MML Board By-Laws

News
by PreachMJ

ABOUT MEAD & MAYHEM LEAGUE (MML) COUNCIL BOARD

  1.  About MML Council Board
    1. Members
  2. MML Governance
    1. Process
    2. Meetings
  3. Regular & Special Meeting Structure & Agenda

About MML COUNCIL BOARD

Originally structured in between Season 3 and 4, the MML Council Board (Board) was developed from existing coaches who took an interest in the governance of the League. The powers and duties of the MML Board are derived from the Commissioner and delegated to the other Board Members as set forth in these bylaws.

Sessions

The Board regularly meets during each odd-numbered Week of Season play (1,3,5, and 7) and once during the Off-Season. However, the Commissioner may call special Sessions or hold out-of-Session votes as reasonably appropriate, per the MML’s needs.

Commissioner

The Commissioner is the chief executive of the MML and responsible for the administration and management of the League, including enforcement of the League’s rules, policies, and decisions. During Board Sessions, the Commissioner serves as the Presiding Officer of the Board.

Vice Commissioner

The Commissioner may appoint one of the Board Members to be his Vice Commissioner for a term of 2 seasons. The Commissioner may renew the same Board Member’s appointment an unlimited amount of times, but he must affirmatively do so every 2 seasons, or it expires. The Vice Commissioner assists the Commissioner in all matters and acts in his place whenever he is absent or otherwise unable to fulfill his duties. For example, in the absence of the Commissioner, the Vice Commissioner may Preside over Board Sessions.

Members

The Council Board shall consist of 9 Members, including the Commissioner and the Vice Commissioner. Members serve as sources of information for the League’s coaches, as ambassadors of the League when interacting with persons outside of the MML that are interested in the League, as League intermediaries for those seeking redress of any sort from the League, and as representatives of the best interests of the MML population at large in voting on League matters. In short, Members are expected to continuously and proactively try to make the user experience better for MML coaches.

Members must be active Pro or Challenge League coaches, and must have completed 2 Pro or Challenge seasons (partial seasons count as long as the coach finished the season). Members serve indefinitely, but are expected to commit to serve at least 2 seasons when accepting Membership.

After a vacancy opens for a Membership position, the Commissioner shall issue a Proclamation calling for nominations for a new Member to fill that vacancy; however, upon 2/3 vote of the full Board, such nominations may be accepted and voted upon during the same Board Session in which such Proclamation is issued. Only current Board Members, including the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner, may nominate candidates to fill vacancies in the Board, although any Board Member may solicit the general MML population for suggestions of potential candidates. Furthermore, each Board Member may nominate no more than 1 candidate for each vacant Board seat at a time (if a nominee fails Confirmation, his sponsor may nominate another candidate if the vacancy has still not been filled). Nominations for new Board Members do not need to be seconded in order to reach discussion for Confirmation. Once the nomination period has closed, nominations may be Confirmed by 2/3 vote of the full Board, which must include the Commissioner’s affirmative vote. Confirmed nominees become Board Members upon their express acceptance of their nomination, including their assurance that they are willing and able to serve for a minimum of 2 seasons. Board members are expected to maintain an active membership in the League.

MML GOVERNANCE

The Commissioner makes various unilateral decisions in the course of administrating and managing the League. These may include decisions such as determining the Pro Team Value Cap for a particular season, creating League tournaments, or bestowing accolades upon a particular coach. When the Commissioner makes a unilateral decision for the League, it is referred to as a Proclamation.

However, the Commissioner has delegated much of his decision-making to the Board, in order to reach a more democratic consensus regarding gameplay and to further encourage the spirit of community building within the MML. While the Board sometimes makes rulings on matters in dispute within the MML, most League issues have already been addressed in the League’s Rules and Regulations (R&R). One of the Board’s most important functions is to consider Proposals to amend the R&R.

The process by which the R&R are amended is set forth herein. A request to implement a new Rule or a change to an existing Rule is referred to as a Proposal. Once a Proposal is properly Introduced to the Board, a review of the Proposal is conducted. If approved by the Board, the Proposal becomes a League Rule.

