Mayor’s Disability Council Bylaws with proposed amendments 

2021

 

ARTICLE I.

 

Section 1. NAME:  The name of the organization shall be the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council.

 

 

Section 2. PURPOSE:  The purpose of the San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council, hereinafter to be referred to as the "Council" shall be to advise the Mayor and the Mayor’s Office on Disability on all matters relative to the rights of persons with disabilities. The Council will receive information or comments from persons with disabilities, disability service agencies, representatives of government agencies, or any parties interested in disability related issues.  Information may be analyzed and appropriate recommendations will be submitted to the Mayor, City decision makers, and other entities.

 

 

Section 3. COORDINATION:  The Council may coordinate and exchange information with other parties regarding disability related issues involving City policy, practices, and procedures. The members of the Council may also attend and participate in meetings held by other entities or official disability advisory groups of various City departments of the City and County of San Francisco. Information received thereby may be brought to the Council for appropriate action.

 

 

Section 4. PRINCIPAL OFFICE:  The principal office of the Council shall be located in the Mayor’s Office on Disability in the City and County of San Francisco. Mayor's  Office on Disability staff shall be designated as liaison to the Council and receive all communications on behalf of the Council.

 

 

ARTICLE II.

 

 

Section 1. MEMBERSHIP:  Any interested party with extensive knowledge of disability issues pertaining to the City and County of San Francisco, through employment, residency, or other means, may be appointed as a member of the Council.

 

 

Section 2. NUMBER OF MEMBERS:  There shall be between seven (7) and eleven (11) members of the Council. There shall be no more than two people employed by any one disability service agency or provider who may serve as members on the Council at all times.

 

 

Section 3. TERM OF OFFICE:  

All terms shall be two years.

Each member serves at the pleasure of the Mayor. Appointments to the Council are subject to a review at the beginning of each mayoral term.

 

 

Section 4. ATTENDANCE REQUIRED:  Attendance at public Mayor’s Disability Council meetings is a required official duty.  A Council member is subject to dismissal if that member is absent from two regular meetings out of a series of six.  "Absent” means a council member is not present either virtually or in person for at least 51% of a meeting. For Executive and Public meetings, appearance by telephone or other electronic means is considered attendance. 

.

 

 

ARTICLE III.

 

Section 1. OFFICERS:  There shall be two Co-Chairs to serve as officers of the Council. The Council shall elect these officers at an Executive Meeting. 

 

The election shall be by secret ballot. Each member present at the meeting shall have a single vote. In circumstances where only one member name is put forward for an election, that candidate shall assume the role of Co-chair without a ballot.

 

Officer terms shall be one year. Co-Chairs may serve no more than two consecutive terms, unless, by vote, membership chooses to allow a Co-Chair to serve beyond the two year limit.

 

 

Section 2. DUTIES:  The Co-Chairs shall preside over all meetings held by the Council. 

 

 

Section 3. CO-CHAIR SUBSTITUTES:  If no Co-Chair is present at a meeting, the meeting shall be chaired by another member of the council. If one of the  Co-Chairs cannot attend one or more meetings, the other Co-Chair may appoint a temporary Co-Chair at her or his discretion, not to exceed two consecutive MDC Meetings. 

 

 

ARTICLE IV.

 

 

Section 1. PUBLIC MEETINGS:  The Council shall hold no fewer than six (6) public meetings annually. Public meetings shall be held on the third Friday of the month. Changes of times and dates of public meetings shall be made only upon resolution of the members.

 

 

Section 2. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings may be held at the request of at least three members made to the Co-Chairs.  No Special Meeting may be scheduled without the notice required by the Sunshine Ordinance.  

 

 

Section 3. QUORUM:  The presence of a majority of members of the Council is required for a quorum. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the seated membership.

 

 

Section 4. MEETING PLACE: The Council shall hold meetings in accessible locations in the City and County of San Francisco.  Meetings may be held by video-conference when circumstances require it, as determined by the Co-Chairs.  The video-conference technology shall meet conform to IT accessibility standards such as Section 508 or WCAG.  

 

 

Section 5. NOTICE OF MEETINGS: Notices and agenda for all meetings of the Council shall be sent to each member and interested parties within the notice requirements of the Sunshine Ordinance.

