Geospatial Advisory Council Governance

Formerly known as the GIS Coordinating Body, the NYS Geospatial Advisory Council (GAC) was established in 1996 by the Office for Technology (OFT), the predecessor agency to the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), as an advisory workgroup of NYS GIS stakeholders representing federal, state, and local governments, non-profits, academia, and private interests. Through its advisory role, the GAC provides guidance to the NYS Geographic Information Officer (GIO) on how to improve the delivery of public services, protect the public and the environment, and enhance the business climate for the benefit of the State, its municipalities, businesses, and citizens, through the use of GIS technologies.

The GAC is composed of the following 23 representatives:

Elected members with voting privilege:

• 7 local government
• 2 state government
• 2 academia
• 2 private sector
• 1 utility sector
• 2 not-for-profit
• 1 federal government

Ex Officio positions with voting privilege: 

• 1 NYS Geographic Information Officer (State government)
• 1 Chair of the NYS GIS State Agency Advisory Group (State government)
• 1 New York City Director of GIS or the equivalent highest level NYC GIS appointee or civil service candidate as determined by the NYS GIO
• 1 NYS GIS Association (NYSGISA) Board Member or Officer
• 1 NYS Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS) Board member or Officer

Ex Officio positions without voting privilege:

• 1 Deputy NYS GIO

1. All members serve at the invitation of the NY State GIO. Appointments may be rescinded by the GIO at any time. Members with two or more unexcused absences from regularly scheduled meetings in a year shall be deemed to have resigned from the GAC. Any Council member may be removed by action of the GIO. Participation in person or by teleconference are both considered attendance.
2. Nominees (i.e., other than ex officio members) will be appointed to 3-year terms, commencing in January.
3. Term lengths are person-specific, contingent upon continued employment within the sector which they represent. However, if a seat is vacated more than a year before the end of a member’s term, the seat may remain open until a new person is named to the position at the next regular annual nominating cycle;  at the discretion of the GIO, a vacated seat may be filled by appointment for the remainder of the year.  The new nominee or appointee finishes the term that was vacated early, and subsequently is nominated to fill their first full term; this time will not count against their own term limits.  
4. Term limits: There is a limit of 2 consecutive full terms (6 years total) for each nominated member. After serving 2 consecutive terms, former members can be reappointed to the GAC, after a hiatus of 2 years. Former members who did not complete 2 full consecutive terms may be renamed to the GAC, at any time. Term lengths and limits do not apply to ex officio members.
5. The GAC recognizes that on occasion an appointed member may also take on an ex officio role. For most ex officio roles, a new member should be nominated to represent the sector at the next nominating cycle. The one exception would be for the Association representative, who generally serves in that role for only one year and can be considered to serve both roles during this time.

1. Both Chair and Chair-Elect positions are elected by the GAC from its current membership. Chair and Chair-Elect are each one-year term.
2. The duty of the Chair is to create the agenda for each quarterly meeting, in consultation with the GIO and other members, and to run each of these meetings. The Chair may also need to work with the GIO on any GAC matters that need to be addressed between meetings e.g. send out approved correspondence, participate on committees. The duty of the Chair-Elect is to step in when the Chair is not able to serve.
3. The Chair’s term ends after the December meeting, at which time the Chair-Elect automatically becomes Chair.
4. A former Chair can be reconsidered for the Chair-Elect position after a 1-year hiatus from the Chair position.
5. To be considered eligible for election to Chair-Elect, a candidate must have served at least one year as a GAC member and have one year remaining in their current term. Since the expectation is that Chair-Elect will automatically move up to Chair, the Chair-Elect should ideally have two years remaining in current term, or if in their first term as GAC member, should intend to serve a second three-year term on the GAC.
6. Ex-officio positions (GIO, Deputy GIO, NYS GIS Association, SAAG, NYC GIS, NYSAPLS representatives) are not eligible to serve as Chair or Chair-Elect. 
7. If the Chair is vacated mid-term, the Chair-Elect will assume role of Chair.
8. If the Chair-Elect is vacated mid-term, the Chair will communicate with the GAC membership by email to announce the vacancy and solicit volunteers to serve as acting Chair-Elect until the December meeting. If there is only one volunteer, this person will be considered elected by acclamation. If there are multiple volunteers, candidates will be announced, and GAC members will vote by email (two week voting window suggested). In the event of a tie, the GIO (or Deputy GIO in absence of GIO) will have the deciding vote.

