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CONFEDERATED TRIBES of the COOS, LOWER UMPQUA AND SIUSLAW INDIANS TRIBAL CODE
TITLE
7 – ENROLLMENT, COMMITTEES, ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS
CHAPTER 7-2
COMMITTEE BY-LAWS
7-2-1
Purpose
A
tribal committee is a board or group of people coming together in an organized
fashion to advise and make recommendations on the delivery of services to tribal
members. Committees are organized for the following reasons:
(a)
To provide a body that is responsive to the needs of the tribal members and
representative of their interests.
(b)
To assure that quality care will be delivered to their constituents in a manner
that is in accordance with tribal and financial procedures.
(c)
To act as a liaison between tribal members, administrative staff and the Tribal
Council in all matters pertaining to education and employment, economic
development, housing, enrollment, election and other matters of tribal interest
with regard to the particular function of the committee.
(d)
To make recommendations to the Tribal Council regarding the delivery of
effective and efficient policies to members of the tribes.
7-2-2
Board Duties and Responsibilities
(a)
Monitoring and evaluating program services.
(b)
Represent the interests and desires of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower
Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (Tribes).
(c)
Set program priorities.
(d)
Inform the Tribes of Bureau of Indian Affairs' policies and procedures in the
monthly tribal newsletter or by special flyer if the situation warrants such
action (i.e. changes made and being implemented prior to the publication of the
next newsletter).
(e)
Budget review and recommendations.
(f)
Program review.
(g)
General overall coordination of the education, planning, housing, enrollment and
other matters of tribal interest.
7-2-3
Committee Membership
(a)
Tribal committees shall consist of five (5) people (with the exception of the
Cultural Committee which will consist of up to nine (9) people) appointed by the
Tribal Council. These people shall consist of tribal members or spouses who
indicate in writing to the Tribal Council a desire to serve on the committee
specified. The Johnson O'Malley Program (JOM) shall have Native American parents
and/or spouses on the committee. The Tribal Council will authorize any committee
vacancy to be filled with an individual(s) tribal member or designated spouse
who has indicated the desire to submit their name for a seat.
(b)
Each tribal committee will have a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman. Terms of office
will be for one (1) year upon which time the committee will vote on both the
above said positions.
(c)
Secret ballots will be utilized when voting for a committee Chairman or
Vice-Chairman.
7-2-4
Voting Provisions
(a)
Each member of a committee shall have one (1) vote on each issue requiring a
vote of the body. In addition, a member must be present to vote. To pass a
motion, resolution, etc., takes a majority of members present.
(b)
When a vote is needed on an issue and it is not feasible to have a meeting of
the full committee because of the time factor involved, the Chair of the committee can conduct a telephone vote of each member. The
results of this vote must be reported at the next regularly scheduled committee
meeting, as well as recorded in the committee minutes. If the Chairman is unable
to be reached due to vacation, hospitalization or extenuating circumstances,
then the Vice-Chair is authorized to act in the phone survey capacity.
7-2-5
Meetings
(a)
Each tribal committee will meet on a regular basis, with special meetings to be
called on an as-needed basis. These special meetings are for routing business
matters which are not of an emergency nature.
(b)
Education and Election Committee meetings will normally take place at Tribal
Hall. Meetings for the Housing and Enrollment Committees will normally take
place at the Administrative Office. Other meeting locations will be acceptable
upon agreement by the majority of the committee members.
(c)
Committee Chairmen will notify their members by mail at least five (5) days in
advance of any regular meeting. If possible, an agenda will be sent with the
meeting notice.
(d)
Meetings should be planned with specific objects and an orderly written agenda.
(e)
If an emergency meeting is needed, the committee Chairman may call by telephone
at least (48) forty-eight hours in advance of said meeting. If a meeting is not
feasible, the committee Chairman is authorized to conduct a phone poll as
specified previously in 7-2-4, Voting Provisions.
(f)
Three (3) tribal committee members can call a meeting by sending a written
notice to the committee Chairman stating their desire and reasons for meeting.
The Chairman of the committee will then have forty-eight (48) hours (seventy-two
(72) if it involves a weekend) to notify all members of said meeting which must
be held within four (4) days following this notice.
(g)
There shall be a minimum of three (3) committee members present to conduct
business at a meeting (five (5) for the Cultural Committee).
7-2-6
Removal from a Tribal Committee
An
unexcused absence from three (3) consecutive meetings will call for the
automatic removal of any member from any committee.
7-2-7
Conduct Rules within the Committee Sessions
(a)
Description of the Chairman’s and the Vice-Chairman's responsibilities
are as follows:
(1) Chairman:
The Chairman will preside at all meetings of the committee. Chairman will hold
regularly scheduled meetings appropriate to the needs of the Tribes. Chairman
shall be elected by committee vote once each year and will be a voting member of
the committee.
