The newsletter for the active Venice - Marina Rotarian February 27, 2003

The Mesh

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From the rostrum, Willie Hjorth

Beaucoup kudos to Mary and George!!

What a huge success the 1 st Annual Pancake Breakfast for Venice Fire Station

#63 turned out to be! The enormous hard, dedicated work that Mary and

George put in paid off. Just about everyone supported the event in some

way. Having wonderful business members of the Venice Chamber of

Commerce support the event reaped even greater rewards. Great job, well

done!

Mary reported that we went way over

our goal to double last year’s

contribution. She will give us a report at

Thursday’s luncheon on the 27 th at

Shanghai Red’s. I hope you all enjoyed

the fabulous cooking of the firemen and

the congenial community atmosphere

that the Firehouse provided. The firemen

of Station #63 are to be thanked and

recognized for their donation of time and

cooperation in preparing the Firehouse

and the actual pancake production. It

was a superb event.

We extend our greatest thanks to COSTCO

and Berto for the generous donation of food

and drink, and to Howard for getting more

mixings when more people showed up.

This event could not have been successful

without the expertise of Howard and

RAINBOW ACRES. The VM Rotary Club

appreciates sincerely your ever-ready help.

Venice Marina Rotary Club members can be

really proud of this hands-on event. It is

the type of event that grass roots.community can participate in and it augurs well for the involvement and

recognition of Rotary and the Venice Chamber of Commerce. President of

the Venice Chamber of Commerce, Mary has given an extraordinary amount

of her time and talent to our Rotary event and is to be commended for

bringing together a very effective partnership. Again, thank you, Mary

Richert and thank you George Swartz. George and Donna live a stone’s

throw from the Firestation and are solid longtime Venetians!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2003

SHANGHAI RED’S, 12 NOON SOCIAL, 12:15 BELL

SPEAKER: CHRISTINE FOREMAN "Hope for Hearing"

Invocation: JR DZUBAK

Raffle prizes: PETER ESCOBAR

DISTRICT CONFERENCE, MAY 1 – 4

Please call Pechanga directly for your reservations as rooms are filling up

rapidly.

(909)-719-8564

SPECIAL ROTARY DISTRICT 5280 ROOM RATES: Good through March 31.

Specify District 5280 rates.

Thursday night (May 1): = $129

Friday (May 2) and Saturday (May 3) nights: $139

Those reserving their room prior to March 16 will receive a special gift ($45

approximate value) from the Pechanga Resort.

BRING YOUR PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS TO LUNCH

John Jaacks, Assistant District Governor Club Service and last week’s

speaker, was truly right when he told of Rotarian rewards being of the heart,

of the personal satisfaction of having done some good for someone else.

Our Venice-Marina Rotary Club brochure produced by David Voss says in

answer to the question, why join Rotary?:

v "Discover a practical way to contribute to a better society".

v Participate in an organization dedicated to service, vocations,

community and to international goodwill and understanding.

v Develop YOUR talents and capacities in roles of leadership and

support.

v Gain recognition for yourself and business or profession.

v Increase your knowledge of world affairs and develop an appreciation

of the other customs..All of the above were in full force for the Rotary Club of Venice Marina this

past weekend. It’s up to you individually to touch another caring individual

who would make a good Rotarian. We have the spirit and the support of

each other. Bring a future Rotarian to lunch.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Notices from the District

Reminder:

To: All Club Presidents

Please announce at the next meeting of your Club and/or Board of Directors

and/or publish in your Club's Newsletter

From: Rick Mendoza, District Governor, 2002-03

Important Deadlines: May 2nd and June 30th, 2003

The Council on Legislation (COL) is the legislative body of Rotary

International which has the authority to amend the constitutional documents

of RI. It meets every three years to deliberate and act upon all duly

proposed items of legislation. The voting body of the Council is made up of

representatives elected by the clubs in each district.

The 2004 COL will meet in Chicago June 14-18, 2004. PDG Paul Netzel will be

our District 5280 representative.

Legislation may be proposed by 1) a Club; 2) a District; 3) the Board of

Directors of RI; or 4) the Council on Legislation itself. Proposed

legislation may be submitted to the Council in one of two forms: Enactments

or Resolutions.