1. At the September GAC meeting, a Nominating Committee will be appointed by the GAC. One member of that committee will be appointed as the Nominating Committee Chair. At this time, the GAC Chair will provide the new committee with the List of Open Positions that need to be filled, including the Chair-Elect. The Nominating Committee should consist of four sitting members who meet one of the following criteria:

   • Are serving in a term which is not expiring
   • Are serving the final year of a second term
   • Are eligible for re-nomination, but have asked not to be considered for a second term
    

   If possible, the committee should be made up of representatives from specific sectors:

   
   • 1 state government representative
   • 1 local government representative
   • 2 additional representatives from any sectors (with preference given to a sector requiring a new nomination)

2. Between the September and December meetings, the Nominating Committee should perform the following duties:
   1. Determine how many, if any, candidates they would like to consider in order to fill open positions.
   2. Contact eligible current members on the List of Open Positions, to determine if these individuals have interest in serving a second consecutive term.
   3. Contact NYC, NYSGISA and NYSAPLS to confirm ex officio representatives.
   4. Contact eligible GAC members to determine interest in serving as the next Chair-Elect.
   5. If needed, the Nominating Committee may request from the NYS GIS Association potential candidates to fill one or more vacancies. The request should indicate the expected obligations, specify the positions that are expiring, and identify the sectors they represent. It is up to the NYS GIS Association Board to determine the best method for soliciting candidates from its membership. The list of candidates should be provided to the Nominating Committee by no later than Oct. 15th.
   6. If needed, the Nominating Committee should identify other potential candidates through whatever means they deem appropriate.
   7. The Committee should review all identified candidates, and considerations for nomination should include the following:
      • willingness to serve if appointed / commitment of time
      • prior involvement in GIS coordination activities (active role in GIS as a component of their job, participation in local/regional user groups, GIS workgroups, etc.)
      • ability to represent their sector - nominees should be fully capable of broadly representing the sector they are chosen to represent, the GAC recognizes situations where employees of one sector deal extensively with the needs of another sector, and may be appropriate to represent the other sector’s interests and concerns (e.g., the
      Utility sector may be represented by someone in state government who deals extensively with utilities)
      • for state agency representatives, the committee should strongly consider candidates from outside the Office of Information Technology Services since ex officio positions weigh heavily towards that agency.
      • for private sector representatives, the committee should seek variety in scale of business (i.e., small versus large) 
      • participation in GIS professional events
      • recommendation by an existing GAC member
      • seek geographic distribution – reach into regional user groups as needed.
      • seek user platform diversity i.e. non-ESRI / open-source GIS
   8. The Committee should determine the slate of new member candidates they would like to endorse and acquire resumés for these nominees.
3. At least two weeks prior to the December meeting, a slate of new member nominees and a list of Chair-Elect candidates should be emailed to GAC members. New member qualifications should accompany submitted names.
4. Prior to the December GAC meeting, GAC members may present any opinions or concerns to the Nominating Committee Chair that they have with the proposed slate. If any candidate is disputed, the Nominating Committee should discuss alternatives for consideration and eventual approval by the GAC.
5. At the December GAC meeting, the Nominating Committee should formally present the slate of proposed nominees for endorsement by majority vote of the GAC.
6. At the same meeting, the current GAC membership should elect the new Chair-Elect by plurality (candidate with the most votes) from the list of candidates.
7. After the December GAC meeting, the GIO should officially invite the endorsed nominees to join the GAC.

In-person meetings (with call-in capabilities) are held quarterly, in March, June, September and December as practicable. Additional in-person or conference call meetings may be called for special topics on an as-needed basis.

Any potential action will be presented as a motion and discussed. After adequate discussion, the motion will be  put to a vote by GAC members present at the meeting. The presence of a majority of voting GAC members (including those calling in) constitutes the quorum required to act upon a motion. Motions will be passed by a simple majority of voting members present.  In the event of a tie, the GIO (or Deputy GIO in absence of GIO) will have the deciding vote.

This document is to be stored on the GAC SharePoint (or centralized file share). The latest version will also be uploaded to the GAC website whenever it is amended.

If changes to this governance document are needed, the GAC will appoint an ad hoc committee (minimum of three people), which will meet and report back at the next quarterly GAC meeting. After adequate meeting discussion, a motion to accept changes will be put to a vote by GAC members. Changes to governance must be passed by a two-thirds majority of all voting members.