Bylaws Committee Report

[John Goerzen]

Hello,

This is our report as mandated by the charter for the bylaws committee. [1]

The Bylaws committee was formed earlier this year to investigate problems
with the current bylaws of SPI, and to draft proposed amemdments to the
bylaws to remedy these issues.

We have identified a list[2] of 59 specific problems with the current bylaws
and have been working to suggest solutions to them.

We have been working through these, as you can see from our status page[3],
and have advanced proposals for some of the most thorny issues facing SPI --
such as board meeting quorum issues, streamlining of elections, etc.

These proposals may be found at our "July 1" page[4].

Our task is not yet finished, however.  We were, frankly, surprised by both
the number of items on the list and the time it has taken to work through
them.  Therefore, I have asked the board to extend our charter until
January so that we may proceed to work on the remaining issues on our list. 
(While this may not strictly be necessary given the language of the current
charter, I prefer to avoid ambiguity on this)

Therefore, we present our proposals at [4] for immediate consideration, and,
with leave of the board, will present additional proposals in six months.

Those interested in our progress may track the spi-bylaws list and our
status page.

Thanks,
John Goerzen
Bylaws Committee Chair

[1] http://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/resolutions/resolution-2003-01-06.wta.2
[2] http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-bylaws/2003/000082.html
[3] http://gopher.quux.org:70/devel/bylaws/status.html
[4] http://gopher.quux.org:70/devel/bylaws/20030701.html