Standing Rules Adopted during Annual Meeting, March 2007 By the Progressive Populist Caucus

The following Standing Rules were unanimously adopted by the Progressive Populist Caucus at our November 23rd Steering Committee meeting held in Austin, Texas. The Standing Rules were updated and approved by the PPC membership during the Annual PPC meeting in March of 2007.

Various drafts were posted on this site for discussion since mid-September, 2002 and the final document was the result of open debate and discussion. Special thanks are due to the hard working Committee who contributed so much to this final document.

Progressive Populist Caucus Provisional Standing Rules
The Texas Progressive Populist Caucus stands for reclaiming the historic purpose of empowering grassroots Democrats to achieve a more just society.

ARTICLE I - Definition and Purpose

• Section 1. This Caucus comprises representatives from the regional areas of the Progressive Populist Caucus and related allies. We celebrate our diversity.
• Section 2. The Caucus shall maintain a statement of principles which shall be published and disseminated to the general public. The statement of principles shall be subject to review at each annual meeting.

ARTICLE II - Membership

• Section 1. Membership of this caucus extends exclusive affiliation with the Democratic Party of Texas to any person eligible to vote in the State of Texas.
• Section 2. Affiliation is for all or the remaining part of a biennium, beginning and ending with the statutory close of polls on Primary Election Day.
• Section 3. The rights and responsibilities of a caucus member are those of party members, delegates and officials generally.

Specifically, members...

• Have notice, vote, and voice in any general or regional caucus of all members and may circulate a petition or adopt a pledge to be honored by members seeking election to any convention;
• Have the uniform obligation of party officials to support the nominees of the Democratic party for public office.
• Have a voluntary obligation to honor any pledge freely given to other members of the caucus.

• Section 4.  Membership may be forfeited for failure to honor
• party candidate support obligations
• voluntarily accepted pledges
• Membership may also be forfeited if a member makes public statements on behalf of the PPC without authorization from the Caucus Chair.

• Section 5. The Caucus shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, veteran status, social or economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other factor unrelated to membership and the mission of the Caucus. 

• Section 6. Allocation of regions

Regions will be re-assigned based on Senate District membership. Regional chairs are encouraged to manage their regions by creating subgroups and subgroup chairs as appropriate for the individual characteristics of their regions. Recommended allocations are as follows (Regional major metropolitan areas are listed in parentheses):

Regional Caucus	Senate Districts	2006 Convention Delegates	Percent of 2006 Delegates
North Texas (Dallas)	1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 23	1643	26
SE Texas (Houston)	3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, 17	1584	25
South Texas (San Antonio)	18, 21, 22, 26, 27	1084	17
Central Texas (Austin)	5, 14, 24, 25, 30	1057	16
West Texas (El Paso)	19, 20, 28, 29, 31	1051	16

ARTICLE III- Meetings

• Section 1. There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Caucus membership prior to June 15th each year.  The Steering Committee shall determine the time, place and date of the meeting at least 90 days prior to the actual meeting.  Steering Committee shall provide to the membership of the Caucus at least 60 days notice of the annual meeting. The Steering Committee shall provide as much advance notice as possible for the annual meeting.  Business to be conducted at the annual meeting will include the following:
• Reports and Recommendations will be made by the PPC Standing Committees and voted on by the general membership at the annual meeting.
• In odd numbered years officers will be nominated and elected by the General membership at the annual meeting.

• Section 2. Other Regular meetings of the entire Progressive Populist Caucus will be held as so needed and determined by the Steering Committee of the Caucus.
• Section 3. Special meetings of the Progressive Populist Caucus may be called:
• Upon call of the Caucus Chair, or
• Upon the call of the Caucus Steering Committee.
• Section 4. Meeting of the Texas Progressive Populist Caucus shall be scheduled at a time that provides for optimum attendance; efforts will be made to alternate meetings of the Caucus in various areas of the State.
• Section 5. Quorum Rules will apply to Steering Committee meetings which will require a majority of the Elected Steering Committee members, (offices currently filled) to pass any measure. Business may not be conducted unless quorum is met. Due to the great distances involved in our statewide organization, teleconference voting is allowed if a roll call indicates quorum has been achieved.
• Section 6. A majority vote by the PPC members present at the Annual meeting is required to elect PPC officers. Membership shall be defined as being listed in the PPC database as a registered Progressive Populist Caucus participant.  Credentials may be issued at this meeting to verify voting right.
• Section 7. A majority vote of the members present is required at any general meeting to pass any measure. Credentials may be issued by the membership chair to verify voting right.
• Section 8.  Rules defining the methods for voting at the State Convention caucus of the PPC shall be defined by the steering committee and published to the general membership at least 30 days prior to the State Convention.  Credentials may be issued to verify voting right at this meeting.

