Delaware
Hispanic Commission

Commission By-laws

The Delaware Hispanic Commission adheres to the following By-Laws. The By-Laws were revised in May 2022 and are subject to change upon approval of a majority of members.

Establishment

The Delaware Hispanic Commission (the “Commission”) is established for the purpose of enhancing and streamlining the efforts previously undertaken by the Governor’s Council of Hispanic Affairs and the Governor’s Consortium on Hispanic Affairs.

Purpose

The purpose of the Commission is to:

Enrich the lives of the Hispanic community by enhancing and streamlining efforts to improve the delivery of services.
Bring awareness of current issues to the state agencies.
Suggest possible solutions for the consideration of state agencies, elected officials, the business community, and the non-profit sector.
Keep the Hispanic community informed of available state services that exist for all Delaware residents.
Build leadership in the Latino community by recognizing up-and-coming young professionals and business owners, inviting them to participate in the committees of the commission, and promoting them to become members of the commission. The Commission embraces a goal of 30 percent membership by these young leaders and will work to support and integrate them into leadership roles on the Commission and in the community.

Executive Order

The Commission will carry out the purpose as mandated in Executive Order 28. The duties and functions of the Commission shall be:

To advise the Governor, the Cabinet, members of the General Assembly, and other state policymakers on means to improve the delivery of services to the Hispanic community in Delaware.
To review, study, and prioritize issues affecting the Hispanic community in Delaware, including, but not limited to, the concerns of the community involving education, social services, housing, health care, culture, history, the arts, civil and human rights, legal and legislative matters, employment, finance, and economic development.
To undertake and promote projects that benefit the Hispanic community in Delaware.
To coordinate its efforts with other advisory councils, community agencies, non-profit organizations and other groups whose efforts affect the Hispanic community.
To work with the education and business communities in Delaware to ensure that Delaware’s Hispanic population has access to educational and employment opportunities.
To obtain funding to support the Hispanic community in Delaware from foundation and government sources.
To issue recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly concerning legislation pending in the General Assembly that is of particular interest to the Hispanic population.
To perform such other functions and duties as assigned by the Governor.

Logo

All communications will be branded using the current logo that represents the Commission. No other logos or markings will be acceptable for communications without prior approval by the Commission.

Number

The Commission shall consist of no fewer than 15 but no more than 25 members. The members of the Commission shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

Term of Office

Commission members will serve no longer than 2 consecutive terms of 4 years each. Once nominated by the Commission and appointed by the Governor for their first term, they shall be re-elected by the members of the Commission for their second term. After serving for 8 consecutive years, members will be required to “retire” from their term of service to the Commission. This strategy is adopted to promote the Commission’s priority of leadership development.

Commission Officers

Commission officers shall consist of the following:

Chair
Vice Chair
Treasurer
Secretary

The Chair shall be appointed and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The members of the Commission shall elect a Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.

The membership of the Commission shall be broadly representative of the Hispanic Community in Delaware, and the membership shall include, but not be limited to representatives from business, government, financial, educational, non-profit organizations, and may include organizations that serve the Delaware Hispanic community.

Duties of Commission Officers

The Chair shall:

Have general charge of the business of the Commission and may delegate any of his/her powers to the vice chair or a commission member.
Preside over the Executive Committee and shall be an ex-officio member of all other committees.
Designate a Commission member to chair each active subcommittee.

In the event of a vacancy in the Chair position, the Vice Chair will become the Acting Chair. the Acting Chair shall have the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the chairperson until the Governor appoints a replacement chair.

The Vice Chair shall:

Support the Chair, the Executive Subcommittee, and members of the Delaware Hispanic Commission in all realms to meet the Commission’s mission. This includes focusing on engaging and educating his/her generation on the issues that impact Hispanics in Delaware and initiatives that are a priority for the Commission.
Be a member of the Executive Subcommittee.
Perform the duties of the chair as needed in the absence of the chair, and when so acting, he/she shall have all of the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the chairperson.

The Treasurer shall:

Have the oversight of all funds and security of the Commission.
Ensure financial records of the Commission are available to the public.
Present an itemized list of all the Commission expenditures or projected costs to the Executive Subcommittee or Commission upon request and/or regularly scheduled Commission meetings.
Present a copy of all financial bookkeeping, documents, or any valuable information to the Executive Subcommittee at each scheduled Executive Subcommittee meeting for their keeping.
Submit all financial bookkeeping or documents in his/her possession upon his/her resignation to the Commission Chair or Vice Chair.

