Standing Rules

as revised January 14, 2018

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ARTICLE I Membership

Section 1.

The LPF shall supervise the efforts to provide party registration under state and federal voting laws.¹ The membership fee may be set or changed by the general membership. (deleted August 2013)

Section 2.

Members registered for the meetings have the privilege as a delegate voting at the Annual Business Meeting, the right of appointment to committees, the right to attend committee meetings as observers or witnesses, the right to nomination and election to party office, and the right to nomination to a office for which they are qualified by law

Section 3.

This membership shall be credentials for all meetings and Annual Business Meetings of the LPF and for membership in local affiliates, subject to procedures adopted by the county affiliates.²4/15/12 requirement for annual membership was deleted³Section 4. All General ($0), Student ($15), and Sustaining ($25) members are required to have a signed pledge card on file with the Secretary. All members having sixty (60) days tenure may vote at the State Annual Business Meeting. Student members and above are entitled to the “Florida Liberty” newsletter. Effective July 1, 1996, the LPF adopts the Unified Membership with, and the fee schedule of, the National Libertarian Party, for those categories above student membership. (Amended by Executive Committee, 5-25-96, by Convention, 3-29-08) Any non-dues paying “General Member” of the party may fully participate in the business and affairs of the party without any monetary encumbrance. (Amended November 2011) (deleted August 2013)

Section 4.

The Membership Committee shall act to coordinate volunteers.⁴Section 4 was added at Annual Business Meeting April 10, 2016.

ARTICLE II Donations

Section 1.

Donations should be made to the LPF in keeping with the laws governing donations to political parties and candidates. Such funds shall be expended at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

Section 2:

“The Executive Committee shall have authority to raise and expend funds for purposes relating to party business, in accordance with the party Bylaws, Article IV.

Section 3.

The Executive Committee may delegate authority to the Chair to expend funds relating to party business.⁵Added November 2011

Section 4a.

The Treasurer shall account for the amount due and disperse the affiliate’s share quarterly, but only if the accumulated amount is $50 or more. This revenue sharing shall not apply to contributions made for a specific purpose.⁶Added September 22, 2013

(1). If the collected, accumulated share for an unaffiliated county exceeds $50.00, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to approve utilization of funds in excess of the $50 minimum for affiliate formation and promotion purposes in the specific unaffiliated county from where the funds were drawn.

(2) The Executive Committee shall not authorize any expenditure that would reduce the collected, accumulated unaffiliated county funds below $50.00 for any specific county.⁷Article II, Sect. 4a (1) and (2) added on 2015-10-04

Section 5.

The chair of the LPF-EC is authorized to spend, at the chairs sole discretion, up to $100 per month without prior approval for any LPF business need.  The chair shall be required to account and report with proper documentation including at a minimum of receipts all expenditures to the entire LPF-EC, for all expenses at the first business meeting after the prior month for such expenditures in that prior month.

The chair may submit proper documentation for reimbursement to the treasurer for such expenses if the chair makes payments from personal funds.  Such reimbursements shall also be reported as any other expense.

In no event shall the chair spend more than $200 before a report is made to the LPF-EC.

The money not spent in prior months shall not be added to subsequent months.⁸Added by EC on 2015-07-05

ARTICLE III County Affiliates

Section 1.

Any county may call an organizational meeting to affiliate with the LPF.

Section 2.

The Constitution and Bylaws of the LPF must be approved by a majority vote.

Section 3.

An application for affiliation must be signed by the elected officers and filed with the LPF Secretary.

Section 4.

Any additional Bylaws or Standing Rules adopted by the county affiliate may be filed with the LPF Secretary.⁹Substitute the word “shall”with the word “may” in Article III,Section 4 of the Standing Rules. (December 2013)

Section 5.

To continue affiliation, prior to April 1 of each year, County Affiliates are required to send to the LPF Secretary a current list of officers with their title, mail address, email address, phone number, and a copy of the annual audit required by their local county elections office.¹⁰Delete Standing Rules Article III, Section 5 and  replace it with: Section 5.  To continue affiliation, prior to April 1 of each year, County Affiliates are required to send to the LPF Secretary a current list of officers with their title, mail address, email address, and phone number, and a copy of the annual audit required by their local county elections office. (December 2013)

Section 6.

