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FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	03/22/2021
Subject: Bylaw Revisions for the Contra Costa Commission for Women and Girls
Submitted For:	Monica Nino, County Administrator
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	N/A
Referral Name:	N/A
Presenter:	Kelly Clancy, CCCWG Chair	Contact:	Enid Mendoza, (925) 655-2051

Information

Referral History:

On January 7, 2020, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 2020/1 amending policy governing appointments to boards, committees, and commissions that are advisory to the Board of Supervisors. Included in this resolution was a requirement that applications for at large/countywide seats be reviewed by a Board of Supervisors sub-committee.

The Contra Costa Commission for Women was formed to educate the community and advise the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on issues relating to the changing social and economic conditions of women in the County, with particular emphasis on the economically disadvantaged. The Commission's mission is, “to improve the economic status, social welfare, and overall quality of life for women in Contra Costa County.” In September 2017, the IOC held a discussion about problems that had been reported concerning the Commission for Women and has worked with the Commission to institute policy and bylaws changes to address the issues that have hindered functioning of the Commission. The Commission for Women continues to face membership challenges. The committee consists of 15 members and one alternate including:
• Five district representatives (one from each supervisorial district),
• Ten At-Large members, and
• One At-Large Alternate.

Referral Update:

The last bylaws revisions did not specify the staggering of seat terms in relation to the approved extension from 3 year terms to 4 year terms. The Commission met to discuss these revisions and other bylaws clarifications and approved the changes as attached. The recommended amendments are attached, including both a red-lined version showing the proposed changes from the last revision and clean version with all proposed changes included. The proposed changes are summarized below:

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP, Section 2. Member Responsibilities and Section 6. Removal: Moved language pertaining to member absences from Section 2 to Section 6, since Section 6.2. addresses membership attendance.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP, Section 4. Terms of Appointment: Added the seat term staggering plan and as previously approved by the Board to extend seat terms from 3 years to 4 years, and not included in the last bylaw revision.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS, Section 1. Nomination of Officers: Establish the annual February Commssion meeting for the annual appointment of officers.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS, Section 2. Election of Officers: Removed ballots process at a membership committee and replaced with the election being conducted publicly at a commission meeting and by majority vote.

In addtion to the bylaws changes, the Commission is requesting consideration to appoint two new members and reappoint two members to At-Large seats. The reappointment of Kirsten Upshaw would be to an At-Large seat, rather than the District V seat she vacated on February 28, 2021. If approved, Lanita Mims would be reappointed to the same At-Large seat she occupied during the last term. If the recommendations are approved and forwarded to the Board of Supervisors, 3 of the 15 seats would remain vacant: District V, District III, and At-Large Alternate.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

RECOMMEND that the Board of Supervisors:

ACCEPT the amended bylaws of the Contra Costa Commission for Women and Girls, and if approved,
APPOINT/REAPPOINT the following individuals to the specified seats and terms on the Contra Costa Commission for Women and Girls:

Appointee	Seat	Term Expiration
Kirsten Upshaw	At-Large 1	February 28, 2025
Jennifer Rizzo	At-Large 2	February 28, 2025
Lanita Mims	At-Large 4	February 28, 2025
Faye Maloney	At-Large 7	February 28, 2025

Fiscal Impact (if any):

There is no fiscal impact.

Attachments
CCCWG Proposed Bylaws Amended - Red-line version
CCCWG Proposed Bylaws Amendment - Clean Draft version
CCCWG Appointments Memo
CCCWG Candidate Appliations - Redacted