Libertarian Party of Florida, Inc.

As Amended at LPF Annual Business Meeting on January 20, 2024

Section 2 of State LPF Bylaws, New Affiliates :

B. All LPF voters residing in the proposed affiliate’s jurisdiction shall be eligible to vote and participate in the organizational meeting.

Reasons for Proposed Changes

The above section of the Bylaws of the Libertarian Party of Florida indicates that all voters registered to vote LPF can vote during county affiliate meetings, not just the four officers. That has been the actual practice followed by the Duval affiliate. However, our bylaws are not clear about this. It is not clear weather the term “members” refers to both its officers and the registered libertarians attending the meeting, or the officers only. And frequently, it is not clear whether “members meas “of the Duval affiliate” or “of the state LPF”. And, in some cases, this could be interpreted to say a person registered to vote libertarian has to be a member of the LPF to be able to vote at the Duval affiliate meetings.

The majority of these changes to these bylaws of the Duval Libertarian Party correct this ambiguity by referring to those who attend meetings and can vote as either:

(a) Officers of the Executive Committee (who are also members of the state LPF).

(b) Attendees registered to vote as LPF (but may or may not be members of the state LPF)

And we also welcome visiting observers who cannot vote at our meetings.

The remaining changes to these Bylaws are also designed to make its provisions clearer and fill-in text to clarify how they are implemented. For example, the current Bylaws state:

1. “ Written Notice of Meetings shall be provided at least 3 days prior to meeting unless otherwise specified in Bylaws” But it does not say if these notices are only for the EC members or also for all registered libertarians, and what forms of written communications can be used. This is made more specific in the revised version.

Libertarian Party of Duval County Bylaws

Revisions

Deletions are covered by a line and additions are enclosed in brackets.

Last Official Revision: 02/01/2023

Article I: Offices

The principal office of the Libertarian Party of Duval County (LP Duval) is in Duval County, Florida. LP Duval’s [Its] principal office may be changed to another location within the county by amendment of these Bylaws, or by LP Duval Executive Committee (EC) without amendment of these Bylaws. LP Duval may also have offices at other locations, within or outside of its state of incorporation.

Article II: Purpose

The object and purpose of LP Duval [the Duval LPF] is to engage in political action in Duval County, Florida. This includes serving as an affiliate organization of the Libertarian Party of Florida (LPF) in state politics and acting as a nucleus for organizing LPF members [and voters registered as LPF] in matters of county-wide political action.

Article III: Definitions

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and phrases have specific meanings:

1. “Libertarian Party” (LP): national Libertarian Party.
2. “Libertarian Party of Florida “LPF”: (LPF): Libertarian Party of Florida.
3. “Member”: LP Duval member as defined in the membership Article.
4. “Executive Committee” (EC): refers to the officers of LP Duval as defined in Officers [Article IV, Officers] and [in] Florida Statute[s].
5. “Officer”: EC [Executive Committee] Member.
6. “Written notice”: Any official notification sent by an EC Member [Officer. ] or EC include [including] publishing [publications] on LP Duval’s [the Duval LPF] public and functioning website.
7. “Bylaws”: this document, the Bylaws of LP [the Duval LPF.]
8. “Meetings”: include[s] Business, Organization, and Special Meetings as defined in Meetings section. [Article IV, Meetings]
9. “Non-Aggression Principle” (NAP): “I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals.”
10. “Quorum”: at least 3 EC Members [Officers] or 2 EC Members [Officers] and at least 7 Members [attendees that are registered to vote as LPF].

Article IV: Membership [OFFICERS eligibility]

1. Eligibility Requirements:
   1. Residence in Duval County, Florida.
   2. Written or verbal attestation to the NAP. [Delete, already required to be LPF member]
   3. Member of Libertarian Party of Florida, as verified by an EC Member.
2. Revocation
   1. Members [Officers] may be considered for revocation if:
      1. Fail to maintain eligibility requirements above.
      2. Two-thirds vote of attending Members [Officers] at a regular Meeting shall be required to procedurally revoke Membership.[remove an Officer from the EC.]

Article V: Officers and their Duties

Officers of LP Duval shall include the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officers must be Members of LP Duval, [and officers must be members of the state Libertarian Party of Florida.]

1. Duties
   1. Attend Meetings, lead chapter, and fulfill specific officer roles as defined below
2. Elections
   1. At each annual Organization Meeting EC positions shall be filled by simple majority vote of Members [Officers, and attendees that are registered to vote as LPF]
   2. Officer Terms:
      1. One year, unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws.
      2. No limit on number of consecutive terms.
3. Vacancies outside of regular elections [can be] via:
   1. Resignation: via EC Member’s [Officer’s] written notice of resignation to another EC Member [Officer].
   2. Standard Recall: two-thirds majority general Membership vote [of Officers and attendees that are registered to vote as LPF] at a regular Business Meeting.
   3. Emergency Suspension May be Petitioned By:
      1. May be petitioned by Any Member [attendee that is registered to vote as LPF,] with support of 1 EC Member [Officer].
      2. A Special Meeting to consider suspension of officer duties until general Membership [Officers and attendees registered to vote as LPF] vote at [the] next regularly scheduled Business Meeting.
      3. Emergency suspension [of an Officer, shall require three-fourths of EC [the Officers]  to pass. (Member [Officers] under consideration [for suspension] shall retain [their] right to vote if they wish. [Unnecessary]

1. Chair shall have authority to appoint a Member [an Officer] replacement to fill vacated offices.
2. Appointments shall require confirmation at next regular Business Meeting.
3. Notifications
4. Members shall be provided written notice of vacancies and new officers as soon as is reasonably possible.

