Oregon Workforce Investment Board By Laws

Modified and Approved on June 29, 2007 by the Oregon Workforce Investment Board

Article 1. Name, Service Area Section

Section 1. Name of the Board

Name of the Board The name of the organization shall be Oregon Workforce Investment Board, hereinafter referred to as the OWIB.

Section 2. Legal Authority For Board

 The OWIB is organized in accordance with Section 111 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 USC Section 2821, PL 105-220, 112 Stat.939), and under Oregon Laws (2001) ORS 660.321 to 660.324 and by Governor's Executive Order.

Section 3. Duties of the Board

The OWIB was created by the Governor to assist him in establishing and coordinating workforce programs in the State of Oregon including but not limited to the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and Oregon Laws (2001) ORS 660.321 to 660.324.

Section 4. Area Served

The area to be served by the OWIB shall be the State of Oregon and the labor markets contained therein.

Section 5. Staff/Board Address

The Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development shall be responsible for providing staff to the OWIB along with assistance from the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Policy and other staff from agencies represented on the Workforce Policy Cabinet. The official office location and mailing address shall be: Oregon Workforce Investment Board, 255 Capitol Street NE, 3rd Floor, Salem, Oregon, 97310.

Article 2. Officers, Terms of Office, and Elections

Section 1. Officers

The Officers of the OWIB shall be the Chair and the Vice Chair.

Section 2. Terms of Office

A. The terms of office for the members of the board, including the Chair and Vice Chair, serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

B. There shall be no limit to the number of terms of office the Chair and Vice Chair may serve.

C. The terms for the board members are set by Governor's Executive Order and there shall be no limit to the number of terms a board member may serve.

Section 3. Election of Officers

The Governor shall appoint the Chair in accordance with the federal WIA and Chapter 1019, Oregon Laws 1999 (House Bill 2989). The Governor shall appoint the Vice Chair in accordance with the Governor's Executive Order. The Chair and Vice Chair shall represent the private sector business community.

Article 3. Meeting Procedures, Voting Rights, and Quorum

Section 1. Meeting Procedures

 A. The OWIB shall hold regular meetings at such frequency, dates, and times as determined by the OWIB.

B. Regular attendance at meetings is expected of each board member. A member shall notify the Chair or the board staff at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting if the member is unable to attend. In an emergency the member shall contact the Chair or staff as soon as is reasonably possible. Failure to notify shall be recorded in the minutes as an unexcused absence. Participation by telephone conference call is allowed at the discretion of the Chair or board staff by making prior arrangements. Consistent with ORS 182.010 any member who fails to attend two consecutive meetings, whether regular or special, shall forfeit office unless the member is prevented from attending by business necessity, or by the serious illness of the member or the family of the member, or for any cause that in the judgment of the Governor constitutes a valid reason for failing to attend.

C. The Chair may from time to time request an emergency meeting. The provisions of Article 3 shall govern the conduct of these meetings.

D. The Chair or Vice Chair, per the Chair's request, shall preside at all meetings of the OWIB.

E. Public notice of all regular meetings of the OWIB shall be given at least 48 hours prior to the meeting and all meetings shall be made held in accordance with Oregon's Public Meetings law, ORS 192.610 to 192.690. Notice shall be mailed, faxed, emailed or delivered personally to each member of the OWIB.

F. The OWIB shall make available to the public information regarding its activities, including information regarding the state plan required under the federal Workforce Investment Act prior to its submission and information regarding membership.

Section 2. Voting Rights

A. Each member of the OWIB, who is present or participating by electronic media, shall cast one vote on any question. Section 3. Conflict of Interest A. A member of the OWIB shall: (1) when met with a potential conflict of interest, announce publicly the nature of the potential conflict prior to taking any action thereon; and (2) refrain from participating in any discussion or debate on the issue out of which the actual conflict arises; and (3) refrain from voting on the matter under any circumstances.

B. A member of the OWIB shall not engage in any other activity determined by the Governor to constitute a conflict of interest as specified in the State Plan.

C. The OWIB shall adopt a policy addressing conflict of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest according to Chapter 1019, Oregon Laws 1999 ORS 411.920 to 411.935.

Section 4. Quorum

A. To transact business at an OWIB meeting, a quorum of members must participate. A quorum requires the participation of at least 50 percent of the business representatives and the participation of at least a majority of all the OWIB members (fifty percent plus one) including the business representatives.

B. Participation may be those members present or those participating by electronic means and a vote of majority of the members present, including at least 50 percent of the business representatives present, shall be sufficient to pass a motion providing the members in attendance constitute a quorum.

Article 4. General Provisions.

Section 1. Board Operations

The OWIB shall operate within applicable State and federal laws.

Section 2. Participation in Meetings

Participation in meetings shall be limited to OWIB members and staff working with the OWIB and also:

A. Non-members presenting regularly scheduled agenda items that call for reports or participation by non-members.

B. At the discretion of the Chair, comment or other participation by non-members which is relevant to material to the matter under consideration before the OWIB.

Section 3. Action Items

The OWIB needs to take action each meeting to make timely recommendations to the Governor on critical workforce matters. Because such actions may affect multiple partners and parts of the workforce system, the OWIB shall assure to the extent possible that actions before the board have been discussed fully and openly prior to taking action. The OWIB may postpone any action on any particular item until the next regular meeting or refer the item to the Executive Committee for final action.

Section 4. Staff Role in Implementing Governor Approved Policies 

The OWIB Staff will work on implementation of the policies, goals and activities recommended by the OWIB and approved by the Governor. The staff shall make regular reports to the OWIB on implementation. OWIB staff shall be responsible for preparing and distributing an agenda in keeping with these Bylaws.

Section 5. Executive Committee

A. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the OWIB, each of the Committee Chairs, two Labor members, one at-large business member, the Workforce Policy Cabinet representative member, and the Governor’s representative member.

B. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to take action on behalf of the OWIB when emergency concerns necessitate such action (e.g. taking action when time pressures do not allow the issues to be addressed at a regularly scheduled OWIB meeting) and every other month when OWIB is not scheduled if there is a significant demand. The Executive Committee will preferably meet by conference call and consideration will be given to avoid overburdening members with too many meetings. A majority vote of the Executive Committee is required for all such actions. All actions of the Executive Committee shall be reviewed by the full OWIB at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Section 6. Youth and Education Committee

A. The OWIB chair shall establish a standing Youth and Education Committee by appointing an OWIB member(s) as chair (or co-chairs) of the committee. The OWIB chair (or co-chair) is responsible for appointing the members of the committee including OWIB members and a broad group of interested stakeholders.

B. The Youth and Education Committee shall recommend policies to coordinate delivery of services to youth and identify and propose ways to remove any barriers to the delivery of these services at a local level. This Committee will also be responsible for bringing policy and issues regarding all levels of education to the full board.

Section 7. Other Committees

The OWIB Chair may from time to time establish other standing or ad hoc committees to assist the OWIB in carrying out its duties or current work, by appointing an OWIB member(s) as chair (or co-chair) of the committee. The Committee and OWIB chair (or co-chair) is responsible for appointing the members of the committee including OWIB members and other interested stakeholders as appropriate.

Section 8. Bylaw Changes These Bylaws may be amended, repealed or new Bylaws may be enacted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the OWIB.

Modified and Approved on June 29, 2007 by the Oregon Workforce Investment Board.