No county affiliate shall endorse a candidate for statewide office who has opposition by a candidate endorsed or nominated by the LPF.

Section 7.

The county affiliate may petition the LPF or its officers or committees on any political matter.

Section 8.

The LPF will recognize only one affiliate per county.¹¹Section 8 added “The LPF will recognize only one affiliate per county.” on 2016-02-07

Section 9.

(A.) All affiliates shall deposit any check(s) or monies once received from the LPF within 25 days. Any check(s) or monies not deposited in this time frame shall be subject to cancellation at the discretion of the LPF treasurer. Upon official cancellation of said check(s) and notification by email or letter to the affiliate, the LPF shall have no duty to resend the same check(s). (B.) It shall be the duty of the treasurer or the deputy treasurer and the representative of the region the affiliate in question is located in, to verify that a check was received and when, lso, to verify what or if any action was taken within the 25 day time frame. If there is no Representative for the region which the given affiliate is located, before or during the 25 day time frame, the treasurer may ask an At Large Director to assist in the verification process. (C.) This Standing Rule should go into effect immediately in 2016 and have no expiration date. Nothing here shall prevent a future Executive Committee and/or the delegates at the The Annual Meeting from voting to modify or rescind this rule.¹²Section 9 added 2016-05-15.

ARTICLE IV Election of Officers, Directors, Candidates

Section 1.

All candidates for office and political office may be asked to confirm certain basic principles before the convention This may be delegated to the Selection Committee for candidates for party office (including Delegates to the National Convention of the Libertarian Party and Presidential Electors) and to the Candidate Committee for Candidates for political office, and includes confirming that they are members of the State Party and registered to vote in the state as Libertarians.¹³Corrected Committee Names January 5, 2014

Section 2.

All candidates for officers, representatives, and political office shall file intention forms with the Selection Committee or with the secretary if nominated from the floor. These will be provided by the committee.¹⁴Corrected Committee Names January 5, 2014

Section 3.

Such forms should be on file before the Executive Committee names a person to fill the vacancy.

Section 4.

Candidates nominated must be able to serve if elected.

Section 5.

Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention of the Libertarian Party not otherwise elected at an LPF State Convention shall be approved by the LPF Chair and the LPF Secretary to be credentialed as delegates and alternates. Members of the LPF EC may be credentialed as EX Officio Delegates at any time. All delegates and alternates must be registered to vote as Libertarians in Florida and be members of the LPF.¹⁵Deleted: “Section 5. Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention of the Libertarian Party, not otherwise elected at an LPF convention, may be designated by a majority vote of those members of the LPF Executive Committee in attendance at the National Convention”and reworded. December 5, 2014

Section 6.

Notice of all party meetings shall be provided and include the time, date, and place (or telephone conference number, internet URL, and login information where applicable) at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting date. Notice of meetings, including the above referenced information, shall be published on the official Libertarian Party of Florida website at https://lpf.org at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting date. ¹⁶Added November 2011

Section 7.

In a presidential election year, the Executive Committee shall nominate presidential electors equal to the total number of U.S. Representatives and Senators in the State of Florida. The list of presidential elector nominees shall be presented to the Governor prior to September 1st, or as required by law.¹⁷Added November 2011

Section 8. 

All committee seats apportioned to Florida by the Libertarian National Committee shall be filled by current LPF registered voters who are Members of the Florida Libertarian Party and who are also members of the National Party with appointment by the state chair and confirmation by the state executive committee. Appointees may be recalled by majority vote of the full state executive committee. ¹⁸Added January 14, 2018

ARTICLE V Executive Committee Meetings

Section 1.

The Executive Committee shall meet at such time and place as directed by the Chairperson, or at the written request of one-third or more of the Executive Committee, or by the written request of a county affiliate. Notice shall be given in such manner to insure a quorum.

