Members of the Bylaws Committee: Margaret Noel, Doreen Binder and Peter Englander.
Like other nonprofit organizations, the Portland League reviews its Bylaws from time to time to make sure that they are consistent with state law, best practices, state and national League requirements, and common-sense policies. At the May 13 Local Convention, LWVPDX members will vote upon amendments to our Bylaws, which were suggested by the Bylaws Committee and approved by the League Board. Amendments to the Bylaws must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the members present at the convention.
There are proposed amendments to Articles I, II, III, IV, V and VIII in the LWVPDX Bylaws. The current Bylaws are on the lwvpdx.org website under About here. The exact wording of all the proposed amendments can be read by clicking here. The changes are summarized below.
- The amendments to the first three Articles are required to make our Bylaws consistent with the current LWVUS Bylaws, which were amended in June 2018.
- The amendments to Article IV clarify the Powers and
Duties of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and committees
functioning under the guidance of the board.
- One amendment to Article IV, Section b, changes the composition of the Executive Committee by replacing the words, “the Editor of the monthly bulletin” with “a member of the Communications Team.” This responds to the reality that there are several League leaders who now share communications responsibilities with the Voter Editor.
- Another amendment to Article IV section b adds to the Bylaws a long-standing policy about the authority of the Executive Committee to approve Action when a decision must be reached before a scheduled board meeting.
- A new section c is added to Article IV, defining the responsibilities of board to oversee and approve the plans of League committees, as they carry out the details of League projects and actions.
- The proposed amendments to Article V define the duties of the League Secretary and Treasurer more precisely and in keeping with best practices.
- The amendments to Article VIII clarify the definition of “Program” and add a statement about Action that will be deleted from the amended Article II (to make it consistent with LWVUS Article II.)