Proposing a Resolution

Members and friends of the 46th LD District Democrats may submit proposed resolutions for the entire membership to consider at a membership meeting. Your resolutions should conform to our rules and template format described below. Please send your proposed resolution to the District Chair or Newsletter Editor. Your resolution will be reviewed by the Platform and Resolutions Committee. The committee will submit resolutions meeting our rules and template format, together with the committee's recommendation, to the Newsletter editor, so that it will be published in the next Newsletter. Usually, the proposed resolution must appear in the Newsletter so members can review the text, before it can be considered at a meeting. If you want your resolution to be considered sooner, and the Chair agrees that it should be, the Chair will propose to the membership at the next meeting that the resolution be considered. If a 2/3rds vote agrees, your resolution will be put forward immediately for discussion and a vote.

Requirements for a Resolution

Resolutions are a call to action by the 46th LD membership on pressing issues that must be acted on well before the next election.** The resolution states the objective of the 46th LD and requests an action to be done or an outcome to be achieved. It is addressed to someone or some group having the power to accomplish what we ask. Usually the resolution addresses an urgent or immediate public concern, such as a bill pending in a legislature or an agenda item before a commission or governmental agency. The resolution may propose a new action or support or oppose a pending proposal.

1. Title - The title of the resolution must be clearly and concisely stated at the beginning of the resolution. It must be limited to one page and must not duplicate or contradict the platform.
2. WHEREAS Statements - The resolution must begin with at least one "whereas" stating the situation to be addressed or one or more fundamental facts or values that motivates our request for action. It is usually a statement of fact or values to which most Democrats would likely agree. Statements about facts not widely known should be accompanied by supporting materials from an accepted source (which need not be sited in the text), so that the committee can better understand the proposed resolution.
3. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED Statements - The resolution must conclude with at least one "Therefore" statement. The statement may summarize the 46th LD's understanding of what the facts and values say or an assessment of the situation. The statement shall include a call for a specific action addressed to someone or some group or entity who has the power to accomplish the action, such as a legislator sponsoring or opposing a bill. It may also ask for actions within the LD such as the Chair or Secretary directing an email conveying our resolution to an official or other action within in the power of the organization that implements the resolution. The 46th LD Democrats reserves to itself the power to ask, propose, request or urge an action or assert a truth or value to those in power in government or the Party.
4. Submitter Identified - At the bottom of the resolution, it must contain the names and contact information of the persons submitting the resolution, the date it was submitted, and the date of the meeting at which the submitter proposes that the resolution be considered. The printed version of the proposed resolutions must be signed by submitters.

Aides for Preparing a Resolution

• Full text of LD rules for resolutions, platform planks and the Platform and Resolutions Committee. See this link.
• MS Word Resolutions Template resolutions. See link. Download this format, "load" it with your resolution's text, and save it with your own file name.
• Example of a resolution approved by the membership. See link "Repeal Of The Federal Defense Of Marriage Act" on page 5 of our August 2009 Demogram

Submitting your Proposed Resolution

If you would like to submit a proposed resolution for consideration, please download our Resolution Template (MSWord) and send it via email and/or post to both Chad Lupkes and/or Barbara Whitt, our Newsletter Editor. We will send it to the Platform and Resolutions Committee Chair for review.

** = Issues that will require one or more election cycles to accomplish, or which are continuing values or objectives of the LD are usually addressed in the Platform, not in Resolutions. Platforms are updated and adopted before each election cycle at an LD caucus. It is the document we ask our nominees to run on and our elected officials to adhere to.