The Return of Civic Action

As mentioned in our September newsletter, the Board has proposed a bylaws change which would reinstate Civic Action. "What is Civic Action?" asked an inquisitive attendee of last month's annual membership meeting. Civic Action is the branch of the NHLA that addresses this part of our mission statement: The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance is a non-partisan coalition working to increase individual freedom in New Hampshire. We do this by monitoring bills in the legislative sessions and encouraging private charity, a civil society, and citizen involvement.

Fighting anti-liberty legislation and getting liberty-minded candidates elected to state office are key components of the NHLA's mission. Equally critical to the development of a truly free, non-coercive, voluntary society here in New Hampshire is supporting non-governmental solutions to common problems such as poverty, substance abuse and natural disasters (to name just a few examples). Civic Action is about lending a helping hand to those who need one, without the coercive force of government getting in the way and deciding from whom to take and to whom to give. True charity comes from the heart, not from the barrel of a gun.

Would you like to get involved with Civic Action? Volunteers with ideas and energy are encouraged to contact Vice-Chair Sandy Pierre at ViceChair@nhliberty.org to help kickstart the NHLA's Civic Action branch. Those short on time but able to contribute financially are welcome to donate directly to Civic Action by selecting it as the Fund on the NHLA's donation page: http://www.nhliberty.org/donate

Civic Action's first event is the continuation of the successful food drive held at the annual membership meeting in Pembroke last month. All donations will go to the Goffstown Network http://goffstownnetwork.org. NHLA members are asked to donate canned soup, canned vegetables, rice, or boxed meals such as Hamburger Helper. You can bring donations to the monthly meeting at Liberty Books on Nov. 3, pass them along to any member of the Board, or make a cash donation to the Civic Action fund on our website. A hungry neighbor will appreciate your help!

Membership - Numbers Do Matter

In recent months, membership numbers have been dropping. The cause of this trend is not from members leaving the NHLA, instead it is because the current NHLA bylaws dictate that non-lifetime memberships have to expire after two years if a member does not renew their membership. Having a large active membership base increases the ability of the NHLA to influence liberty related legislation in New Hampshire. The next legislative session is coming up in January and we are hoping by then to have our official membership numbers reflect the actual number of the members that we know that we have. To renew your membership, simply log into the http://www.nhliberty.org and select “my account” to renew. Basic membership in the NHLA will always be free. Full and lifetime membership will also allow you to influence the direction of the NHLA by being eligible to vote in elections for the NHLA board of directors. If you are having any trouble accessing your account, our Membership Director Keith Ammon would be happy to assist you. He can be contacted at membership@nhliberty.org

NHLA Board Elections

Have you ever considered serving on the NHLA Board of Directors? It's a great way to take a leadership role in promoting liberty in New Hampshire.

The Board has seven positions (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Political Action Director, Treasurer, Membership Director, Research Director, and Secretary) and each position is a two-year term. The Board meets once a month, at a central location, usually in Concord, to plan, organize, and brainstorm ways of promoting the NHLA and pushing liberty forward through legislative activism and public outreach. These all-volunteer positions are very rewarding and do require some time commitment.

In November, the NHLA will be holding elections for Political Action Director and Treasurer. The Political Action Director is responsible for, but not limited to: recruiting candidates for state, city and town offices; training candidates; endorsing candidates for office; determining campaign donations; determining the Legislator of the Year; providing training on the legislative process; providing training for town meetings. The Treasurer is responsible for, but not limited to: submitting monthly financial reports; fundraising (including the annual Liberty Dinner); timely deposit of all received funds and timely payment of all bona fide expenses; possession of inventoried NHLA materials (shirts, pins, membership applications, report cards, etc.). More details about these Board positions and the organization can be found here on our website.

Nominations for these positions are now being accepted until 11:59PM on November 13th. If you know of someone who would make a great addition to the NHLA Board (including yourself) and would like us to speak with them about their (your) possible involvement, please submit their (your) name to chair@nhliberty.org.

