Bylaws of the Governor's Council on Geographic Information
These Bylaws of the Governor's Council are used to establish
rules of operation for the council. They have been revisited since they were
originally written.
Adopted November 16, 1993
Revised February 7, 1995
Revised March 12, 1996
Revised January 14, 1997
Revised November 15, 2006
Revised March 26, 2008
This Council on Geographic Information is established pursuant to the
authority of Executive Order of the Governor of the State of Minnesota
99-6.
Article I: General Purpose
Section 1.1. The general purpose of the Council on Geographic Information is to promote
efficient and effective use of resources by providing leadership and direction in the
development, management, and use of geographic information in Minnesota. The Council makes
recommendations in the areas including, but not limited to, policies, institutional
arrangements, standards, education, funding, and stewardship.
Article II: Parliamentary
Procedures
Section 2.1. Roberts Rules of Order shall be followed in the conduct of each meeting
unless suspended by the members of the Council in attendance at the meeting.
Article III: Membership
Section 3.1. The membership of the Council shall be composed of eighteen (18) members
representing the following constituencies: state government, higher education, local
government, federal government, and GIS users in the private and nonprofit sectors.
Section 3.2. The members shall be appointed by the Commissioner of the
Department of Administration, State of Minnesota.
Section 3.3. Members shall serve without compensation. Members shall be eligible for
reimbursement of actual expenses according to the State of Minnesota's
reimbursement policies and subject to approval by the appointing
authority.
Section 3.4. Members shall actively participate in and contribute to Council activities by
attending a majority of Council meetings. In addition, each member (or their
designated representative) will actively participate on and contribute to at least one of the
Council's committees.
Section 3.5. Substitutes may serve at a given meeting, providing the
member notifies the chair and staff prior to that meeting.
Article IV: Meetings
Section 4.1. The Council shall meet at least four (4) times annually on a schedule
determined by the Council.
Section 4.2. Meetings of the Council may be called by the Chair or upon written request of
a majority of the members and upon compliance with the Minnesota Open Meetings
Law [http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/13D/04.html].
Section 4.3. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum. Except
as otherwise set forth herein, a simple majority vote of the members present at a meeting
with a valid quorum shall be required for the Council to take action.
Section 4.4. Except as otherwise authorized herein, there shall be no voting by proxy. All
votes must be cast by the member at a Council meeting. Each member shall have one (1)
vote.
Section 4.5. The Council’s records shall be available for inspection by the public
pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act [http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/13/]. The Council shall receive administrative and
technical staff support from the Land Management Information Center, and advice from the
Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium.
Section 4.6. The Council shall make available information and generate publications
describing its activities and findings that will encourage knowledge sharing and
participation by a broad segment of persons interested in geographic data.
Section 4.7. The Council shall address appropriate issues in a deliberate and open manner,
with clear policy goals in mind. Activities that are not appropriate for Council
deliberation are to be referred to other entities for their consideration and action.
Article V: Officers
Section 5.1. The regular officers of the Council shall be a Chair and Vice-Chair.
Section 5.2. The Commissioner of the Department of Administration shall appoint
the Council Chair.
Section 5.3. The Council shall elect from the members, a Vice-Chair who shall be elected
for a one (1) year term or until his/her successor is elected. At the first regularly
scheduled meeting after the appointment of members, the Council shall elect the Vice-Chair
for the following year.
Section 5.4. A member shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled
meeting to fill out the unexpired term of the Vice-Chair should it
become vacant. If the position of Chair is vacant, the Vice-Chair will
be acting Chair until a new Chair is appointed.
Section 5.5. The Vice-Chair or any committee chair may be removed upon a
two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members of the Council.
Article VI: Committees
Section 6.1. The Chair may appoint such committees as deemed necessary
to exercise the powers of the Council in accordance with these by-laws
and as allowed by law.
Section 6.2. The committees shall report their activities and findings to the Council.
Section 6.3. Each committee shall have a single chair or two co-chairs. The
chair, or one of the two co-chairs, must be a member of the Council.
Each committee shall select its Chair or Co-chairs, which shall be
affirmed by a vote of the full Council.
Section 6.4. Interested non-Council members may participate on a committee. Non-Council
committee members shall serve without compensation and are not eligible for reimbursement
of expenses.
Section 6.5. Committee Chairs may appoint subcommittees as appropriate to perform work for
the committee.
Article VII: Executive
Committee
Section 7.1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Council Chair, Vice-Chair,
the LMIC ex-officio member, and
the Chair or Council member Co-chair of at least three (3) active committees.
If three (3) such Committee Chairs or Co-chairs are unable to serve, delegates shall be
elected from
its members by majority vote of the full Council.
Section 7.2. The primary purpose of the Executive Committee is to
facilitate the functioning of the Council. As such, the Executive
Committee is expected to set the agendas for Council meetings,
coordinate activities among committees, and lead the process for
appointing members to the Council.
Section 7.3. The Executive Committee also is empowered to meet and act on
behalf of the Council in order to
provide timely response to issues and events when it is not possible or practical for the
full Council to meet. The Chair shall notify the Council of all
such Executive Committee actions as soon as reasonably possible after such action has been
taken. All such actions of the Executive Committee shall be ratified by
majority vote of the Council at its next meeting. In the event that the
Council refuses to ratify an action, the Executive Committee shall
perform due diligence to reverse the action not ratified.
Section 7.4. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum. All
actions require a majority vote of members present, with a limit of one
vote from each committee. Executive Committee meetings are open meetings according to
Minnesota Statute.
Section 7.5. Any member of the Executive Committee may call a meeting of the Executive
Committee by providing a minimum of a one (1) day notification to the Executive Committee.
Meetings of the Executive Committee can be either in person or by other means.
Section 7.6. Non-member committee Co-chairs and vice chairs may
substitute for their committee representative.
Article VIII: Amendments
Section 8.1. Any member may petition the Council or the Council on its own initiative may
recommend changes in these by-laws. An Amendment shall become effective upon two-thirds
(2/3) vote of the Council.
Section 8.2. Notice of proposed amendments shall be sent to Council
members at least two weeks before the vote.
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