The Secretary shall:

Ensure that all scheduled Commission or subcommittee meetings are posted in advance, and approved minutes are recorded and posted, in accordance with legal requirements as described in 29 Del. C. §10001-10006.
Ensure that all Commission meetings have documentation for minutes.
Perform such other duties as the Commission may from time to time prescribe.

Officer Terms

The Chair and Vice Chair shall be elected by the members of the Commission, subject to final appointment, and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

The Treasurer and Secretary shall be elected shall be elected annually by the Commission. If a vacancy occurs in the position of Treasurer and Secretary prior to the election, the Commission shall elect a new Treasurer or Secretary at the next scheduled full Commission meeting.

Subcommittees

The Commission may establish subcommittees as necessary to carry out business, responsibilities or assigned projects.

Subcommittees must:

Be led by a member of the Commission.
Have a minimum of five active members.
Develop a set of goals and an action to plan to achieve them.
Meeting dates, times, and format shall be dependent upon each subcommittee’s preference.

Subcommittees may be comprised of members who are subject matter experts external to the Commission. Subcommittees may be co-chaired by a member and non-member of the Commission.

The Commission or Executive Subcommittee shall review and decide when a subcommittee is essential and vote to establish or abolish such subcommittee.

Subcommittees that are inactive for four months or more shall be abolished. If the Commission determines that the work of such a subcommittee is necessary and desirable, the Commission will form an ad hoc subcommittee to seek new members and a new chair to reinstate the subcommittee. Otherwise, the subcommittee will be terminated. The Commission Chair shall designate a commission member to chair the assigned subcommittee.

The subcommittee chair shall:

Assign all subcommittee meeting dates;
Ensure all subcommittee progress is presented to the Commission members at each scheduled Commission meeting throughout the duration of a project.
Invite non-Commission members to participate in subcommittee meetings and work as relevant to their experience and expertise.
Ensure that regular meetings are held, and business is conducted according to the annual goals and action plan established by the subcommittee and publicized on the DHC website.

The subcommittee members may reach out for assistance as needed to accomplish the assigned project.

All established subcommittee members shall be responsible for accomplishing assigned projects in a timely manner.

Subcommittee decisions to take any action on a public issue should be addressed at scheduled Commission meetings for a vote, prior to the subcommittee taking action. If the subcommittee is working with a deadline and needs sudden action, and there is no scheduled Commission meeting to address the need in a timely manner, the Chair of the subcommittee shall address the Executive Subcommittee for a decision.

Meetings

Commission members at regularly scheduled meetings shall conduct business of the Commission.

Attendance, Meeting Regularity

The Commission shall meet at a minimum of six times per year, such meetings to be held at Legislative Hall in the State of Delaware, unless otherwise decided by the majority vote at the Commissioners meeting immediately preceding. Meetings could be conducted virtually as long as public access is provided. Each Commissioner shall be notified (7) days prior to the day of such meeting.

Commission members who miss three consecutive meetings unexcused shall be considered inactive and will be asked to step down from the Commission. A leave of absence may be granted upon request from a commission member who is unable to participate for a prolonged period due to illness of other extenuating circumstances.

Subcommittee meetings shall be scheduled by the designated chair of each subcommittee, as often as needed in order to accomplish deadlines for completion of assigned projects or to continue all work in progress.

Quorum

The Commission shall act by majority vote. Active voting members shall include all appointed members and does not include vacancies.

Roll calls shall be conducted during open session. No votes shall be conducted during executive session.
The Secretary of the Commission shall conduct attendance and vote roll calls at every meeting. In his/her absence, the Chair of the Commission, or designee, shall conduct attendance and vote roll call.
The Secretary of the Commission shall announce results of all roll calls taken after each vote during the Commission meeting.

A video conference appearance is acceptable for quorum, when there is a meeting place posted and available for the public.

A member may participate in a meeting by phone but may not vote via phone nor be counted as a quorum member.

For quorum purposes all public meetings will be noticed and conducted in accordance with 29 Del. C. §10001-10006, except that the subcommittees may conduct interim telephonic meeting to determine agendas, strategies, or conduct any other business in preparation for a public meeting.

Parliamentary Authority

Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the Commission in all cases.

Amendments

The bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote from 2/3 of the members of the Commission at any meeting, provided notice of such amendment is given at a precise meeting with ample time for public comment.

Conflict of Interest

No officer, member of the Commission, shall participate in any action, in his/her capacity with the Commission, either directly or indirectly, that will benefit that person or any member of his/her immediate family to any extent greater than it would benefit the public at large. Immediate family shall consist of spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and the person having the same relation to the person’s spouse.

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