Item 6: Final Version - Proposed Bylaws Edits — original pdf

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(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) BYLAWS OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ARTICLE 1. NAME. The name of the board is the COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. ARTICLE 2. PURPOSE AND DUTIES. The purpose of the board is to advise the city council on regarding issues that include: community technology; telecommunications services; new sources of funding for access television projects; new sources of funding for community technology projects; allocation of annual financial support; digital equity issues; broadband development and access; digital skills; internet affordability and accessibility; the evaluation of the performance of access television contractors and other community technology contractors, including development of criteria to be used for evaluations; and information and communications technology facilities and services that are operated by the City for public use, including the City website, internet services and open government technology. The Commission shall conduct public hearings regarding issues that include: (1) The performance of access television contractors, and other community technology contractors. ; and (2) The identification of community cable, telecommunications, internet, broadband access, device and other technology needs and resources. (3) Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies. The Commission shall promote access to telecommunications services, community technologies, and the internet by methods including: (1) Promoting public awareness, use, and viewership of access television programming and other community media; (2) Identifying community technology needs and problems in the City and defining innovative programming approaches to those needs and problems enabling / enhancing public awareness of telecommunications policy and community technology issues. public awareness of telecommunications policy and community technology issues. (3) Collecting community input via open sessions, as and when needed, to address topics relevant to this commission. The Commission shall support the Grant for Technology Opportunities (GTOPs) in the following ways: (1) Advise city staff on the selection and approval of volunteer grant review panelists to evaluate and score GTOPs applications. (2) Appoint commission members to serve as non-voting chairs (ex-officio chair) of grant review panels as needed to provide guidance and leadership to review panelists and to support the process of GTOPs protests. (3) Appoint commission members to serve as voting review panel members as needed. (4) Advise staff on the final allocation of GTOPs awards The Commission shall serve as a coordinating forum for issues relating to the provision of every different type of telecommunications services and community technologies, by receiving reports and recommendations from other City boards and commissions and from City departments, and forwarding these to the city council. The commission does not possess any sovereign authority regarding any cable television or cable related telecommunications issue, and the commission serves in an advisory capacity only. ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP. (A) The board is composed of eleven members appointed by the city council (B) A member serves at the pleasure of the city council (C) Board members serve for a term of four years beginning March 1st on the year of appointment. (D) An individual board member may not act in an official capacity except through the action of the board. (E) A board member who is absent for three consecutive regular meetings or one-third of all regular meetings in a “rolling” twelve month timeframe automatically vacates the member’s position subject to the holdover provisions in Section 2-1-27 of the City Code. This does not apply to an absence due to illness or injury of the board member, an illness or injury of a board member’s immediate family member, active military service, or the birth or adoption of the board member’s child for 90 days after the event. The board member must notify the staff liaison of the reason for the absence not later than the date of the next regular meeting of the board. Failure to notify the liaison before the next regular meeting of the board will result in an unexcused absence. (F) At each meeting, each board member shall sign an attendance sheet which indicates that the member does not have a conflict of interest with any item on that agenda, or identifies each agenda item on which the member has a conflict of interest. Failure to sign the sheet results in the member being counted as absent and his/her votes are not counted. (G) A member who seeks to resign from the board shall submit a written resignation to the chair of the board, the staff liaison, the city clerk’s office, and the appointing council member’s office. If possible, the resignation should allow for a thirty day notice so the city council can appoint a replacement. ARTICLE 4. OFFICERS. (A) The officers of the board shall consist of a chair and a vice-chair. (B) Officers shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the board at the first regular meeting after April 1st. In the event a current officer becomes ineligible to serve as an officer, the board may hold an emergency election as needed. (C) The term of office shall be one year, beginning May 1st and ending April 30th. An officer may continue to serve until a successor is elected. A person may not serve as an officer in a designated position of a board for more than four consecutive one year terms. A person who has served as an officer in a designated position of a board for four consecutive terms is not eligible for re-election to that designated office until the expiration of two years after the last date of the person’s service in that office. The board may override the term limit provision for an officer by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the authorized board members. (D) A member may not hold more than one office at a time. ARTICLE 5. DUTIES OF OFFICERS. (A) The chair shall