Charter
and Bylaws
As revised on
April 3, 2008, Effective June 30, 2004
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
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
(amended April 3,
2008, effective June 30, 2004)
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. Private
entities are encouraged to participate in Council meetings but only as a
non-voting member.
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.