2024 Rules Committee Report

The Libertarian Party of Florida Rules Committee is established by the LPF Bylaws Article III Section 2 with three members elected by majority vote of delegates at each Annual Business Meeting and three ex-officio members from the Executive Committee. The three elected members may not also be Executive Committee members. The Rules Committee is unique among LPF committees in being directly elected by the membership rather than appointed by the Executive Committee.

The 2023-2024 Rules Committee elected members are Greg Peele (Chair), Philippe Cadorette (Vice-Chair), and John Thompson (Secretary) with ex-officio members Josh Hlavka, Tim Crosby (prior to December), Jerry “Tub” Rorabaugh (after December), and Ed Appler.

The duties of the Rules Committee include drafting proposals to the Executive Committee to amend the LPF Standing Rules, drafting proposals for the LPF Convention to amend the LPF Constitution and Bylaws, assist county affiliates with questions regarding governing documents, and serve as a mediator for questions and disputes involving the LPF governing documents and Florida law.

The Rules Committee met monthly via video chat on the LPF Discord server from May 2023 until November 2023, and then weekly on the same platform in December 2023.

We started out the year with support activities: reviewing the national LP membership sharing agreement and the proposed IT policy manual to provide feedback to other committees and reconciling the 2023 constitution and bylaws amendments passed at the convention for publication.

The primary activity we conducted over roughly six months is a full review and rewrite of the LPF Standing Rules, which govern all aspects of the Executive Committee not otherwise specified by the LPF Constitution, Bylaws, and Robert’s Rules of Order. The Standing Rules contained many rules, some dating back to the 1990s, which were either redundant with higher tier documents, out of order due to conflicting with them, or were otherwise unnecessary. We were able to cut almost 80% of the Standing Rules and then reorganized the remainder with simpler language and clearer section flow. We did make a handful of minor substantive changes, including updating language on LPF presidential electors to comply with Florida SB 7050 law passed in 2023 and removing some unnecessary micromanagement of the Executive Committee. This full set of changes was adopted by the Executive Committee at their December meeting.

We also proposed technical and conforming changes (spelling, grammar, formatting, numbering) to the LPF Constitution and Bylaws, which was adopted by the Executive Committee, so that convention delegates could focus exclusively on meaningful amendments. Wrapping up the year, we finalized this proposed 2024 Rules Report including three constitutional amendments and seven bylaws amendments addressing necessary topics such as special conventions, candidate endorsement policy, codifying the convention committee, and removing conflicting language from the bylaws.

We’re greatly thankful for the continual support and trust that the LPF Executive Committee and the full LPF membership placed in us and hope the party finds this work useful.

Amendment Guidance and Formatting

For the purposes of this Rules Report, we propose amendments as a set of changes to the existing documents that can each be independently applied if adopted except when otherwise noted.

New text to be added is underlined.

~~Existing text to be deleted is striked through.~~

Text moved ~~from one location~~ to another location is italicized, with underlines showing new text.

Amendments that are contingent on the passage or failure of other amendments or that have other riders such as taking effect at a future date are noted as such in the motion text. Only the motion text is normative and all other items are purely informative to assist in understanding the motion. If the stated mover is not present, another member of the Rules Committee may move the motion.

All motions included in this report were adopted without opposition by the Rules Committee.

Approval Thresholds

Motions that include changes to the LPF Constitution require approval by two-thirds (⅔) of credentialed delegates and must have been published on the LPF’s public and functioning website at least thirty (30) days prior to consideration. LPF Constitution Article VIII Section 2(A)

Motions that include changes to the LPF Bylaws but not the LPF Constitution require approval by a majority of votes cast by the delegates and must be published on the LPF’s public and functioning website prior to consideration. LPF Bylaws Article V Section 2(B)

Motions that do not include changes to the LPF Constitution or Bylaws such as amendments to the LPF Standing Rules, adoption of resolutions, etc. require approval by a majority of votes cast by the delegates and do not require specific public notice, unless otherwise prescribed by Robert’s Rules.

2024-ABM-C01 – Authority to Call Special Conventions

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Constitution Article V to provide for Special Conventions

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the Article V to append a new appropriately-numbered section with the following text:

Special Convention of the LPF.