ARTICLE IV – Officers

• Section 1. The Officers of the PPC shall include the following:

1. The PPC State Chair
2. The PPC Executive Vice Chair
3. The Immediate Past Chair of the PPC
4. The PPC Secretary/Communications Officer
5. The PPC Technologist
6. The PPC Treasurer
7. The PPC Sergeant At Arms/ Parliamentarian
8. The PPC Membership Chair
9. The Legislative Chair
10. The Central Texas (Austin) Regional Chair
11. The South Texas (San Antonio) Regional Chair
12. The West Texas (El Paso) Regional Chair
13. The North Texas (Dallas) Regional Chair
14. The SE Texas (Houston) Regional Chair

• Section 2. Past Chairs of the PPC may serve in the Ex Officio position of Chair Emeritus. Multiple Chair Emeriti are allowed but are not voting members of the Steering Committee.
• Section 3. Vice chairs from each region may be assigned by the regional chair to attend committee meetings.

ARTICLE V - Steering Committee:

• Section 1.  The steering committee shall consist of the officers of the PPC as described in Article IV Section 1.
• Section 2. The Immediate Past PPC Chair is a member with full voting rights of the Steering committee

ARTICLE VI - Powers and Responsibilities of Officers: (Reserved for Expansion)
Chair Emeritus – The Chair Emeritus has the following duties, but is not a voting member of the Steering Committee:

• Providing institutional memory and continuity to the future work of the Caucus.  
• Mentoring the Steering Committee and the President in their work, advising and counseling on their undertakings
• Serving as an ambassador at large in the Democratic Party
• Serving as the Caucus’ official representative at the request of the President

Chair – The President is the chief executive officer responsible for overall administration of the work of the Caucus, including the following:

• Directing all business
• Leading the steering committee in planning and accomplishing work
• Setting meeting agendas, calling meetings to order, announcing business, presiding over meetings, putting questions to a vote, recognizing members.
• Representing the Caucus as official representative and  public spokesperson to the
• TDP and all other official occasions
• Appointing committees as authorized by the standing rules with the consent of the steering committee
• Serving as an ex-officio member of all committees
• Sign checks for approved expenditures in the absence of the Treasurer
• Serving at Chair Emeritus when term as President ends

Past Chair – the Past Chair refers to the officer serving in the immediate previous term and is a voting member of the Steering Committee.

Executive Vice Chair – The Executive Vice President has the following duties:

• Serving in the absence of the President, to preside over meetings, serving as the Caucus’ official representative at the request of the President
• Serving out the unexpired term of the President, due to illness, resignation or death
• Taking charge of a special scope of work in carrying out the plans and strategy of the caucus as assigned by the President

Secretary – The Secretary has the following duties:

• Recording meeting discussions / decisions and distribute to  Caucus members and ensuring  the information is also posted to the website
• Researching and implementing additional communication needs (conference calling, internet based contact, etc...)
• Working closely with the state chair regarding data gathering and management.
• Providing internet based technology for the Caucus website and facilitating communication and discussion with statewide Caucus regions.
• Working closely with other chairs to ensure that their technology needs are met.

Treasurer - The Treasurer has the following duties:

• Managing and reporting information regarding Caucus monetary account status
• Submitting an annual budget for the Caucus
• Administering the PayPal  program and tracking donations from the Caucus web page
• Signing checks for approved expenditures

Membership Chair – The Membership Chair has the following duties:

• Developing the Caucus membership
• Coordinating with Caucus regional VPs who require assistance in their respective regions.
• Devising ideas / plans for how to increase membership while working closely with the secretary, regional, and diversity chairs.

Sergeant at Arms / Parliamentarian – The Parliamentarian / Sergeant at Arms has the following duties:

• Serving as  the chief security officer to preserve order within the Caucus so that a meeting may progress in a productive way
• Taking roll at the beginning of a meeting to determine whether a quorum is present.
• Maintaining a current roster of Steering Committee members and general membership
• Determining seven days before a scheduled Steering Committee meeting whether or not a quorum will be present by telephoning or e-mailing each Steering Committee member to allow for rescheduling of the meeting if necessary
• Providing a membership list and volunteers at general meetings to sign in members/guests attending the meeting, and dispensing voter cards to members
• Providing sufficient copies of agendas, handouts, name tags, supplies
• Assisting the President with special projects
• Ensuring that meetings are run based on Robert's Rules of Order
• Ensuring that the Caucus operates according to parliamentary rules and procedures
• Providing resolution conflict should any arise
• Serving as a resource for TDP rules and regulations, as well as various operational considerations.

