Veto Procedure - DAO Council

by 0x5b5cc427c1d81db4f94de4d51d85ce122d63e244 (Fehz)

SUMMARY The DAO Council’s veto procedure is a two-phase process that includes an internal Council vote followed by a public phase in which DAO members can exercise their veto power on Council-approved decisions.

ABSTRACT The proposed veto procedure establishes checks and balances within DAO governance. First, the DAO Council will vote internally to approve major decisions. Then, the community will have the ability to challenge those decisions through a Veto Proposal mechanism. This ensures both efficiency in decision-making and strong safeguards for DAO-wide legitimacy.

MOTIVATION The veto mechanism introduced in the Proposal for Establishing a Council for Decentraland DAO allowed the community to challenge Council decisions by enabling a veto governance proposal within two weeks of a decision’s publication. While this safeguarded against misaligned decisions, it could impose unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on both the DAO and the Council. The process proved to be overly complex, slow, and lacked a clear, streamlined execution path.

Introducing a clearer and more straightforward procedure, directly integrated into the Governance App, will reduce friction and ensure more predictable decision-making.

SPECIFICATION

Phase 1: Internal Council Vote For major decisions such as approving the Executive Branch mandate planning, budgeting, and treasury management strategies, the DAO Council will first conduct an internal vote using a Snapshot space with restricted access.

• Each Council member has one vote (1 member = 1 vote).
• A simple majority (3 out of 5 votes) is required to approve a decision.
• The voting window lasts 48 hours.
• Any Council member can initiate a vote by creating a Snapshot proposal.

Phase 2: DAO Veto Once a Council decision is approved and published in the Governance App (https://github.com/decentraland/governance/pull/1902), it is also announced through the DAO’s official communication channels to ensure visibility and awareness.

From the moment the decision is made public, there is a **14-day window **during which any community member can submit a Veto Proposal, a special proposal category intended solely to challenge Council decisions.

• Once a Veto Proposal is submitted, the original decision is placed on hold ("frozen period") until the veto vote concludes.
• Veto Proposal voting is live for 7 days, and the decision stays on hold for that period.
• If the Veto Proposal is rejected, the Council decision becomes immediately binding and may be executed by the Executive Arm.
• If the Veto Proposal is approved, the Council decision is nullified. The Council may then revise and resubmit the decision.

To prevent spam:

• A minimum of 1M Voting Power (VP) is required to submit a Veto Proposal, representing a minimum of 1% of the total votable supply.
• A threshold of 6M VP is required for the proposal to pass.

IMPACTS

• Establishes a clear and accessible process for challenging Council decisions.
• Increases transparency and predictability in governance.
• Accelerates the timeline for both the DAO and the Council to reach final outcomes.
• Enhances the legitimacy and acceptance of Council decisions.

IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAYS

1. Governance App Update: Implement the Veto Proposal category.
2. Snapshot Configuration: Establish restricted Council voting space.
3. Communication Protocol: Define official channels for publishing decisions and alerts.

CONCLUSIONS The Veto Procedure balances efficiency and accountability in DAO governance. It grants the Council authority to make decisions while empowering the community with oversight mechanisms. By adopting this process, the DAO enhances transparency, trust, and resilience against governance risks.

• FOR
• AGAINST
• Invalid question/options

This proposal is summarized due to technical limitations. To view it complete and vote on it, visit the DCL DAO Governance dApp