On Friday, January 17, 2014, the BJCP Board ratified its bylaws.

In a December 5, 2013 email, BJCP President Gordon Strong noted he had gathered feedback that had accumulated over the past several years and incorporated it into a proposed revision to the BJCP Bylaws. The Bylaws are the founding document of the BJCP, which provide the rules and governing structure of how the organization functions. An effort had been underway four years ago to revise the Bylaws, based upon feedback by Program members, but the effort never completed its work.

Strong noted that the revisions sought to address concerns, to align them more to “similar nonprofit organizations.” He also noted that the revisions were minimal in nature, and answered questions he and BJCP Board members had received. It was noted that due to 2014 BJCP elections, and a desire to correct any potential ambiguity before that process began.

As per the BJCP Bylaws in place at the time, any proposed revisions to the Bylaws must be posted for 30 days before changes may be voted on and approved. The proposed Bylaw changes were circulated amongst BJCP Board members, including elected officials and appointed officers, before being posted to the web site for general Program member review. Feedback included from the board included:

• A suggestion to include term limits of 2 consecutive terms because of a perceived “staleness” of BJCP elected officials. Strong replied that he felt elections were the best form of term limits, and that the represented may choose who they want to represent them for however long they desire. He also noted that the size of the BJCP has doubled in active membership in five years, which many would not consider “stale.”
• Questions on the need for an odd number of regions and how that impacts voting, as well as how ties are broken.
• A suggestion to require an annual written report. Strong noted the role of the newly appointed Assistant Communication Director is to inform the membership, and that through the usage of email, the annual report would be included as a series of emails throughout the year. He also noted that a new web site will also address the need for more regular reports on the Program.
• A question from the Facebook forums as to the inclusion of a non-discrimination statement in the Bylaws, based upon incorporation guidelines recommended by the Government. No response was given.

On December 27, Strong noted he had incorporated the changes, including the addition of a non-discrimination section, an indemnification article, doubling the time to review amendments before voting, added criteria on regional re-adjustment and tie-breaking. The revised proposed changes were posted to the web site on December 27, 2013.

A note on the BJCP web site introducing the proposed Bylaw updates stated:

“Since the BJCP eliminated the Program Administrator role and introduced various electronic methods for business, the Bylaws have been increasingly outdated. Several efforts were made over the years to bring them current, but unfortunately none of these were completed until a new effort this year finished the job.

“The proposed Bylaws were completely rewritten following best practices for non-profit organizations, and more directly referencing controlling legal documents. These changes also incorporate many suggestions from members, such as providing more detailed descriptions of offices and jobs, clarifying procedures for how people are added and removed from jobs, removing technologically-outdated procedures, and establishing easier processes for changing rules that are more appropriately defined through policy.

“Some of the more significant changes include (1) updating the mission statement (Article 1, section 5) to be more understandable and reflect the broader mission we are now pursuing; (2) clarifying membership criteria for the organization, specifically identifying that only those who pass an exam are voting members of the organization (Article 2, Section 1); and (3) introducing criteria for elected representatives (Article 3, Section 5).

“Per the provisions of current bylaws (7.1), the full proposal of the proposed bylaws are posted for the membership to review. A board vote will be taken on or after January 11, 2014.”

The new Bylaws take effect immediately.

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