GPCA Bylaws Draft Fiscal Policy
Section 7-2. Finance Committee
7-2.1 Duties and Authority
The Finance Committee is charged with overseeing the financial operations of the GPCA. This includes working with the Treasurer to:
a) Collect county dues and any other moneys owed to the GPCA;
b) Facilitate the allocation and disbursement of funds;
c) Provide quarterly financial reports to the CC;
d) Provide an annual budget report to the General Assembly;
e) Provide any official reporting required by the State of California;
f) Provide assistance for GPCA fundraising activities.
7-2.2 Ex Officio Member
The Treasurer is an ex officio member of the Finance Committee.
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FISCAL POLICY OF THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
ARTICLE I: BUDGET
Section 1-1 Budget Committee
1-1.1 Mission
The Budget Committee shall prepare and present a annual draft budget to the General Assembly. The draft budget shall be based upon the budget requests and income projections from Standing Committees and Working Groups as described in 1-2 and the prioritization of expenses as described in 2-1.
1-1.2 Membership
1-1.2(a) The Budget Committee shall be a sub-committee of the General Assembly and be composed of four members: two from the Finance Committee and two from the Coordinating Committee. Finance Committee members shall include the GPCA Treasurer and one at-large member. Coordinating Committee members shall include the Coordinating Committee liaison to the Finance Committee and one at-large member.
1-1.2(b) The GPCA Treasurer shall serve for the duration of his/her tenure as GPCA Treasurer. The at-large Finance Committee member shall serve for a non-repeating term of one year. 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 Coordinating Committee member shall serve for a non-repeating term of one year.
Section 1-2 Budget Requests
1-2.1 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 should be consistent with the mission and work plan of the Standing Committee or Working Group and include income and expense projections where applicable.
1-2.2 The GPCA 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 GPCA Treasurer and Liaison to the Secretary of State.
1-2.3 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 this to the Budget Committee.
1-2.4 Requesting a budget for all expenditures related to statewide mailings or the hosting of statewide meetings shall be the responsibility of the Coordinating Committee.
1-2.5 Requests for out-of-budget emergency funds may be made at any time, subject to availability of funds. Refer to paragraph 7-2.10 below.
Section 1-3 Allocating the budget
1-3.1 During the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, the Budget Committee shall conduct a meeting to allocate the annual budget to the groups from which a Request for Budget from has been received. The allocation meeting may be concurrent with the meeting to determine the total amount of funds available for the next fiscal year’s annual budget.
1-3.2 In no case may the total allocated to various groups exceed the total amount determined for the fiscal year budget.
1-1.3 The approved fiscal year's budget must maintain a prudent reserve (accumulated surplus plus revenue less expenditures), as established by the Finance Committee.
Section 1-4 Approving the budget
1-4.1 On the first day of the first meeting of the General Assembly following the budget allocation by the Budget Committee, the General Assembly shall approve the annual budget for the next fiscal year. The first proposal shall be to consent to the entire state budget. If the proposal to approve the entire budget fails, consensus shall be attempted for those line item(s) in the budget for which there are unresolved concerns.
1-4.2 The state treasurer is empowered to disburse funds up to the limit of the approved budget for each group upon receipt of the properly completed Request for Payment forms.
ARTICLE II: EXPENDITURES
Section 2-1 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:
2-1.1 Staff payroll, payroll taxes, and benefits;
2-1.2 Office rent and utilities;
2-1.3 Server Hosting, Server Backup, State phone, State Post Office box;
2-1.4 Independent contractors;
2-1.5 Vendors that are indispensable to operations;
2-1.6 Expenditures with a reasonable expectation of a return on investment in a short period of time; and
2-1.7 Other budgeted expenditures.
Section 2-2 Requesting Expenditures
2-2.1 State Committees and working groups shall submit a Request for Payment form to the state treasurer. The form must be signed by the coordinator of the working group. The Coordinating Committee shall designate an individual to sign a Request for Payment form on behalf of the Coordinating Committee.
2-2.2 Requesting expenditures related to statewide mailings or the hosting of statewide meetings shall be the responsibility of the Coordinating Committee.
2-2.3 For expenses to be reimbursed from the state treasurer, the form must be accompanied by copies of receipts for all expenses incurred. For funds requested in advance of expenditure, the form must specify the purpose of the disbursement.
Section 2-3 Disbursing the funds
2-3.1 Immediately 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.
2-3.2 In no case may the treasurer issue funds in excess of the amount allocated to the group for the fiscal year. Funds requested in excess of the annual budget amount shall be subject to the Emergency Funding provisions; refer to 1-8 below.
Section 2-4 Reporting expenditures
Following each check issued on behalf of a state committee or working group, the state treasurer shall issue a brief statement to the coordinator of the group stating the amount of funds disbursed fiscal year to date and the remaining budget allocation. In the case of the Coordinating Committee, the statement shall be given to the liaison to the Finance Committee.
Section 2-5 Emergency funding
2-5.1 The treasurer shall report any Request for Payment which is in excess of a group’s budgeted amount to the Coordinating Committee for action.
2-5.1 The Coordinating Committee may request emergency funding directly from the state treasurer for any state committee or working group.
2-5.3 In an emergency, the Coordinating Committee may consense to approve an expenditure of funds on behalf of the General Assembly. Any funds disbursed under this provision must be reported to the plenary session on the first day of the next meeting of the General Assembly.
ARTICLE III DONORS BILL OF RIGHTS
Donors to the GPCA shall have the right:
3-1 To 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;
3-2 To be informed of the identity of those serving on the National Committee and to expect the National Committee to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;
3-3 To have access to the GPUS' most recent financial statements;
3-4 To be assured their 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 must be returned to the donor;
3-5 To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition;
3-6 To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by the law;
3-7 To expect that all relationships with individuals representing the GPUS to the donor will be professional in nature;
3-8 To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of GPUS or independent contractors; and
3-9 To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful, and forthright answers.
