Difference between revisions of "GPCA Bylaws Draft Fiscal Policy"

Revision as of 11:46, 31 May 2011

FISCAL POLICY OF THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA

ARTICLE 1 PURPOSE

Section 1-1 Purpose

This Fiscal Policy is intended to:

1-1.1 Direct the financial practices of the Green Party of California (GPCA) and establish committees necessary to carry out this purpose.

1-1.2 Sustain and empower the GPCA and make possible a high level of Green political activity.

1-1.3 Promote clarity, accountability, and transparency in the Party's fiscal and financial practices, including those of its committees, working groups, officers, employees and contractors.

1-1.4 Promote financial practices by the Party that are in compliance with all applicable laws.

Section 1-2 Definitions

The following terms are defined and used in this document:

1-2.1 Party and GPCA shall mean the Green Party of California.

1-2.2 Treasurer shall mean the treasurer of the Green Party of California.

ARTICLE II TREASURER

Section 2-1 Duties and Responsibilities

The Treasurer shall have the responsibilities as provided for in this Fiscal Policy, including:

2-1.1 Account for revenues and expenditures of the GPCA.

2-1.2 Maintain bank accounts as authorized.

2-1.3 Make expenditures on behalf of the GPCA.

2-1.4 Prepare and present reports to the General Assembly and GPCA committees and working groups.

2-1.5 Serve as a member of the Budget Committee and the Finance Committee.

2-1.6 Sign contracts on behalf of the GPCA

2-1.7 Review and approve a balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenditure reflecting revenues earned and obligations incurred during the previous budget cycle.

ARTICLE III FINANCE COMMITTEE

Section 3-1 Duties and Authority

The Finance Committee is charged with overseeing the financial operations of the GPCA. This includes working with the Treasurer to:

3-1.1 Collect county dues and any other moneys owed to the GPCA;

3-1.2 Facilitate the allocation and disbursement of funds;

3-1.3 Provide quarterly financial reports to the CC;

3-1.4 Provide an annual budget report to the General Assembly;

3-1.5 Provide any official reporting required by the State of California;

3-1.6 Provide assistance for GPCA fundraising activities.

ARTICLE IV BUDGET COMMITTEE

4.1 Mission

The Budget Committee shall prepare and present an annual draft budget to the General Assembly, based upon the budget requests and income projections from Standing Committees, Working Groups, the state Treasurer and Liaison to the Secretary of State as described in 1-2 and the prioritization of expenses as described in 2-1, and containing income and expense narratives that explain the purpose of each budget line item.

4.2 Membership

4-2.1 The Budget Committee shall be a standing sub-committee of the General Assembly and be composed of six members: three from the Finance Committee and three from the Coordinating Committee. Members from the Finance Committee members shall include the state Treasurer and two at-large members, appointed by the Finance Committee. Members from the Coordinating Committee shall include the Coordinating Committee liaison to the Finance Committee and two at-large members, appointed by the Coordinating Committee. No one may be member of the Budget Committee who is recommended in the budget to receive funding for services provided, except in the case where the state Treasurer may be recommended to receive a stipend for services provided as Treasurer.

4-2.2 The state Treasurer shall serve for the duration of his/her tenure as state Treasurer. The Coordinating Committee liaison to the Finance Committee shall serve on the budget working group for the duration of his/her tenure as liaison. The at-large Finance Committee members and the at-large Coordinating Committee members may each serve for up to two consecutive one-year terms, but then may not serve a third consecutive one-year term, after which this timing begins anew.

4-2.3 Decision-making

4-2.3(a) The Budget Committee shall seek consensus in its work, but when unresolved, outstanding concerns remain, shall operate upon the basis of majority vote.

4-2.3(b) Quorum shall be at least four members, whether upon a teleconference, at a face-to-face meeting or as part of an on-line vote.

ARTICLE V BUDGETING

Section 5-1 Annual Budget

2-2.1 The Annual Budget shall be approved by the General Assembly. The Budget Committee shall propose a draft Annual Budget to the General Assembly according to the process outlined in this Article. The draft budget shall:

2-2.1(a) Incorporate planned expenses and projected income from all sources including the Annual Meeting, and in presidential election years, the Presidential Nominating Convention, in accordance with the GPUS Strategic Plan, if applicable;

6-2.1(b) Strive to maintain an Operating Reserve Fund with the goal of providing a minimum reserve fund at three times the level necessary to cover all monthly obligations authorized as operating expenses, as defined in 8-2; and

6-2.1(c) Be informed by a process of input from the NC, Finance Committee, Fundraising Committee, caucuses, networks, committees, and GPUS Staff and Independent Contractors, as described in Section 6-3.