A. The Executive Committee may call a Special Convention of the LPF with thirty (30) days notice posted on the party’s public and functioning website. A Special Convention may only be called in the following circumstances:

The LPF is ~~being~~ required by the government to modify its Constitution or Bylaws prior to the next regular Annual Business Meeting.
~~LPF affiliation with the LP is in danger of dissolution prior to the next regular Annual Business Meeting.~~ The LPF is in danger of disaffiliation from the national LP prior to the next regular Annual Business Meeting.
The LPF is in danger of dissolution prior to the next regular Annual Business Meeting.
Meeting in person for the regular Annual Business Meeting poses a substantial health or safety risk to the delegation.

B. Credentialing. The Secretary shall ensure that in-person and remote delegates are members of the LPF.

C. Remote participation shall be offered to the delegation and facilitated to the greatest extent practical and affordable by the LPF.

D. The business of the Special Convention shall be constrained to only the items noticed on the party’s public and functioning website. except that additionally any ~~Any~~ LPF elected position may be recalled and a new election may be held to fill any vacancies during the Special Convention.

Rationale:

The Standing Rules originally contained a provision for calling a special convention (2022 Standing Rules Article X). While to our knowledge this has never actually been invoked, we agreed that having the ability to conduct emergency meetings of the full delegation is prudent to address any issues that immediately threaten the existence of the party or if it is physically impossible to hold the regular annual business meeting in person due to emergencies, disasters, etc. However, we confirmed with a parliamentarian that this standing rule was out of order (and therefore removed as part of our rewrite) and not possible to invoke. Robert’s Rules require any such authorization to be in at least the bylaws and it would exceed the scope authorized by the LPF Constitution and LPF Bylaws.

Our proposal provides an initial mechanism for the Executive Committee to schedule special conventions as necessary, but constrained to only be usable for emergency situations that warrant it. We believe the limitations and inconvenience of calling a special convention would ensure that it is only done when sufficiently warranted. Due to a special convention lacking the same notice time frame as the regular one, we believe that offering electronic participation is necessary to avoid disenfranchising LPF members who may not be able to travel on short notice. Special conventions do not waive the regular 30 day notice requirement for LPF Constitution amendments.

To improve accountability to the delegates, we also add the ability to remove and replace any elected position at a special convention regardless of why it was called; this provides a member recall mechanism that has otherwise been lacking up to now, and also may discourage the EC from calling meetings frivolously. This additionally allows for removal of elected positions not under the EC’s authority such as Rules Committee members, which currently have no prescribed mechanism for removal.

Future Rules Committees may wish to amend this section further if adopted, for example to provide options for some threshold of county affiliates or individual members to collect petitions to call a special convention or to better align this process with the obligations of the LPF under corporate law. However, we believe this proposal is a sufficient starting point to cover 95% of the important cases.

2024-ABM-C02 – Amend Candidate Policy

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Constitution Article IX to Update Candidate Support Policy

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on Behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the LPF Constitution to replace Article IX in its entirety as follows:

Article IX Endorsement of Candidates Candidates

Section 1. Candidates who have filed to run for public office within the State of Florida shall be eligible for endorsement, monetary contributions, or other material support ~~as official LPF candidates~~ if they meet at least one of the following requirements: ~~are members of the LPF, have registered as LPF candidates with the Florida Division of Elections, and meet all requirements of the office to which they seek election.~~

A. The candidate is an LPF member or registered LPF voter who has filed to run for a nonpartisan public office other than judicial office.

B. The candidate is an LPF member or registered LPF voter who has filed to run for a partisan public office with a party affiliation of LPF.

C. The candidate is the Libertarian Party nominee for United States President or Vice-President selected at the Libertarian Party national convention.

D. The candidate is not a member or registered voter of any political party (i.e. has no party affiliation) who has qualified for public office other than judicial office and who is not running in opposition to an LPF member or registered LPF voter.

Section 2. The LPF Executive Committee may endorse any eligible candidate who has qualified for nonpartisan office or who has become the statutory party nominee for partisan office by winning the partisan primary or any other lawful means. Endorsement of any such candidate whose office sought is contained entirely within an affiliated county requires the permission of the county affiliate’s executive committee.

~~Section 2.~~ Section 3. The LPF Executive Committee shall be the sole authority to endorse statewide, multi-county, and unaffiliated county candidates for public office prior to qualification by a two-thirds (⅔) vote. No later than the date on which qualifying for public office begins, the LPF EC shall provide a written notification of its intent to endorse a candidate or any such candidates to the Secretary of State. Failure to adhere to this section shall preclude the LPF from making any endorsement.