Section 2.

The Executive Committee may without meeting, conduct business by communication, voting on questions put to them by or with the approval of the chairperson. Such vote shall be kept by the Secretary until the next meeting and then such vote shall be incorporated in the minutes. A majority vote of the committee shall prevail. If a majority of affirmative votes is not recorded within fifteen (15) days, the question will have failed to pass. (Amended by the Executive Committee, 7-10-93)

Section 3.

Per state law, proxy voting shall be allowed, provided an executive committee member’s written (email permitted) notice of proxy is received by both the secretary and the chair no later than 24 hours prior to each meeting. The secretary will announce all proxies during the initial roll call of members at each meeting. The presence of the member at a meeting will invalidate that member’s proxy. A valid proxy shall count as attendance for purposes of establishing a quorum. Only executive committee members in good standing may serve as proxies and no member may serve as proxy for more than one other member. Members may vote on specific questions in absentia by written notice. Participating in meetings via telephony and other electronic means is allowed. ¹⁹Revised by LPF EC May 21, 2017. ²⁰Removed language prohibiting proxy voting in order to comply with Florida Statutes and revised language to allow and to provide a process passed by LPF EC December 17, 2017.

Section 4.

The Executive Committee, after review with the affiliate concerned, may, by a two thirds vote, suspend the affiliation of a county party, a member of the party, or an officer or director of the Executive Committee.

Section 5.

The immediate past Chairperson shall serve on the Executive Committee and be entitled to all due notices, but shall not have the right to vote unless entitled to vote because of election to another Executive committee position. (Amended by the Executive Committee, 7-10-93)

Section 6.

Non-attendance of executive committee members shall be handled as described in this section.

A) A member shall be deemed to be in non-attendance if, at a regularly scheduled Executive Committee meeting, the member fails to respond during roll call, or having missed roll call, fails to announce his or her presence before the meeting is adjourned.²¹A) Non-attendance, unless excused, of a member at three (3) meetings per term when the EC meets monthly or (6) meetings per term when the EC meets bi-weekly can be construed by the Executive Committee as resignation of that member and grounds for removal and replacement by the Executive Committee. (deleted August 2013)

B) A members non-attendance may be excused, and thus not counted for purposes of part A of this section by declaration of the chair.

C) When a member reaches the proscribed terms to be construed as resigned that resignation shall be accepted only upon successful motion to accept that resignation made by any member of the Executive Committee. Any such resigned member shall be removed from the Executive Committee without prejudice to future appointment or election to the Executive Committee.

D.) The secretary shall maintain and make available attendance records of all Executive Committee members.

E.) Members are required to announce if they are leaving early. Failure to do so will be considered an absence.

Section 7.

Upon suspension of an officer of the party or a member of the executive committee, the officer or member may appeal the suspension in writing within 30 days. If no appeal is made by the suspended officer or member, they shall be removed from office upon expiration of the 30-day appeal period. If an appeal is made, the executive committee shall review the appeal and vote upon removal at the next regularly scheduled executive committee meeting. A 2/3 majority vote for will be required to remove the suspended officer or member. Should the vote fail, the suspension will be lifted.²²Added November 2011

Section 8.

After 3 contiguous months of gross income over $5000. before the start of each Executive Committee meeting, The Treasurer shall provide in writing the most current balance sheet, statement of operations, and statement of cash flows, either physically for in person meetings, or electronically for all other regularly scheduled meetings. The Treasurer shall in addition provide a report that reconciles all financial data reported to any state or federal entity with the same financial statements provided above.²³8. The Executive Committee shall elect its officers at the convention immediately following the election of the Executive Committee by the delegation. (Added March 4, 2012)(deleted August 2013) ²⁴Added September 22, 2013

ARTICLE VI Convention Rules

Section 1.

A minority report may be made by two members or 10% of the committee on any plank of the platform or changes under the Rules Committee. There shall be a limit of two minority reports on any one of the items. The highest number of votes shall determine the rank of the reports.

Section 2.

