Meeting Minutes July 1, 2007

 

 

Empire of Medieval Pursuits
House of Lords Meeting
July 1, 2007

Those in attendance:
Harvey Palmer, aka Aveloc Twiceborn, President and Board of Directors Member
Terry Rodger, aka Mehri, Board of Directors Member
Tayissa Chadwick, aka Calipha Tayissa Azra, Lady of al-Madeena
Johnathon Miller, aka Lord John Shewan, Lord of Nordholt
Mary Louise Miller, aka Lady Cassandra Lacey, Lady of Nordholt
Michelle McClelland, aka Demitria deCurson, proxy for the Lord of Heiland Keep
Elizabeth Jasper, aka Basseva fija de Davit, meeting minutes secretary
George Davis, aka Lou Tang,

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

  1. A discussion ensued because several both Lord Franco and Lord Elrik were not able to be in attendance. The decision to have the meeting was reached by general consensus of those in attendance.
  2. Membership Report:

Al-madeena- 34 members 6 votes
At Large- 9 members
Broch Ceoban 5 members 1 vote
Heiland Keep 5 members 1 vote
Nordholt 22 members 4 votes
Wolfkill Keep- 5 members 1 vote
Oddi Wind- membership in flux due to recent accident and resulting death of Lady Tina

  1. The August 12 event in Oddi Wind has been canceled. The local members will be holding a vigil in Tina’s honor at that time.
  2. A consensus was reached by all that Oddi Wind should be given a year to grieve the death of Lady Tina, while they determine their desire to continue within the Empire.
  3. Report on the status of by-laws from the Board of Directors.

The BOD have recently divided up different sections of the Laws in an effort to have them completed in a more timely manner.
Aveloc- Justice section
Rochad- Branch structures
Mehri- by-laws
Groa- Award structures
Additionally, should other people be interested in assisting in the law writing process, they can contact Aveloc for a section to be written.

  1. The possibility of starting a Lord’s Collegium was discussed. In addition, there was discussion of other Empire supported schools. Saiida Tayissa believes that individuals and the local branches should sponsor such schools and programs, not the Empire itself.
  2. Status of the 10% given back to the branches from corporate EMP from the membership drives. Tayissa put forward that there is no current policy on how to implement this law. Consensus was reached that we should not give money for 2006 membership funds due to the confusion of our initial membership tracking methods. Money from 2007 memberships will be dispersed on March 15 each year.

New Laws:

Law:The lord or lady of a level one group may not wield more than 4 votes in the House of Lords even if the group has a sufficient number of citizens to otherwise qualify for more than 4 votes.

Intent: Groups within the Empire should be represented within the House of Lords in proportion to their participation and prominence. In order to control a large number of votes within the house of Lords, a Lord or Lady should lead a group that has some history, experience, and accomplishment within the Empire.

Al-Madeena (6): Yes
Nordholt(4): Yes
Heiland Keep (1): No * Dissenting opinion as written by Demitria deCurson
Wolfkill Keep (1): Yes
Broch Ceopan (1): No

Passed Total 11 yes, 2 No

 

* To be forthcoming.

Change to the Structure of Level 2 Branches:
Law to Read:
In order to become a level 2, a group in the Empire must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the basic requirements of a Level One Branch:

  1. Consist of at least 20 tax-paying citizens.
  2. Have been a chartered group of at least level one for not less than one full year.

In order to remain a level 2 group, the following requirements must be met:

  1. Maintain a population of at least 20 tax-paying citizens.
  2. Host at least one official activity per month for at least 10 months of every year.
  3. Raising status to, or degrading status from level 2 requires recognition from the sovereign, or in the absence of a reigning sovreign, a simple majority of the House of Lords."

Rationale: There should be costs and benefits to achieving level 2 status. In order for a group to qualify for and maintain the status of level 2, it should be more than a random assortment of citizens who do nothing more than pay their taxes once a year.

Al-Madeena (6): Yes
Nordholt(4): Yes
Heiland Keep (1): Yes
Wolfkill Keep (1): Yes
Broch Ceopan (1): Yes

Passed Total 13 Yes

Law: Annual Memberships will expire April 14 of each year. There will be no pro-rated memberships for those joining later in the year.

Intent: Reporting memberships to Insurance companies and for House of Lords meetings will be significantly easier.

Al-Madeena (6): Yes
Nordholt(4): Yes
Heiland Keep (1): Yes
Wolfkill Keep (1): Abstain
Broch Ceopan (1): Abstain

Passed- Total 11 yes, 2 Abstain