~~Section 3.~~ Section 4. The LPF Executive Committee shall make party nominations for political office when required by law, and shall elect ~~by a majority vote~~ a replacement candidate to fill any vacancy in the event of a death or other disqualification by the candidate.

~~Section 4.~~ Section 5. County affiliates may endorse LPF candidates for public office only as prescribed in statute and in this Constitution. A county executive committee may endorse any eligible candidate who has qualified for nonpartisan office or become the statutory party nominee for partisan office by winning the partisan primary or any other lawful means.

~~Endorsement of candidates shall require a majority vote of the county executive committee at a properly noticed, regular business meeting.~~

Section 6. A county affiliate’s executive committee shall be the sole authority to endorse eligible candidates for public office entirely contained within their county prior to qualification by a two-thirds (⅔) vote, acknowledging that for partisan office this can result in the county affiliate forfeiting any partisan assessment collected by the State of Florida.^{FS 103.121(5)} No later than the date on which qualifying for public office begins, the chair of each county affiliate shall notify, in writing, the supervisor of elections of the county in which the affiliate is recognized whether the county executive committee has endorsed or intends to endorse, certify, screen, or otherwise recommend any such candidates for nomination. A copy of such notification shall be provided by the county executive committee to the Florida Secretary of State and to the chair of the LPF ~~executive committee~~ Executive Committee.^{FS 103.121(4)} ~~Failure to provide these notifications in a timely manner~~

Rationale:

A previous Rules Committee had proposed what is now Article IX to address the statutory requirement to prescribe candidate support policy in our governing documents and also to ensure that county affiliate policy for endorsing, selecting, or screening candidates to become the party nominee follows a defined process as required by Florida Statute 103.121 and does not result in any legal issues or unexpectedly forfeiting reimbursement of the partisan assessment. Conceptually, these changes were appropriate and legally necessary and our proposal maintains them with some significant modifications.

However, due to the confusing wording of the law and therefore this article, it was not very clear to the Executive Committee that this only applies to partisan elections for public office prior to the resolution of a partisan primary – this is the part that “nomination” and “becoming the party nominee” means in law. Furthermore, due to overly specific wording choices, this effectively forbade the state party from endorsing local candidates at all, which also meant there was no mechanism to endorse local candidates in unaffiliated counties, nor was there a mechanism to endorse multi-county candidates that were not statewide. It also unintentionally prohibited the LPF from endorsing the LP presidential nominee unless they happened to also be an LPF member, and could be interpreted as prohibiting the party from endorsing any of its own partisan candidates after qualifying in any case. Clearly this interpretation is ridiculous and inconsistent with actual historical practice of the LPF and all other Florida political parties.

We propose to rewrite this section to more explicitly spell out that this requirement does not apply to nonpartisan public office, to clarify that both the state party and all of its affiliates may endorse any candidate (other than for judicial office, which is legally prohibited) after qualifying and resolution of the primary (if applicable) without restriction, and that the restrictions only apply to endorsing a partisan candidate prior to becoming the party nominee in the way specifically envisioned by Florida Statute 103.121 or endorsing any candidate prior to qualifying. We also remove redundant language specifying that failure to comply with the rules prohibits such endorsements since that is inherently true.

We also strengthen this rule to also limit monetary support and independent expenditures to candidates who would be eligible for endorsement, though an endorsement is not a requirement for providing such support. Finally, we propose a modification to allow the state party and its affiliates to have an option to endorse candidates who are not members of any political party (registered NPA) so long as they are not running in opposition to LPF candidates. We believe that there is no disadvantage to having the option but not the obligation to support candidates entirely outside of the party system to build coalitions.

2024-ABM-C03: LPF Membership for Ineligible Voters

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Constitution Article II to Provide Alternate Membership Criteria for Residents Ineligible to Vote

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend LPF Constitution Article II Section 1 to append the text “Adult Florida residents who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents who are legally ineligible to vote may satisfy this requirement with proof of residency and proof of ineligibility to vote.” and to amend Article II Section 10 to strike the text “who are registered LPF voters in the state of Florida” and to strike the text “and officers” and replace with “or registered voters.”

