List of Nat’l Council Session Proposals and Actions Since 2008

Based on my research and personal observations over the past few months about National Council Sessions since 2008, it’s become obvious that many people’s memories are fuzzy and a lot of assumptions are being made about what passed or what they were even about.  There’s a lot of “I believe” and “I think” or “I remember” out there.  Even former delegates don’t even remember what they voted on.  What exactly is being slipped into the food at conventions?  What the heck people!

So to put it all in one place and make it easier to reference, here are the proposals and actions taken at National Council Sessions since 2008.  This summary does not include secondary motion voting results.   More NCS proposals and results from previous years can be found here.

2008 (Indianapolis)
References: NCS Minutes 2008

PROPOSAL 1:

• Proposal 1, Part 1:  Wherever the word “local” shall appear in the Constitution of Girl Scouts of the United States of America relating to councils, the world “local” shall be struck.  Action taken:  DEFEATED
• Proposal 1, Part 2:  Where the term “National Nominating Committee” shall appear in the Constitution of Girl Scouts of the United States of America, the term shall be changed to “National Board Development Committee.”  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 1, Part 3:  To amend Constitution/Article IV/The National Council/Section 1/by striking out “for the time being” from the text.  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 1, Part 4:  To amend Constitution/Article V/Sessions of the National Council/Section 1, by striking out “(not necessarily within the District of Columbia) as it may determine or as may be” and “in absence of action by the National Council” and “local.”  The proposal was amended to leave “local” in the wording.  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED
• Proposal 1, Part 5:  To amend Constitution/Article V/Sessions of the National Council/Section 4, by striking the language requiring the quorum to reflect the geographical areas of the country.  Action taken:  WITHDRAWN FROM PROGRAM
• Proposal 1, Part 6:  To amend Constitution/Article X/National Board of Directors/Section 2, by striking the language requiring the National Board of Directors reflect the geographic areas of the country.  Action taken:  WITHDRAWN FROM PROGRAM

PROPOSAL 2 – Constitutional Amendments:  National Council Size, Formula, Special Session:

• Proposal 2A (about National Council size):  The original proposal for Constitution/Article IV/The National Council/Section 4 had a breakout of whom the National Council will consist of and gave a number of 1,000 as the final count.   This was amended to reflect 1,500.  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED
• Proposal 2B (about formulas for calculating how many delegates per council and total National Council number):  The original proposal of formula numbers in Constitution/Article IV/The National Council/Section 5 was amended from 5,000 to 3,500 and instead of limiting the National Council to 1,000, the final amendment read 1,500 for the total membership.  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED
• Proposal 2C  (about Special Sessions):  The original proposal clarified the wording in Constitution/Article V/Section 3, but it was amended to include the word “local” before a reference to a council.  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED

PROPOSAL 3:  To raise membership dues to $12 effective with the 2010 Membership year, beginning October 1st, 2009.  Action taken:  PASSED

PROPOSAL 4:  To amend Constitution/Article V/Sessions of the National Council/Section 5 remove wording to allow for electronic voting.  This proposal was amended to include the phrase “Decision on membership dues shall require a majority of votes cast.”  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED

PROPOSAL 5 – National Board Development Committee:

• Proposal 5A:  To amend the Constitution/Article XII/National Nominating Committee wording to reflect specific definitions.   Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 5B:  To amend the Constitution/Article X, National Board of Directors, Section 5 by striking the phrase “except for the Chair of the National Nominating Committee.”  Action taken:  PASSED

PROPOSAL 6:  To amend the Constitution/Article VIII/Credentials/Section 4 by removing the language restricting membership to only annual or lifetime memberships.  Action taken:  WITHDRAWN FROM PROGRAM

2011 (Houston)
References: NCS Minutes 2011 and 2011 National Council Session Summary and NCS Workbook 2011

PROPOSAL 1:  To amend the Policies/Girl Scout Council/USAGSO/Girl Scout Council Authority and Responsibility section to strike “nor shall a Girl Scout council” and add “however, Girl Scout councils may charge an annual general program fee for girl members, not to exceed the amount charged by GSUSA for annual membership dues.”  This charge would start FY2013.  The proposal was amended to read “council service fee” instead of “general program fee.”  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED

PROPOSAL 2 – Timing for the Election of National Council Delegates:

• Proposal 2A:  To amend the Constitution/Article IV/The National Council/Section 5/Formula for Delegates, by striking out the words “of the year” and inserting the words “two years.”  Action taken:  DEFEATED
• Proposal 2B:  This part of the proposal would have modified the terms of a national council delegate.  Action taken:  NOT CONSIDERED BECAUSE 2A DID NOT PASS

