Conservative Caucus of Monroe County Michigan

Conservative Caucus of Monroe County

Adopted March 16, 2009

Revised October 19, 2009

ARTICLE 1 - Name

The committee shall be known as the Conservative Caucus of Monroe County.

ARTICLE II - Mission

Our mission is to create an awareness of the absolute need to elect officeholders who uphold the U.S. Constitution and respect its limits on their authority and the powers of government.  We will cultivate an understanding of the individual rights and responsibilities respecting life, liberty, and property, which were recognized by the founders of the greatest and noblest Republic as having been ordained by our Creator.

ARTICLE III – Objectives

ARTICLE IV - Caucus Structure

Section 1      Directors

A.	A.      Caucus members of three months duration may be invited to become directors upon election by three-fourths vote of directors present and voting at a monthly meeting of the caucus.  A director may be removed by a majority vote of directors present and voting at a monthly meeting of the caucus, or at a special meeting if called by the chairman and secretary with 72 hours notice.
B.	B.       Directors shall have one vote at all caucus meetings.
C.	C.       Only Directors shall vote on motions and elections before the caucus.
D.	D.      Directors shall review and approve all external communications.
E.	E.       Directors shall elect the officers of the Caucus.
F.	F.       Directors shall pay an annual fee established at the January meeting and due by the February meeting that shall cover the fixed costs, such as, Post Office box, MPACT, and web site.  The status of directors who have not paid by the May meeting will automatically be changed to member.
G.	G.       Directors shall be a member or chairman of at least one committee.
H.	H.      Directors shall be a candidate for political office at the first opportunity, which includes precinct delegate of a party.
I.	I.         Directors shall be "Connect with Conservatives" campaigners.  (See Article VI, Section 3.G.)
J.	J.        Directors may purchase Caucus calling cards with the title of "Director.”

SectSection 2      Members

Section 3      Caucus Duties 

A.	A.   Create a nonpartisan network of Monroe County Conservatives.
B.	B.    Maintain a database with email and street addresses of interested conservatives.
C.	C.    Foster, promote, recognize, and aid the establishment of those clubs, groups, and organizations that will cooperate with and enhance the political activities of  the Conservative Caucus of Monroe County.
D.	D.    All position statements authorized by the Caucus shall be in these bylaws.
E.	E.     All statements authorized by the Caucus shall be in writing and archived.

Section 4     All directors are expected to attend each meeting of the Caucus.

                      When the attendance records kept by the secretary show that a director has missed three meetings within the year, the Secretary shall

                      contact the director to determine the reason for such absences.  If the Secretary shall determine that the absences exist, then the question

                      of that director’s right to retain directorship in the Caucus shall be referred to the directors of the Caucus for determination.

Section 5     The Caucus shall meet at 7 P.M. on the third Monday of the month unless notified otherwise seventy two hours in advance by the chairman.

Section 6     A quorum shall consist of 50% of the directors present and voting.

ARTICLE V -Officers

Section 1    The officers of the Caucus shall consist of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and other such officers as deemed necessary by   the Caucus. 

Section 2    The Caucus shall not have an authorized spokesman regarding its positions on any issues or persons.

Section 3    The term for all officers shall be one year beginning with the February meeting.

Section 4    All officers shall be elected by the directors at the January meeting.

Section 5    Caucus directors may be nominated for an office.

Section 6    Officers shall have the privilege of voting on all matters brought before the Caucus.

Section 7    In the event that any officer shall resign or become ineligible to hold office, there shall be a vacancy of that office.  All vacancies shall be filled by the election of the directors.

Section 8    The duties of the Caucus Chairman shall be those provided by these bylaws, including but not limited to the following:

A.    The power to appoint and remove committee chairmen and to prescribe the duties of all standing committees, subject to the approval of the directors.

B.    The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Caucus.

C.    The Chairman shall be the Chief Executive Officer and shall have the sole responsibility for supervising the administration of the day-to-day affairs of the Caucus.

D.    The Chairman shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and subcommittees of the Caucus, with the exception of the nominating committee.

E.     The Chairman shall be required to submit reports for review by the Caucus as may be required by action of the directors.

F.     All acts of the Chairman shall be subject to review by the directors and in the course of such review may be modified or voided unless such review is prohibited by law or impracticable.

Section 9    The duties of the Vice-Chairman shall be to carry out the duties of the Chairman in the    event of absence, incapacity, or unwillingness to act and such other duties as shall be assigned from time to time.              

Section 10  The duties of the Secretary shall be as follows:

A.    Keep minutes of the Caucus meetings and to furnish a copy of said minutes to any member of the Caucus who request the same.

B.    Keep a permanent record of the minutes and attendance of all the meetings of the Caucus and make them available for inspection and/or copying by any member of the Caucus during normal working hours of each day and such other times as may be designated by the Chairman.

