Hi, Following several rounds of discussion on spi-general, the board list, and with SPI legal counsel over the last two years, I am pleased to finally propose this Resolution 2018-07-06.jrk.1 for approval at the July annual board meeting. This resolution gives the board's approval to replacement proposed SPI bylaws, submits them to the members for their vote at a suitable time this year or early next, and approves a related membership guidelines document conditional on the members' approval of the new bylaws.
Many thanks are due to former SPI president Bdale Garbee for initiating the current round of bylaws revisions in 2016, SPI lawyer Mishi Choudhary at the Software Freedom Law Center for all her help, the participants of the earlier SPI bylaws revision efforts as far back as 2003, and most importantly, the many members who gave several rounds of feedback on the spi-general list to ensure that the new bylaws are responsive to member concerns and preferences. The website has all the new documents, as well as a FAQ document with questions and answers about the changes. See the text of the resolution, below, for links. Resolution 2018-07-06.jrk.1: Proposing related SPI bylaws to the members ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHEREAS 1. The current SPI bylaws do not meet the current practical operational needs of SPI; 2. The Board has prepared a replacement bylaws document that better meets SPI's needs; 3. Several rounds of member feedback have been incorporated into the proposed replacement bylaws document, along with legal advice to ensure compliance with applicable law; 4. The proposed replacement bylaws document make reference to a membership guidelines document which does not yet exist; 5. The Board has prepared a document to serve as the initial contents of the membership guidelines document; 6. The current bylaws require that any amendment be approved by 2/3 of the contributing members; 7. The Board wishes to conduct this member vote under circumstances which maximize turnout of contributing members, without the result of the vote being negatively affected by holidays or by inactive members who retain contributing status; and 8. The Board has prepared a document listing questions and answers to explain the context of this vote to all interested parties; The SPI BOARD RESOLVES THAT 1. The Board hereby proposes to the SPI contributing members, for their approval in accordance with paragraphs 3 through 5 of this resolution, that the SPI by-laws be amended and restated by replacing their text in its entirety by the contents of this document, with the necessary changes to the header and footer to reflect its final approval: http://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/votes/2018-bylaws-revision/spi-2018-proposed-bylaws.pdf (SHA256 checksum 6c77d22ea63d8b44920aa645d1151197da9718c3e39bccbd9586a7988382615f). 2. The Board asks SPI members to consult http://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/votes/2018-bylaws-revision/2018-bylaws-revision-faq/ for answers to common questions about this proposed change. 3. The Secretary shall, directly or through one or more delegates, conduct a vote of the contributing membership on the amendment and restatement of SPI's by-laws in paragraph 1. The voting reference materials shall include the document referenced in paragraph 2. In accordance with the first paragraph of Article Twelve of the current by-laws, the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the members shall be required for approval. The amendment and restatement shall become effective immediately if and when approved. 4. If an annual election to the board of directors occurs in 2018, the vote described in paragraph 3 shall happen as soon as logistically feasible (within the reasonable discretion of the Secretary) following the completion of contributing membership expiry procedures as described in paragraph 1 of Resolution 2009-11-04.jmd.1, but in any case not between November 17, 2018 and January 4, 2019. 5. If an annual election to the board of directors does not occur in 2018, whether due to insufficient candidates or for any other reason, the vote described in paragraph 3 shall happen as soon as logistically feasible (within the reasonable discretion of the Secretary) after this fact is determined, but in any case not between November 17, 2018 and January 4, 2019. 6. Subject to paragraphs 7 and 8, the Board hereby approves the contents of http://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/votes/2018-bylaws-revision/2018-proposed-membership-guidelines/ as of the date of the approval of this resolution (git commit ca29634fad9addb866c5541f436bf8fbef27b005 in SPI's website repository) as the initial contents of the membership guidelines document referred to by the amended and restated by-laws. 7. The approval in paragraph 6 will be of no effect if the vote referred to in paragraph 3 fails to approve the amendment and restatement of the bylaws. 8. The Board reserves the right to further revise the initial contents of the membership guideline document by a subsequent resolution before the beginning of the vote described in paragraph 3, but does not currently anticipate making such a revision. If any provision in such a further revision reduces the rights or increases the responsibilities of the members, such provision will not take effect until at least 30 days after the members are informed of the Board's approval. ------------ - Jimmy Kaplowitz ji...@spi-inc.org
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