Bylaws-Final Draft of proposed Bylaws to date

11-30-05 Correction Notice--The Bylaw sections posted yesterday had an error--a ratio of 3/4 in Article VIII, Section 2, B. 2. a & b was incorrectly entered. Mr Hamel has corrected that to the 2/3 ratio the Subcommittee agreed upon and the corrected draft has been inserted below. Our apologies for any confusion.

The Bylaws Subcommittee has finalized the following Draft Bylaws sections: Preamble, Article I (Name and Mission), and Article VIII Section II (Interbasin Compact Committee representatives). Completed sections are in bold type. These will be presented to the full Roundtable at the Dec 1 meeting at the Pueblo Convention Center. The remainder of the Bylaws will be completed in subsequent Subcommittee meetings. Draft Bylaws are accessed by clicking on "Read More".BYLAWS FOR THE ARKANSAS BASIN ROUNDTABLE

Draft of November 30, 2005

PREAMBLE

In Colorado, water is among the state's most important issues. The ability to successfully address the challenges and opportunities related to water requires a basin-driven, collaborative approach. To facilitate continued discussions within and between basins on water management issues, and to encourage locally driven collaborative solutions to water supply challenges, the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act created nine permanent basin roundtables.
These roundtables include the following: (1) South Platte Basin; (2) Arkansas Basin; (3) Rio Grande Basin; (4) Gunnison Basin; (5) Colorado Basin; (6) Yampa-White area; (Dolores, San Miguel, and San Juan Basins); (8) Metro area; and (9) North Platte area.

Legitimacy requires that anyone potentially affected by the actions of a roundtable should have an opportunity to participate or, at a minimum, each affected group of stakeholders should have a like-minded representative participating as a member of the roundtable organization. Only by working together can Colorado's 21st century water issues be resolved.

ARTICLE I
NAME AND MISSION

Section 1. Name The name of the organization shall be the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, with its principal office temporarily located at The Board of Water Works of Pueblo, 319 W. 4th Street, Pueblo, Colorado and will distribute information to the roundtable members.

Section 2. Mission The mission of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable (ABR) is to work collaboratively, from both an inter-basin and intra-basin perspective, to provide an assessment of agricultural, recreational, municipal, industrial and environmental water supply needs and to identify projects and methods to meet those needs in sustainable, balanced ways. This roundtable will also serve as a forum for public involvement on water matters.

ARTICLE II
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

[The By-law Subcommittee agreed that goals were more general and that objectives should be specific, measurable items supporting goals. Roundtable members will be solicited for their input on goals and objectives.]

ARTICLE III
DEFINITIONS


ARTICLE IV
ROUNDTABLE MEMBERSHIP

ARTICLE V
ROUNDTABLE LEADERSHIP

ARTICLE VI
DECISION MAKING

[The By-law Subcommittee affirmed in concept the importance of consensus decision making.]

ARTICLE VII
MEETINGS AND GOVERNANCE

ARTICLE VIII
ROUNDTABLE POWERS

Section 1. TBD

Section 2. Interbasin Compact Committee The Roundtable shall select two individuals to represent the Roundtable on the IBCC in accordance with the following: (A decision on selection of an alternate to be made in the future)

A. IBCC Representative Voting Guidelines

1) A quorum of three-quarters (3/4) of the voting roundtable members must be present to select the IBCC representatives. The Chairman may, in his/her discretion, postpone the selection if the attendance of members is hampered by weather.

2) Members of the roundtable must be present to cast their vote.

3) Candidates for IBCC Representative:
a. Must be a roundtable member;
b. Do not have to be present to be selected;
c. Are requested to make a presentation of his/her qualification at the selection meeting, if possible. Please limit the presentation to a maximum of five (5) minutes.

B. Initial IBCC Representative Voting Procedures

1) Voting will be by secret ballot with a tally provided by a neutral party of the Chairman's selection.

2) When two representatives are to be selected, each voting roundtable member will vote for two different persons on the 1st Ballot.

a. If any Candidate receives two-thirds (2/3) of the vote, that person is elected as an IBCC Representative for an initial term of three (3) years. If two Candidates receive two-thirds (2/3) of the votes each, the Candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall serve a three (3) year- term and the other Representative will each serve a two-(2) year term.

3) If no Candidate receives two-thirds (2/3) of the votes, the number of Candidates will be reduced by one, by eliminating the Candidate who received the least number of votes. Voting roundtable members will follow the procedures in B. 2) above, voting again for two persons (and in the case of no Candidate receiving two-thirds (2/3), reducing by one the number of Candidates in turn), until at least one (1) Candidate receives two-thirds (3/4) of the vote or only two (2) Candidates remain.

4) After one (1) IBCC has been selected for a three (3) year term via the procedures above, the voting roundtable members shall vote for one(1) Candidate of the then remaining Candidates (only those not yet eliminated) for a two (2) year term.

C. Subsequent IBCC Representatives Voting

1) When an IBCC Representative's Term expires, the voting members of the roundtable will re-elect the representative or select a new representative by a two-thirds (2/3) margin using the procedures outlined above.

2) If and when the number of Candidates, in sequential balloting, has been reduced to two (2), the representative will be selected by simple majority.

D. IBCC Representatives Term

1) Each IBCC Representative will serve a two (2) year term, except for the initial three (3) year term described above.

2) IBCC Representatives are discharged from their position of representation if:

a. There being a quorum as determined by the Chairman, three-fourths (3/4) of the voting members present vote to recall a representative, or;

b. An IBCC Representative has three (3) consecutive, un-excused absences from the Interbasin Compact Committee meetings.