"Enactments" are proposals which seek to amend the RI Constitution, the RI.Bylaws, or the Standard Rotary Club Constitution. (NOTE: The Recommended

Rotary Club Bylaws and the Bylaws of The Rotary Foundation are not

constitutional documents of RI and are not amended by the Council.)

"Resolutions" are proposals which do not seek to amend the constitutional

documents of RI, but which recommend a policy or procedure or express an

opinion.

At the 2001 COL, District 5280 had two clubs that proposed Resolutions:

Culver City (requesting the RI Board to consider encouraging clubs to

support projects for rehabilitation of polio disabled children); and South

Gate (requesting that the R.I. Board encourage Rotary clubs to establish

Youthact Clubs for youths ages 11 to 14). Both resolutions were ultimately

favorably acted upon by the COL and forwarded to the R.I. Board. Attached

FYI is a summary of all legislative items considered by the 2001 COL so you

can see the type, range and disposition of issues considered.

By now you, as an experienced club president, probably have a better

perspective on the issues facing Rotary at the local/club level ... and may

even have thought of ways to greatly strengthen or enhance how Rotary

carries out its programs and business. In all likelihood, a proposal to the

COL may be the most direct way to address the issue and get action!

If you or any member of your club or your club's board of directors wishes

to submit either an Enactment or a Resolution to the 2004 COL, two essential

steps must be taken:

* It must be submitted for consideration at the Business Session of

our District Conference, May 2-4, 2003.

* It must be submitted to Rotary International in Evanston no later

than June 30, 2003.

* In both cases the official COL format must be used and signed by the.District Governor.

* A copy of the procedures and application format is attached.

* For additional information, please refer to the RI COL Web Site:

http://www.rotary.org/services/council/index.html

Our District's 2004 COL Delegate is PDG Paul Netzel. Paul is available to

provide advice and counsel to any club interested in pursuing a legislative

submission. He can be reached at 310-836-7624 x/114 or at the following

e-mail address: pnetzel@earthlink.net

HOW TO PROPOSE LEGISLATION

I. The Council on Legislation

The Council on Legislation is the legislative body of Rotary International which has the authority to

amend the constitutional documents of RI. It meets every three years to deliberate and act upon all duly

proposed items of legislation. The voting body of the Council is made up of representatives elected by the

clubs in each district.

Legislation may be proposed only by 1) a club; 2) a district conference; 3) the general council or the

conference of RI in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI); 4) the Board of Directors of RI; or 5) the Council on

Legislation itself. Proposed legislation may be submitted to the Council in the form of enactments or

resolutions.

II. How to Propose Legislation

A. Enactments

"Enactments" are proposals which seek to amend the RI Constitution, the RI Bylaws, or the Standard

Rotary Club Constitution. (NOTE: The Recommended Rotary Club Bylaws and the Bylaws of The

Rotary Foundation are not constitutional documents of RI and are not amended by the Council.)

Proposed enactments should be submitted by reproducing the entire affected portion or portions of the

constitutional documents, clearly indicating which material is to be deleted and which new material is.6

being added. Such proposals should be submitted to the General Secretary in the following form:

PROPOSED ENACTMENT

To (state concisely the purpose of the proposal)

Proposed by (the Rotary Club of ______ or the Conference/Council of District ______)

IT IS ENACTED by Rotary International that the (name of the constitutional document) be and hereby is

amended as follows

(insert affected portion of document with markings to show changes)

Here is an example of a proposed enactment in proper form submitted to a past Council:

PROPOSED ENACTMENT

To amend the provisions for notifying clubs of the report of the nominating committee for president

Proposed by the Rotary Club of _________________

IT IS ENACTED by Rotary International that the BYLAWS OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL be and

hereby are amended as follows

Article XI Nominations and Elections for President

11.060. Report of Committee.

11.060.1. Mailing to All Clubs.

The report of the committee shall be addressed to the clubs and certified to the general secretary by the

chairman within ten days following the adjournment of the committee. The general secretary shall mail a

copy notify each club of the contents of the report to each club within ten days as soon as financially

practicable but in any case within thirty (30) days after the receipt thereof.

