PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE UUA RULES FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE 2004 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Comments are welcome. Please post them on OpenUUA@uua.org or send them to carolagate@mac.com.

Rights of members of Member Congregations

Rule G-3.10.1. Democratic process. Because the Association is committed to the use of the democratic process through open procedures that allow all members of its member congregations to follow and participate in its governance, all meetings of the Board of Trustees and all other Association elected and appointed boards, commissions, committees, and task forces shall:

(a) make meeting dates, agendas, reports, and draft minutes available to the congregations within a week of the time they are given to committee members;

(b) be open to observers (with the exception of executive sessions, to discuss personnel, ministerial fellowship, litigation, or negotiations);

(c) provide an avenue for members of member congregations to comment to the chair or a designated committee member before meetings, and allow comment before a vote is taken.

(d) allow members to subscribe to board and committee email lists on a read-only basis.

Note: Changes in this draft: This incorporates the suggestions that most respondents have said they prefer: Offering a single resolution instead of all the detailed rules of the original draft. A few of the provision of the other rules have been incorporated here.

This also changes references to the public to "members of member congregations" or just "congregations." It adds "ministerial fellowship" as a category fitting within executive sessions. This would cover the MFC and the Board of Review.