The Chairperson of the committee shall decide the order of business and the appearance of persons before the committee.

ARTICLE VII Statement of Principles, Platform & Policy

Section 1.

The Statement of Principles of the party and Platform of the Libertarian Party may be ratified by the LPF.

Section 2.

A supplement party platform for Florida politics may be presented to any annual convention.

Section 3.

The LPF may adopt resolutions to present to the National Libertarian Party convention.

Section 4.

The affiliates reserve the right to adopt local platforms.

Section 5.

A vote of two-thirds of the general membership shall be required to veto the Statement of Principles and subject the LPF to suspension from the National Party.

Section 6.

A vote of two-thirds of the general membership shall be required before the LPF will not actively support the National platform or candidate.

ARTICLE VIII Spokesmanship

Section 1.

The Chairperson shall speak for and at the direction of the Executive Committee and the Party.

Section 2.

Persons speaking for the LPF shall have the express approval of the Chairperson or reserve their comments to personal comments.

ARTICLE IX Proprietary Use of ‘LPF’

(Entire Article added at NOV 2007 Executive Committee Meeting)

Section 1.

In recognition of the fact that the label “LPF” is frequently used to refer to the Libertarian Party of Florida, the members of the the LPF should adhere to the following guidelines:

A. Any website, discussion forum, email list server, or other similar entity, including, but not limited to, Yahoo groups and Google groups (hereinafter “web entities”) that use the label “LPF” in its name shall be owned and operated only by current members of the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Florida and its recognized affiliates;

B. Each web entity shall be owned, when practicable, by three current members of the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Florida, one of which shall include the current Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida, and, if the web entity is limited in scope to a county where an affiliate is recognized, the Chair of the local affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Florida;

C. If ownership cannot be practically shared due to the nature of the web entity, the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida, and, if applicable, the Chair of any local affiliate, shall be moderators of the web entity;

D. If the conditions of b. and c. cannot be satisfied, the operator or owner of the web entity shall seek the written authorization of the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida, and, if applicable, the Chair of any local affiliate to create or continue operating said web entity.

E. If any member operates a web entity that frequently includes discussion that references the LPF or could reasonably be mistaken by a member of the general public as authorized communication by the LPF, such member should cause to be included within the web entity a disclaimer similar to the following in form and meaning: “The contents of this site (group, etc.) are not authorized or approved by the the Libertarian Party of Florida or any of its affiliates.

Section 2.

The LPF recognizes and respects the rights of others to use the label “LPF” to accurately refer to the Libertarian Party of Florida. The LPF also asserts its right to maintain control over any use of the label “LPF” that may cause confusion as to the source and authenticity of any content included in any web entity.

Section 3.

The LPF, through the Chair, shall designate members to serve as owners and moderators of web entities. Said members will serve in such roles at the discretion of the Chair and may be removed from such position at any time by the Chair.

Section 4.

The owners of any web entity shall have the authority to terminate said entity, but shall take all reasonable action to preserve the contents and history of such web entity prior to its termination.

Section 5.

The owners and moderators of any web entity should establish and publish policies consistent with the purposes of the web entity and consistently enforce said policies. Said enforcement should be at the discretion of the owners or moderators, subject to the authority of the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida to remove and change the owners or moderators of any web entity.

Section 6.

All archives, document stores, electronic data, etc. that were created by, at the direction of, or authorized by the LPF remain its property and such archive or web entity should be owned and operated as directed in 1. However, the LPF expressly acknowledges the right of any person to compile and publish public information, so long as the compilation or publication cannot be reasonably mistaken as action taken by or authorized by the LPF.

ARTICLE X Annual Convention Agenda

Section 1.

The Executive Committee shall manage all conventions.

Section 2.

Any members may request the Executive Committee to include on the agenda any item. Such request shall be in writing to the Chairperson thirty (30) days prior to the convention, or within seven (7) days following the announced date and place of the convention, whichever is closest to the convention date.

Section 3.

The agenda must include all items required by the Bylaws and Standing Rules.

