Charter
and Bylaws
As revised May
22nd 2004, Effective June 30, 2004
Article I. Name
The name of this association shall be the
Washington State Geographic Information Council, hereafter referred to as the
Council.
Article II. Purpose
The purpose of the Washington state Geographic
Information Council (WAGIC) is to foster the advancement of the geospatial
information infrastructure (data, people, technology and policy) and its use by
federal, state, regional, local governments, tribal and private entities.
Article III. Goals
The goals of the Council are as follows:
- Section 1. Take an
active leadership role to advise decision makers about the use and
availability of geospatial information; and
- Section 2. Initiate activities
to identify geospatial information needs; and
- Section 3. Actively
sponsor the exchange of educational information about the geospatial
information infrastructure; and
- Section 4. Ensure the
development of consistent policies, standards, and guidelines for
geospatial information; and
- Section 5. Assist the
establishment of geospatial information partnerships; and
- Section 6. Maintain a
leadership role to promote geospatial information sharing.
Article IV. Membership
·
Section 1. Membership shall be limited to those
sharing the purpose and goals of the Council as follows: Initial membership
shall be those Council members in attendance at the January 21, 1994, Council
meeting and shall include representation from state government, federal
government, local government, regions, Indian tribes, nonprofit, private, and
educational entities.
Those who wish to join the Council shall come before the Council with valid and
sound reasons. The Council shall vote on their membership. In one year the
Council will review the structure and membership of the Council to ensure
equitable representation.
- Section 2.
Responsibility of Members
It is the responsibility of each member, or his or her designated proxy, to be active in the Council and to attend scheduled meetings. A member, or his or her designated proxy, who is absent from three consecutive, regularly scheduled Council meetings shall be removed from membership status. If a vacancy in membership as described in Article IV occurs, the Council shall evaluate the need to fill that vacancy. The Department of Information Services shall contact the appropriate organizations for designation of a representative.
Article V Executive Officers (amended April 22, 2004
effective June 30, 2004)
- Section 1. Executive Officers: The
Executive Officers of the Council shall be a Chair, Chair-Elect, and
Past-Chair. The Chair-Elect shall serve the first year as Chair-Elect, the
second year as Chair, and the third year as Past-Chair.
A. Chair: The Chair shall be the principal officer of the Council
and shall preside at meetings of the Council. The Chair shall perform such
duties as are necessary to conduct the business of the office of Chair or as
may be prescribed by the Council. The Chair shall be a member ex-officio,
including voting privileges, of all committees except the Election Committee.
The Chair’s term of office shall commence upon adjournment of the June Meeting
and shall expire upon adjournment of the next June Meeting. The Chair shall
then assume the office of Past-Chair. Consecutive terms as Chair shall not be
permitted.
B. Chair-Elect: A Chair-Elect shall be elected annually. The
Chair-Elect shall have such duties as the Chair or Council may assign, and may
be delegated by the Chair to perform duties of the Chair in the event of the
Chair's temporary disability or absence from meetings, or other duties as
delegated. The Chair-Elect shall be a member ex-officio, including voting
privileges, of all committees except the Election Committee. The Chair-Elect’s
term of office shall commence upon adjournment of the June meeting and shall
expire upon adjournment of the next June meeting. The Chair-Elect shall then
assume the office of Chair.
C. Past-Chair: The Past-Chair shall have such duties as the Chair
or Council may assign. The Past-Chair’s term of office shall commence upon
adjournment of the June meeting and shall expire upon adjournment of the next
June meeting.
Article VI
Elections (amended April
22, 2004 effective June 30, 2004)
- Section 1. Nominations:
A. The Chair, with the approval of the Council, shall annually establish
an election Committee and designate one Member as Chairperson.
B. The Election Committee Chairperson shall submit A Call for Nominations
by mail or email to the last known address of each Member no later than sixty
(60) days before an election.
C. Regular Elections shall be held prior to the June meeting of the
Council.
D. The usual office open for regular election in any year are the
Chair-Elect.
E. To the extent possible, the slate of candidates shall reflect a
balanced geographic distribution of regions in the state.
