[HamWAN PSDR] New Constitution for HamWAN at last

[Bart Kus]

Hello,

The time has come to update some aspects of our governance and wrap up 
the loose ends not covered before.  As a refresher, we only have 1 
approved document which governs our present behavior, and that is the 
Constitution 
<https://www.hamwan.org/t/tiki-index.php?page=Constitution&structure=HamWAN>. 
There is a page claiming to be bylaws, but it's just a proposed draft 
and was never voted on.  I'm in favor of not proceeding with the 
proposed bylaws as they introduce too much needless complexity into the 
organization, and leave many more loose ends.

In this new proposed constitution (provided below) there are many 
important changes.  Allow me to walk you through them in order.

1) Membership status is expanded to differentiate between Supporting 
Members are regular Members.  Supporting Members are Members who support 
the HamWAN mission financially by donating at the Basic level on a 
recurring basis.  They need to do this for 6 months before obtaining 
Supporting Member status.  Since these people put their money where 
their mouth is, and have demonstrated a 6-month commitment to the 
project, they are allowed to use their mouth in the election of 
Directors and are eligible to become Directors themselves.  New outside 
influences cannot simply buy their way in and take over HamWAN, they 
must always fulfill a 6 month Membership period to become Supporting 
Members.  If they've got the dedication to do all that, then they 
deserve to take over if that's their intention.  :)

2) Gone are fixed elections in October!  Directors can be elected at any 
time.  This, combined with the previous changes regarding Supporting 
Members, will allow HamWAN to empower proven project contributors sooner 
than just on a yearly basis.  I can tell you there have been a small 
number of outstanding people who have really helped out in the last few 
months, but still cannot be empowered to vote on decisions until 
October.  This is a shame, and these new laws will fix that.

3) Gone is the "public HamWAN voting list" concept.  In its place, 
announcements regarding elections or decisions will be sent to ALL 
public HamWAN lists.  This should keep everyone informed, and will not 
require the setup of some special 3rd list that no one is on.

4) Amendments will be changed to be voted on by Supporting Members 
only.  This includes Supporting Members holding Director positions.

After these new laws are approved, the board will make a special 
one-time review of the project's membership and contributions, and make 
public a list of Members + Supporting Members available for the first 
time.  These lists will be used in future voting situations as 
identified in the proposed constitution.

So, without further ado, here is the new proposed Constitution, below.  
Please vote with Yay or Nay.  It needs 66% Yay to be adopted.  If you 
have feedback, feel free and we can re-set the vote.  But for the time 
being, the vote will close 168 hours (7 days) from the time of this email.





*Article 0 -- Mission*


HamWAN is focused on creating, operating and coordinating free digital 
networks. These digital networks are used for:

 1. emergency communications when other systems go down
 2. research and development in the realm of microwave networking
 3. a means of free digital communication for anyone who is or becomes a
    licensed radio amateur
 4. an educational resource in spreading the knowledge of how to create,
    operate and use such networks


All knowledge generated and gathered by HamWAN in the realm of microwave 
networking is made freely available to the public for unrestricted 
consumption. Coordination services provided by HamWAN ensure the 
interoperability of other similar networks not directly under HamWAN's 
control.


*Article I -- Members*


HamWAN membership is open to everyone.There are three levels of 
membership: (1) Member, (2) Supporting Member, and (3) Director.A Member 
is accepted by default, after having gone through the www.HamWAN.org 
enrollment process, unless the board votes to reject membership to a 
potential member.

A Member can also become a Supporting Member by donating to HamWAN at a 
minimum of the Basic level for a period of 6 months.A lump donation does 
not eliminate the 6 month Member status time requirement before becoming 
a Supporting Member.A Supporting Member must continue a minimum of Basic 
level donations to remain in Supporting Member status.Donation financial 
levels are defined at www.HamWAN.org.


*Article II -- Board of Directors*


The board shall be composed of three or more Supporting Members serving 
as Directors, one of whom is also acting as Chairman. Directors shall 
have no predefined duties. The only special duty of the Chairman is to 
resolve vote ties; the Chairman effectively gets two votes in this case. 
Board positions shall be valid for one year, and obtained by election of 
the Supporting Members.Only Supporting Members are eligible to be 
elected to board positions.


*Article III -- Elections*


Any Supporting Member may announce his or her intention to be elected as 
a Director at any time, and must set a 7-day voting period to end no 
later than 21 days from the initial announcement of intention to 
run.Supporting Members are entitled to one vote each.Election of a board 
member shall be successful if the candidate receives more "Yay" votes 
than "Nay" votes.

Directors wishing to serve as Chairman can announce their intention to 
be elected by notifying the acting Chairman.Votes for Chairman can only 
be cast by Directors, and voting will conclude 24 hours after a Director 
announces his or her intention to become Chairman.The new Chairman shall 
be the candidate with the most "Yay" votes.The acting chairman shall be 
a candidate in any Chairman election by default.Ties shall be resolved 
by the acting Chairman.The new Chairman will assume the acting Chairman 
duties on the day following the Chairman election.

*Article IV -- Decisions*


Director decisions or actions which:

 1. impact HamWAN finances in excess of $100 USD
 2. or contractually obligate HamWAN in any way
 3. or are reasonably judged as significant


shall be announced to all public HamWAN mailing lists. Voting will be 
considered complete 24 hours after the mailing list announcement of the 
issue at hand. Decisions shall be rendered approved by a majority vote 
of the Directors who voted. Directors unfamiliar with the issue at hand 
are encouraged to abstain from voting. Non-Directors cannot cast votes, 
although they can communicate with Directors to influence their votes on 
issues.


*Article V -- Director Removal*


Directors can be removed from the board by a "Yay" vote of 75% or more 
board members.


*Article VI -- Dissolution*


Should the board vote to dissolve HamWAN, physical assets can be 
liquidated. All resulting and remaining assets, liquid or physical, will 
be distributed to like-minded charity organizations.


*Article VII -- Amendments*


Any documents of HamWAN governance, including this constitution, can be 
amended by a 66% or more vote of the Supporting Members. Proposals for 
amendments shall be published to all public HamWAN mailing lists, and 
voting shall be considered complete 168 hours (7 days) after the mailing 
list announcement.



--Bart
(my vote is Yay)







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