(2) Vice-Chairman:
In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman will preside. In the case of
the resignation or death of a Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall perform the
Chairman's duties until such time as a new Chairman is appointed.
(b)
Minutes will be distributed or sent to committee members no later than seven (7)
days after a committee meeting.
(c)
All committee minutes, once approved by the committee, will be signed by
the Chairman or Vice-Chairman and the Secretary.
(d)
All letters from a committee will be signed by the committee Chairman or
Vice-Chairman.
(e)
Meetings will be conducted in an orderly fashion using Roberts Rules of Order.
Members should conduct themselves in an appropriate manner to benefit tribal
membership. All questions and issues raised to the committee Chairman should be
reviewed and/or discussed at the time of the inquiry.
(f)
Disciplinary actions (as stated from Roberts Rules of Order):
“There
are four (4) kinds of offenses that may invoke disciplinary action: offenses by
non-members present at meetings, offenses by members in meetings, offenses by
members not in meetings and offenses by officers.
Of these, the first presents the fewest difficulties in discipline. A
non-member has no rights at a meeting: he does not have the right to vote, to
speak or even to be present. Thus, if his presence in any way offends the group
(normally by being a cause of disorder, interrupting the proceedings), the
group, through a motion or by its presiding officer, may require him to cease
the offensive behavior or to leave. The group may, for instance, go into
executive session, and a member may propose doing so by raising a question of
privilege to that effect. Likewise, the presiding officer, in execution of his
duty to preserve order and decorum, may have the offending party removed. Either
the assembly or the presiding officer may exclude all non-members or only
selected ones, as necessary. In either case, prudence suggests contacting
security forces to do so, but if necessary, the chair may direct particular
members to act as sergeants at arms to do so. Such members should be very
careful not to use excessive force; they may use only the force necessary to
remove the person from the hall, and legal action against excessive force is
likely to be taken against the persons applying the force, not against the
presiding officer or the organization.
“The
second case is slightly less simple. If a member commits an offense in a meeting
- such as speaking without addressing the chair - the chair should interrupt,
perhaps with a tap of the gavel, and correct the member. If the chair does not
do so, a member should make a point of order. The process can be repeated if
necessary. If the offense is serious or repeated, more severe disciplinary
activity may be necessary. The chair, either upon a point of order or upon his
own initiative, may, with or without warning, inform the member he is out of
order "and will be seated." The chair should then explain the offense
and ask the assembly to vote immediately on whether or not to permit the member
to resume speaking. If such a procedure proves ineffective or if the offense is
particularly grave, the chair may, after repeated warnings, prefer charges
against the member.
“To
do so, the chair addresses the member by name, explains the offense, and
specifies the correct course of action for the offender to take (usually silence
or an apology). If the offender accepts, the procedure ends there, unless the
assembly wishes to continue. If the offender does not accept or if the assembly
wishes to continue, any member may immediately move the imposition of a specific
penalty, or the chair may ask the assembly what penalty should be imposed. The
motion might propose to censure the member, or it might take another approach,
perhaps requiring that he leave the hall until he is ready to apologize. The
most extreme penalty that the group can impose is expulsion.
“Any
penalty except expulsion can be imposed by a majority vote; expulsion requires a
two-thirds (2/3) vote. A single member can compel a vote on the imposition of
any penalty to be by ballot. During consideration of the motion to impose a
penalty, the assembly may require the member to leave the hall, but before it
does so it should permit him to present a brief defense, if he wishes."
(g)
Any reports of disciplinary action of a committee will be reviewed in full by
the Tribal Council.
(h)
Tribal committee Chairmen and committee members shall not take advantage of
staff member’s time outside a committee meeting in unnecessary, lengthy
discussions since the staff member is being held accountable for productive
employed time.
(i)
The Tribal Council recognizes the need to maintain strong committees and is
appreciative of those committee members who accept a committee position.
APPENDIX
A
LEGISLATIVE
HISTORY AND EDITORIAL CHANGES
COMMITTEE
BY-LAWS
The "Committee
By-Laws" Ordinance was codified for the Tribal Court in December 2001.
The Tribal Council enacted
and revised the Committee By-Laws Ordinance in Resolution 97-045 on November 24,
1997, to become Ordinance #020. The
Tribal Council approved revising the number of members for the Cultural
Committee to nine (9) members and there shall be a minimum of five (5) Cultural
Committee members present to conduct business at a meeting.
Eliminated was "Husband and wife cannot sit on the same
committee." The following
statement was changed by adding "and the secretary".
"All committee minutes, once approved by the committee, will be
signed by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman and the Secretary."
The Tribal Council enacted
and revised the Committee By-Laws Ordinance in Resolution 95-007 on January 30,
1995, to become Ordinance #013. The
Tribal Council approved revising the number of members per Committee from seven
(7) to five (5).
The Tribal Council enacted the "Committee By-Laws" Ordinance in Resolution ___ on April 29, 1991, to become Ordinance #009