A Continuous Policy Development Process

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council shall establish the following policy development process to operate alongside the current General Meeting process:

1. Any twenty (20) members in good standing may submit a policy motion that creates, adds to, amends, or rescinds current party policy.
2. All Policy Motions shall be accompanied by a 1-3 page Policy Backgrounder which shall include the following elements:
   • a basic rationale for the proposed policy;
   • a brief explanation of the proposed policy's adherence to the core values of the GPC;
   • a brief explanation of the proposed policy's relation to the GPC’s current policies;
   • an outline of the expected political implications upon adoption of the policy; and
   • a rough estimate of the budgetary (cost and/or revenue) implications of the policy.
3. A Policy Management Committee (PMC) shall work with submitting members to ensure quality in drafting, coherence, research. etc.
   • Members of PMC shall be appointed by Federal Council in collaboration with Cabinet;
   • The PMC shall be comprised of no fewer than six (6) members;
   • The PMC shall determine the schedule for voting on policy motions in consultation with staff.
4. The Cabinet shall review Policy Motions and either a) accept, b) amend for wording and return to the motion submitter, or c) recommend rejection to the membership with explanation, with the motion as posted in the Policy Proposal Area.
   • Cabinet shall not be responsible for moving a Policy Motion forward if the submitting member is not available to answer questions from Cabinet within a reasonable period of time.
5. Policy Motions shall then be posted in the Party’s online Policy Proposal Area (PPA) for debate. [The PPA may be formed like the current members blog area, or as a wiki, or as an email list server, or however else Council and the PMC decide, and may change in future; likewise, although only members will be able to vote and (I suggest) take part in discussions, FC/PMC can decide if those discussions will be open to public viewing like our public blog side or limited to members like our members’ area]
   • All members in good standing shall be able to access this PPA;
   • In the PPA, members shall be able to debate and discuss each Policy Motion for at least thirty (30) days; [members will be able to post questions, answer questions, and present reasons to support or defeat the motion; the Submitter will be able to answer questions, explain or defend the motion, or withdraw it to amend and resubmit – all in a manner similar to the BGM plenary and workshop sessions]
   • Policy Motions may be withdrawn or amended and resubmitted to the PMC by the Submitter during or at the end of the thirty (30) days of posting; [motions with merit but lacking sufficient support can be tweaked and re-entered into the process]
   • Following the minimum thirty (30) days of debate, an online vote shall occur over a three (3) week period, with all members in good standing eligible to vote on the motion online [or by mail?]; [this is essentially the same as the post-BGM ratification vote by all members, except that it does not occur directly following a BGM]
   • The policy shall be adopted with a 60% vote of approval;
   • In order to be adopted, the total number of members voting for or against any Policy Motion must be at least one hundred and fifty (150); this number may be adjusted upon the recommendation of the PMC and ratification of Council. [this exceeds the current requirements for quorum of both the BGM and the post-BGM ratification votes]
6. Adopted Policy Motions shall go into the Green Book as official GPC policy.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council shall establish the following policy development process to operate alongside the current General Meeting process:

1. Any twenty (20) members in good standing may submit a policy motion that creates, adds to, amends, or rescinds current party policy.
2. All Policy Motions shall be accompanied by a 1-3 page Policy Backgrounder which shall include the following elements:
   • a basic rationale for the proposed policy;
   • a brief explanation of the proposed policy's adherence to the core values of the GPC;
   • a brief explanation of the proposed policy's relation to the GPC’s current policies;
   • an outline of the expected political implications upon adoption of the policy; and
   • a rough estimate of the budgetary (cost and/or revenue) implications of the policy.
3. A Policy Management Committee (PMC) shall work with submitting members to ensure quality in drafting, coherence, research. etc.
   • Members of PMC shall be appointed by Federal Council in collaboration with Cabinet;
   • The PMC shall be comprised of no fewer than six (6) members;
   • The PMC shall determine the schedule for voting on policy motions in consultation with staff.
4. The Cabinet shall review Policy Motions and either a) accept, b) amend for wording and return to the motion submitter, or c) recommend rejection to the membership with explanation, with the motion as posted in the Policy Proposal Area.
   • Cabinet shall not be responsible for moving a Policy Motion forward if the submitting member is not available to answer questions from Cabinet within a reasonable period of time.
5. Policy Motions shall then be posted in the Party’s online Policy Proposal Area (PPA) for debate. [The PPA may be formed like the current members blog area, or as a wiki, or as an email list server, or however else Council and the PMC decide, and may change in future; likewise, although only members will be able to vote and (I suggest) take part in discussions, FC/PMC can decide if those discussions will be open to public viewing like our public blog side or limited to members like our members’ area]
   • All members in good standing shall be able to access this PPA;
   • In the PPA, members shall be able to debate and discuss each Policy Motion for at least thirty (30) days; [members will be able to post questions, answer questions, and present reasons to support or defeat the motion; the Submitter will be able to answer questions, explain or defend the motion, or withdraw it to amend and resubmit – all in a manner similar to the BGM plenary and workshop sessions]
   • Policy Motions may be withdrawn or amended and resubmitted to the PMC by the Submitter during or at the end of the thirty (30) days of posting; [motions with merit but lacking sufficient support can be tweaked and re-entered into the process]
   • Following the minimum thirty (30) days of debate, an online vote shall occur over a three (3) week period, with all members in good standing eligible to vote on the motion online [or by mail?]; [this is essentially the same as the post-BGM ratification vote by all members, except that it does not occur directly following a BGM]
   • The policy shall be adopted with a 60% vote of approval;
   • In order to be adopted, the total number of members voting for or against any Policy Motion must be at least one hundred and fifty (150); this number may be adjusted upon the recommendation of the PMC and ratification of Council. [this exceeds the current requirements for quorum of both the BGM and the post-BGM ratification votes]
6. Adopted Policy Motions shall go into the Green Book as official GPC policy.