Item Number:  7c_attach 
Meeting Date: March 10, 2020 
Port of Seattle Commission Bylaws 
Selected Committee Provisions 
Audit Committee. 
Each commissioner is required to serve at least a single one-year term on the Audit Committee
before completing their fourth year in office [Article II, Section 8]. 
Committee Membership. 
1.     No more than two commissioners may serve on any committee [Article V, Section 1]. 
2.     Both commissioner committee members must be present to establish a quorum of the
committee [Article V, Section 1]. 
3.     Non-commissioners may not vote and do not count toward quorum [Article V, Section 1]. 
4.     Merely the receipt of reports, briefings, or testimony constitutes "action" [RCW
42.30.020(3)] and therefore requires the presence of a quorum; i.e., votes are not the
only activity requiring quorum. 
5.     Policy directives and governance content must be reviewed by an appropriate committee
[Article V, Section 6]. 
6.     Robert's Rules of Order governproceedings of the commission, and by extension, its
committees [Article VI, Section 1]. 
7.     Unassigned commissioners are discouraged from attending committee meetings due to
commission quorum considerations [Article V, Section 7]. 
8.     Nevertheless, there is a procedure for providing for the attendance of a third (or more)
commissioner(s) at a committee [Article V, Section 7]. 
9.     Committee membership is determined by consensus by the end of January each year
[Article V, Section 3]. 
10.    The commission president is the tie-breaker in assigning committee membership [Article
V, Section 3]. 
11.    Committees must keep records [Article V, Section 8]. 
12.    Committees must have charters [Article V, Section 2] and their charters may include more
restrictive requirements than the bylaws. 






Bylaws affecting committee proceedings                                     List revised March 2, 2020