C.    See that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws.  E-Mail shall be the primary means of communication between the members of the Caucus.

D.    In general, perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Chairman.

E.     All written statements authorized by the Caucus shall be kept by the secretary and transferred to a newly elected secretary.

Section 11  The Duties of the Treasurer shall be as follows:

A.    Have care and custody of all monies paid to the Conservative Caucus of Monroe County and deposit same in the Caucus in a bank designated by the Caucus.

B.    Pay all bills charged to the Caucus except that any expenditure in excess of $50.00 must first be approved by the Caucus.  Signatures of the Chairman and the Treasurer are required for any expenditure.

C.    Keep an accurate account in permanent records of all receipts and disbursements of funds in his/her charge, using proper and orderly methods of keeping records.  Such records shall, upon reasonable request, be open to examination and inspection by any member of the Caucus.

D.    Render monthly statements of revenues, expenditures and cash balance to the chairman and Caucus and submit a summary of such reports at each regular meeting.

E.     Prepare an annual statement and report on December 3, of each year setting forth the financial contribution of the Caucus and summarizing income and expenditures of the Caucus and forward same to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman by the 10^th of January of the following year. The Chairman shall cause a copy of the report to be presented to the Caucus.

F.     Prepare such reports as required by law, including state and federal campaign finance reports, or as requested by the Chairman or Caucus.

G.    Such other duties as may be prescribed by the Chairman from time to time.

H.    Turn over to his successor all funds, money, book, accounts, letters, records, papers and other property pertaining to or associated with the affairs and business of the Caucus and office of Treasurer upon leaving office and make available all of the above described items to the Vice-Chairman and to keep the Vice-Chairman fully advised of all financial matters of the Caucus. 

                                ARTICLE VI - Standing Committees

Section 1    The Caucus shall have the following standing committees with the following jurisdictions.  They shall study and advise the Chairman and the Caucus with respect to all matters within their jurisdiction and shall perform such other duties within their jurisdiction as the Chairman of Caucus may direct.

Section 2    Each standing committee shall be for a one year term beginning at the February meeting of the Caucus in each calendar year.  Each standing committee shall meet at the call of its Chairman.

Section 3    Standing Committees shall consist of the following.

A.    The War Room Committee  shall consist of all committee chairmen and interested directors who shall meet at 10 a.m. every available Saturday morning.  It shall recommend to the Caucus: 1) strategic goals and objectives; and, 2) future activities including events, educational programs, and political action campaigns.  With a reasonable expectation of approval at the next meeting of the Caucus, and by resolution, it may authorize immediate preliminary action by the other committees.

B.    The Rules and Principles Committee shall package amendments to the bylaws and position statements submitted by a director or member for consideration by the Caucus. 

C.    The Communications Committee Following approval by the Directors, the committee shall distribute all external communications.  This shall include:

·   Press releases

·   Website management

·   Written distributions, e.g., handouts, mailers, palm cards

·   Electronic distributions, e.g., Mass Emails, voice and video media

·   MPACT

The committee shall work to simplify and centralize the internal communications for the caucus to minimize unwanted email traffic while maximizing the availability of information to its members.  This will include:

·   Central information repositories

·   Electronic polling

·   Group alerts

D.   Membership Committee shall develop and implement programs for maintaining and actively recruiting “conservative” people for the caucus; shall maintain the membership master database including prospective members; shall prepare and send mailings and/or emails to prospective members.

E.     Events Committee shall recommend educational and fund raising events to the Directors;  shall plan, organize, and make all necessary event preparations including scheduling guest speakers and identifying local venues; shall coordinate all actions with members and outside agencies and vendor contractors;  shall prepare and coordinate required media literature and marketing of the event;shall handle set up including equipment and decorations; shall coordinate the tear down group.

F.     The Legislative Liaison Committee shall create, cultivate, and maintain relationships with elected officials in all offices, with the purpose of forwarding the objectives of the Caucus; shall effectively relay to said officials the position of the Caucus; shall identify legislation, bills, and laws which require the action or the attention of the Caucus; shall attend, at the direction of the Chairman and the Directors, events of nature that may require the presence of the Caucus or its representative.

G.    The Connect With Conservatives Committee shall organize and conduct a door-to-door campaign that shall submit email and street addresses of professed conservatives to the Membership Committee.  It shall consist of driver-walker teams that shall include one director.  Its basic message shall be approved by the Caucus.                 

Section 4   The directors may designate special committees with powers and duties consistent with these bylaws, from time to time with specific purposes and limited existence.

ARTICLE VII - Procedures

Section 1    The rules contained in the current addition of ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER NEWLY REVISED shall govern the Caucus in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws or special rules of orders of the Caucus.  Robert’s Rules may be suspended by the chair without objection from the assembly. 