[Duval residents registered to vote as LPF with email addresses in the voter registration files should be notified of vacancies and new officers, as soon as reasonably possible, by at least email. Reasonable efforts should be made to notify by other means, where email address is not available.]

The duties and responsibilities of specific EC officers shall be:

1. Chair
   1. Leadership: preside over Meetings and act as spokesperson overseeing the preparation and submission of all reports required by the [state] LPF and applicable Federal, State, and local laws; specifically including [the] oversight & submission verification of:
      1. Annual Supervisor of Elections (SOE) re-affiliation documents composed of.
         1. Annual financial audit prepared by Treasurer
         2. Officer List prepared by Secretary
      2. Any other SOE requirements.3. Affiliate organization relationships:
      1. Maintain Duval’s LPF affiliate status with [state] LPF:
         1. annual submission of Petition to Affiliate Form & SOE audit to secretary@lpf.org between January 1 & March 31.
         2. Keep open communications with the Libertarian National Committee, the LPF, and all LP Duval organizations or committees.
2. Vice-Chair
   1. Perform the duties of the Chair in conjunction with, or in absence of, the Chair.
3. Secretary
   1. Maintain official records & documents.
   2. [Preparing an Agenda document before each meeting and] taking minutes at meetings, including roll-call [,and publish Agenda and Minutes on the Duval LPF website].
   3. Notifications and Reports1
      1. Notification of new officer elections to [Supervisor Of Elections] & secretary@lpf.org within 5 days of election.
      2. Officer list to SOE annually between January 1 & March 31.
      3. Perform duties of Chair in absence of Chair and Vice-Chair.
4. Treasurer
   1. Funds: collect, maintain, and disburse on behalf of LP Duval.
   2. Budgets: prepare, propose, and maintain. Includes Organizational Meeting budget submission.
   3. Records: maintaining financial records in a manner at all times ready for inspection by any Member [Officers] of the EC.
   4. Reports:
      1. Prepare and submit Financial report for each regular Business Meeting made available to all Members within 5 business days. [Officers during the meetings, or no later than 5 days after them, with an explanation for delay.]
      2. Annual financial audit to be submitted between January 1 & March 31 to [the] SOE.
      3. Any other financial reports [and] audits required by State [or] Federal Law, and [the state] LPF.
   5. Fulfilling legal Treasurer duties as defined in Section 106.03 of the Florida Statutes.
   6. Perform duties of Chair in absence of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.

Article VI: Meetings

1. Definitions – “Meetings” refers to:
   1. Business Meetings
      1. Regular monthly meeting of Members [of Officers and Duval voters registered as LPF].
      2. Meetings [at] Specific dates, at [the] discretion of [the] Chair.
      3. Attendance not restricted to members, open to the public.
   2. Organizational Meetings
      1. Annually in March.
      2. Officers shall be elected as per Officers, Article IV.
   3. Special Meetings
      1. May be called [by the Chair or a majority of the officers] as need arises.
2. Notices
   1. Written Notice of Meetings shall be provided at least 3 days prior to meeting unless otherwise specified in Bylaws.[See IV B on the final version for complete change]
3. Procedure of Meetings:
   1. Conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RRNR), except where such rules conflict with Bylaws.
   2. Only LP Duval Members [Officers and attendees registered to vote as LPF] can vote, be recognized [and can propose motions,] unless otherwise specified in [these] Bylaws.
   3. At the acting Chair’s discretion, non-Members [attendees not qualified to vote] may be recognized.
   4. May be held in person or by electronic means at the discretion of the Chair.
   5. Regular Business Meetings shall include:
      1. Summary of [Agenda] and Previous Business Meeting [Minutes] by [the] Secretary.
      2. Financial report by [the] Treasurer [in the Agenda and Minutes].

Article VII: Raising and Expending Funds

1. Funds shall be raised by means of solicited donations and the sale of log[o] merchandise.
2. Expenditures may only be authorized by [a] majority vote [of officers and LPF registered voters present] at any official business meeting, or by the Chair in accordance with the following limitations:
   1. No more than $150 in any calendar month, not to exceed $500 for any annual Chair term.
   2. Chair must notify all affiliate officers prior to expenditure (approval not required).
   3. Officers may impose a spending pause to address any undesired spending with the body [by the Duval EC] at the next available business meeting The body [The Duval EC and attending registered libertarian voters] may vote to restrict further spending by monetary amount or time, not to exceed beyond the remainder [end] of the term.

Article VIII: Vacancy in Nomination

1. Should a vacancy in nomination occur as defined in Florida Statutes. the Executive Committee shall call a special meeting and select a nominee by majority vote.

Article IX: Amendments to Bylaws

1. Require a two-thirds vote of Members [Officers and voters registered to vote as LPF] attending any regular [or special] meeting.

2. Take effect immediately upon passage, unless otherwise specified in the amendment.
3. The [content of the] proposed amendments] content must be provided to members [emailed to Officers and to voters with email addresses on the SOE voter registration and posted on the Duval LPF website] by written notice, [at least] 7 days prior to the meeting.

Article X: Preemption and Supremacy

The LP Duval is an affiliate of the LPF, [which is an affiliate of the] LP. These parent organizations hold supremacy and preemption. Any of the Bylaws of the LP Duval that run contrary to any of the bylaws or constitutions of the LPF or LP are therefore null and void.