Rules for Resolutions
October 29, 2017
Resolution Defined:
A Resolution is defined as a call for specific action aimed at identifiable public officials that may be passed at membership meetings in accordance with the rules for resolutions. The CCD Resolution Committee (CCD-RC) will review resolutions for adherence to the following rules.
Resolutions must be submitted by:
Any CCD member may submit a Resolution.
Any group of CCD members may submit a Resolution.
Resolutions may be submitted at Party Caucuses-see WSDCC rules *
Resolutions may be submitted at Party Conventions-see WSDCC rules *
Process for submission and review of resolutions:
Resolutions should be submitted to the CCD Chair, Vice Chair and Resolution Committee in a TIMELY manner, no later than 14 days before the next membership meeting at which the resolution is to be considered. Resolutions should be e-mailed in a format that can be easily edited (MS- Word).
The TITLE of the Resolution must be clearly and concisely stated at the beginning of the Resolution.
Every distinct issue requires a separate resolution. The action called for needs to be reasonable, attainable, and limited in scope.
The Resolution must contain at least one “WHEREAS” stating the situation to be addressed.The Resolution must contain at least one “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT” stating the desired action to be taken and the parties to be notified if the Resolution is adopted.
The Resolution must contain full contact information of the NAME of the member or chair of the group submitting the Resolution and the DATE it was submitted at the bottom of the Resolution.
The Resolution must be no more than one page long.
Resolutions submitted in this manner will be reviewed by the Resolution Committee. Resolutions in compliance with the Rules will be forwarded to membership for review and action. Resolutions in non-compliance will be returned to sender with suggestions for change. The Committee may revise a proposed resolution or combine it with other resolutions that address a similar issue, and shall clearly report its action.
A printed version of the final edited Resolution must be received by the Resolution Committee no later than two days prior to the CCD general meeting at which the Resolution is to be considered for a vote. The printed version must be signed and dated by the submitting member.
Rules for submission of a Resolution immediately prior to or during a CCD General Membership meeting
Time-critical resolutions may be accepted for consideration after the above deadline. “Time-critical” refers to resolutions dealing with urgent issues, situations or conditions that arose after the deadline and must be addressed immediately.
Alternatively, in exceptional circumstances resolutions will be accepted from the floor at a CCD meeting; a 2/3 vote of the membership present is required to allow consideration. Those wishing to present a resolution from the floor must supply adequate (at least 50) paper copies for those attending the meeting. After the vote to consider, a vote to approve or disapprove is still needed.
A Resolution is submitted to the General Membership for Review and Action
Resolutions will be sent to members prior to a CCD General meeting as an attachment within the agenda. A limited number of printed copies of Resolutions shall be available to the CCD members present at a CCD General meeting where the Resolution will be presented.
A Resolution may be passed by a simple majority of CCD members present, provided it has been introduced and read at a previous meeting of the CCD General Membership.
Two/thirds (2/3) majority of those CCD members present is required to pass a Resolution at the same meeting at which it is introduced.
A Resolution is Forwarded to the Addressees
Approved Resolutions will be forwarded to local, state or other identifiable public officials as specified in the Resolution by the CCD Corresponding Secretary or designee as soon as possible or within 10 days of passage. They may be published on the CCD website, newsletter, and submitted to media.
*See: WSDCC Rules for the Consideration and Adoption of Resolutions
How to write a Resolution:
Remember what it is. Unlike a platform provision, which expresses an enduring value (held by a strong and perhaps overwhelming majority of Democrats in the district or county), a resolution addresses a current, specific problem or opportunity. It should include a call for specific action, aimed at identifiable public officials.
The resolution’s message should be consistent with the organization’s platform, or at least not inconsistent with it. Implementing or applying the platform is fine, but remember that a resolution must amount to more than a restatement of a platform provision.
Be selective, factual–and clear. Keep the one-page limit in mind, and include only on-point facts that will lead your audience to your desired conclusion. Do not include purported factual assertions that seem exaggerated or are readily questionable; these will suggest that your conclusions may be unsoundly based and thereby give the decision-makers an excuse to ignore your call for action. Fact-check all assertions in your "Whereas" clauses. Be clear throughout, and avoid ambiguity; use correct punctuation and overt or implicit sub-paragraphing [e.g., an (a), (b), etc.]
