Governance Ad Hoc Committee Meeting
MINUTES
April 30, 2015

Members Present:  Adonis Brown, Eric Chavis, Crystal Foreman, I. Azell Reeves, and Peggy Terhune

Members Absent: Lourdes Fernandez

Staff Present:  Chris Egan, Shayna Simpson-Hall and JoAnn Toomey

The open meeting was held via tele-conference and all members were welcomed.

Peggy Terhune stated that the by-laws are only one governing tool.  Any changes to governmental by-laws must be given to the Secretary of State Office when modified. She stated that she had received all copies of the by-laws and reviewed them.  She felt that the bylaws should be modified to minimize the statements in this legal document because it should not be changed often.  She mentioned that the by-laws should be short and sweet.  She also stated that much of the content in the bylaws belonged in board policy, which can be changed by the board in a much easier way.  Peggy Terhune also said it would be useful to rewrite some of the language to ensure it is respectable language to make it easier to understand. Crystal Foreman asked for clarification. Eric Chavis stated that it would be helpful to also pull out key points to make it easier to read. Additionally, members agreed that general governing, and officer’s term limits need to be included.

Rewriting the by-laws could be a clerical task. Dr. Terhune said that she would be willing to take the three bylaw revisions and create one version that was streamlined and held only the required content for bylaws.  Then, she would take the rest of the content and place it into policy statements for the committee to review one by one after the bylaws were approved.  Azell Reeves affirmed that she agreed with Dr. Terhune’s suggestion, as did others on the call.  It was also suggested that various step/procedures be incorporated in the by-laws as policy.

Crystal Foreman then gave a brief historical overview on the creation of the various versions of the by-laws.
Azell Reeves stated that information regarding budgetary guidelines and protocol must be written in accordance with federal and state guidelines.

Peggy Terhune requested all versions of the by laws be sent to her for her to lead the effort to streamline the by-laws.  She declared that she would work to address policies members have expressed interest in seeing incorporated in the existing document. Chris Egan agreed along with members of the Ad Hoc committee. Azell Reeves asserted the need for the committee to elect a chair and co-chair.  She asked for clarification to whether members of the Executive Committee could or could not serve as a Chair of Ad Hoc committees. Peggy Terhune said that she has received an email from Ron Reeve, which clarified the matter.  The email affirmed that standing committees must be chaired by members of the EC. However, this is not a requirement for the establishment of Ad Hoc committees.

Peggy Terhune announced her interest in serving as Chair.  The members agreed.  Crystal Foreman will serve as Co-Chair due to work with previous efforts on the by-laws.   All members agreed.

Peggy Terhune agreed to disseminate a report on her revisions to the by-laws to the Ad Hoc committee members for their review.
The members discussed the possibility of having a meeting face-to-face before or during the May Council meeting.  They did agree that the next teleconference meeting will be after the May 15th meeting.  

Meeting was adjourned.