Charter of the Committee on Civil Rights

May 10, 2018

Name

The name of this committee shall be the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Civil Rights.

Purpose

The committee shall work cooperatively with the Association’s Member Departments and as appropriate with other committees, agencies, and external organizations to provide equal access and ensure nondiscrimination in all programs and activities involving Federal dollars. This includes researching and evaluating the effectiveness of civil rights programs and reporting findings of issues, as well as sharing any best practices, to Member Departments on programs such as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Equal Employment Opportunity, On-The-Job Training, Non-Discrimination (Title VI), Americans with Disabilities Act and Supportive Services.

The Committee on Civil Rights shall make recommendations and render advice to the President and staff of the Association, and to other committees as to courses of action which they may follow to assure compliance with civil rights laws and regulations in their respective areas. The committee shall also establish and maintain outreach efforts to other transportation organizations with similar interests.

The committee shall identify and report to its parent committee on any federal regulatory mandates of national concern. Each Member Department shall be entitled to membership thereon.

Membership

• All member departments may nominate one voting representative and up to two additional non-voting representatives to the Committee on Civil Rights.
• Members should be the civil rights directors or administrators for the member departments, or have a leadership role in the area of civil rights within their states.

Committee Structure

Officers

The officers of the Committee on Civil Rights shall be a chair and vice chair(s). The chair and vice chair terms of office shall be for two years, which terminates at the end of the first Committee on Civil Rights annual meeting after their term has lapsed, or two years from appointment if the Committee on Civil Rights does not meet annually.  Committee chairs and vice chairs may be appointed for additional two-year terms.

Steering Committee

• The Steering Committee shall consist of the:
  • Chair
  • Vice-Chair
  • Secretary
  • One representatives of each AASHTO Region
• The Chair and Vice-Chair are recommended by the Chair of the Committee on Agency Administration and appointed by the AASHTO President. The Secretary and Regional Representatives shall be appointed by Chair of the Committee on Civil Rights.
• The Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary shall serve a two year term in their role, and then the Vice-Chair and Secretary will move into the next level of Steering Committee leadership, subject to appointment by the AASHTO President. The terms of the Regional Representatives shall coincide with the term of the Chair of the Committee on Civil Rights.

The Role of the Steering Committee shall include:

• General management of committee business
• Addressing strategic and emerging issues within the committee scope
• Selection of the committee’s annual meeting site
• Filling vacancies on the steering committee
• Communicating and coordinating with other appropriate AASHTO groups and outside stakeholders

Subgroups may be established as follows:

• A subcommittee may be established by the chair of a committee, with approval from the Strategic Management Committee. A subcommittee is a permanent subdivision charged with a specific field or topic within that committee’s purview.
• A task force may be established by a committee chair as a temporary, “ad hoc” group to address a specific short-term, priority task or activity. The committee chair shall advise the Strategic Management Committee of the establishment of any task force.
• A community of practice may be established by a committee chair to address a specific discipline or topic. Communities of practice may consist of participants from one or multiple committees, and may include other appropriate stakeholders. The committee chair shall advise the Strategic Management Committee of the establishment of any community of practice.

Reporting

• The Committee on Civil Rights shall report to the Agency Administration Managing Committee on all matters.

Meetings

 Committee Meetings

• The Committee on Civil Rights shall hold an in-person business meeting annually. On even years, the Committee will hold a training symposium and business meeting which will be co-located with the Committee on Agency Administration Annual Meeting.
• Additionally, the Steering Committee shall meet quarterly. Minimally these meetings shall be telephonic.

In the event that the voting committee member is unable to serve, each Member Department may designate, by electronic notification or letter to the AASHTO committee staff liaison, prior to each committee meeting, the individual who shall serve as the Member Department’s representative on the committee.

Representation by a majority of all Member Departments, exclusive of the U.S. Department of Transportation, shall constitute a quorum to initiate and to transact general business.  A majority vote of those members present, exclusive of the U.S. Department of Transportation, on matters of general business shall be considered binding on the committee. For adoption of a draft policy or technical document, a two-thirds favorable vote of all Member Departments, exclusive of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is required for approval, prior to being considered by other appropriate groups within AASHTO.

Strategic Plan, Annual Achievements Document, and Annual Work Plan

The committee shall establish a strategic plan and a work plan to help guide committee activities. The strategic plan shall be consistent with the AASHTO goals and objectives as outlined in the Association’s strategic plan. At a minimum, the committee’s strategic plan will be reviewed and updated as needed when AASHTO completes a new strategic plan.

The committee will maintain, at a minimum, a one-year work plan that describes the activities that will be implemented, the individual(s) or subgroups overseeing implementation, and a schedule for completion. The work plan shall be submitted to the Strategic Management Committee prior to the AASHTO annual meeting each year.

Annual accomplishment reports shall highlight the accomplishments of the committee since the last AASHTO annual meeting, and shall be submitted to the Board of Directors and the Strategic Management Committee prior to the AASHTO annual meeting each year.

Ethics

All meetings of the committee and its steering committee, subcommittee(s), task force(s), and technical committee(s) will be conducted in accordance with the AASHTO policies governing conflicts of interest.

Amendments

The Committee on Civil Rights charter may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the committee membership and then a two-thirds affirmative vote by the Board of Directors.