FROM Apr 08 GA MINUTES:

Proposal for a permanent Candidate Support Fund Committee:
This was a bring-back from the May 2007 GA in San Francisco. It provides for election of a
committee; the committees' decisions do NOT need approval from the state CC. It passed by
consensus, as proposed.

Add to 8-2.1 f) and Appendix B


Green Party Proposal Form
PRESENTER (Name and Working Group or Committee):
Campaign & Candidates Working Group
CONTACT (name, address, phone number, email):
Warner S. Bloomberg III CCWG Coordinator (San Jose, CA, 408-295-9353,
wsb3attyca@aol.com)
SUBJECT (10 words or less): Establish a regular Campaign Support Fund
Committee and procedures.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE (100 words or less; include relationship, reasons and/or
justification
to the GP):
In past years, the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC) created an ad hoc committee to receive
applications from candidates for financial support from the GPCA. The committee consisted of
two members of the CC, plus two Finance Committee members and two CCWG members.

Initially, the CCWG received candidate applications and passed on recommendations to the
committee. Local endorsement of candidates for local office was a critical qualifier for funding.
The budget proposals for the 2006-2007 Fiscal Year omitted any CCWG involvement with
GPCA financial support of candidates based upon the express consensus of the CCWG at its
meeting(s) in December 2005 at the Yolo County (UC Davis) plenary. Such funding was
omitted as a result of the March 2006 budget discussions, in the Budget Committee draft budget,
and in the final budget approved by the General Assembly in June 2006 (Ventura
County/Moorpark College plenary) -- notwithstanding the unresolved concern of Jerry Fritts
(Placer County / 2006 Assembly candidate) on this point that required a vote by the General
Assembly of Delegates (GA) to approve the budget.

Following this action, attendees of the CCWG meeting at that plenary consensed that this was,
in hindsight, a mistake, and further consensed to request that the CC provide $5,000 of
supplemental funding for candidates. The CCWG had for more than six months requested that
the CC re-establish the Campaign Financial Support Committee (CFSC), which it did, in
concept, in early June 2006. At its Moorpark College plenary meeting, the CCWG also
designated its two members to the CFSC. In late July 2006, the CC approved the supplemental
funding, conditioned upon the CCWG providing recommendations for the distribution of those
funds. Those recommendations were provided and adopted by the CFSC in September 2006.
At the September 2006 Placer County/South Lake Tahoe Plenary, Jerry Fritts proposed that
the GPCA provide additional funding to candidates, and the GA eventually approved $10,000 of
supplemental funding that also was distributed through the CFSC. At the present time, the 2006
CFSC communicates informally without a clear period of appointment or ongoing tasks.

The proposal, if adopted, would create standing policies and procedures for a CFSC appointed
promptly following the adoption of each GPCA Budget and having specific tasks and
procedures.