ARTICLE II Membership

Section 1. LPF membership is open to any LPF registered voter who signs the pledge: “I certify that I oppose the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals” and asks to be a member of the LPF. Present members who signed a previous LPF membership pledge retain their membership and eligibility. Ineligibility under this article shall immediately terminate LPF membership and LPF membership request. Florida residents who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents who are legally ineligible to vote may satisfy this requirement with proof of residency and proof of ineligibility to vote.

… no changes …

Section 10. Certain rights and privileges of membership, including delegate status, committee appointments and observation of committee meetings, holding LPF state or affiliate party office, exercise of voting rights in the conduct of any Libertarian Party of Florida business, and the right to bring business before the Annual Business Meeting, shall be available only to LPF members ~~who are registered LPF voters in the state of Florida~~ and shall not be available to members ~~and officers~~ or registered voters of any other political party. Persons ineligible for such rights and privileges may participate in discussion on items of business brought before the membership, subject to the discretion of the Chair or by a two-thirds (⅔) majority vote of the body.

Rationale:

The current LPF Constitution requires being a registered LPF voter to become a member and therefore have rights to participate in party business. However, this is stricter than what is required by law. There are individuals who are legally barred to vote who nonetheless wish to become party members and can lawfully participate in party business, most notably ex-felons who have not had their right to vote restored as well as non-citizen lawful permanent residents (i.e. “green cards”). We propose an alternate way for such individuals while preserving the original intent. Article III Section 4(E) requires being an LPF voter for being on the EC as required by law. Non-citizens other than green cards cannot legally be in decision-making positions for a party per federal law, although they can still serve as volunteers.

2024-ABM-B01: Strike Refunding Partisan Assessment

Title: Motion to Strike LPF Bylaws Requirement for Refunding Partisan Assessment

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to strike LPF Bylaws Article IV Section 6 Subsection G in its entirety.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 6. Finance and Accounting

… no changes …

G. The LPF recognizes FS 99.092 regarding qualifying fees and the provision that no qualifying fee shall be returned to the candidate unless the candidate withdraws his or her candidacy before the last date to qualify; with the exception that the LPF will reimburse to each candidate for political office the party assessment fee paid to the LPF by the state from that candidate’s qualifying fees.

Rationale:

This Bylaws clause was intended to ensure that the LPF supports all partisan candidates by refunding the partisan assessment (2% of salary of office sought) back to the nominated candidate after the result of a primary. While this had good intentions, it has several problems exposed over the year:

This clause did not envision the ability of the LPF to waive the partisan assessment entirely, as has been done in 2018 and 2022, which makes it easier for candidates to qualify initially rather than refunding money back to them later.
The partisan assessment is typically not received by the LPF until late July or early August, which is relatively late in the campaign cycle, limiting the benefit to candidates who were nominated unopposed in May.
This bylaw does not account for multiple LPF candidates competing in a partisan primary, and one candidate advances to become the party nominee in August. A strict reading would require the LPF to reimburse losing primary candidates as well, which would be illegal under state law if done after the primary election itself.
The LPF does not control which candidates seek office using its name. It is entirely possible for a damaging or controversial candidate to file, qualify, and become the party nominee unopposed without the support of the LPF or of party members and primary voters. This bylaw would nonetheless legally obligate the party to contribute the partisan assessment to such a candidate. It is legally binding and enforceable in court as demonstrated by Perez v. Libertarian Party of Florida in which the LPF lost judgment in court when it refused to pay this reimbursement to candidate Franklin Perez for Florida House District 28 in 2012.
The LPF is obligated to pay out this reimbursement even if it does not have the funds to do so.

Given these deficiencies, the Rules Committee believes that rescinding this bylaw is the most strategic path forward to allow the LPF Executive Committee to use its best judgment in each election year as how to proceed, with the default recommendation being to waive the partisan assessment to encourage more candidates to file and qualify more easily.