Voting will open on November 14th until November 24th at 11:59pm. Remember, you must be a paid member in order to participate in Board elections. To upgrade to either Full or Lifetime Membership, log in to the website and click on "my account."

2011 Liberty Rating

The 2011 Liberty Rating is now available at http://www.nhliberty.org/2011_Liberty_Rating. The Liberty Rating is an objective evaluation of all 424 New Hampshire state senators and representatives based on 56 roll call votes in the House and 22 in the Senate. Bills have been carefully selected for inclusion based on the NHLA's core values of individual freedom of choice and personal responsibility, recognition of the superiority of freedom over coercion, respect for the citizenﾒs right of self-ownership, and the promotion of good and transparent government.

Board of Directors Term Limits

At the October 6^th Board meeting there was a discussion about whether having term limits for board of directors positions was beneficial if there were active volunteers willing to perform those duties but had already served two terms. The original intent of setting term limits was likely to bring in new perspectives to the NHLA and also prevent a small group of members from exerting too much control over the organization. The Board believes that it is important to get feedback from the NHLA membership before considering any term limit related changes to the bylaws. A discussion topic on the forum has been created specifically for your feedback. Section 3.5 of the NHLA bylaws covers term limits.

3.5 After the initial terms of the original Directors expire all terms shall be for a period of two years. Directors may serve no more than two consecutive terms on the Board, followed by a period of at least one year of non-service.

Help the NHLA Support Pro-Liberty Candidates with a Monthly Donation

The NHLA website has been updated to enable reoccurring monthly donations to be made to the NHLA Political Action Committee. PAC funds will go toward NHLA endorsed candidates for state office. Endorsements are based on candidate surveys and/or Liberty Rating scores from previous House incumbency voting records if available. The goal of a monthly donation is to start early in building up funds to support pro-liberty candidates come election time. Please visit http://www.nhliberty.org/campaign-fund to help the NHLA make an even bigger impact on future elections.

Proposed Bylaws Changes

The proposed bylaws changes from September 1^st had a typo that cut too much from section 4.3 of the bylaws. The words “The duties of the” have been added back in. The complete proposed changes are below.

3.2 The Board will consist of seven Directors: a Chairman, a Director of Political Action, a Vice Chairman, a Director of Civic Action, a Director of Membership, a Director of Research, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Specific duties may be assigned to each Director by majority vote of the Board. Effective 08/15/08, the Director of Civic Action shall be replaced with the Vice Chairman. Effective at the end of the Vice Chairman's term in April 2013, or immediately in the case of a vacancy, the Vice Chairman shall be replaced with the Director of Civic Action.

3.5.1 Starting in May 2011 the term of office for each board position shall expire as follows: Odd years: April 30th: vice chairman, civic action, secretary; November 30th: political action, treasurer. Even years: April 30th: membership; November 30th: chairman, research.

3.8 The Directors may, at their option, elect a standing vice-chair from among themselves to fulfill the functions of the Chairman in the event of the Chairman's absence.

Article Four - Officers

4.3 The duties of the Vice Chairman shall include, but not be limited to: fulfilling the functions of the Chairman in the event of the Chairman's absence. Director of Civic Action shall include, but not be limited to: finding appropriate NH residents to receive financial assistance through our Civic Action Fund and scheduling charitable events throughout the year to bring non-governmental assistance to NH residents.

Jim Dodson of Liberty Books in Concord (75 Allison Street) hosts NHLA's monthly Board meetings. Please visit this treasure-filled store for books on history, economics, and politics, as well as an unrivaled collection of graphic novels and comic books. You may also visit Jim on the web at http://www.libertybooksnh.net/.

Get NHLA news and alerts fast by joining the NHLA group on Facebook.com. http://facebook.nhliberty.org

Help support the NHLA by making all your Amazon purchases through the NHLA/Amazon.com affiliate program. Go to http://www.nhliberty.org/books_and_videos and click on the Shop at Amazon.com! link.