F. At least one candidate shall be nominated for each open office.
G. To be considered eligible for election, a candidate must be a Member
in good standing and agree to serve if elected.
H. Nominations shall close thirty (30) days prior to the election date.
I. Should the Chair Elect
position become vacant mid-term the Chair shall call for a special election to fill
the position. The special election call
for nominations shall be no later that thirty (30) days prior to the election.
J. Should the Chair position become vacant mid-term the Chair Elect will
assume the Chair position and Section I procedure would be used to fill Chair
Elect position.
- Section 2. Election Procedures:
A. The Election Committee Chairperson shall have the responsibility to collect candidate information and develop the voting ballot.
B. Each Council voting member shall cast one ballot for each slate of candidates. Voting responses from voting Members shall be submitted by email or electronic facsimile, prior to the close of elections. If more than one ballot is cast by a Member organization, and the Election Committee Chairperson cannot determine which ballot the Lead Delegate submitted, all votes by that organization shall be declared null and void. The Election Committee Chairperson shall have the responsibility to oversee that elections are carried out in a democratic and fair manner, without bias or favoritism toward any candidate, and in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws.
- Section 3. Election Results: The incoming
Chair-Elect shall be determined by a majority of votes cast by the voting
Members. In the case of a tie vote, the Elections Committee Chair shall
immediately call for a run-off election. The Election Committee Chair
shall certify the election results and shall publicly announce the winning
candidates during the June meeting.
Article VII. Meetings
- Section 1. General
meetings of the Council shall be held at least quarterly at a time and
place selected by the Council. Notice of general meetings shall be sent to
the membership and made available to interested parties.
- Section 2. Additional
meetings of the membership may be called by the Chair, the Department of
Information Services, or by five Council members. Notice of such meetings
shall be sent to the membership at least 20 days prior to the selected
date.
Article VIII. Administration
- Section 1. The Department
of Information Services will be the administrative agent for the Council.
The Department of Information Services, or those so designated by the
Chair, with the concurrence of the Council, are authorized to represent
the Council to other organizations.
- Section 2. The Chair,
with Council's concurrence, will appoint work group chairs. The work group
Chair may be a Council member or any other person who the Council Chair
feels is interested and committed to leading the work group. The Council
Chair may appoint work group co-chairs when a strong interest is shown in
cooperatively leading a work group. The work group Chair will then appoint
work group members.
- Section 3. The
Department of Information Services shall prepare agendas, send meeting
notices, and keep minutes of the proceedings of meetings.
- Section 4. The
Department of Information Services shall keep correct and complete books
and records of the decisions and actions of the Council.
- Section 5. The
Department of Information Services shall keep a record giving the names
and addresses of the members of the Council. All books and records may be
inspected by any member of the Council.
- Section 6. The
Department of Information Services shall handle the Council's
correspondence.
Article IX. Dissolution and Distribution of Assets
- Section 1. The
Council may be dissolved upon two-thirds vote of its membership.
- Section 2. In the
event the Council is dissolved, the books, records, and any other assets
will be distributed as soon as practical to the Department of Information
Services.
Article X. Quorum and Amendments
- Section 1. A quorum
is established when five or more members of the Council, or their
designated proxies, are present in a meeting of the Council. Attendees at
video conferencing of a Council meeting will be considered present in a
meeting.
- Section 2. For the
purpose of making decisions, a majority of affirmative votes including
designated proxies, on an issue will determine the Council's position.
- Section 3. These
bylaws may be amended by a simple majority of the membership, including
proxies. Members shall be notified of proposed changes in the bylaws at
least 20 days prior to the meeting to vote on them.
Article XI. Parliamentary Procedure
- Section 1. The rules
of procedure at meetings of the Council and work groups shall be informal
as led by the Chair, but Robert's Rules of Order (Revised) may be invoked
at any time by a majority vote of the members.
Article XII. Obligations and Expenses
- Section 1. Individual
obligations and expenses for participation in the Council shall be borne
by each member's agency or organization.
- Section 2. The
Department of Information Services shall coordinate and administer funding
for state geospatial coordination.
- Section 3. The
Council shall recommend geospatial activities to the Department of
Information Services for funding.