CONSTITUTION OF THE LATERAL TECH FOUNDATION

July 4, 2026

WE THE PEOPLE of the Lateral Tech Foundation, in Order to form a more perfect Distribution, establish ABI stability, insure reduction of bloat, provide for the enjoyment of software, preserve good code, and secure the Blessings of FOSS to ourselves and our users, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Lateral Tech Foundation

Article I

Section 1. All powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the Lateral Tech Foundation, which shall consist of a number of Project Leads and a Chairman.
Section 2. The Project Leads are full members of Congress with voting rights while the Chairman only casts a vote when needed to break a tie.
Section 3. A member of Congress shall within 6 months of taking office appoint an alternate that is trained, enabled, and empowered to take over temporarily in their stead should they be unable to perform their duties. Except where expressly permitted herein, the powers of voting are not transferred to the alternate at any time, but they retain all other powers of that member of Congress when acting in that capacity.
Section 4. Except for the initial members of Congress that have signed their names herein, for the first 12 months of office a new member of Congress is probationary and can be removed from office with a simple majority vote and may not vote in matters affecting the standing of another member of Congress or alterations to this Constitution.
Section 5. All voting shall be done in a “Yea/Nay” or “Option X/Option Y” manner whenever possible. When three or more options must be voted on it shall be done in a runoff style election where votes are cast and the option with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and the vote held again until one option remains as the winner. If there is a tie on which option to eliminate the Chairman shall choose between the two.
Section 6. Unless specified otherwise, all votes shall be determined by a simple majority with a two thirds quorum of voting members required. Congress may at any time bypass any and all requirements specified herein with a unanimous vote of every voting member of Congress (100% quorum).
Section 7. All powers not limited herein shall be reserved for the individual Project Leads to enable them to carry out their vision and duties within their respective projects

Article II

Section 1. The term of Project Lead is for life.
Section 2. A Project Lead has full autonomy within their assigned project(s) of the Lateral Tech Foundation. No other person may usurp their authority within that project area except in rare circumstances as described herein.
Section 3. When a matter impacts the projects of two or more Project Leads and those affected Project Leads cannot reach an agreeable solution; then they shall present the matter and their arguments to Congress and when the matter has been heard Congress shall vote on a choice of two competing solutions and the affected Project Leads shall be bound by that vote and execute the decision faithfully.
Section 4. A Project Lead may choose to abdicate any or all of their roles at any time. They may choose to remain in the role(s) until Congress confirms their replacement.
Section 5. A new Project Lead may be created when Congress determines that it is beneficial to do so. If the project is new with no developers then Congress shall select a new Project Lead or assign the role to an existing Project Lead.
Section 6. If an existing Project Lead role needs to be assigned to a new person then Congress shall defer selection of the new Project Lead to the affected project developers whenever possible, confirming their nominee as Project Leader as the next meeting of Congress. If multiple projects are affected Congress may consider eliminating or creating one or more additional Project Lead positions.
Section 7. Should a Project Lead become deceased, incapacitated, or otherwise unresponsive then any other member of Congress may bring this to the attention of Congress at the next regular meeting. The unexpected absence shall be noted and reviewed in each regular meeting thereafter until the matter is resolved. If the Project Leader is clearly shown to be deceased or otherwise permanently incapacitated then they may be removed from the position immediately. After an unexpected absence of not less than 1 month Congress may empower the alternate to take a limited role in keeping that project running smoothly. After an unexpected absence of 6 months the process to remove a member of Congress shall be automatically triggered as described in Section 8, except that there is no accuser other than the plain facts of the absence. If at any time before the completion of the removal of the member of Congress they attend a meeting of Congress then the process is immediately terminated. The nature of the unexpected absence may be prima facie evidence that the absentee is not acting in the best interests of the Lateral Tech Foundation.
Section 8. In exceptional circumstances a member of Congress may be forcibly removed from office. This process is intentionally lengthy and difficult. The member of Congress must be found to have repeatedly acted in a manner that brings demonstrable harm to the Lateral Tech Foundation. Accusing a member of Congress of wrong doing and then failing to get even a simple majority to vote to expel them is prima facie evidence that the accuser is not acting in the best interests of the Lateral Tech Foundation.

Step 1. A member of Congress must request a special meeting. This request must include specific charges against the Project Lead to be terminated and a list of two or more witnesses or other documentation of the alleged violations or realized harms. The meeting notice shall contain these allegations and supporting evidence and shall be sent at least 7 days prior to the meeting.
Step 2. The accusing member of Congress shall present their facts and evidence to the Congress and afterwards the accused has the right of last word with a rebuttal. The other members of Congress (exclusive of the accused and the accuser) shall hold a vote and only by unanimous agreement shall the Project Lead be placed on probation. While on Probation the Project Lead retains their full powers and responsibilities.
Step 3. The members of Congress (exclusive of the accused and the accuser) shall state what actions the accused has been found guilty of and what corrective actions they would like to see.
Step 4. The Congress shall reconvene in a period of time not less than 3 months later and not more than 6 months later to review the charges against the member of Congress and any new evidence that has come to light in the interim. The members of Congress (exclusive of the accused and the accuser) shall hold a vote and only by unanimous agreement shall the Project Lead be expelled from their role as a member of Congress.

Article III

Section 1. The term of the Chairman is for life.
Section 2. The Chairman may not also hold the office of Project Lead except when a Project Lead is acting as Chairman in a temporary capacity.
Section 3. The Chairman has no vote in Congress except when needed to break a tie. Should the Chairman not be available to break a tie vote then the matter shall be brought to vote again at the next meeting.
Section 4. The Chairman shall oversee meetings of Congress and make such notes and records of the meeting as are required to carry out the business of Congress. The Chairman is charged with ensuring that the business of Congress is held in accordance with this Constitution and to raise an objection when they are not.
Section 5. The Chairman is responsible for establishing and maintaining such legal entities as are needed for the Lateral Tech Foundation.
Section 6. The Chairman is shall maintain a public roster of the members of Congress, their alternate, lengthy expected absences, ongoing unexpected absences, and the projects to which they are assigned.
Section 7. The Chairman may abdicate, be replaced, or be forced out of office using the same processes as those for a Project Lead except that the new Chairman is to be selected by the Project Leads. The alternate Chairman serves as Chairman in the process of selecting a new Chairman and provides the tie breaking vote should it be needed. If the alternate Chairman is a Project Lead then they get two votes, one for each of these two positions.

Article IV

Section 1. Congress shall establish a regular series of meetings, the frequency of which may be changed as needed to suite the needs of the project. These meetings should be no more than one month apart except for limited breaks in meetings that Congress may choose to make.
Section 2. The regular meetings of Congress and the minutes thereof should be made as readily accessible as practical to the public. Congress shall make a reasonable effort to allow for a limited public comment period at each regular meeting. Congress may hold any number of private meetings as needed which may be closed to the public.
Section 3. Should the regularly held meetings of Congress fail to attain a quorum for a period of not less than 6 consecutive months then the attending Members of Congress may vote to call an emergency meeting. This emergency meeting must be held in not less than 30 days from when the notice of emergency meeting is sent to the members of Congress. Should a quorum be reached at the emergency meeting then all outstanding business shall be conducted and voted upon. Should a quorum not be reached then a public notice shall be made of a second emergency meeting to be held in not less than 60 days. At that second emergency meeting all outstanding business shall be addressed and voted on regardless of the quorum. This shall include proceeding with removal of absent members of Congress if applicable. If a quorum has not been reached at the second emergency meeting then no quorum is required at subsequent meetings until such a time as a quorum of Congress members attend and thereby cancel the emergency.
Section 4. The Lateral Tech Foundation may be dissolved by a unanimous vote at three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of Congress. Each Project Lead may then divorce their project(s) from any and all obligations to the Lateral Tech Foundation.
Section 5. Any and all matters not enumerated herein are within the purview of Congress to decide upon as they will.
Section 6. This Constitution may not be altered save by a unanimous vote of Congress and then only after having provided at least a 30 day advanced noticed of a vote to change the Constitution. Any member of Congress not able to attend in person may submit an absentee vote to the Chairman prior to the start of the meeting where the vote will be held.
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greenjeans Steve Meliza (SteveM) SysvAnon