6-2.2 The SC shall present its draft Annual Budget to the NC no later than the second Monday after the first Tuesday of November. The draft Annual Budget shall be accompanied by:

6-2.2(a) A Case Statement describing the GPUS inventory of existing resources;

6-2.2(b) An Income Narrative to explain the income categories and line item projections of the budget, and provide a plan for raising that income, corresponding to the income projections;

6-2.2(c) An Expense Narrative to explain expense categories and line item projections, that identifies legal and contractual obligations as provided in Section 8-2, provides job descriptions for GPUS staff and Independent Contractors, and provides a plan to fund an Operating Reserve Fund as specified in 6-2.1(b);

6-2.2(d) A balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenditure from the most recently completed fiscal year;

6-2.2(e) Financial projections documenting historical performance, current year-to-date performance, and assumptions underlying future projections;

6-2.2(f) Such reports and recommendations related to the management of Endowed Funds as are required by Section 11-2

Section 1-3 Budget Requests

1-3.1 Standing Committees and Working Groups shall submit annual budget requests to the Finance Committee no later than the end of the third quarter of each fiscal year. Requests must be consistent with the mission and work plan of the Standing Committee or Working Group, must include income and expense projections where applicable and be in the format provided for by the Finance Committee in 4-1.

1-3.2 The state Treasurer and Liaison to the Secretary of State shall submit annual budget requests to the Finance Committee no later than the end of the third quarter of each fiscal year. Requests should be consistent with the job description and responsibilities of the state Treasurer and Liaison to the Secretary of State.

1-3.3 It shall be the responsibility of the Finance Committee to compile all requests under 1-2.1 and 1-2.2 into a single document and present them in a timely manner to the Budget Committee for its work.

1-3.4 Requests for out-of-budget emergency funds may be made according to the process described in 2-6.

Section 1-4 Draft Budget

1-4.1 During the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, the Budget Committee shall prepare the Draft Budget as described in 1-1.1. As part of this process, the Finance Committee and the Budget Committee shall hold a combined meeting to review projections for the total amount of funds available for the next fiscal year and to receive input and to ask and take questions from those making budget requests under 1-2.

1-4.2 In preparation for the Draft Budget, the Finance Committee shall recommend to the Budget Committee a prudent reserve for that fiscal year's budget and explain its rationale, including how it relates to the maintenance of the party's prioritized expenses as defined in 2-2.

Section 1-5 Approving the budget

1-5.1 On the first day of the first meeting of the General Assembly following the release of the Draft Budget, the General Assembly shall consider and approve the annual budget. Approval shall be sought first for the entire budget. If unsuccessful, agreement shall be attempted for those line item(s) in the budget for which there are unresolved concerns.

ARTICLE II: INCOME

Section 2-1 Contributions from Individuals

2-1.1 Contributions from individuals will be accepted in amounts as permitted by law. All excess contributions will be returned. Individual contributions shall be reported as required by the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Federal Elections Campaign Act.

Section 2-2 Contributions from Organizations

2-2.1 No contributions will be accepted from any corporation, union or bank, including non-profit corporations and not-for-profit corporations. Grants or contributions from unincorporated foundations or other unincorporated non-profit organizations will be accepted in amounts as permitted by law. Contributions from organizations shall be reported as required by the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Federal Elections Campaign Act.

2-2.2 No contribution will be accepted from a Political Action Committee without the express authorization of the NC, even if otherwise allowed under State or Federal law.

2-2.3 Financial or in-kind contributions from individuals who own or operate businesses, sole proprietorships, partnerships, or not-for-profit business are allowed. However, if the business is incorporated, the contribution must come directly from the person rather than through the business.

ARTICLE III: EXPENDITURES

Section 3-1 Authority to Disburse Funds

3-1.1 The state Treasurer is empowered to disburse funds for GPCA expenditures up to the limit of the approved budget line for that purpose, within the prioritization of expenses as described in 2-2 and as may additionally be imposed by the General Assembly as part of the annual budget process. The state Treasurer is also empowered to disburse funds upon an emergency basis as defined in 2-6.

Section 3-2 Prioritization of Expenditures

When drawing from the General Operating Account, the GPCA shall satisfy its legal and contractual obligations first, and shall prioritize its operating expenditures in the following order:

3-2.1 Staff payroll, payroll taxes, and benefits;

3-2.2 Office rent and utilities;

3-2.3 Server Hosting, Server Backup, State phone, State Post Office box;

3-2.4 Independent contractors;

3-2.5 Other vendors that are indispensable to operations;

3-2.6 Expenditures with a reasonable expectation of a return on investment in a short period of time; and

2-2.7 Other budgeted expenditures.