1- Introduction and Referral of Proposals

The person who submits a Proposal to the Board is referred to as its Writer, who is not required to be a Board Member. Coaches who are not Board Members may submit Proposals to the Board through the League Suggestion form on the official website, or through a Board Member, including the Commissioner or Vice Commissioner. Board Members may refuse to accept particular Proposals and, instead, direct Writers to submit those Proposals through the website (this would be particularly appropriate for a situation in which a Board Member feels that he could not fairly present such Proposal to the Board on behalf of the Writer).

In order to be valid, a Proposal must specify the exact change to be made to the R&R. This includes which section or sections are to be amended, what language is to be deleted, what language is to be added, what language is to be replaced with what, etc. Proposals that do not reasonably meet this requirement should not be Introduced, but if they are, they should be immediately dismissed once it is determined that they do not meet the requirement. If dismissed for lack of specificity, they may be resubmitted for Introduction once they are compliant, but they are not subject to the normal waiting period for Proposals that fail after Introduction. A Writer who has questions about, or needs help with, the validity of his Proposal should consult with a Board Member.

Submitted Proposals are communicated to the rest of the Board at Board Sessions; this stage of the process is called Introduction. During Introduction, the meeting’s Presiding Officer, if the Proposal was submitted through the League’s website, or the Board Member through whom the Proposal was submitted, provides a very brief summary of the Proposal, identifies the Writer, and declares whether he personally Sponsors the Proposal. Board Members may Introduce and Sponsor their own Proposals.

In order to move to the next stage of becoming a League Rule, a Proposal needs 2 Members to declare support for its further Consideration. By doing so, such Members become the Proposal’s 1st and 2nd Sponsors.

A properly Sponsored Proposal is said to be Referred for Consideration. Proposals that do not attain a 2nd Sponsor are immediately dismissed. Additionally, any properly Introduced Proposal that fails to be Referred may not be Introduced again until at least 1 complete season has passed (does not include the remainder of the current season, unless the Introduction is made in the offseason). After a Proposal is Referred, it may only be amended with the consent of its Writer; without such consent, an amended version of the Proposal would need to be Introduced as a different Proposal.

Upon Referral, the Presiding Officer should immediately assign a subsequent Board Session for Consideration of and Action upon the Proposal. However, in cases of urgency, Referred Proposals may be Considered and Acted upon in the same Session in which they were Introduced, if 2/3 of the Members vote to do so.

2 – Consideration by Board

During the Consideration stage, the 1st Sponsor (or writer) presents the Proposal in the manner that he believes to be most appropriate. At minimum, he should provide a brief but complete description of the Proposal and field relevant questions, or he should defer to another (the Writer, for example, but not necessarily a Board Member) to do so. Members may ask questions and request additional evidence, such as testimony, but the Presiding Officer should serve as the gatekeeper for relevance and reasonableness of such questions, and of requests for additional evidence. Members may also suggest amendments to the Proposal, but no amendment shall be made after Referral without the consent of the Writer.

When a majority of the present Board votes that it has heard enough and is ready to vote on the Proposal, Consideration is over, and the Proposal moves to the Action stage. The Board may also vote to table continued Consideration of the matter to a later Session.

3 – Board Action

During the Action stage, all present Members, including the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner, vote to “Pass” or “Reject” the subject proposal. Proposals Pass the Action stage with a majority vote of the full Board. Additionally, any properly Referred Proposal that fails at the Action stage may not be Introduced again until at least 1 complete season has passed (does not include the remainder of the current season, unless the Introduction is made in the offseason).

Abstentions are not counted in favor of Passing a Proposal, so they effectively function as votes to Reject a Proposal.  However, Members may also “Defer” their votes. If a Proposal does not have enough favorable votes to Pass, but enough Deferred votes exist so that the Proposal could Pass if such votes became votes to Pass in the future, the Presiding Officer shall table the matter until a later time in which such Deferred votes may become votes to Pass or Reject the pending Proposal, and the Proposal should revert to the Consideration stage again for further development, as necessary. Members who are not present for a vote shall be considered to have voted to Defer, unless they have submitted a valid advance vote.

