shall be referred to the Chair of the Credentials Committee.
I. CA NOW members credentialed to vote shall have priority for debate, motions and questions.
Workshops
A. Participation in workshop discussions may, at the discretion of the workshop coordinator, be limited to CA NOW members. NOW members may, by a majority vote, exclude press, cameras, and/or tape recorders.
B. No resolution will be considered in a workshop unless the workshop coordinator has received the resolution before the workshop begins and finds the content appropriate and necessary. Such a resolution, if ruled not relevant by the workshop coordinator, may be heard by the workshop attendees if a petition, signed by at least half of the members attending the workshop, is submitted to the workshop coordinator.
C. Each Saturday workshop may develop and then submit a maximum of two (2) resolutions, no later than one hour after the conclusion of the workshop, to the Chair of the Resolutions Committee. These resolutions must have the consent of a majority of those CA NOW members attending the workshop.
Materials
Distribution and/or sale of materials shall be confined to the exhibit booth area with the exception of NOW materials and literature approved for distribution by the Conference or Elections Committees. This does not pertain to materials distributed by or at the request of workshop leaders, or to proposed resolutions.
Annual Membership Meeting/State Conference Resolution Rules
Content:
A. Resolutions must either establish policy or revise existing policy. Resolutions that are statements of existing policy will not be accepted.
B. Resolutions cannot be contradictory to national, regional, or state bylaws, policies or goals.
C. Resolutions must be of state-wide concern, scope, or effect.
D. Resolutions must be action oriented, and must clearly state what the action will be, who will do it, where, when and how much it will cost, and the source of funding, etc.
E. The name(s), address(es), and chapter affiliation or at-large status of person(s) submitting the resolutions must be included.
F. Resolutions must be submitted in the format designated by the Resolution Committee.
G. Any resolution that refers to a bill number must have a copy of the bill attached when submitted.
H. Any resolution referring to organizations, events, etc. by initials must indicate at least once what the initials stand for.
I. Any resolution with a financial impact must note what the impact will be and how the money shall be raised.
Submission
A. Except as stated below, resolutions must be submitted at least 15 days before the conference to California NOW. If there is a problem with the resolution, the Resolutions Committee shall inform the contact person within ten (10) days after the deadline for submission. The sponsor of the resolution
shall have five additional days to rewrite the resolution and resubmit it to the Resolution Committee at the conference.
B. If necessary, the Resolutions Committee shall meet immediately prior to the conference and determine whether or not pre-submitted resolutions comply with the rules and bylaws and qualify to be printed and presented to the conference. The Resolutions Committee shall take all reasonable steps to notify a contact if their resolution is rejected.
Late Submission:
A. Each workshop held on Saturday may submit a maximum of two (2) resolutions.
B. These resolutions must be submitted in final form no later than one (1) hour after the conclusion of the workshop. Resolutions submitted by workshops must have received the consent of a majority of those California NOW members attending the workshop. Workshop coordinators are responsible
for certifying that this condition has been met.
Prioritization:
A. Resolutions will be prioritized on the agenda for consideration and voting according to the following criteria:
1. New policy from a workshop at the conference.
2. New policy from a California NOW member chapter.
3. New policy from an individual California NOW member.
4. Revision/expansion of existing policy by workshop.
5. Revision/expansion of existing policy by a California NOW member chapter.
6. Revision/expansion of existing policy by an individual California NOW member.
Duplication and Clarity:
A. Resolutions that are substantially the same or similar may, at the discretion of the Resolutions Committee, be combined and presented as one resolution; all sponsors will be listed.
B. Resolutions may be edited for grammar and/ or clarity before presentation by the Resolutions Committee.
Resolution Format:
Format and information requirement regarding conference resolutions for the 2009 California NOW State Conference are as follows:
1. All resolutions must be typed on an 81/2” x 11” sheet of paper with a 1 ½” margin all around.
2. Page heading must say: Proposed 2011 Conference Resolution
3. Indicate whether resolution will be New Policy or Revision of Existing Policy
The resolution itself shall be constructed in the following format:
A. The “WHEREAS” paragraph(s) (preamble statements) that give relevant supporting facts about both the subject and why California NOW should relate to that subject.
B. The first of the “RESOLVED” paragraph(s) shall begin with “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED” …any additional paragraphs start with “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED.” The “RESOLVED” paragraph(s) need to indicate the following:
1. Where the funding to implement the resolution is coming from, should any be necessary.
2. Which office, committee, or individual in CA NOW is to be responsible for implementation of the resolution.
3. The deadline for implementation or date of action.
4. Name of submitting chapter, individual, workshop, etc.
5. Name of the contact person. This is the person that the Resolutions Committee can call if there are any questions regarding the resolution. Please include day and evening phone and address if submitted before the conference, or cell phone or room number at the hotel if submitted at the conference. If the “RESOLVED” paragraphs do not answer these questions (when appropriate), the Resolutions Committee will need to speak to the contact person listed at the bottom of the resolution.