(End of Text)

_____________________________________________

Note: Material to be deleted is lined through and will not

appear in the revised text. New material is underlined..7

B. Resolutions

Resolutions are proposals which do not seek to amend the constitutional documents of RI, but which

recommend a policy or procedure or express an opinion. Such proposals should be submitted to the

General Secretary in the following form:

PROPOSED RESOLUTION

To (state concisely the purpose of the proposal)

Proposed by (the Rotary Club of ______ or the Conference/Council of District ______)

IT IS RESOLVED by Rotary International that the Board of Directors of Rotary International consider

(provide the wording of the resolution)

OR

IT IS RESOLVED by Rotary International that, in the opinion of the 2004 Council on Legislation

(provide the wording of the resolution)

Here is an example of a proposed resolution in proper form submitted to a past Council:

PROPOSED RESOLUTION

To request the RI Board to consider encouraging clubs to support projects for rehabilitation of polio-disabled

children

Proposed by the Conference of District ______

WHEREAS, the polio eradication program supported by Rotary has led to a worldwide association of the

name of Rotary with polio, and

WHEREAS, it is seen that there is a large number of polio-disabled children in polio endemic countries

who are very poor and need help to provide them with mobility so that they can look forward to a useful

and productive future

IT IS RESOLVED by Rotary International that the Board of Directors of Rotary International consider

encouraging all Rotary clubs in polio endemic countries to undertake projects for the rehabilitation of

polio-disabled children and encouraging Rotary clubs in other countries to support such projects.

(End of Text)

C. Club and District Conference/Council Proposals

When a Rotary club proposes legislation, the proposal must have been submitted by the club’s board of

directors to the membership for adoption. The proposal must then be forwarded to the governor with a.8

letter signed by the club president and secretary certifying that it has been adopted at a regular club

meeting.

Each proposal from a club must be submitted to the district conference (district council in Great Britain

and Ireland) for a vote on whether the legislation should be endorsed. If time does not permit such

consideration, the proposal may instead be submitted to the clubs in the district in a ballot-by-mail

conducted by the governor. Note: All club proposals must be voted upon at the district level. Club

proposals which are endorsed by the district should be submitted to the General Secretary by the

governor, along with the signed endorsement certification form. Club legislation which is not endorsed

by the district must be returned to the proposing club by the governor, along with the form certifying that

it was not endorsed. If the proposing club decides to submit the non-endorsed proposal to the Council, the

legislation and certification form should be forwarded by the club to the General Secretary, along with

verification signed by the club president that it should be submitted to the Council.

When a district conference proposes legislation, the proposal(s) should be included in the official report of

the conference which the governor and the district conference secretary transmit to the General Secretary.

Such proposals may also be submitted separately to the General Secretary accompanied by the governor’s

certification of their proposal by the conference. The decision of the district conference to propose

legislation should include a provision giving authority to the governor, or to a Rotarian appointed by the

governor, to act on behalf of the conference to:

v approve any amendment or re-draft suggested by the RI Constitution and Bylaws

Committee;

v consolidate the proposal with others, and

v take any other general action on behalf of the proposer.

To be duly proposed, each item of legislation (regardless of its proposer) 1) must be submitted to the

General Secretary, along with the governor’s signed certification, by 30 June 2003, 2) must comply with

the requirements of RI Bylaws section 7.020. regarding who may propose legislation, and, 3) when

proposed by a club, must meet the requirements of RI Bylaws section 7.030. regarding district review.

It is the responsibility of the proposer of legislation to prepare it in the appropriate form for Council

consideration. However, the RI Constitution and Bylaws Committee, acting on behalf of the RI Board of

Directors, will examine the text of all proposed legislation, advise the proposer of any defects or

deficiencies in the proposal, and recommend, where feasible, corrective action or an alternative proposal.

Please note that the committee will not devote undue time and attention to proposed legislation involving

extensive amendments until the proposer has made reasonable efforts to correctly draft the legislation.

Experience has shown that lengthy or complicated proposals and proposals involving fundamental changes

to the constitutional documents are more likely to be adopted if they are presented to the Council first as

"concepts" in the form of resolutions and then, at a subsequent Council, as specific enactments. Further,

clubs and districts are encouraged to limit the number of proposals submitted to any Council. If one club

or district submits numerous proposals, it tends to decrease the chances of those proposals being adopted.