See the accompanying sample resolution, “Constitutional Rights for People, not Corporations.” It has a short, directly pointed title. It relies solely on undisputed facts and demonstrates its consistency with the operative platform (county Democratic organization), and calls for specific action–indeed, accountability. By using “we” in its text and being set up to specify the adopting body (and date) separately, at the bottom, its content may more readily be picked up and used by other Democratic bodies (with appropriate adjustments for platform references, if any). (Note: Do not be deterred by the unavailability of a specific platform reference.)
Style Notes:
Sample Resolution
Constitutional Rights for People, not Corporations
Whereas the U.S. Constitution, as amended, prescribes rights and freedoms accorded to people but makes no mention of corporations; and
Whereas corporations are neither born nor naturalized in the United States and therefore are not entitled to the privileges or immunities accorded to U.S. citizens, and in many cases are owned in whole or in part by foreign interests that are not entitled to influence U.S. elections; and
Whereas a divided U. S. Supreme Court has, over the last three decades, misguidedly ruled that money is a form of speech, thus extending First Amendment protections to wealthy entities‟ efforts to evade and override election-campaign reforms; and
Whereas the corporate usurpation of free speech rights culminated recently in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission decision, overturning longstanding precedents prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in elections and unleashing a torrent of corporate money into our political process, presenting a grave threat to our democracy and potentially to our national security; and
Whereas the current King County Democratic Platform, adopted April 10, 2010, declares that “corporations, as artificial entities, are not entitled to the Constitutional rights of people;” and that the “Constitution must be amended to establish that corporations shall not be considered as „persons‟ for purposes of political activity, and to reverse the pernicious notion that money equals speech;”
Therefore, be it resolved that we call on all our representatives in the U.S. Congress to sponsor and secure passage of, and send to the states for ratification, a Constitutional amendment to establish (1) that a corporation shall not be considered a person eligible for rights accorded to human beings under the Constitution, as amended, and (2) that the use of money to influence elections or the acts of public officials shall not be considered a protected form of speech; and
Be it further resolved that our Senators and Congressmembers be queried as to their actions and intended actions in furtherance of the above.
Adopted ________________ by ________________________________
Submitted by James Madison, (206) xxx-xxxx, jimmym@gmail.com Passed by 53District Democrats,
mm/dd/2011
A Resolution is defined as a call for specific action aimed at identifiable public officials that may be passed at membership meetings in accordance with the rules for resolutions. The CCD Resolution Committee (CCD-RC) will review resolutions for adherence to the following rules.
Resolutions must be submitted by:
Any CCD member may submit a Resolution.
Any group of CCD members may submit a Resolution.
Resolutions may be submitted at Party Caucuses-see WSDCC rules *
Resolutions may be submitted at Party Conventions-see WSDCC rules *
Process for submission and review of resolutions:
Resolutions should be submitted to the CCD Chair, Vice Chair and Resolution Committee in a TIMELY manner, no later than 14 days before the next membership meeting at which the resolution is to be considered. Resolutions should be e-mailed in a format that can be easily edited (MS- Word).
The TITLE of the Resolution must be clearly and concisely stated at the beginning of the Resolution.
Every distinct issue requires a separate resolution. The action called for needs to be reasonable, attainable, and limited in scope.
The Resolution must contain at least one “WHEREAS” stating the situation to be addressed.The Resolution must contain at least one “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT” stating the desired action to be taken and the parties to be notified if the Resolution is adopted.
The Resolution must contain full contact information of the NAME of the member or chair of the group submitting the Resolution and the DATE it was submitted at the bottom of the Resolution.
The Resolution must be no more than one page long.
Resolutions submitted in this manner will be reviewed by the Resolution Committee. Resolutions in compliance with the Rules will be forwarded to membership for review and action. Resolutions in non-compliance will be returned to sender with suggestions for change. The Committee may revise a proposed resolution or combine it with other resolutions that address a similar issue, and shall clearly report its action.
A printed version of the final edited Resolution must be received by the Resolution Committee no later than two days prior to the CCD general meeting at which the Resolution is to be considered for a vote. The printed version must be signed and dated by the submitting member.
Rules for submission of a Resolution immediately prior to or during a CCD General Membership meeting
Time-critical resolutions may be accepted for consideration after the above deadline. “Time-critical” refers to resolutions dealing with urgent issues, situations or conditions that arose after the deadline and must be addressed immediately.
Alternatively, in exceptional circumstances resolutions will be accepted from the floor at a CCD meeting; a 2/3 vote of the membership present is required to allow consideration. Those wishing to present a resolution from the floor must supply adequate (at least 50) paper copies for those attending the meeting. After the vote to consider, a vote to approve or disapprove is still needed.
