Rules for the 2007 California Democratic Party Convention

1. The primary purpose of this biennial Convention is to organize the newly-elected constituted Democratic State Central Committee (This Committee) and elect Regional Directors.  Matters not heard at the Convention will be received by the Secretary and held over to the next meeting of the Executive Board.

2. The Chair of This Committee shall be the Chair of the Convention and the Secretary of This Committee shall be Secretary of the Convention.

3. Delegates to the Convention shall be the members of the Democratic State Central Committee or their proxies as specified in the by-laws, whose appointment/election has been transmitted to the State Party no later than February 7, 2007.

4. Seating of the delegates shall be by the Assembly District within Region.

5. No one will be admitted to the Convention floor who is not a delegate, or proxyholder, except by special authorization of the State Chair.

6. Registration will close as specified by the agenda.

7. The Credentials Committee shall issue its final report and place the official voting list of delegates in the hands of the Convention Secretary subsequent to the close of registration and prior to the agendized credentials report.

8. Election of Regional Directors.

1. Regional Caucuses comprised of all members of This Committee resident in the respective regions shall take place on Saturday, April 28, 2007 for the purpose of electing their respective Regional Directors.  The ratification of Regional Directors shall take place on Sunday, April 29, 2007.  A candidate for Regional Director shall file a notice of intent-to-run for that office with the Secretary of the Party no later than 5:00 PM, April 11, 2007, being the day which is sixteen (16) days prior to the commencement of credentialing for the Convention.  Should the incumbent officeholder fail to file the notice of intent-to-run by that date, then the filing deadline shall be extended to 5:00 PM, April 18, 2007, being the date which is nine (9) days prior to the opening of credentialing for the office.  No withdrawals shall be allowed after that date.
2. Following the close of nomination for officers, no additional nominations shall be permitted, except for an office for which no person has been nominated prior to the close of nominations or for which all persons nominated have withdrawn.
3. No vote for any person shall be counted unless the person has been duly nominated for, and has accepted that nomination for the office for which such vote is cast.
4. In the event only one person is nominated for any office and such person accepts the nomination, the Secretary of the Regional Caucus shall be directed to cast a unanimous ballot for such candidate at the time of the election.
5. In the event no candidate receives a majority on the 1st ballot, a run-off election (2nd ballot) shall be held between the two persons receiving the largest number of votes actually cast for all candidates who have been duly nominated for and accepted the nomination for the office involved.
6. All voting for officers shall be by DNC mandated open ballot process except when there is only one candidate.
   

9. The Resolutions adopted by the members of This Committee and the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party are expressions of philosophical beliefs and principles that the Party wishes to declare.  Any resolution involving a local issue will be referred to the appropriate local Democratic Party entity.

 RESOLUTION PROCEDURES

1. Form
   
   1. (1) All resolutions must be typed.
      
   2. (2) Inducement (e.g., Whereas) clauses shall be limited to three (3) or less, and resolve clauses shall be limited to two (2) or less.
      
   3. (3) Resolutions must be no longer than one (1) 8-1/2" x 11" typewritten page.
      
   4. (4) All resolutions must be adopted by a County Central Committee, or a Chartered Democratic Club or sponsored by twenty-five (25) members of This Committee.
2. Timely Resolutions
   
   1. (1) Resolutions must be received by the State Chair of the Party, thirty (30) calendar days prior to a meeting of This Committee, except as provided in subsection (c) below.
      
   2. (2) Copies of resolutions submitted according to the above procedure shall be mailed by the State Chair of the Party to all members of the Resolutions Committee prior to a meeting of This Committee.
3. Resolutions Committee will present prioritized resolutions in the committee report to the convention body.
4. Late/Floor Resolutions
   
   1. (1) Twenty-five (25) copied of each resolution must be provided to the Resolutions Committee by the sponsor(s) of the resolution.
      
   2. (2) All resolutions to be considered at a meeting of This Committee must be presented for consideration at the Resolutions Committee meeting preceding the general session.  In order to be considered at the general session, a late resolution must have the unanimous consent of the Resolutions Committee to be considered and all resolutions must be approved by the Resolutions Committee.  Any resolution heard by the Resolutions Committee, failing to obtain approval, may be brought to the floor of a meeting of This Committee with the signatures of three hundred (300) members of This Committee on forms approved by the Resolutions Committee.
      
   3. (3) All resolutions to be presented from the floor shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Convention for signature verification by 5:00P.M. on the day before the resolution is presented.
      
   4. (4) The sponsor of a resolution presented from the floor shall be responsible for providing the Secretary of the Convention with sufficient copies of their resolution for each member of This Committee.
5. Resolutions pending at the close of a Convention of This Committee shall be referred to the Executive Board of This Committee.  All such resolutions shall first be presented to the Resolutions Committee for recommendation to the Executive Board.  The Resolutions Committee shall recommend: adoption, adoption with amendment, or rejection.  Such resolutions shall be presented to the Executive Board for consideration in its original form unless the sponsor agrees to the amendment(s) recommended by the Resolutions Committee.

10. Requests to hang signs, banners and placards must be submitted before the Convention to the Convention Coordinator.  A small fee may be charged per sign.

11. In all cases at this convention, proxies vote in districts where the appointing member resides as required by This Committee's By-Laws.