PROPOSAL (200 words or less):
1. Membership. The Campaign Financial Support Committee (CFSC) shall consist of two
GPCA members from each of the GPCA Coordinating Committee (CC), Finance Committee and
Campaigns and Candidates Working Group (CCWG). Each SC/WG shall use its own ordinary
processes for making such appointments. A current SC/WG/GPUS Delegates Coordinator shall
not be eligible to be a CFSC member. Any person who is, or who has announced an intention to
be, a candidate for elected office, or anyone serving as a campaign manager, treasurer or
consultant for such a candidate, is ineligible to be a CFSC member. Quorum for the CFSC shall
be at least three CFSC members.
2. Term of Office. CFSC members shall be appointed not later than the General Assembly
at which the GPCA annual budget is submitted for adoption, and shall serve a one year term.
CFSC members may not serve more than three consecutive terms. In the event a vacancy
occurs in any CFSC position, the SC/WG that appointed the person who has resigned or
become disqualified shall appoint the replacement to serve the remainder of the applicable
term of appointment as soon as practicable after the vacancy occurs.
3. Responsibilities. The CFSC shall have the responsibility to decide what campaign
committees shall receive funds from the part of the annual GPCA budget approved for
the financial support of GPCA candidates for elected office. The CFSC shall establish
procedures for candidates to apply for funding, including an application form or questionnaire
and application deadlines, that shall be generally communicated via GPCA email lists and
publications and posted on the CCWG webpage(s). Drafts of those procedures and forms also
shall be published to the CC, CCWG and County Contacts email lists for at least 15 days to
allow comments before adoption. Procedures adopted by the CFSC shall continue until
modified. The CFSC shall internally establish general principles for prioritizing
the distribution of limited funds in each GPCA fiscal year. Within 60 days following any
election in which the CFSC designates funding for candidates, the CFSC shall provide a written
report of its funding deliberations and decisions to the CC and CCWG (Co)Coordinators.
4. Authority. CFSC funding decisions shall be communicated directly to the GPCA Treasurer
for transmittal of funds as decided by the CFSC. Any funding decision shall require agreement
by a minimum of three CFSC members. The GPCA Treasurer shall promptly issue funds as
designated by the CFSC except where either (a) the donation would result in the candidate's
committee receiving more cumulative donations than allowed by statute or regulation or
(b) where the candidate declines all or part of the donation. The GPCA Treasurer shall
promptly report either such circumstance to the CFSC which may amend its previous
determinations upon receipt of such information. The CFSC may request the assistance of
the CCWG or any other GPCA committee, working group or county organization in its processes
for evaluating candidates' applications for GPCA financial support.
5. Funding Eligibility. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, to be eligible for GPCA
campaign donations:
A. Candidates for non-partisan municipal, county and special district races, California
state legislature and U.S. House of Representative must obtain the endorsement of any active
Green Party county organization operating within the boundaries of the district for the applicable
office. Endorsements must be communicated directly to the CFSC by a County Council
member of the County GP or a designated officer of an applicable GP County Local.
B. Candidates for partisan statewide constitutional offices (Governor, Lt. Governor,
Secretary of State, Non-Partisan statewide constitutional offices (Superintendent of Education);
State Board of Equalization and U.S. Senate must obtain GPCA endorsement by a General
Assembly of Delegates or County Polling. [The text of this subsection shall automatically be
amended in the event the California Secretary of State is amended to become a nonpartisan
office.]
C. In special circumstances (e.g., large voting districts with multiple county
organizations; special elections), the CFSC may waive the endorsement requirement on
a case-by-case basis. However, in such cases, a candidate will need to demonstrate local
support by endorsement of at least one active County GP, or endorsement by one or more Locals,
or endorsement by the CCWG, or some other form of internal GPCA organizational
endorsement, as a funding eligibility requirement.
D. Candidates for partisan office shall not receive GPCA financial support unless they
are the GPCA nominee following the GPCA Primary Election.
E. Committees related to issue campaigns are not eligible for funding under these
procedures.
6. Documentation. Upon adoption, this Proposal shall be appended as a Procedures and
Policies supplement to the GPCA Bylaws with the notation of date of adoption and included,
as amended from time-to-time, when those Bylaws are republished.

COMMITTEE PROCESS: This proposal was published on the CCWG email list in
February 2007 and discussed at the February 2007 CCWG monthly teleconference
where some additions were suggested. Those suggestions were included in a revised
proposal published in February 2007 discussed and approved by consensus, after
further revisions, during the March 2007 CCWG teleconference. The proposal was
included in the Agenda Packet for the May 2007 San Francisco Plenary, but was
omitted from the various revised agendas presented at that meeting. The proposal
was resubmitted for inclusion in the agenda for the September 2007 Riverside Plenary,
but it was omitted from that agenda. The proposal was discussed and reaffirmed by
consensus, with small changes, during the November 2007 CCWG teleconference.

TIMELINE: Adoption at the next plenary in Alameda County March 2008,
for immediate implementation. This proposal would require CC, CCWG
and Finance Committee to appoint its CFSC members by the close of that
General Assembly. Accordingly, those committees should begin the
recruitment process for their respective CFSC members before the Plenary.

RESOURCES (Personnel, number and frequency of meetings, projected work hours, finances, etc.
Permits/permission needed? Application needed? Insurance required? Any bylaw/platform conflicts?) :
Time and energies in presenting endorsement requests to a General Assembly or to County GP's
by polling. Time and energies for local GPs to consider and communicate candidate
endorsements. Possible IT Committee time and energies in posting CFSC policies and
procedures as developed. Appointments by the CC, Finance Committee and CCWG to
constitute a CSFC. GPCA CC or CCWG will need to include a candidate financial support fund
in its annual work plan and budget proposals and the General Assembly of Delegates will need
to approve such funding. The CC, using its administrative authority between plenaries, may
from time-to-time add to the CFSC budget, depending on special circumstances.