Approved by the Sacramento County Adult and Aging Commission
AUGUST 29, 2019 (revised October 23, 2024)
The Sacramento Adult and Aging Commission is an advisory board to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. The commission works in collaboration with individuals and organizations on issues of concern to older and dependent adults in planning and providing an integrated and comprehensive system of health and human service. The continuing growth in size and percentage of older and dependent adults within the county, coupled with the multiplicity of problems associated with aging, will require more services and is a major task of the Commission. The Board of Supervisors recognized the need to maintain awareness and act on this population’s importance by establishing the Commission to advise them on planning and policy issues.
The name of the commission shall be: Sacramento County Adult and Aging Commission.
The Commission shall be a non-partisan body and neither sponsor nor be represented in any activities that could compromise its non-partisan status. Only when endorsed or approved by the Board of Supervisors may Commission positions be represented as official county policy The object of the Commission shall be to serve the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (BOS) and the residents of the county by advising the Board of Supervisors on matters relating to older and dependent adults, including:
The membership of the Adult and Aging Commission shall consist of 15-21 voting members appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Members shall be residents of Sacramento County at the time of appointment. A majority of the members of the Adult and Aging Commission shall be at least 50 years old. Members shall be representative of the county's geographic areas, consumers and providers, and ethnic and minority populations. Members shall be selected according to their interest and experience in the areas of protective services, advocacy, outreach/education, health/mental health and special services such as transportation. Applicants must attend a minimum of two meetings before being appointed to the Commission.
Members shall be appointed to serve three-year terms or until a successor is appointed, as determined by the BOS appointment process.
No member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms. Service of a partial term in excess of 367 days shall constitute service for a full term.
Upon completion of two terms, Commissioners shall wait at least one year before reapplying to serve as a Commissioner.
Commissioners shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the BOS and may be removed during the member’s term at the will of the BOS. The Commission shall coordinate with the BOS in filling appointments to the Commission and the filling of vacancies as they occur. The Adult and Aging Commission may make recommendations to the BOS with respect to such vacancies.
Ex-officio nonvoting members shall include a member of the BOS, or their designated representative, and a member of a participating city council in Sacramento County, or their designated representative.
Sacramento County may assign staff members to serve the needs of the Commission for staff support.
Commissioners wishing to resign shall communicate directly in writing to the Commission Chair. Any member of the Adult and Aging Commission who is absent for three consecutive meetings or attends fewer than 50% of the meeting held in a year, without justification or excuse, shall automatically cease to be a member of the Adult and Aging Commission. The Commission Chair shall notify the BOS of removals and resignations as they occur.
Commissioners shall within three months of appointment to the commission, and biannually thereafter, complete the county-provided ethics education training class and provide a signed copy of the “Proof of Participation Certificate” to the Commission Chair and staff.
Commissioners shall hold in confidence client and case information as made known to them during the discharge of their duties. This includes compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
All Commissioners shall within three months of appointment to the commission and annually thereafter complete State “Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest,” and provide it to the state Fair Political Practices Commission in accordance with their instructions.
Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation
The officers of the Commission shall be Chair, Vice-chair, and Secretary, and two rotating Leaders from the District Working Groups.
The Officers shall be elected annually at the Commission’s June meeting. These officers shall be members of the Commission and serve from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. Officers may be reelected to the same office for an additional year of service without interruption of service.
Qualifications of persons being considered for office shall include a knowledge of the Commission’s priority areas and the inter-relationship of the agencies within the human service network and the relationship of the Commission to the Board of Supervisors; hold a leadership role on one or more District Working Group or related community organizations; and have an ability to represent the Commission to the Board of Supervisors and to the public.
The Recruitment and Orientation Committee at the regular May meeting of the Commission shall present a recommended slate of officers. Additional nominations may be accepted from the floor for the Chair and Vice-chair positions.
The election of Chair, Vice-chair, and Secretary shall be by open or secret ballot as determined by the membership present and administered by the Recruitment and Orientation Committee at the regularJune meeting of the Commission. A plurality of ballots cast shall be used to determine the winner of the election. The election of Vice-chair shall occur after election of the chair with nominations from the floor occurring after the completion of the election of the Chair. The election of Secretary shall occur after election of the Vice-chair with nominations from the floor occurring after the completion of the election of the Vice-chair.
