BTPMI Bylaws

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY OF MICHIGAN BYLAWS

(Adopted on July 2, 2008)

 

ARTICLE I: NAME OF PARTY

These articles shall govern the association known as “The Boston Tea Party of Michigan,” which is hereinafter known as the “Party” or the “BTPMI.”

 

ARTICLE II: PERIOD OF DURATION

The period of duration of the Party shall be perpetual.

 

ARTICLE III: PLATFORM, AND PURPOSES OF THE BTPMI

a)      The Party’s platform is as follows:

The Boston Tea Party of Michigan supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.

b)      The Party’s platform shall be perpetual and unmodifiable, notwithstanding any other or subsequent provisions for amendment to these bylaws.

c)      The Party, at any time, does not and will not voluntarily and materially support a candidate for election or appointment to any public office who does not support or endorse the Party’s platform. The Executive Committee shall have the sole power and authority to publicly repudiate, and if possible and necessary remove from the Party’s ballot line, any candidate whose name appears on the Party’s ballot line in any jurisdiction, who declines to endorse the platform or whose policy positions are at odds with the platform.

d)     The purposes of the Boston Tea Party of Michigan is to empower all lovers of human liberty with the goal to reduce the cost, size, and scope of the state government via various means, radical and/or gradual, including but not limited to the following: nominating candidates for election and appointment to public office; affecting public policy through information, education, and advocacy campaigns; and supporting the diverse and paramount work of the individuals and organizations comprising the entire libertarian movement.

ARTICLE IV: PROGRAM OF THE BPTMI

a)      The BTPMI’s program shall be adopted biennially in convention in even-numbered years in synchronicity with the cycle of elections to the Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate and shall expire with the adoption of the subsequent program on the day of the next regular Convention.

b)      The program shall consist of no more than eight specific policy recommendations relevant to the election cycle for which it is adopted.

 

ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP

a)      Members of the Party shall consist of those persons who have certified in writing or via electronic registration that they support the Party’s platform. Membership in the Party shall be perpetual, unless the member decides to rescind or revoke his/her membership in writing or via electronic access to his/her membership.

b)      No dues or any other payment shall be required for membership in the Party.

c)      The Executive Committee shall allow and accept voluntary financial donations from members of the Party who wish to send their monetary and any other financial support to the Party.

d)     The Executive Committee shall establish a bank account to receive said monetary and financial contributions from members and donors and keep a record of such transactions to comply with the reporting requirements, as mandated by the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, Public Act 388 of 1976 and the Michigan Department of State.

e)      Members of the Party will have access to their membership on the Party’s website and shall be able to post electronic content of political, campaign, and issue-based activities on the Party’s website. Members, not the Executive Committee and the state headquarters staff, are solely responsible for any content that they submit to the website.

f)       The Executive Committee may offer many different levels of donorship on its website at its own discretion and determine the contribution and donorship levels of the Party.

 

ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS

a)      The Officers of the Party shall consist of a chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and six at-large members, hereinafter referred to as the “Executive Committee.” These are the same individuals who shall serve as “The Boston Tea Party of Michigan Executive Committee, Inc.” These offices shall not be combined. All of the Officers shall be elected to these seats by the attending delegates and shall begin their terms of office at the closing of the Convention.

b)      The Officers of the Executive Committee shall serve terms of only one year in office, unless the presiding Officers are mentally and/or physically incapacitated, suffering from mental and/or physical illness, or, for reasons professional, personal, or both, are not capable of serving out their full terms of office. Should that occur, a Special Convention shall be convened for the purpose of electing a new EC within no more than six months following the closing of the regular Convention. If a Special Convention is held, it shall not exceed for more than one day online or in person.

c)      The Officers of the Executive Committee shall serve out their terms until the adjournment of the regular Convention.

d)     The Chair of the BTPMI shall preside all meetings of the Executive Committee and at all conventions. The Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the Party. In the absence of directives from the Executive Committee, the Chair shall have the authority to speak for and to generally manage the affairs of, the Party.

e)      The Vice Chair of the BTPMI shall be the assistant to the Chair and shall perform the duties of the Chair if the Chair is unable to perform those duties. The Vice Chair, with the assistance of the Affiliate Services Director, shall be responsible for organizing and assembling seminars in order to ensure that county affiliates have the information necessary to work effectively in the BTPMI.