Section 4.

The Rules Committee may establish and publish convention rules to supplement existing requirements and Standing Rules. The Chairperson may exercise this right unless one third of the delegates object.

ARTICLE XI Annual Convention

²⁵Deleted April 4, 2014  Section 1. Unless the Executive Committee sets a different date, the annual convention of the LPF shall be held in the fall of each year.(Amended by the Executive Committee, 8-19-00)

Special meetings of the LPF may be called by the Executive Committee or by two (2) county affiliates, or by twenty-five percent (25%) of the county affiliates, whichever is the largest.

ARTICLE XII Annual Convention Delegates & Procedures

Section 1.

Motions to be offered in the business meetings should be reduced to writing, signed by the maker and seconded, and filed with the Secretary, except for routine matters, agenda items, short wording, or with leave of the Chairperson to omit written motions.

Section 2.

When called for by the agenda for the Annual Business Meeting, the delegates present shall caucus together for the LPF Region in which they are registered to vote and shall elect its Regional Representative.

Section 3.

The Annual Meeting Minutes (after approval by the Executive Committee) as well as any Committee reports to the Annual Meeting, including amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws, shall be made accessible to the membership in a digital format no less than 14 days prior to the next Annual Meeting.²⁶“printed and distributed at” removed and substituted with “made accessible to the membership in a digital format no less than 14 days prior to” 2016-02-07.

ARTICLE XIII Political Candidates

Section 1.

The Libertarian Party of Florida may provide financial and logistical campaign support, and conduct campaign activities only for  Certified Libertarian Candidates.²⁷Endorsement of political candidates may be made regardless of party affiliation, unless said candidate is opposed by a nominee of the LPF. deleted September 22, 2013. section amended  February 9, 2014

Section 2.

The Executive Committee is responsible for approving candidates who are recommended by the Selection Committee to run for public office. Candidates who have been both recommended by the Selection Committee and approved by the Executive Committee shall be known as Certified Libertarian Candidates. Certified Libertarian Candidates are eligible to receive financial and logistical campaign support from the LPF in accordance with applicable Florida and Federal law, and strictly at the discretion of the Executive Committee of the LPF in accordance with the Bylaws and Standing Rules.²⁸Amended February 9, 2014²⁹Deleted May 4, 2014 and rewritten Section 2: The Executive Committee is responsible for approving candidates who are vetted by the Selection Committee to run for public office. Candidates who have been both vetted by the Selection Committee and approved by the Executive Committee shall be known as Certified Libertarian Candidates. Certified Libertarian Candidates are eligible to receive financial and logistical campaign support from the LPF in accordance with applicable Florida and Federal law, and strictly at the discretion of the Executive Committee of the LPF in accordance with the Bylaws and Standing Rules³⁰Added September 22, 2013 ; Deleted February 9, 2014 :Section 3: Vetted and approved candidates of the LPF EC shall be considered “certified” for purposes of the LNC³¹Section 3. The LPF will refund to each candidate for political office all party assessment fees paid to the LPF by the state from that candidate’s qualifying fees, provided the candidate has been endorsed by the LPF in accordance with its Bylaws and Standing Rules to run as a Libertarian. (Passed by the Executive Committee, 3-13-99)(deleted August 2013

³² (added April 21, 2013) Moved to bylaws May 2013;  deleted February 9, 2014. The Executive Committee is responsible for approving candidates who are vetted by the Selection Committee to run for public office. Candidates who have been both vetted by the Selection Committee and approved by the Executive Committee shall be known as Certified Libertarian Candidates. Certified Libertarian Candidates are eligible to receive financial and logistical campaign support from the LPF in accordance with applicable Florida and Federal law, and strictly at the discretion of the Executive Committee of the LPF in accordance with the Bylaws and Standing Rules.

ARTICLE XV Amendments To the Standing Rules

Section 1.

Adoption of the Standing Rules will be consistent with the adoption of the Constitution.

Section 2.

The Standing Rules may be changed by a majority vote of the delegates to the annual convention or by two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee.