RE: Advisory Committee Revision

Resolution: 1987-02

RE: Advisory Committee Revision

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has supported the concept of an "advisory committee" to services for the blind; and,

WHEREAS, membership of such an advisory committee should be represented by those persons who are affected (a majority of two-thirds of the 9 members is reasonable); and,

WHEREAS, the Federal definition of blindness is more accurately applied to those served by Nebraska Services for the Visually Impaired; and,

WHEREAS, fiascoes, fracases and furors have greatly distorted the perception of services to the blind in Nebraska, due to inadequate representation on the Advisory Committee; and,

WHEREAS, prohibition of state employees from membership on the Advisory Committee to DPI/NSVI is reasonable and prohibition of other governmental employees is not; and,

WHEREAS, the establishment of the Advisory Committee agenda should be carried out by the chairman of that committee, being so stated in the by-laws; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska, in convention assembled this tenth day of October, in the city of Norfolk, Nebraska, that the Governmental Affairs Committee of this organization work with the Unicameral in revising and amending the laws which established the Advisory Committee to DPI/NSVI to bring greater representation to the committee by changing the definition of blindness/impairment to the Federal definition; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that "representation" be re-dignified by amending the law, making it mandatory that representatives of the blind be chosen from legitimately chartered nonprofit organizations of the blind; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that governmental employees other than employees of the state of Nebraska be eligible for membership on the committee; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that establishment of the agenda be written into the by-laws of the Advisory Committee to DPI/NSVI, stating that such duties shall be the responsibility of the committee chairperson.