Bylaws & Platform Committee Final Reports | 2026

The Bylaws & Platform Committee has closed out its work for the year, and it is a milestone worth celebrating. This committee has prepared a full bylaws revision and a new platform draft for the upcoming Special Convention. Both committee reports have been adopted and sent to the Executive Committee.

Our current bylaws say very little about how revisions are supposed to happen. To keep the work sound, the committee leaned on Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised to create a Bylaws & Platform Committee Guide for its structure and its process. Every motion, report, and handoff followed that framework. 

You can watch the full July 20th committee meeting below:

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Bylaws & Platform Committee Accomplishments

Over nearly three years of refinement and meetings, the committee produced two finished products. The first is a complete bylaws revision, written to fill the gaps in the current 2015 bylaws and to give the party a clear framework going forward. The second is a new platform draft that expands and sharpens the party's stated principles.

The committee has adopted both the Bylaws Committee Report and the Platform Committee Report. They were sent to the Executive Committee on the evening of July 20, 2026 shortly after adjournment.

Click on the links to view the reports: 

Bylaws Committee Report July 20, 2026.pdf

Download PDF • 1.61MB

Platform Committee Report July 20, 2026.pdf

Download PDF • 1.30MB

Minutes

Bylaws & Platform Committee Meeting

DATE: Monday, July 20, 2026

TIME: 7:00 pm HST

1. Call to Order: 7:12pm HST

2. Roll Call: Austin Martin, Nicholas Zehr, Abbra Green, Bryce Thon

3. Minutes and revisions from July 06, 2026: Passed without objection.

4. Agenda: Passed without objection.

5. Unfinished Business:

   1. Motion by Nicholas Zehr, second by Austin Martin to add a section 1.c to Article VI: "A State Convention may be conducted in person, by electronic means, or in a hybrid format, as determined by the State Committee and specified in the convention notice. Any electronic or hybrid convention shall employ technology that reasonably permits all credentialed members or delegates to simultaneously hear proceedings, participate in debate as authorized by the parliamentary authority, and cast votes securely." Passed without objection.

   2. Motion by Abbra Green, second by Bryce Thon to adopt the Bylaws Committee Report and send to the EC upon adjournment: Passed without objection.

   3. Motion by Abbra Green, second by Nicholas Zehr to adopt the Platform Committee Report to be sent to the EC upon adjournment: Passed without objection.

   4. Motion by Abbra Green to appoint Ken Schoolland to present and move the Bylaws Committee Report on the Special Convention floor: Motion withdrawn; member not present.

   5. Motion by Abbra Green, second by Austin Martin to appoint Nicholas Zehr to present and move the Platform Committee Report on the Special Convention floor: Passed without objection.

6. Adjournment: Motioned by Nicholas Zehr, second by Abbra Green, 7:34pm HST

Upcoming

Both are also going out by email to all members directly following this post.

Notice has been met under Article VIII, Section 1 of our bylaws, which states that proposed amendments must be submitted to the Executive Committee at least thirty days before the meeting where they are considered. This requirement was satisfied when the committee adopted both reports and sent them to the Executive Committee on July 20, 2026.

From here, the Executive Committee will call and hold the Special Convention. It must be held in person, following the ruling upheld at the 2025 convention. On the floor, the committee reports will be presented, and the body will vote on adoption. Under the same Article VIII, adoption takes a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting. 

Mahalo Volunteers and Contributors!

This is what committed volunteers can do when they put in the hours. The committee met month after month, worked through the details, and delivered finished, procedurally sound documents ready for the body to consider. Thank you to Austin Martin, Nicholas Zehr, Abbra Green, Ken Schoolland, and Bryce Thon for the hours of time and attention poured into this final product.

Major contributors also included Craig DeCosta with his own draft suggestions (many of which were implemented), and Silas Martin who helped to refine and format the Bylaws Committee Report. Numerous individual suggestions were made, especially within the last 12 months. Mahalo to all who put in efforts toward this shared goal!

Watch for the Special Convention notice, and plan to be there in person to vote. Don't forget to make sure your dues are up to date:

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