OntheWilderSide

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The Platform Committee:
1)  May return a proposal for revision or correction.
2)  May send a proposal to your state party or state organization for review.
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Steps to take for proper submission:
–  First, go to Chapter (in Roman numerals) and the Section (in Alphabet) and then paragraph or paragraphs, Number(s) of 2004 Platform that you wish to amend.
–  Identify where your amendment will fit or what it will replace.
–  Write your amendment and indicate that it replaces/adds/re-orders/change some words/or whatever in 2004 Platform. Sometimes an amendment merges with original text, sometimes it replaces or adds… that’s fine.
–  If your text replaces a whole section – are defined number of paragraphs – write it in italics.
–  Get approval from your Steering Committee before sending to us. (You can get approval by e-mail if necessary.)

–  Send the amendment to the Co-Chairs of the Platform Committee:

Jenefer Ellingston, email = jellingston@earthlink.netand

John Ely, email = johnbethany@earthlink.net
Write Additional Comments if further explanation is necessary.  Please note:  If you do not follow format given above, your amendment will not be accepted.  It will be returned with request that you follow the format.

GPUS Platform 2008 Timeline/Process
Amendments were accepted from Oct. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31 2007.
We have extended the timeline to January 21, 2008.
Accepted amendments will be put on website by Mike Ewall, Secretary for all Greens to review and offer corrections. Mike’s email = catalyst@actionpa.org

The website will be closed for a period while we compile/order/correct typos the text and then opened two months prior to Convention.
We wish to avoid complaint that Green had to vote on a document they hadn’t had time to read.

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Additional information
1. National Committee approved the timeline/process this summer or early fall of 2006.
2. Notice was sent out by the Platform Committee co-chairs to NC and Platform Committee members that door is open to accept amendments.
3. Amendments are to be approved by State Steering Committee or Caucus before submitted by member.
The Platform Committee will track and organize submissions.
All accepted amendments will be posted on the website:  www.gp.org/committees/platform/draft/work
(Note that they are not all there yet.)
4. Corrections to website amendments must come from your Steering Committee or Caucus, not from one person. We will use a simple rating system to evaluate support or opposition for a proposed amendment. (SEE RATING FORMULA BELOW.)

5. Final draft by two months prior to 2008 convention.  There should only be a few, if any, unresolved issues at this point.  Unresolved amendments will be circulated back to states/caucuses at least two months prior to the convention for last-minute feedback, informing them that they could be voting on these at the final platform hearings, to be scheduled as close as possible to the day preceding the presidential nominating convention.  Any items and language that remain to be determined at the final hearings, if such are needed, will be made available to all convention delegates as part of the convention packets (as well as available online).

6. Copies of the nearly final platform (with an addendum listing unresolved issues) will be printed before the convention and will be available at the convention.  Platform hearings will be held to refine the unresolved issues in an effort to make them acceptable to Greens at large.  Platform hearings will be open to all, but only those chosen specifically to represent their state or caucus on the matter of these unresolved amendments would be entitled to vote, {if such is needed; however, consensus is the goal, so material not gaining obvious overall support will not be included}.  States/caucuses can caucus at the convention and choose who will represent them in these hearings.  (It is up to the state/caucus chair or co-chairs to inform the Platform Committee about who was chosen to represent them).

States/caucuses can choose more than one representative, but votes will be counted in such a way that each state/caucus will be represented proportionally, with voting weight equal to the number of voting delegates to which they are entitled to have at the convention. No single person may carry more than three votes.  If consensus cannot be reached in the hearings, the voting representatives shall vote on proposed amendments. Those amendments pass only if they obtain the support of 90% or more of the weighted vote of the representatives in attendance.

7.  Final copies of any amendments approved on the floor of the convention will be printed and made available, as a final addendum to the printed “near final” draft that the delegates will already have.  This will prevent a frantic, last-minute printing adventure.  Nice and pretty final copies can be done up after the convention.

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**RATING FORMULA
A rating of 1 = 3 points
A rating of 2 = 2
A rating of 3 = 1
A rating of 4 = 0, and
A rating of 5 = -1

1 – Approval.  Material meets with general approval of membership, a strong majority or consensus.

2 – Approval, with minor revisions.  Overall approval, but minor revisions such as corrected or updated information may be needed, or minor revisions to
meet concerns are suggested.

3 – General support, but with more substantial concerns to be addressed (this could involve more substantial working out of material, possibly referring
content to those with particular expertise or background)

4 – General lack of support.  This might be more acceptable if (…), but overall, members find it unnecessary/unacceptable/doesn’t really fit.
(Unlikely that material garnering this type of rating will make it into the 2004 platform, but worth looking into.)

5 – Reject.  Members do not support inclusion of this amendment in the Green Platform