D. Board Examination.9

If the Board of Directors of RI determines that a proposed enactment is not duly proposed or defective,

and the proposer has not made suitable changes, the Board may direct that the original proposal not be

transmitted to the Council. (RI Bylaws 7.050.2.) Similarly, if the Board determines that a proposed

resolution is not duly proposed or "not within the framework of the program of RI," the Board may direct

that it not be transmitted to the Council. (RI Bylaws 7.050.3.) In either event, the proposers will be so

informed of the Board’s determination prior to the meeting of the Council. The Board’s decision to not

transmit a proposal to the Council may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the Council.

If substantially similar enactments or resolutions are proposed, the Board may recommend a compromise

enactment or resolution. If the proposers do not agree to the compromise, the Board may direct that an

alternative that best expresses the objective of the similar proposals be transmitted to the Council.

E. Amendments

Up to two months before the Council convenes, proposers may deliver to the General Secretary

amendments to their proposed legislation. If feasible, amendments will be published in the book of

proposed legislation sent to all governors and Council members and available to any club upon request.

Otherwise, amendments to proposals will be permitted only from the floor of the Council, in accordance

with the "Rules of Procedure" adopted by the Council (see Chapter 15 of the Manual of Procedure).

F. Statements of Support and Opposition

A club, a district conference, the general conference or council of RIBI, the Council on Legislation or the

RI Board may provide a statement commenting on any item of proposed legislation (whether enactment or

resolution). Such statements may be in support of, in opposition to, or as a comment on the proposal.

The statements must be limited to one side of a sheet of normal business stationery. If the statements are

submitted to the General Secretary no later than three months prior to the opening of the Council, they will

be transmitted to all members of the Council.

III. Publication of Proposed Legislation

Following the deadline for submission of legislation, the General Secretary will publish a book of all

proposed legislation to be transmitted to the Council. Ten copies of the book will be mailed to each

governor, one copy to all members of the Council, and one copy to any club requesting it, no later than 31

December 2003. All proposed legislation also will be made available on Rotary’s worldwide web page:

http://www.rotary.org.

Because the technical nature of some legislation may make its purpose and effect unclear, each proposal,

when published, will be followed by a statement explaining the effect of the proposal, including any

anticipated financial impact. The RI Constitution and Bylaws Committee, as part of its review of all

proposed legislation on behalf of the RI Board, prepares these statements.

IV. How a Proposal Comes Before the Council on Legislation

In order for proposed legislation to be considered by the Council, a member of the Council must move its

adoption. A proposer of legislation, at any time prior to the presentation of the motion, may designate any

member of the Council (usually the representative of clubs in the district from which the legislation is.10

proposed) to present the motion for adoption by the Council. Where no "motion" is forthcoming, the

proposed legislation is considered as withdrawn from consideration by the Council.

Although the 2004 Council will adopt its own rules of procedure, Chapter 15 of the 2001 Manual of

Procedure contains the rules of procedure that were adopted by the 2001 Council.

FOR LEGISLATION PROPOSED BY CLUBS AND ENDORSED BY

DISTRICT

File Number _______

(for RI use only)

CERTIFICATION OF DISTRICT CONSIDERATION AND ENDORSEMENT OF

CLUB-PROPOSED LEGISLATION

In accordance with RI Bylaws 7.030., this is to certify that the legislation proposed by

the Rotary Club of __________________________________________________

proposing to _____________________________________________________________

(state concisely the purpose of the legislation)

________________________________________________________________________

was considered and endorsed by the clubs of District ____________

[ ] at its annual district conference/council held on ___________________________

(dates)

in _______________________________________________________________

(location)

OR

[ ] in a ballot-by-mail conducted during ____________________________________

(month/year)

__________________________________

(Signature)

__________________________________

(Date).11

Governor, District __________________

NOTE: This form MUST accompany all legislation which was proposed by a

club and endorsed by the district. Both proposed legislation and this form

must be received at the RI World Headquarters no later than 30 June 2003.