A Resolution is submitted to the General Membership for Review and Action
Resolutions will be sent to members prior to a CCD General meeting as an attachment within the agenda. A limited number of printed copies of Resolutions shall be available to the CCD members present at a CCD General meeting where the Resolution will be presented.
A Resolution may be passed by a simple majority of CCD members present, provided it has been introduced and read at a previous meeting of the CCD General Membership.
Two/thirds (2/3) majority of those CCD members present is required to pass a Resolution at the same meeting at which it is introduced.
A Resolution is Forwarded to the Addressees
Approved Resolutions will be forwarded to local, state or other identifiable public officials as specified in the Resolution by the CCD Corresponding Secretary or designee as soon as possible or within 10 days of passage. They may be published on the CCD website, newsletter, and submitted to media.
*See: WSDCC Rules for the Consideration and Adoption of Resolutions
How to write a Resolution:
Remember what it is. Unlike a platform provision, which expresses an enduring value (held by a strong and perhaps overwhelming majority of Democrats in the district or county), a resolution addresses a current, specific problem or opportunity. It should include a call for specific action, aimed at identifiable public officials.
The resolution’s message should be consistent with the organization’s platform, or at least not inconsistent with it. Implementing or applying the platform is fine, but remember that a resolution must amount to more than a restatement of a platform provision.
Be selective, factual–and clear. Keep the one-page limit in mind, and include only on-point facts that will lead your audience to your desired conclusion. Do not include purported factual assertions that seem exaggerated or are readily questionable; these will suggest that your conclusions may be unsoundly based and thereby give the decision-makers an excuse to ignore your call for action. Fact-check all assertions in your "Whereas" clauses. Be clear throughout, and avoid ambiguity; use correct punctuation and overt or implicit sub-paragraphing [e.g., an (a), (b), etc.]
See the accompanying sample resolution, “Constitutional Rights for People, not Corporations.” It has a short, directly pointed title. It relies solely on undisputed facts and demonstrates its consistency with the operative platform (county Democratic organization), and calls for specific action–indeed, accountability. By using “we” in its text and being set up to specify the adopting body (and date) separately, at the bottom, its content may more readily be picked up and used by other Democratic bodies (with appropriate adjustments for platform references, if any). (Note: Do not be deterred by the unavailability of a specific platform reference.)
Style Notes:
- Resolutions should be submitted in MS Word .doc format
- Do not use line numbers
- “Whereas” and “Therefore be it resolved” should be in caps/lower case, not all capitalized, and should be in boldface with no comma after.
- In case of multiple “Whereas” clauses, end all but the last with “; and”.
- Indent sub-paragraphs.
Sample Resolution
Constitutional Rights for People, not Corporations
Whereas the U.S. Constitution, as amended, prescribes rights and freedoms accorded to people but makes no mention of corporations; and
Whereas corporations are neither born nor naturalized in the United States and therefore are not entitled to the privileges or immunities accorded to U.S. citizens, and in many cases are owned in whole or in part by foreign interests that are not entitled to influence U.S. elections; and
Whereas a divided U. S. Supreme Court has, over the last three decades, misguidedly ruled that money is a form of speech, thus extending First Amendment protections to wealthy entities‟ efforts to evade and override election-campaign reforms; and
Whereas the corporate usurpation of free speech rights culminated recently in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission decision, overturning longstanding precedents prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in elections and unleashing a torrent of corporate money into our political process, presenting a grave threat to our democracy and potentially to our national security; and
Whereas the current King County Democratic Platform, adopted April 10, 2010, declares that “corporations, as artificial entities, are not entitled to the Constitutional rights of people;” and that the “Constitution must be amended to establish that corporations shall not be considered as „persons‟ for purposes of political activity, and to reverse the pernicious notion that money equals speech;”
Therefore, be it resolved that we call on all our representatives in the U.S. Congress to sponsor and secure passage of, and send to the states for ratification, a Constitutional amendment to establish (1) that a corporation shall not be considered a person eligible for rights accorded to human beings under the Constitution, as amended, and (2) that the use of money to influence elections or the acts of public officials shall not be considered a protected form of speech; and
Be it further resolved that our Senators and Congressmembers be queried as to their actions and intended actions in furtherance of the above.
Adopted ________________ by ________________________________
Submitted by James Madison, (206) xxx-xxxx, jimmym@gmail.com Passed by 53District Democrats,
mm/dd/2011