2024-ABM-B02: Strike Conflicting Language on Filling Vacancies

Title: Motion to Strike LPF Bylaws Language on Filling vacancies

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: I move to strike from LPF Bylaws Article IV Section 2 Subsection C the text ”Officers elected during the Annual Business Meeting shall take office immediately following the close of the Annual Business Meeting in which they were elected.” and to strike Article IV Section Section 7 in its entirety.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 2. Agenda

… no changes …

C. The officers of the Party at the time of the commencement of the Annual Business Meeting shall be the officers of the Annual Business Meeting, and shall preside. ~~Officers elected during the Annual Business Meeting shall take office immediately following the close of the Annual Business Meeting in which they were elected.~~ To comply with Florida Statute 103.095(3), the LPF Executive Committee shall elect a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary at the Annual Business Meeting immediately following the election of the officers by the assembled delegation. The will of the delegation shall be of the highest regard when the Executive Committee conducts the election of the officers and the election shall be taken as a single vote on the slate of prevailing candidates elected by the delegation.

… no changes …

~~Section 7.~~ ~~Executive Committee Meetings~~

~~Appointments to fill Executive Committee vacancies shall take effect upon the close of the Executive Committee meeting wherein the appointment is confirmed.~~

Rationale:

These two clauses are out of order due to conflicting with LPF Constitution Article III Section 3 Subsection H:

H. Individuals elected or appointed to any position described in this section shall assume that position immediately if the position is currently vacant and at the final adjournment of the Annual Business Meeting during which they were selected otherwise and shall serve until the final adjournment of the next Annual Business meeting during which their position is regularly elected.

This Constitution clause as written and intended causes appointments to fill vacancies to take effect immediately, and regular elections to take effect at the end of the ABM.

2024-ABM-B03: Update Convention Delegate Credentialing

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Bylaws Regarding LPF Delegate Credentialing

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the LPF Bylaws Article IV to replace Section 3 in its entirety as follows.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 3. Delegates

A. Any person who is both an LPF registered voter and an LPF member at least sixty (60) days before the start of the Annual Business Meeting and who maintains that membership and registration through the Annual Business Meeting shall be eligible to be a delegate to that meeting. ~~Delegate status may be denied or revoked by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee if a potential delegate has been found to have violated the Non-Aggression Pledge.~~

B. Each delegate must sign the LPF Affirmation of Qualifications for Delegate form ~~or other equivalent form~~ approved by the Executive Committee.

C. ~~Credentials:~~ The Secretary of the LPF~~, or his/her authorized representatives,~~ shall be responsible for ~~verifying the membership and voter registration~~ ~~requirements of~~ credentialing each delegate meeting all requirements.

D. Delegate status may be denied or revoked by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the ~~Executive Committee~~ delegates if a ~~potential~~ credentialed delegate has been found to ~~have violated the Non-Aggression Pledge~~ be ineligible for any reason including violating the Non-Aggression Pledge.

E. Uncredentialed members may be credentialed by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the delegates if they meet all requirements.

Rationale:

This proposed change cleans up the language regarding credentialing delegates, and makes a few substantive changes:

Do not allow the EC to revoke credentials, this should be a power of the full delegation and should be for any reason that makes them ineligible not just the NAP
Clarify that the Secretary has ultimate responsibility on credentialing even if they delegate that
Remove assumptions about LPF membership requirements so that if these change in the Constitution it does not break the credentialing clauses
Provide a mechanism for the delegation to override Secretary if credentials are denied in error

2024-ABM-B04: Strike Convention Agenda Prescription

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Bylaws to Strike Agenda Prescription

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend LPF Bylaws Article IV Section 2 Subsection A to strike the text “agenda and business” and replace it with “proposed agenda” and to strike Subsection B in its entirety.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 2. Agenda

A. The Executive Committee shall set the proposed agenda ~~and business~~ of the LPF Annual Business Meetings and conventions.

B. ~~The order of business must include the adoption of agenda. The meeting may amend the agenda by majority vote.~~

Rationale:

The clause in Article IV Section 2(B) defines substantially wider powers than obvious at first glance in a way that may be unintended.

Section 2(B) allows the delegation to amend the agenda at any time by majority vote, not just during initial adoption, which more or less eliminates the need to suspend the rules to change the agenda. This is contrary to actual historical practice, and an unwise deviation from RONR.

We believe it prudent to simply rely on the default behavior prescribed by RONR which contains the adoption of the agenda initially by majority vote, and requires a suspension of the rules with ⅔ vote to do things differently after that.