preside at board meetings, appoint all committees, represent the board at ceremonial functions and approve each final meeting agenda. Other commissioners may attend ceremonial functions provided a quorum is not reached. (B) In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall perform all duties of the chair. ARTICLE 6. AGENDAS. (A) Two or more board members may place an item on the agenda by oral or written request to the staff liaison at least five days before the meeting. After first consulting with and receiving input from the staff liaison, the chair shall approve each final meeting agenda. (B) The board liaison shall submit the meeting agenda through the online agenda posting system for each meeting not less than 72 hours before the meeting. (C) Posting of the agenda must comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). ARTICLE 7. MEETINGS. (A) The board meetings shall comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). (B) Board meetings shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order. (C) The board may not conduct a closed meeting without the approval of the city attorney. (D) The board shall meet monthly. In November of each year, the board shall adopt a schedule of the meetings for the upcoming year, including makeup meeting dates for the holidays and canceled meetings. (E) The chair may call a special meeting, and the chair shall call a special meeting if requested by three or more members. The call shall state the purpose of the meeting. A board may not call a meeting in addition to its regular scheduled meetings as identified in its adopted meeting schedule, more often than once a quarter, unless the meeting is required to comply with a statutory deadline or a deadline established by Council. (F) Six members constitute a quorum. (G) If a quorum for a meeting does not convene within one-half hour of the posted time for the meeting, then the meeting may not be held. (H) To be effective, a board action must be adopted by affirmative vote of the number of members necessary to provide a quorum. (I) The chair has the same voting privilege as any other member. (J) The board shall allow members of the public to address the board on agenda items and during a period of time set aside for public communications. The chair may limit a speaker to three minutes. (K) The staff liaison shall prepare the board minutes. The minutes of each board meeting must include the vote of each member on each item before the board and indicate whether a member is absent or failed to vote on an item. (L) The city clerk shall retain agendas, approved minutes, internal review reports and bylaws. The Office of Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs shall retain all other board documents. The documents are public records under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 552 (Texas Public Information Act). (M) The chair shall adjourn a meeting not later than 10 p.m., unless the board votes to continue the meeting. (N) Each person and board member attending a board meeting should observe decorum pursuant to Section 2-1-48 of the City Code. (O) A member of the public may not address a board at a meeting on an item posted as a briefing. ARTICLE 8. COMMITTEES/WORKING GROUPS. COMMITTEES (A) The Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission will have no committees may have committees. Any committees of this commission shall be established by an affirmative vote of the board. A committee cannot meet until its creation is approved by the City Council Audit and Finance Committee. Each committee shall consist of at least three board members appointed by the chair. A staff member shall be assigned to each committee by the director of the Office of Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs. Each committee must be established by an affirmative vote of the board. A committee cannot meet until its creation is approved by the Council Audit and Finance Committee. Each committee shall consist of at least three board members appointed by the chair. A staff member shall be assigned to each committee by the director of the Office of Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs. (B) The board chair shall appoint a committee member as the committee chair, with the member’s consent.  (C) A majority of the total number of appointed committee members constitutes a (D) Each All committees of this commission shall meet on a regularly scheduled basis quorum. and at least quarterly. (E) Each All committees of this commission shall make annual reports to the board at the January board meeting. (F) Each All committee meetings of this commission must be posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). (G) At each During any committee meeting of this commission a all members of the particular committee shall sign in on a sheet provided and shall indicate that the member has no conflict of interest with any item on the committee meeting agenda, or identify each agenda item on which the member has a conflict of interest. WORKING GROUPS (A) The board can determine the size of a working group but the number of board members serving on the working group must be less than a quorum of the board. (B) A working group may designate a chair, with the member’s consent, but is not required to do so. (C) Quorum requirements for a meeting do not apply to working groups. (D) (E) Working groups are not required to post their meetings in accordance with the Staff support will not be provided for working groups. Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act). ARTICLE 9. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the board in all cases to which they are applicable, except when inconsistent with these bylaws or with special rules of order which the board or city council may adopt. ARTICLE 10. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS. A bylaw amendment is not effective unless approved by the Council Audit and Finance Committee. The bylaws were approved by the City Council at their meeting held on February 11, 2016  The bylaws were revised in accordance with Resolution 20220217-033 on 3/9/2022. ___________________________________ Dan Martinez, Commission Staff Liaison