 

 

Section 6. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS:  Any member of the Council or disabled individual wishing to attend the meetings shall be provided with reasonable accommodations upon request. Such requests should be made at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the day of the meeting to ensure availability.

 

 

ARTICLE V.

 

Section 1. COMMITTEES:  The Council may form committees to address disability related issues on an Ad Hoc basis.  The Council Co-Chairs shall make committee chair appointments.

 

 

Section 2. MEMBERSHIP ON COMMITTEES: The Council Co-Chairs may appoint any individual who is interested in the committee's purposes to serve as a member. The individual does not need to be a Council member for purposes of committee appointment.

 

 

Section 3. REPORTS:  All reports and information from each committee shall be presented exclusively to the Council during regular or special meetings.

 

 

Section 4. RECOMMENDATIONS:  All recommendations made by the Council to the Mayor must be approved by majority vote of the Council members present during a regular or special meeting.

 

 

Section 5. CONSULTATION:  Members of the Council shall make themselves available to the Mayor for consultation on disability related matters at all times. 

 

 

Section 6. PUBLIC STATEMENTS:  Public statements or documents relative to the work of the Council shall be made in consultation with the staff of the Mayor's Office on Disability.

 

 

Section 7 MAYOR’S LIAISON:  The Mayor’s Office on Disability shall designate a staff person to attend all meetings of the Council.  Verbal or written communications from the Council to the Mayor may be facilitated through the Mayor's liaison. Any officially related communications from the public, or other agencies, shall be received by the Mayor's liaison on behalf of the Council members.

 

 

ARTICLE VI.

 

Section 1.  PROCEDURES:  The Council shall observe parliamentary procedures contained in Robert's Rules of Order.

 

 

Section 2.  DOCUMENTS IN ALTERNATE FORMATS: Materials for presentation at Council meetings. All print materials for presentation at Council meetings by City department representatives must be available in alternative formats.  Braille, large print, and electronic copies (disk or web-accessible) shall always be provided.  Audiotape shall be made available upon request from members of the public.  

Materials in alternative formats must be provided to staff five working days before the meeting date, to allow time for their distribution. These materials are public documents.  It is recommended that video material be open-captioned and audio-described.

 

It is recommended that individuals and other organizations that present materials also make them available in alternative formats.

 

Section 3. AMENDMENTS.  Amendments to these by-laws shall be made upon the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Council.  All amendments to these by-laws shall become effective at the first regular meeting following the vote to amend.

 

 

 

 

Adoption History: Adopted:    October 1998.

 

Amended:  April 2000.

 

Amended:  January 2001. New article VI, Section 2.

 

Amended:  February 2002.  Change article II, Section 3, to achieve staggered, two-year terms, and rotation of terms.

 

Amended: November 2002. Adds Article III, Section 3, to enable members to chair meetings if no Co-Chair is present.

 

Amended: November 2012:  Amends Article III, Section 1, establishing term limits for Co-Chairs; and renaming and amending Section 3, allowing for the appointment of a temporary Co-Chair.  Amendments adopted unanimously November 16, 2012.

 

Amended:  August 2015. Amends Article I, Section 2, to include recommendations to city decision makers; Amends Article II, Section 1, clarifying the definintion of membership; Amends Article III, Section 1, clarifying term limits for Co-Chairs. Amendments adopted unanimously August 21, 2015.

 

Amended: November 2017. Amends Article I, Section 2, to include recommendations to other entities; Amends Article II, Section 1, clarifying the definitions of membership; Amends Article II, Section 3, sentenced removed that pertains to 

2002; Amends Article 2, Section 4, clarifying attendence requirements for executive meetings; Amends Article III, Section 1, clarifying term limits; Amends Article V, Section 5, clarifying council member consultations to the Mayor.  Adopted unanimously November 2017.

 

Amended: May 2018. Amends Article III, Section 1, clarifying Co-Chair Elections procedure. Adopted unanimously May 22, 2018.

 

Amended: September 2018. Amends Article II, Section 4, Council members are subject to dismissal if they are absent for 2 meetings instead of 3 meetings since there are 6 regular meetings instead of 12 meetings. Adopted, unanimously September 21, 2018.

 

Pending amendments: March 2020. Amends Article III Section I, clarifying non-competitive Co-Chair elections. Amends Article IV, Section 3, Clarifying what represents a quorum.

Page