Page 17 - 2021 SPRING Sojourner Newsletter

VOL. 98 ISS. 2 17

Whereas, as National Secretary, he is responsible to the National 2/3 vote to amend that constitution and a majority to pass U.S.
President for all other matters. Laws.
NOTE: The comma between the words financial and business. Therefore, be it resolved that the By Laws, ARTICLE 20.1,
This comma gives the meaning that the Trustees are in charge of Changes and Amendments be changed to read as follows:
all functions of the Office operations. 20.1 These By-Laws and their supporting National Regulations
Therefore, be it resolved that That this error be corrected by may be amended at any National Convention by an affirmative
changing National Regulation 6.2 paragraph 5 to read as follows: vote of three-fourths (3/4) delegates of the National Convention
5. NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER: As National present and voting. two-thirds (2/3) for the By Laws and Nation-
Secretary, he is responsible to the National President for all al Regulations by delegates of the National Convention present
matters. As National Treasurer, he is responsible to the Na- and voting.
tional Trustees for all financial business and property manage- ____________________________________________________
ment of the Order. He will . . . 2020-08 B-Ls ARTICLE 20.5 Three-Year Rule
____________________________________________________ Whereas, the current required votes for reconsidering a resolu-
2020-05 B-Ls ARTICLE 16.1 Publications and Documents on tion provide for a small minority to obstruct the will of the major-
Website ity of our members;
Whereas, in order to ensure Chapters and Members are using the Whereas, the Constitution of the United States requires a 2/3
current handbooks and references, and vote to amend that constitution, and in both Federalist No. 22 and
Whereas, to promote recognition of significant events and out- 58 our Founding Fathers warned of super majorities; and
standing performance with appropriate awards and certificates, Whereas, the U. S. Senate only requires a three-fifths vote to
and close a debate.
Whereas, to leverage the timely and cost-effective dissemination Therefore, be it resolved that By Laws, ARTICLE 20.5 be de-
of these publications using the internet. leted, which currently reads, “Unless approved by a three-
Therefore, be it resolved that By-Laws ARTICLE 16, Resale fourths majority of the voting delegates present and voting, any
Activity, para 16.1 add, "Publications, forms, and Area/ resolution proposing any change to the National By-Laws and
Regional/Chapter-level certificates (except the Heroes Manual) Regulations that has been rejected by a vote of the National
will be posted to the website as fillable PDF files." Convention, the subject matter of such proposal shall not again
____________________________________________________ be considered for a period of three (3) years subsequent to the
2020-06 B-Ls ARTICLE 19.4 & NR 8.1.1 Budget Process National Convention at which the proposal was considered
Whereas, our Order is a not-for-profit corporation, organized ____________________________________________________
under the laws of the State of Virginia, which requires that there 2020-09 B-Ls ARTICLE 16.2 & NR 13.1 The Sojourner Mag-
be a Board of Directors, which is our Board of Trustees, and that azine Subscription
Board may only operate collectively, though the issuance of poli- Whereas, twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per year is
cy by resolution. The Board Trustees members of our not-for- budgeted for the paper publication and delivery of the National
profit corporate Order have no executive authority whatsoever, Sojourner Magazine;
and all Boards have only three basic duties, oversight of execu- Whereas, the cost of printing and mailing routinely restricts the
tive operations, planning and outreach to stakeholders regarding number of pages that can be published in a single issue;
donative activity and reporting on the social policy successes of Whereas, it has become a reality that digital transmission of the
the organization, it is right and reasonable to clarify the Board’s Magazine is not constrained by page number, size, or content;
role in connection with the NST’s duties as National Treasurer in Whereas, it has become too significant a burden to continue the
s. 19.4, Bylaws, and to otherwise harmonize and change all regu- cost of bulk mailing along with the significant amount of time
lations and references to that relationship. These changes clarify spent on creating and publishing the paper version of the maga-
that the role of the Board of Trustees is to manage and supervise, zine by the Full Time Unit Support Staff at the National Office;
but to not have any direct executive control of the operations of and
the Order. Whereas, we are mindful that we have several thousand mem-
Therefore, be it resolved that By-Laws ARTICLE 19.4 be bers who are aged and do not use computers, but their family and
changed as follows: friends most often do so, the time has come to terminate free dis-
19.4 The National Trustees are charged with general supervision tribution of the paper format of the National Sojourner Magazine.
and control of National Sojourner Budget execution, Finances, Therefore, be it resolved that effective 01 July 2020, an annual
Properties, Investments and Audits. They are responsible for the subscription charge of fifteen dollars ($15) will be collected by
growth, safety and reasonable income of these monies in accord- the National Secretary-Treasurer from each member who submits
ance with appropriate National Sojourners Directives. The Na- an electronic message or letter to the HQ indicating his desire to
tional Trustees will include in their annual report to the National receive the National Sojourner Magazine by U. S. Postal Service
Convention a summary of the status of the investment funds. delivery in paper format.
National Regulation 8.1.1 refers. Further, section NR 13.1 (2.j.) will be created to read: "The Na-
Regulation 8.1.1 shall be changed to delete the word “control” tional Sojourner Magazine will be distributed electronically for
from “s.3. Functions.” free to members who provide current, correctly formatted email
____________________________________________________ addresses, or such other electronic communication in common
2020-07 B-Ls ARTICLE 20.1 Majority Vote Percentage usage as may be developed from time to time. The NS-T shall
Whereas, the By Laws are the primary guidelines for our Order, have the right to select the mode of electronic communication
and in the event that multiple software platforms create problems of
Whereas, the National Regulations "support and amplify the administration. Members who desire to receive a paper copy of
National By-Laws" (ARTICLE 5.4); Whereas, the National Reg- the magazine will pay a subscription fee of fifteen dollars ($15)
ulations are subordinate to the By Laws; and collected by the NST, who will issue appropriate guidance as
Whereas, the Constitution of the United States only requires a needed. The National Publications Board, in consultation with