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Council on Legislation of RI (2004) The Council on Legislation is the highest legislative body of RI which meets every three years to consider changes to our rules and policies. The latest Council on Legislation was held in Chicago, Illinois, USA in April 2001

Items of legislation whose purpose is to amend the Constitution or By Laws of RI or standard Rotary Club Constitution are "Enactments."

"Resolutions" are items which simply express an opinion or which establish or revoke policy or procedures of RI without amending the constitutional documents. Adopting a proposed enactment requires a majority vote whereas adopting a resolution requires 2/3 votes. For example, Enactments are amendments to existing legislation and Resolution are provisions to be added to existing legislation.

The 2004 Council on Legislation was convened from 13th through 18th June in Chicago, Illinois, USA at the Chicago Marriott Downtown. The Council was operated under the chairmanship of Bill Huntley and vice chairmanship of Mark Daniel Maloney. The Parliamentarian is Ray Klenginsmith, member-at-large included Abraham Gordon, Daniel Mooers and Bill Sergeant.

There were two volumes of resolutions and enactments, viz., Volume I for 427 pieces whereas Volume II, 112 pieces respectively. Enactments and Resolutions adopted at the Council on Legislation will come into effect from 1st July 2004. The following are the breakdown of the legislations discussed, debated and voted upon at the Council where PDG Moses Cheng was our district representative.

I am not going to go through all these legislations, firstly due to the constraint of time and secondly it is rather boring. I only pick up those items which directly affect our club's administration.

Item 04-18 - To allow attendance credit for a 30-minute interactive club website activity

Item 04-19 - To allow attendance credit for a meeting of a Rotary Fellowship

Item 04-25 - To amend the attendance rule concerning outposted assignments

Item 04-27 - To exclude from attendance records any member whose absence is excused

Item 04-29 - To exclude from attendance records any member whose absence is excused

Item 04-46 - To provide for the merging of clubs

Item 04-92 - To allow clubs to elect into active membership a transferring or former member even if the transferring or former member's classification is filled and to exempt clubs from paying prorated per capita dues for these members

Item 04-190 - To allow district conferences to be held outside district boundaries without authorization of the RI Board

Item 04-195 - To request the RI Board to consider amending the policy concerning the president's representative at district conferences.

Item 04-387 - To require that clubs pay per capita dues for a minimum of ten members

Item 04-420 - To allow a candidate for council representative to be nominated by any Club in the district

Item 04-49 - To prohibit presidents-elect from beginning their terms of office if they have not attended the PETS and district assembly

Item 04-50 - To create the title of incoming president of a club

Item 04-370 - To increase per capita dues per member as from 1st July 2004 as follows:

Item 04-88 - To modify the criterion for selecting honorary members

Item 04-331 - To revise the qualification for governors-nominee to include serving as a charter president.

Note : Should there be any mis-interpretation of the above legislations, please refer to the new Manuel of Procedures (2004) which will be issued by RI at a later date.

Humanitarian District Project Praised by RI

As per article released from the RI Newsroom, it quoted that in its largest undertaking to date in mainland China, District 3450, comprising Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia, is funding a project to immunize one million newborn babies in poverty-stricken communities against Hepatitis B within a decade.

Raising the district's ongoing involvement with humanitarian efforts in China to a new level, the HK$20 million (approximately US$2.6 million) initiative is a signal to the government and people of China that Rotary is committed to exemplifying its motto of Service Above Self on the mainland. In the past decade, collectively and individually, clubs in the district have raised a total of more than US$10 million to support disaster relief, education, health, environment protection, and poverty alleviation in China.

During one of several annual confidence-building visits to Beijing, government officials suggested to a District 3450 delegation that a long-term project would earn goodwill for Rotary in China. The district leadership selected Hepatitis B immunization, which is among the country's top public health priorities, as the flagship project to raise the profile of the organization.

According to World Health Organization statistics, more than one third of the world's Hepatitis B carriers live in China. About 127 million residents, roughly 10 percent of the population are infected. Each year, about 280,000 people die of Hepatitis B-related diseases, principally liver cirrhosis and cancer. Immunizing newborn babies is the most effective way to prevent the spread of this deadly virus.

In 2001, the District Governor Johnson Chu and Liu Pei Long, director general of China's health ministry, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a project co-sponsored by the government and District 3450. Over the next two years, a joint committee of government and Rotary district officials incorporated a company to implement the project, held workshops, made feasibility studies in a pilot city, and met with local administrators.

The initiative took off in 2003 with the massive immunization of more than 60,000 babies in Handan, Hebei Province, after an awareness campaign among doctors and parents. A city of 4.8 million residents, Handan suffered from spotty immunization before the intervention of the District 3450 effort.

"In addition to the one million babies, immediate family and future generations will certainly benefit, thus resulting in the tremendous saving of social resources in the long run" says District 3450 Governor Jones Wong. "We estimate at least 10 million people will benefit directly or indirectly from this initiative."

The seed money for the project has come from individual donations, as well as club and district level fundraisers such as a gala premiere, walkathon in Hong Kong's Victoria neighbourhood, sale of souvenir stamps and envelopes, charity ball, and march in China's Gobi desert.

District officials estimate that a target contribution of HK$100 per month is needed from each D.3450 Rotarians for the next 10 years to fund the project.

"It is extremely moving that so many Rotarians in this district have the courage and determination to embark on such an ambitious project in such a vast geographical area" says Wong. "The vision and magnitude of this project is comparable to RI's pledge in the mid 1980's to eradicate polio."


Seated at the left head table are PDG Uncle Peter & Acting Pres. Rudy.	Seated at right head table are Hon Sec Eddy & PP John IV.


Receiving his District Award for Community Service Project this year was PP Hubert for his contribution to the Hong Kong School for the Deaf for the Multi-Media Room.	Receiving his District award for Best English Weekly Bulletin was Rtn Andrew II .