2024-ABM-B05: Codify Convention Committees

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Bylaws to Codify Convention Committee

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the LPF Bylaws to make the following sets of changes:

append to Article III Section 1 Subsection A the text “Convention Committee”;

amend Article III Section 2 in the following ways:

Split the text “The member elected with the highest vote total shall become Rules Committee Chair.” into a new subsection A
Split the text “The member elected with the highest vote total shall become Rules Committee Chair.” into a new subsection B
Split the text “Vacancies on this committee occurring after the Annual Business Meeting shall be appointed by the LPF Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.” into a new subsection C
Split the text “The Rules Committee shall be responsible for interpreting the LPF Constitution, Bylaws, and rules and regulations based on current law and may prepare and submit amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws, and Standing Rules for a vote by the membership at the Annual Business Meeting.” into a new subsection D
Renumber existing subsections appropriately
Move the text “The Rules Committee shall be the deliberative body in matters of dispute and its decisions may be appealed to the Executive Committee or the members at the Annual Business Meeting in assembly according to the Standing Rules.” from Article IV Section 5 Subsection A to become a new appropriately numbered subsection;
Move the text “

append a new appropriately numbered section to Article III with the text “Convention Committee. The duties of the Convention Committee are to plan the regular LPF convention, research hotels and catering, coordinate volunteers, propose a venue and budget to the Executive Committee, and prepare a schedule of events for the next two annual business meetings.”;

amend Article IV Section 5 in the following ways:

Strike from Subsection A the text “The duties of the Convention Committee are to plan the LPF convention, research hotels and catering, coordinate volunteers, propose a budget, and prepare a schedule of events for the next two annual business meetings.”
Strike from Subsection A the text “These responsibilities may be delegated by the Executive Committee to the Convention Committee and other standing committees. The Convention Committee will present its final report to the new Executive Committee following the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting, at which time the committee will expire.”
Strike Subsections B, D, and E in their entirety and renumber remaining subsections appropriately

ARTICLE III Committees

Section 1. Standing Committees

A. Standing Committees of the LPF shall include the following:

Candidate Committee

Communications Committee

Membership Committee

Platform Committee

Rules Committee

Fundraising Committee

Legislative Action Committee

Affiliate Support Committee

Audit Committee

Convention Committee

… no changes …

Section 2. Rules Committee

A. The Rules Committee shall be composed of the LPF Chair (ex officio), LPF Vice-Chair (ex officio), LPF Secretary (ex officio), and three (3) other members of the party not on the Executive Committee, elected by the delegates at the Annual Business Meeting to serve as regular members from the conclusion of the annual business meeting at which they are elected until the conclusion of the following annual business meeting.

B. The member elected with the highest vote total shall become Rules Committee Chair.

C. Vacancies on this committee occurring after the Annual Business Meeting shall be appointed by the LPF Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

D. The Rules Committee shall be responsible for interpreting the LPF Constitution, Bylaws, and rules and regulations based on current law and may prepare and submit amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws, and Standing Rules for a vote by the membership at the Annual Business Meeting.

B. E. The Rules Committee may propose to the Executive Committee at a regular business meeting to edit the Constitution and Bylaws for grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Any edits done at a regular business meeting shall not change the current intention of the rule being edited.

C. F. The Rules Committee may propose changes to the Standing Rules to the Executive Committee at any regular business meeting.

E. G. The Rules Committee shall be the deliberative body in matters of dispute and its decisions may be appealed to the Executive Committee or the members at the Annual Business Meeting in assembly according to the Standing Rules.

Section 12. Convention Committee

The duties of the Convention Committee are to plan the regular LPF convention, research hotels and catering, coordinate volunteers, propose a venue and budget to the Executive Committee, and prepare ~~a schedule of events~~ for the next two annual business meetings.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 5. Annual Conventions

A. The duties of the Convention Committee are to plan the LPF convention, research hotels and catering, coordinate volunteers, propose a budget, and prepare a schedule of events for the next two annual business meetings.

The Executive Committee shall assume all responsibility for the Annual Business Meeting. Other responsibilities assumed by the Executive Committee include but are not limited to: the annual business of the LPF, the rental of accommodations to hold the Annual Business Meeting, event marketing, printed materials, and equipment rental. ~~These responsibilities may be delegated by the Executive Committee to the Convention Committee and other standing committees.~~

~~The Convention Committee will present its final report to the new Executive Committee following the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting, at which time the committee will expire.~~

B. ~~The committees shall report recommendations to the floor of the convention at the Annual Business Meeting in accordance with the Standing Rules.~~

… no changes …

D. ~~The Platform Committee shall make recommendations for the platform and Statement of Principles.~~

E. The Rules Committee shall be the deliberative body in matters of dispute and its decisions may be appealed to the Executive Committee or the members at the Annual Business Meeting in assembly according to the Standing Rules.

