Rules Part 3 – The State Council
16 Annual and Other Meetings
16.1 The delegates of participating member councils meeting together in accordance with these Rules comprise the State Council.
16.2 In each calendar year there will take place:
16.2.1 the annual meeting of the State Council; and
16.2.2 at least one other meeting of the State Council.
16.3 The purpose of the annual meeting is to:
16.3.1 consider an annual report from the President about the activities and financial affairs of the Association;
16.3.2 consider any motion or other item of business proposed by the Board; and
16.3.3 generally deal with the business of the Association, including any motions or items submitted by participating member council in accordance with sub-Rule 17.1.
16.4 Apart from the meetings of the State Council described in sub-Rule 16.2, a special meeting of the State Council may be called by the President or any ten (10) delegates of participating member councils to transact the business specified in the notice calling the meeting.
16.5 The quorum necessary to transact business at a meeting of the State Council is half the number of all delegates appointed under Rule 7 plus one (1), and no business may be transacted at a meeting of the State Council unless that number of delegates is in attendance.
16.6 Meetings of the State Council may be adjourned or deferred at any time by the President or by a resolution to adjourn to a date to be fixed carried at the meeting.
16.7 Except in the case of an Extraordinary Meeting called under Rule 20, preliminary notice in writing giving a general description of the business to be transacted and the date, time and place of any meeting of the State Council must be given to delegates not less than 90 calendar days before the date fixed for the meeting.
16.8 Except for the conduct of any election for which a separate voting procedure applies, delegates may vote on any item of business in person or, if the meeting of the State Council is conducted wholly or partly by electronic means, by voting electronically, or by any combination of those methods.
17 Submission of Business by Participating Member Councils
17.1 Participating member Councils may, in accordance with a form determined by the Board, submit for consideration at meetings of the State Council a motion or item for inclusion in the business to be dealt with provided that:
17.1.1 the submission of the motion or item has already been the subject of a resolution made by that participating member council;
17.1.2 notice of such motion or item has been given to the Chief Executive Officer not less than 60 calendar days before the meeting;
17.1.3 the Board considers that the motion or item is of such strategic relevance to the Association or of such significance to local government that it ought to be considered at the meeting; and
17.1.4 the motion or item is not repetitive in form or substance of a motion or item considered at the most recently held meeting of the State Council.
17.2 Motions or items which relate to the same subject may be consolidated into a single matter, with such amendments as the Board in its discretion determines are warranted, prior to inclusion in the business papers and circulation to delegates.
17.3 Nothing in sub-Rule 17.1 affects the right of the Board to submit for consideration at any meeting of the State Council a motion or item that it has resolved should be considered by the State Council.
18 Agenda and Business Papers
The agenda and business papers for any meeting of the State Council must be forwarded to delegates not less than 30 calendar days before the date of the meeting.
19 Conduct of Meetings
19.1 Meetings of the State Council will be conducted in accordance with the procedures in Schedule 3.
19.2 Meetings of the State Council will be chaired by the President or, in their absence, by a Deputy President. In the absence of a Deputy President a delegate appointed by resolution of the meeting will chair the meeting.
19.3 At any meeting of the State Council:
19.3.1 each delegate in attendance is entitled to one (1) vote;
19.3.2 if the delegate of a participating member council is not in attendance the substitute delegate of that council may vote in place of that delegate; and
19.3.3 the President cannot exercise a deliberative vote.
19.4 Subject to sub-Rules 3.4 and 9.5, any matter arising at a meeting of the State Council is determined by the majority of votes of those delegates appointed under Rule 7 who are in attendance and are not prohibited from voting.
19.5 If voting is equal at a meeting of State Council, the President, if in attendance and chairing the meeting, has a casting vote only.
19.6 Business which is not included in the agenda of a meeting of any State Council may not be dealt with unless at least half of the delegates eligible to attend are in attendance and agree to deal with it.
19.7 The Chief Executive Officer must ensure that accurate minutes are kept of all meetings of the State Council.
20 Extraordinary Meetings
20.1 The Board may call an Extraordinary Meeting of the State Council to deal with a matter or matters of exceptional importance.
20.2 Notwithstanding anything else in these Rules:
20.2.1 not less than 30 calendar days’ notice of the date of the Extraordinary Meeting and the matter or matters to be dealt with must be given to delegates; and
20.2.2 the State Council may, at the commencement of the Extraordinary Meeting, resolve to dispense with some or all of the procedures in Schedule 3 and any Meeting Procedure Protocols that have previously been adopted by the State Council.
20.3 If the State Council has, at the commencement of an Extraordinary Meeting, resolved to dispense with some or all of the procedures in Schedule 3 and any Meeting Procedure Protocols previously adopted by the State Council then the procedures to be followed at the Extraordinary Meeting will be within the discretion of the State Council.