Section 3-3 Requests for Payment and Reimbursement

3-3.1 Each standing committee, working group and/or the state Treasurer or Liaison to the Secretary of State shall request budget funds by filling out either a Request for Payment or a Request for Reimbursement. Requests for Payment are requests to pay in advance for budgeted party expenses and are strongly recommended where possible. Requests for Reimbursement are for when someone has been approved of by their standing committee or working group to pay for a budgeted party expense in expectation of reimbursement.

3-3.2 Requests for Payment and Requests for Reimbursement from standing committees or working groups must be signed by at least one co-coordinator. The Coordinating Committee may designate any of its members to sign on its behalf, but if it does not do so, the default is that at least one of its co-coordinators must sign.

3-3.3 Requests for Payment shall specify the specific budget line requested and to what the budget request is doing for. Requests for Reimbursement shall specify the specific budget line to be reimbursed for and must be accompanied by copies of receipts for all expenses incurred.

Section 3-4 Disbursal of Funds

3-4.1 Upon receipt of a properly executed Request for Payment form, the state Treasurer shall issue a check for the amount indicated to the payee designated in the form.

3-4.2 In no case may the state Treasurer issue funds in excess of the amount allocated to the group for the fiscal year. Should a Request for Payment or a Request for Reimbursement be made above the amount budgeted, the state Treasurer shall advise those requesting the funds that funds requested in excess of the annual budget amount shall be subject to the Emergency Funding provisions described in 2-6.

Section 3-5 Reporting expenditures

Following each disbursal, the state Treasurer shall issue a brief statement to those making the request stating the amount of their budgeted funds disbursed in the fiscal year to date and the remaining budget allocation. In the case of the Coordinating Committee, this statement shall be given to the liaison to the Finance Committee.

Section 3-6 Emergency funding

3-6.1 Requests for disbursal of funds exceeding the amount budgeted for a specific purpose may be made by standing committees, working groups and/or the state Treasurer or Liaison to the Secretary of State and be considered by the Coordinating Committee on an emergency basis.

3-6.2 To authorize an emergency disbursal the Coordinating Committee must approve of a statement of findings why such an out-of-budget expenditure is in the substantial interest of the party and how it will be paid for, and must forward this approval to the state Treasurer. Such findings, along with the amount disbursed and to whom shall also be included in the agenda packet of the next General Assembly after the disbursal occurred, and an an oral report of the same shall be given to the plenary session on the first day of the General Assembly, and should it occur at the General Assembly in which the annual budget is considered, as part of the budget presentation.

ARTICLE IV DONORS BILL OF RIGHTS

Donors to the GPCA shall have the right to:

4-1 Be informed of the GPCA purpose, of the way the Party intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use such donations effectively for their intended purposes;

4-2 Expect the GPCA will use exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;

4-3 Expect that relationships with individuals representing the GPCA to the donor will be professional in nature and that information about their donation is handled with respect and confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;

4-4 Be assured that donations will be used for the purposes for which they were given. If the GPCA cannot comply with donor intentions, nor negotiate for a different purpose, the gift shall be returned to the donor;

4-5 Be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of GPCA or independent contractors;

4-6 Feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers.

ARTICLE V FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Section 5-1 Bank Accounts

5-1.1 All funds contributed to or made payable to the GPUS, whether by cash or negotiable instruments, shall be placed on deposit in the principal accounts of the Party, which shall be maintained by the state Treasurer.

5-1.2 The General Assembly may appoint others to be co-signers of the GPCA accounts in addition to the Treasurer.

ARTICLE VI FINANCIAL REPORTING

Section 6-1 Annual Report to the General Assembly by the Treasurer

6-1.1 The state Treasurer shall make an Annual Report to the General Assembly at which the annual budget is considered, detailing the prior year's fiscal activities and reporting upon the Fair Political Practices report(s) filed in the name of the GPCA.

Section 6-2 Monthly Reports to the Coordinating Committee by the Treasurer

6-2.1 The Treasurer shall, on a monthly basis and not later than the 20th of each month, file with the Coordinating Committee a report of the fiscal activities of the Party for the preceding month, including a comparison between actual activities and projected activities for that month, based on common accounting practices for accrual based accounting, acknowledging revenues earned and obligations as they are incurred regardless of when money changes hands, and a balance sheet listing assets, liabilities, and fund balances.

6-2.2 The Treasurer shall, on a monthly basis, provide monthly financial status reports that include cash transactions, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and various fund balance reports.