PROPOSAL NUMBER: 018-04

1. Date proposed: 8/8/04
Name of the sponsors: Lanny Kness, GPCO Co-Chair; Charlie Green, Royal Gorge Rep

2. PROPOSAL SUBJECT: Return to rules lost in 4/26/03 edit of "Procedures and Guidelines"

3. FULL PROPOSAL:
Replace the current section 3.5.4 of the "Procedures and Guidelines" (P&G) with the text from the 6-22-02 version of the P&G. This allows the Council to use consensus on submitted proposals.

The section is to read:

3.5.4 Proposals for ACTION will be called by the current convener/facilitator, who will announce a week period of Consensus discussion of a proposal. During that week, members may discuss the proposal, express support for the proposal by saying "I agree with this proposal," or may express concerns or blocking concerns by stating their concern, or may offer amendments. Amendments can be proposed by any Council member and either accepted by the proponent if friendly, or voted on separately by the Council, if unfriendly.

If, at the end of the first week, we have reached quorum and have had full support and no proposed amendments or blocking concerns, the proposal will be accepted by consensus and the facilitator will report the results.

If there is no quorum at the end of the first week, or if there are amendments proposed that are not acceptable to the originator of the proposal or any blocking concerns, then the facilitator will initiate a voting process for that proposal by posting an email message to the Council listserve with the word "Vote" in the subject line of the message. The text of the message will include a brief statement of the proposal and will solicit votes from Council reps either Yes or No or Abstain. Any backup material from the proponent, within reasonable limits, will be included in the request for a vote. Council reps will have a week to vote on the proposal. The convener/facilitator will send a Final Update of the vote to the listserve once a quorum is reached on the proposal in question. It is the responsibility of Council reps to make issues known to the respective members of their local chapters and solicit input on how to vote on specific proposals, to the extent that it is possible. Simultaneous votes will be discouraged, although they may occur at the discretion of the convener/facilitator. Suspension of these procedures may occur with issues of urgency, again at the discretion of the convener/facilitator.

4. BACKGROUND:
This proposal seeks to correct an error, and return the Council back to procedures the GPCO had already passed.

6. PROS AND CONS: Benefits:
- Using consensus allows the Council to meet its value of Feminism/Cooperation.
- Using consensus will speed up the Council's work, but also allow caution when needed.
Drawbacks:

7. Alternatives to the proposal If desired, the current wording can be maintained, and the Council can work via voting on all proposals.

8. Supporting statements:
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This is the wording of the current P&G:

3.5.4. Proposals for ACTION will be called by the current convener/facilitator, who will announce a week period of discussion of a proposal. Following that week of discussion, amendments can be proposed by any Council member and either accepted by the proponent if friendly, or voted on separately by the Council, if unfriendly. When that week of discussion is up, the convener/facilitator will propose a vote by posting an email message to the Council listserve with the word "Vote" in the subject line of the message. The text of the message will include a brief statement of the proposal and will solicit votes from Council reps either aye or nay. Any backup material from the proponent, within reasonable limits, will be included below. Council reps will have a week to vote on the proposal. The convener/facilitator will send a Final Update of the vote to the listserve once a quorum is reached on the proposal in question. It is the responsibility of Council reps to make issues known to the respective members of their local chapters and solicit input on how to vote on specific proposals, to the extent that it is possible. Simultaneous votes will be discouraged, although they may occur at the discretion of the convener/facilitator. Suspension of these procedures may occur with issues of urgency, again at the discretion of the convener/facilitator.