f)       The Secretary of the BTPMI shall be the recording officer of the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall be solely responsible for all regular communications within the Party and between the Party and outside individuals, groups, and organizations.

g)      The Treasurer of the BPTMI shall be responsible for receiving, expending, and accounting for the funds of the Party under the supervision and direction of the Executive Committee.

h)      The members of the Executive Committee shall meet either online or at such times in public locations as they shall govern and determine the affairs of the Party. The Committee has the sole power and authority to schedule where and when it will hold such public meetings.

i)        The At-Large Directors, who comprise the majority of the EC, shall be responsible for representing the concerns, wishes, and needs of the Party member base, and, in concert with the Executive Committee, introduce and vote on proposed amendments to Party policies, referendums, resolutions, and other pertinent business dealing with the affairs of the Party.

j)        The members of the Executive Committee who miss three consecutive meetings throughout their term on the board or fail to perform their fiduciary duties may be removed from the Committee and replaced by a three-quarters vote at a regular meeting of the Executive Committee or a two-thirds supermajority vote at convention following a motion for a vote of no confidence. All Executive Committee members must be notified of the intent to removal at least 20 days prior to the meeting. If the Chair is removed, then it is the duty of the Vice Chair to assume the chair of the Party and a new Vice Chair shall be elected.

k)      Members of the Executive Committee must be current members of the Party in good standing. An officer of the Committee whose membership is not current and/or not in good standing shall be removed from the meeting by a recorded vote of the Committee.

 

ARTICLE VII: CONVENTIONS

a)      State Conventions shall be held annually each odd-numbered year between April 2 and August 1, performing such business as required herein. Conventions occurring after the filing deadline for candidates to appear on Michigan’s primary ballot shall be held on even-numbered years.

b)      The Party shall hold a convention within 60 days upon the call of the Executive Committee or when petitions are submitted by 3% of the current membership.

c)      All members of the Party who attend and register at a convention shall be delegates, unless the Party shall receive major party status. In the latter event, new bylaws shall be enacted by a special convention to convene within 100 days of such time as an BTPMI statewide candidate receives sufficient votes to gain major party status.

d)     A majority shall rule at the convention except for the platform and resolutions of the Party which shall require a two thirds vote of those present, or as otherwise required by these bylaws.

e)      The Executive Committee shall have supervision and management of all conventions.

f)       The officers of each convention shall be the officers of the Party.

g)      A person who has never been a member of the Boston Tea Party of Michigan must become a member at least 45 days prior to a State convention before being allowed to vote at that convention.

ARTICLE VIII: JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

a)      The judicial power of the Party shall be vested in a Judicial Committee composed of five Party members. No member of the Executive Committee may be a member of the Judicial Committee.

b)      The Judicial Committee shall decide cases involving alleged violations of these bylaws or resolutions.

 

ARTICLE IX: NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

a)      Nomination of candidates for public office shall be made only at a convention during the election year. No candidate may be nominated for an office for which he/she is legally ineligible to serve.

b)      The Executive Committee shall be vested with the power and authority to call for a regular convention to nominate candidates either online or at a public venue. The EC must provide the Party membership at least 60 days notice either online or via snail mail prior to the commencement of the regular convention.

c)      Delegates to the State Convention shall be elected by a 6-member Credentials Committee. These members shall be elected to the Committee either by the membership of the Party or appointed by the Chair of the Executive Committee. This shall be done by nominations from online or the floor if the state convention is held prior to the national convention. If held later, election of delegates may either be by affiliate caucus or online. In either case, delegates may be appointed by the Executive Committee if the allotted quota is not met. Rules governing delegate procedures shall be determined by action of the Convention or, in the absence of directives from the Convention, by the Executive Committee.

d)     The Party’s nominee for each office shall be chosen by a majority vote of the delegates in attendance at the time of voting, whether the nomination is carried out online or a public venue. If no candidate has a majority, the candidate with the least number of votes shall be struck from the next vote until one candidate receives a majority.

e)      All votes for candidates for public or Party office shall always include “None of the Above.”