Section 2    All committees shall operate in an open forum.  Robert’s Rules do not apply at the committee level.

Section 3    All elections shall be by ballot during an executive session of the directors.

Section 4    Motions may be voted online if approved at the previous meeting or, when necessary, if called by the chairman and secretary with 72 hours notice.  Discussion shall be moderated by the Communications Committee Chairman in an online forum.  The absence of a reply shall be recorded an abstention.   

Section 5    Projects shall be funded in advance by pledges or special fundraisers.  

ARTICLE VIII - Amendment to the Bylaws

Section 1    Notice of any proposed amendment to these bylaws shall be presented by its proponent at a regular meeting of the Caucus by submitting it to the Chairman in writing.  The Chairman shall direct the Secretary to read aloud the proposed amendment at that meeting.  Discussion from the floor will then be allowed, but there will be no action taken at that time.  A written notice of the proposed amendments shall be mailed to all members of the Caucus at least the (10) days prior to the next regular meeting of the Caucus along with a notice that such amendment(s) will be voted upon at the next meeting.  At such regular meeting of the Caucus after the proposed amendment shall first have been read and discussed, it shall be put to a vote.  If a three-fourths majority of the directors present and voting at a monthly meeting of the caucus shall approve the amendment(s), it (they) shall become effective immediately.

ARTICLE IX - Adoption of Bylaws

Section 1   The bylaws shall be discussed, amended, and adopted by a three-fourths majority of the founders of the Caucus at its March 2009 meeting.

Section 2    Directors shall be elected by a three-fourths majority of the founders at the March 2009 meeting.  Candidates will be founders who nominate themselves. 

Section 3    These bylaws shall become effective upon their adoption and immediately after the election of directors by the founders of the Conservative Caucus of Monroe County.

ARTICLE X –       Position Statements Authorized by the Caucus

SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE   

The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of all innocent persons within its jurisdiction, including the unborn, the infirm, and the disabled.  We affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all people; and thereby intend to have judicial and legislative protection of the right to life against those who perform abortions, euthanasia, or assisted suicide. 

We want to ensure that women with problem pregnancies have the support, material and otherwise, they need for themselves and their babies.  For this purpose we will use public revenues in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.  We oppose punitive action against women who have an abortion.

NOTE:  Subsidiarity is the principle which states that matters ought to be handled by the lowest or smallest competent authority.

PROTECTING OUR 2^ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS, FIGHTING CRIME, AND SECURING OUR NATION        

For the protection of our Constitution, our Republic, and ourselves the support of the

2^nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as written, is affirmed by the Conservative Caucus of Monroe County.

LIMIT GOVERNMENT SPENDING ─ TAX REDUCTION

Spending by governments must be limited to purposes enumerated in their respective constitutions and charters.  All subsidies to private organizations and revenue sharing to governments must be phased out and eventually abolished.  

IDEALLY, combined government peacetime spending should not consume in excess of 20% of GDP.  The American worker should not be forced to work more than one day a week for tax and spend politicians. 

PROPERTY RIGHTS

Our country was built on individual property rights.  No government entity has the right to take the real or personal property of an individual citizen unless that citizen has forfeited the right to that property by using force or fraud and the individuals harmed can be made whole only by the forfeiture of said property. 

No government entity should be allowed to tax real or personal property owned by any individual.  The right to tax real or personal property, in effect, gives the government the deed to that property. 

Individuals must have the right to defend their property from intruders.  There must be no civil or criminal penalties for defending one's person or property.

ENSURING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

All manner of racism is hateful, immoral, and dangerously divisive.  We will not tolerate references to race or ethnicity in the laws or business of our governments.  We will be neither manipulated nor divided and conquered by racist legislation. 

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Since emission-free nuclear power has proven worldwide to be safe, clean, and the least expensive domestic source of large scale electrical energy, we support its production in Monroe County.  We prefer recycling of spent fuel rods as an alternative to ceramically encapsulated storage. 

We will expose to public scrutiny the legislative and regulatory war against nuclear energy that has served the competing special interests and the opponents of a free and energy independent America Arbitrary regulations and enforcement helped cause the estimated three year Fermi II project to drag on for eighteen years with a $4 billion cost overrun.  They also caused recyclable fuel to be stored on site as "waste."

Note:  Fermi II was initially estimated at less than $270 million and was finished at a cost of approximately $5 billion.  The project began in 1970 and was finally licensed for operation in 1988.  The original projections were for 1000 nuclear power plants.  There are 104 plants generating 20% of our electrical energy.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing procedure killed the industry.  It is one of 1000 federal agencies that have destroyed our manufacturing and energy industries.

TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT

We support total fiscal transparency at all levels of  government on their web sites, in the form of government budgets, contracts, and individual expenditures including check registers that are needed to achieve total accountability.   In the public business, perception and transparency are as important as substance to maintain trust in local government.