The Vice-chair shall fill a vacancy occurring in mid-year in the office of Chair. If the Vice-chair is unable to fill the Chair position, the vacancy shall be filled by nomination and vote of the Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting. The Secretary shall fill a vacancy occurring in mid-year in the office of Vice-chair. If the Secretary is unable to fill the Vice-chair position, the vacancy shall be filled by nomination and vote of the Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting.
The Commission Chair shall have primary responsibility for ensuring that the current year’s focus of work is implemented. The Chair shall serve as Chair of the Executive Committee and call and preside over all meetings of the Commission and the Executive Committee. The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. The Chair shall appoint the chairs of all committees, task forces and ad hoc committees.
These chair appointments are subject to approval of the Commission by a majority vote of a quorum of the commission. The Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall appoint all liaisons to human services network agencies, community groups, and task forces. The Chairshall perform such other duties as prescribed by the Commission as a whole.
The Vice-chair shall function as Chair in the absence of the elected chair.
The Secretary shall function as Vice-chair in the absence of the elected Vice-chair. The Secretary shall assist the Chair and Vice-chairin developing and implementing the Commission’sinitiatives. The Secretary shall record the Meeting Minutes at the Executive and General Sessions.
The Commission and standing committees shall hold a minimum of ten meetings per year, with the exception of the Recruitment and Orientation Committee (ROC) who shall meet quarterly.
Meetings of the Commission shall be held in facilities that conform to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines for handicapped access accessible to the public. The Commission may select a single facility asthe primary location for meetingstaking into consideration public access and proximity to public transportation.
The Commission is subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act, which requires public bodies to conduct business at meetings open to the public.
The Commission is subject to the California Public Records Act, which requires public bodies to maintain records of meetings available to the public.
Special meetings of the Commission may be called by the Chair, orthe Executive Committee, upon request by members of the Commission.
In addition to the Executive Committee (EC) there shall be one other standing committee: Recruitment and Orientation (ROC). Appointments to ROC shall be by the Commission Chair for one-year terms and annually reviewed for reappointment by the Chair. ROC shall elect a Vice-chair from its membership. A vacancy in the committee Vice-chair position shall be filled at the next committee meeting.
A majority of a committee’s total membership shall constitute a quorum. Passage of committee motions requires a quorum and an affirmative vote of a majority of committee members present.
Additional committees may be created by formal action of the Commission. Ad hoc committees and task forces may be created for defined tasks with or without a deadline for the tasks completion by the Executive Committee or Commission. Such committees shall have a minimum of three members. Terms on ad hoc committees and task forces shall be for the duration of the committee’s activity. There can be a District Workgroup for each district made up of Commissioners, who to the extent practicable will choose the District Workgroup of their choice. These District Workgroups function as Ad hoc committees as defined above.
The Executive Committee may assign additional duties to any committee as it deems necessary.
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following Commission members: the Chair, the Vice-chair, the Secretary, and the Chair of ROC (or ROC’s Vice-chair in absence of ROC Chair). The EC shall carry out the business of the Commission between Commission meetings. The Chair shall, with approval of the EC and ratification by the Commission, establish additional positions within the EC to focus on specific aspects of the operation of the commission. These positions shall be temporary. Meetings of the EC shall be held monthly; however, the Chair may call special meetings at the Chair’s discretion.
The Recruitment and Orientation Committee shall serve to recruit a cross-section of our community to serve as Commissioners; to provide Commissioners with the knowledge and tools they need to ensure active and effective participation and leadership of the Adult and Aging Commission.
Roberts Rules of Order, or such other authority as agreed to by the Commission, shall be followed at all Commission and Committee meetings.Â
The Commission shall adopt, publish and maintain the Policies and Procedures to be followed by the Commission in support of these Bylaws.
Adoption of these Bylaws and the Policies and Procedures shall be by majority vote of the Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of a quorum of the Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting. Notice of a proposed change shall occur at the scheduled meeting prior to the vote. The full text of the proposed change shall be provided with the notice.