Rationale:

This proposed change codifies the actual practices of how committees interact with the annual convention. In particular, it codifies the Convention Committee as a permanent standing committee on par with other standing committees as has actually been done in practice since at least 2018 and prescribes its duties to match how the past six conventions have actually been executed.

In support of this goal, we consolidated all other convention-related duties for each committee to that committee’s list of duties in Article III and removed redundant language from Article IV. In particular, we move the mediation and arbitration powers of the Rules Committee from Article IV to Article III to make it more clear they apply in all circumstances, not just convention. We also proposed some reorganization of the Rules Committee duties to split existing text into more readable subsections since Rules primarily has convention-related duties.

2024-ABM-B06: Strike Extra Committee Appointments

Title: Motion to Amend LPF Bylaws to Strike Extra Committee Appointments Clause

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the LPF Bylaws Article IV Section 5 to strike Subsection F in its entirety and renumber following subsections accordingly.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 5. Annual Conventions

… no changes …

F. ~~The Chair or the Executive Committee may appoint such committees as are deemed necessary to conduct the business of the LPF and its meetings.~~

Rationale:

The clause in Section 5(F) defines substantially wider powers than obvious at first glance in a way that may be unintended.

Section 5(F) has two problems. The first is that it unnecessarily grants the Executive Committee the ability to appoint special committees, which is already an inherent power under RONR that is also already prescribed by Article III Section 1(B). The second is that due to the placement of the ‘or’ between ‘Chair’ and ‘Executive Committee’ it allows the Chair to appoint committees unilaterally with no oversight or vote, for as many such committees as the Chair wishes.

We believe it prudent to simply rely on the default behavior prescribed by RONR and Article III Section 1.

2024-ABM-B07: Clarify Regional Amendment Process

Title: Motion to Amend Bylaws Article IV to Clarify Regional Amendment is a Resolution

Mover: Philippe Cadorette on behalf of Rules Committee

Motion: We move to amend the LPF Bylaws Article IV Section 5 Subsection to strike the text ”adopted by a majority vote of delegates” and replace it with the text “adopted by resolution of delegates”.

ARTICLE IV Meetings & Conventions, Objects of Action

… no changes …

Section 5. Annual Conventions

… no changes …

G. Amendments to the number and composition of Regions are adopted by ~~a majority vote~~ resolution of delegates at an Annual Business Meeting prior to the election of Regional Representatives at that meeting. If no regional amendment is adopted, the Regions for the current Executive Committee will continue in effect for the new Executive Committee elected at that meeting.

Rationale:

The regional amendment process adopted in 2023 did not specifically clarify what type of motion was expected. We propose to simplify the wording to clarify it is a resolution of delegates, which inherently has a majority vote threshold unless the delegates set a higher threshold.

Future Work for Rules

We were able to achieve much of the work identified by the previous Rules Committee. For the next Rules Committee, we suggest considering the following items:

Improve methodology for calling special conventions if desired by the delegation
Provide for member-directed recall of Executive Committee members in between conventions
Review and update duties assigned to each Executive Committee position vs. committees, and in particular duties of Regional Representatives and Directors At-Large
Review and reconsidering which committees need to be standing committees in LPF Bylaws Article III vs. special committees created as needed by the LPF EC and whether any existing committees can be merged to consolidate volunteer activity
Prescribe voluntary county affiliate secession in a legally defensible way while protecting the LPF’s interests and assets – the right to join is also the right to leave, and we should reflect that in our affiliation procedure to match our political principles
Provide a legally defensible path for county affiliates to retain their assets and structure and gain independence if the LPF itself is dissolved
Determine if the LPF chartering other kinds of affiliates (not just county affiliates) is desired and providing for that in affiliation procedures
- Other parties have partisan political clubs, municipal clubs, and issue-based and identity-based party groups, we probably want to consider the same
Determine hypothetical effects of terminating affiliation with LNC if done by amending LPF Constitution Article I and then updating Constitution to account for that if appropriate