PROPOSAL 3:  To amend the Credentials section entitled “Membership Dues and Procedures for Registration,” second paragraph, by striking “is October 1 through September 30” and inserting “commences on the date of registration of the member.”  Action taken:  NO VOTE TAKEN AND INSTEAD REFERRED TO A TASK GROUP

2014 (Salt Lake City)
References: NCS Minutes 2014 and 2014 Early Alert

PROPOSAL 1 – Flexibility of Dues and Registration Practices:

• Proposal 1A:  As a recommendation of Task Group to Study National Dues Structure and Registration Practices (see Proposal 3 from 2011), this originally wanted to strike “annual or lifetime” from Constitution/Article IX/Membership Dues and replace with the word “applicable.”  This proposal was amended to instead read as “annual, lifetime, or applicable membership dues.”  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED
• Proposal 1B:  To amend the Constitution/Article V/Section 5/Sessions of the National Council section by striking out the word “annual.”  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 1C:  Originally this proposal for Constitution/Article VIII/Section 4/Credentials asked to strike “no more than one year, except for lifetime membership” and instead replace it with “the applicable periods.”  This proposal was amended to read “annual, lifetime, or other applicable periods.”  Action taken:  PASSED AS AMENDED

PROPOSAL 2 – Reporting Relationship of Chief Financial Officer:

• Proposal 2A:  To amend the Constitution/Article XI/Officers/1 by striking “the Chief Financial Officer.”  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 2B:  To amend the Constitution/Article X/The National Board/2., by striking “and the Chief Financial Officer shall be ex officio members” and inserting “shall be an ex officio member.”  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 2C: To amend the Constitution/Article XI/Officers/3., by striking out “and the Chief Financial Officer.”  Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 2D:  To amend the Bylaws/Article II/Officers/G. by removing this section completely.  Action taken:  PASSED

PROPOSAL 3 – Role of Past Presidents:  To amend the Constitution/Article XI/Officers/5., by striking out “The Past Presidents shall be members ex officio of the National Board of Directors without vote except during any period when they may be serving as duly elected members of the National Board of Directors.”  Action taken:  PASSED

2017 (Columbus, OH)*
References:  GSUSA 2017 Workbook & Notes

PROPOSAL 2 – Establish the National Board Development Committee As a Committee of the National Board of Directors:

• Proposal 2, Part A:  To amend the Girl Scouts of the USA Constitution, Article XII, National Board Development Committee, Nominations, and Elections.
  • Voting results:  476 (46.4%) FOR vs. 550 (53.6%) AGAINST
  • Action taken:  DEFEATED
• Proposal 2, Part B through H:  These parts would have amended other parts and sections of the Constitution and Bylaws to reflect changes from Part A
  • Action taken:  NOT CONSIDERED BECAUSE PART A DID NOT PASS 

PROPOSAL 1 – Reducing the Size of the National Board:
To amend Article X, Section 2 of the Constitution of Girl Scouts of the USA by striking the number “25” and inserting the number “15.”

• Voting results (original number of 15): 537 (51.7%) FOR vs. 501 (48.3%) AGAINST
  
• Action taken:  DEFEATED

PROPOSAL 3 – Lifetime Membership Dues:

• Proposal 3, Part A: To amend provisions in the Credentials/Certificate of Membership/Membership Requirements/Lifetime Membership section by striking language.
  • Voting results: 937 (92.6%) FOR vs. 75 (7.4%) AGAINST
  • Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 3, Part B: To amend provisions in the Credentials/Membership Dues and Procedures for Registration/Lifetime Members section to reflect $400 rather than 25x multiplier.
  • Voting results: 941 (93.4%) FOR vs. 67 (6.6%) AGAINST
  • Action taken:  PASSED
• Proposal 3, Part C:  To amend provisions in the Credentials/Membership Dues and Procedures for Registration/Lifetime Members section by adding a $200 level for those under 30 who were alumnae.
  • Voting results:  952 (94.3%) FOR vs. 58 (5.7%) AGAINST
  • Action taken:  PASSED

*Addendum 10/12/17:  Added 2017 voting results

NOTES:

• As this list shows, the National Council DID NOT vote to give the National Board the authority to raise dues at any time.  REPEAT:  A VOTE WAS NOT TAKEN ON THIS MATTER NOR WAS THERE EVER A PROPOSAL.
• The National Council DID NOT vote to raise membership dues from $12 to $15 at the 2011 Session or at any Session for that matter.
• The National Council DID NOT vote at any time to raise membership dues from $15 to $25.
• If it’s not reflected in the Blue Book, then what was discussed cannot be used to defend any kind of rationale.
• If you see an error, please let me know what it is and also include the referenced material (where you found it) with the correction.  My email address is amy at dawgtoons.com if you need to email a file directly to me.
• If you haven’t already,  please read my series of posts about why I believe the National Board did not have the authority to raise membership dues without a vote of the National Council.