Regional Vice Chairs - The regional chair is responsible for organizing the local PPC members around the goals of the state PPC that apply to that region.   This involves:

• Leading local meetings with prepared agendas focusing on regional efforts and organizing work groups or sub-committees to implement those efforts
• Encouraging local members to participate in their county Democratic Party activities in order to leverage the PPC viewpoint into the county party.
• Attending other local democratic club meetings to determine whether duplication of effort exists and if it does, then work with the club leaders to coordinate their efforts with the PPC.  
• Working with the Membership Chair to recruit new members who are willing to put in time to work towards the PPC goals
• Forming work groups to organize local voting precincts, including the training of precinct chairs, training of precinct chair trainers, locating precinct chair vacancies, and offering precinct chair “captains” to assist existing precinct chairs.

Technologist / Webmaster – The webmaster is responsible for the maintenance of the PPC website which includes:

• Conducting training and facilitating an author’s ability to post their own content.
• Maintaining the PPC mailing lists.
• Managing and regulating the access rights of PPC members or users of the website.
• Responsibility for the website appearance and navigation.
• Reading and responding to user feedback and complaints about site functionality.

ARTICLE VII - Election of Officers

• Section 1. The Officers Shall be Elected at the annual meeting of each odd-numbered year. The first slate of officers shall be elected on November 23, 2002 and shall serve until the February 2005 annual meeting.
• Section 2. The Texas Progressive Populist Caucus will endeavor to create and encourage the formation of active sub-Caucuses at the Region, County and Precinct level

ARTICLE VIII- Term of Office
The term of office for PPC officers shall be the period between annual meetings in odd numbered years.  This shall be more or less than 2 years as defined by the date of the annual meetings.

ARTICLE IX - Vacant Office
Each office that becomes vacant between normal elections, may be filled by special election, as approved by the Steering Committee.
ARTICLE X - Voting

• Section 1. Voting shall be in person only at meetings, or as supplemented and/or substituted by other voting methods, as determined by the Steering Committee.  
• Section 2.  Membership Eligibility

Voting Membership Eligibility
As voted by a majority vote during the 2007 annual meeting regarding eligibility for voting at annual, special and convention caucus meetings the following voting eligibility requirement was adopted. This includes, but is not limited to the vote to endorse a candidate for Party Chair.

• All members who have signed the PPC Pledge after the reaffirmation process and at least 30 days prior to the convening of a meeting.

ARTICLE XI - Removal from Office or Membership

• Section 1. Officers or members of the PPC may be removed from office as described in Article II,  Section 4.

ARTICLE XII - Quorum

• Section 1. Quorum rules apply to Steering Committee meetings as defined in Article III section 5, requiring a majority of the steering Committee to be present to maintain quorum.
• Section 2. Quorum for general and annual meetings shall consist of a majority vote of the credentialed members present at these meetings.

ARTICLE XIII - Dues

• Section 1. The annual membership dues of the Texas Progressive Populist Caucus shall be set by the Steering Committee. The payment of dues shall not be obligatory for any member to whom it constitutes an economic hardship, and is so certified by the Steering committee.
• Section 2. Reserved for Expansion

ARTICLE XIV
Unless otherwise specified in these Standing Rules, Robert’s Rules of Order as Revised shall govern the conduct of Caucus meetings.

ARTICLE XV - Resolutions, Proposals, and Endorsements (Reserved for Expansion)

ARTICLE XVI - Amendments

• Section 1. These standing rules may be amended at any meeting of the full Texas Progressive Populist Caucus by a majority of the Caucus members present and voting.
• Section 2. Statement of Beliefs

The PPC Statement of Beliefs is provided as attachment A of this set of Standing Rules. The statement of beliefs may only be amended by a majority vote of the membership present at the PPC annual meeting.

ARTICLE XVII – Effective Date for Standing Rules
New effective date for these Standing Rules shall be March 10, 2007, as voted by the caucus members at the 2007 annual meeting

Attachments
Attachment A- Statement of Beliefs

ARTICLE XVII - Effective Date of Standing Rules

The effective date of the Standing rules is November 23, 2002