f)       Votes cast for “None of the Above” in voting on the Party’s nominees for public office or the Party officers shall be considered valid. Should a majority or even supermajority of the votes be cast for “None of the Above” in voting for a public office, no candidate shall be nominated for that office. Should “None of the Above” be selected for any Party office, that position shall be declared vacant and none of the losing candidates for that position may be selected to fill the vacancy for the term of office.

g)      On the day of the nominating process at a regular Convention held online, member polls for the nominations of the governorship and lieutenant governorship shall open and remain open for 24 hours. The same shall be done for other public offices at the state level. These polls shall include the names of the prospective nominees, as well as “None of the Above,” in alphabetical order. The method of voting shall be “approval voting.” Each voting member may cast one vote for every candidate which he or she deems an acceptable nominee to the office. At the close of the poll, the candidate receiving the most votes, provided that he or she has also received a vote from a majority of voting members, shall be the nominee of the Party to the office. If no candidate has received a vote from a majority of voting members, then successive 24-hour polls shall be conducted in the same manner, with the candidate receiving the fewest votes in the previous poll eliminated, until such time as a candidate emerges with both the largest number of votes and votes from a majority of voting members. If, at the conclusion of any poll in this process, “None of the Above” receives both the largest number of votes and receives votes from a majority of voting members, the process shall end and the Party shall not nominate a candidate to the office in question for that election.

h)      On the day of the nominating process at a regular Convention held at a public venue, delegates to the Convention may participate in the nominations of the governorship and lieutenant governorship on the Convention floor. The same shall be done for other public offices at the state level. The ballots shall include the names of the prospective nominees, as well as “None of the Above,” in alphabetical order. The method of voting shall be “approval voting.” Each voting delegate may cast one vote for every candidate which he or she deems an acceptable nominee to the office. At the close of the balloting, the Secretary of the Executive Committee shall read the tally of the votes for the offices of the governorship and lieutenant governorship. The candidates for the office receiving the most votes, provided that he or she has also received a vote from a two-thirds majority of voting delegates, shall be the nominee of the Party to the office. If no candidate has received a vote from a two-thirds majority of voting members, then the balloting process shall be conducted in the same manner, with the candidate receiving the fewest votes in the previous ballot eliminated, until such time as a candidate emerges with both the largest number of votes and votes from a majority of voting delegates. If, at the conclusion of the balloting process, “None of the Above” receives the largest number of votes and receives votes from a majority of voting members, the process shall end and the Party shall not nominate a candidate to the office in question for that election.

 

ARTICLE X: LOCAL AFFILIATES

a)      Party members may establish organizations entitled to be known as the “Boston Tea Party” of their respective areas.

b)      The Executive Committee shall charter affiliate parties from those organizations requesting such status. A copy of the petitioning organization’s proposed operating rules shall be submitted with the petition. No organization shall be so chartered which does not ratify the Boston Tea Party of Michigan’s platform. The Executive Committee shall be vested with the power and authority to arbitrate disputes between the affiliates.

c)      The autonomy of the affiliate Parties shall not be abridged by the Executive Committee, or any other committee of the Party, except as provided herein.

d)     The Executive Committee shall be vested with the power and authority to suspend affiliate status from any organization by a two-thirds vote. Such suspension is subject to written appeal within sixty days of notification. Failure to appeal shall be construed as an act of secession by the affiliate party. The Executive Committee shall not suspend any affiliate party within a period of four months prior to the regular Convention.

e)      The appeal of the affiliate party is to be sent to the Judicial Committee of the BPTMI. Arguments must be submitted in writing to the Judicial Committee by representatives of the Executive Committee urging revocation and by representatives of the affiliate party opposing revocation. The Judicial Committee shall rule to either revoke the charter of the affiliate party or to reinstate the charter within sixty days of receiving the arguments and no later than sixty days prior to a regular Convention. If the Judicial Committee fails to rule timely, the affiliate party shall be automatically reinstated with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto.

 

ARTICLE XI: FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of the Party shall end on January 1 the following starting year.

 

ARTICLE XII: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall be the parliamentary authority of the Party, and for all matters of procedure not covered by the bylaws or the Convention rules of the Party.

 

ARTICLE XIII: AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority of the vote of the delegation present at a Convention held either online or at a public venue occurring annually.

 

ARTICLE XIV: EFFECT

These bylaws of the BTPMI shall take effect immediately upon adoption.