Votes of Members who are not present may be counted if they were submitted in advance to the Presiding Officer, but such advance votes should only be submitted or accepted if such Member reasonably believes that he is fully informed regarding the Proposal and that his vote would not reasonably be affected by any additional evidence to be received at the portion of the Consideration stage that he missed. To that end, the Presiding Officer may refuse to accept an advance vote on a proposal at any point after which he determines that the absent Member is no longer fully informed or could reasonably be swayed to change his vote by evidence presented at the missed portion of the Consideration stage. Refused advance votes are treated as Deferrals.

4 – Commissioner Ratification or Veto

If a Proposal is Passed by Board Action, the Commissioner may Ratify (approve) the Proposal, upon which the Proposal becomes a League Rule. Conversely, the Commissioner may Veto the Proposal by notifying the Board of his Veto within 5 days of the Board’s Action; if he fails to do so within this time period, the Proposal becomes a League Rule upon the expiration of such time period. The Board may also override the Commissioner’s Veto with a 2/3 vote of the full Board, upon which the Proposal becomes a League Rule. Otherwise, the Veto becomes effective (Proposal is treated as if it was Rejected) at the conclusion of the next regular Board Session, or upon a declaration not to override the Veto by a sufficient number of Board Members to render a 2/3 override impossible (for example, if more than 1/3 of the full Board declares their intention not to override the Veto).

5 – Motion to Reconsider Failed Proposal

A Proposal that has failed at any point after Introduction may be Reconsidered, reverting to the stage in which it failed, upon 2/3 vote of the full Board. Proposals that are Reconsidered in this manner are not subject to the waiting period set forth above for reintroduction of failed post-Introduction Proposals.

Agenda Structure of Regular Board Sessions

The Presiding Officer is responsible for leading Board Sessions and addressing League business in the most effective and efficient matter. To that end, he controls the form and manner of Sessions, including the order of business to be addressed, the presentation of evidence, deliberations, voting, etc.. Generally, however, regular Board Sessions should follow the structure set forth below.

  1. Call to Order.

The Presiding Officer calls the Board to order to begin the Session.

  1. Call of the Roll.

The Vice Commissioner calls the roll of Members present.

  1. Determination of Quorum.

If a Quorum is present, the Board may proceed. A Quorum consists of the majority of the full Board Members, including the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner. If no Quorum is present, the Presiding Officer shall recess or adjourn the Session.

  1. Presiding Officer’s Proposals, Proclamations & Communications.

The Presiding Officer Introduces Proposals of which he is the Writer. He may also make Proclamations or deliver any other communications that he feels are appropriate.

  1. Proposals and Communications from Members.

Any Member may Introduce a Proposal of which he is the Writer. Members may also announce an appropriate communication to the Board.

  1. Consideration of, and Action Upon, Referred Proposals.

  2. Submissions from Coaches at Large and the General Public.

The Presiding Officer or appropriate Members Introduce Proposals submitted by Writers who are not Board Members.  Other matters submitted to the League by non-Member coaches or by the general public requiring Board approval are also announced for appropriate review.

  1. Unfinished & Miscellanous Business.

  2. Announcement of the Next Regular Session.

The Presiding Officer announces the date and time of the next regular Board Session. If no such date is set, then the next regular Session shall be held on the Wednesday of the next scheduled (i.e., odd-numbered) week.

If no further business is to be considered and the meeting is concluded, then the meeting is adjourned by a majority vote of the Members present.

Attending Council Board Sessions

Where reasonably possible and appropriate, in the discretion of the Presiding Officer, the Board will stream live video of its regular Sessions on the MML Twitch channel. However, the Board reserves the right to enter closed Sessions, as appropriate in the discretion of the Presiding Officer.

Amendment to the Bylaws

These Bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the full Board. However, 1 of the votes in favor of amendment must be the Commissioner’s.