The Empire State Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Societies by laws and constitution in place were last amended in December of 1987..
BY-LAWS
Article B-I
Council
Section 1. The
council shall: (1) control and manage the affairs and funds of the Chapter; (2)
fill any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Council to the next regular
election; (3) authorize the employment of salaried personnel as required and
determine their duties; rate of pay, and period of employment; (4) recommend to
the Chapter the adoption of amendments or revisions of the constitution or
by-laws; (5) perform such other duties as may be prescribed in the by-laws; (6)
resolve any questions regarding the election or term of any Council member not
covered by these by-laws; and (7) in the event of tie vote in elections, cast
lots to break the tie vote.
Section 2. For the purpose of assuring representation on the
council for various areas of the State, the Council shall refine the boundaries
of four areas. Each county shall be
entirely within a given arcs.
Section 3. Meetings
of the council may be called by the President, by majority of the Council, or
by a petition of 10% of members in good standing. At least 10 days notice of the date and place
of each meeting and the general nature of the business to be acted upon shall
be given to all members of the Council by mail or in person; provided that in
case of an emergency, which shall be stated in the notice, a meeting may be
called on less than 10 days notice.
Section 4. A majority of the members of the Council shall be
required for a quorum for the transaction of business and, except as may be
otherwise specifically provided in the by-laws, a majority vote of the members
of the Council voting on any matter within the scope of the authority of the
Council shall be required for its determination.
Article B-II
Terms of Office
Section 1. Terms of elected officers and Council persons
shall commence following their installation at the Chapter annual meeting. They shall continue until the next annual
meeting or until their successors have been qualified. The President-elect shall automatically
assume the Office of President upon the expiration of the President's term.
Section 2. The President, President-elect, Vice-president,
and Secretary shall serve a one-year term.
The Treasurer shall serve a three year term. Council persons shall serve two-year terms
except the Council persons representing the Student Chapters shall serve a
one-year term. Neither the President,
President-elect, nor Vice-president may be elected to the same office until
after one year has elapsed following the end of the term.
Article B-III
Duties
Section 1. The
President shall preside at meetings of the Chapter and at Council
meetings. The President shall appoint
all standing Committees with the approval of the Council and shall perform all
duties incident to his office. Approval
by the Council shall consist of an affirmative concurrence by a majority of
Council Members present.
Section 2. The President-elect shall perform the duties of
the President in cases of absence or disability of the President. The President-elect shall assist the President
in selecting membership to serve on Standing and Technical Committees. The President-elect shall serve as the
Central Program Chairperson.
Section 3. The
Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in absence or
disability of both the President and President-elect.
Section 4. The
Secretary shall: (a) keep minutes of all regular and special meetings of the
Chapter and the Council; (b) at the direction of the President, issue notices
of all meetings; (c) be the official correspondent of the Chapter; (d) submit
an annual report to the Chapter, and (e) keep current an official roster of
Chapter members.
Section 5. The
Treasurer shall: (a) be responsible for all funds of the Chapter; (b) be bonded
in such amounts as the Council may determine at the expense of the Chapter; (c)
submit an annual report to the Chapter and such interim reports as the Chapter
or the Council may direct; and (d) perform all other duties incident to the
position of the Treasurer.
Section 6. Council persons shall represent the members from
the individual areas or Student Chapters on the Council. The Council persons serve as advisors to the
Chapter Officers.
Article B-IV
Nominations and
Elections
Section 1. The annual election of President-elect,
Vice-president, Secretary and Council persons shall be held my mail ballot and
completed 15 days prior to the annual meeting.
Election for Treasurer will be every three years. The membership of each area shall elect one
resident Council person. Council persons
from areas 1 and shall be elected in odd numbered years; from areas 2, 4 and at
the at-large representative in even-numbered years.
Section 2. Student members shall have the right to vote in
elections of all officers, but shall be excluded from voting for the Council
person in the area where they are located.
Students shall have the right to vote for a Council person nominated
from Student Chapter members.
Section 3.
Nominations for all offices shall be compiled by a Nominations Committee
for three named by the President at the previous annual meeting, who shall
bring in a slate of at least two names for each elective office. All nominees must be members of the
Society. Students may not be nominated
as a candidate for the at-large representative.
Members are encouraged to suggest nominees to the Nominations Committee.
Each Student Chapter may submit one nominee for the candidacy of Council person
representing the Student Chapters. The
Nominations Committee shall obtain the consent of each nominee before placing
that name on a ballot. The official
ballots shall be returned to the Chairperson of the Nominations Committee. They shall be counted by the Nominations
Committee and retained by the Chairperson until the end of the meeting at which
the election is consummated. The
candidate receiving the most votes shall be declared elected.
Section 4. In the
event that a duly elected officer or Council person cannot serve because of
events arresting between the time of election and the annual meeting,
nominations may take place from the floor at the annual business meeting, and
the members present at the annual meeting may elect to fill the office. In the event a Council person representing
the Student Chapter cannot serve, an election shall be conducted at the earliest
date to fill the office.
Article B-V
Chapter Meetings
Section 1. The Chapter shall hold an annual meeting and such
other meetings as may be approved by the Council.
Section 2. An
authorized president officer and ten members in good standing shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of the Chapter.
Section 3. All members shall have the privilege of the floor
at any meeting of the Chapter and shall have the right to vote on any
proposition or at any election.
Article B-VI
Committees and
Task Forces
Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in these by-laws,
Standing and Technical Committees and Task Forces may be created by the Council
for any purpose within the scope of the objectives of the Society. Special temporary committees may be created
by the President for like purposes not otherwise provided for. The President
shall appoint the members of all committees except as otherwise directed by
these by-laws or by the creating authority.
All committees and task forces shall prepare a written report on their
activities as directed by the creating authority. All committees and tasks forces shall prepare
an annual summary to be presented at the annual meeting.
Article B-VII
Dues and Finances
Section 1. The annual
dues of members of the Chapter shall be established by the Council. The individual member shall remit Chapter and
Society dues to the Chapter Treasurer, who will receipt of these dues on the
Chapter Receipts Register. Society dues
will be forwarded by the Treasurer to the Society office using the procedures
prescribed in the current Handbook for Chapter Officers. Student members will
remit their dues to their Student Chapter Treasurer. Student Chapter Treasurers shall forward to
the Society or Empire State Chapter the respective dues using the procedures
prescribed by the Society or the Empire State Chapter.
Section 2. Disposition of Funds- all funds received by the
Chapter, where derived through dues or other sources, except such funds as are
required to be remitted to the Society by the Chapter Treasurer in a manner
prescribed by the Society Executive Vice-president.
Article B-VIII
Amendments
These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the
membership voting; provided that such proposed amendment shall have submitted
in writing to all of the membership at least 30 days prior to the date set by
the Council for the counting of the ballots.
An amendment, unless the same otherwise provides, shall become effective
immediately upon its adoption.
Article B-IX
By-laws
Section 1. Student
Chapters shall adopt their own by-laws and shall conduct all business in
accordance with the adopted by-laws.
Each Student Chapter shall file a copy of the adopted by-laws and any
revisions thereof with the Secretary of the Empire State Chapter.
Section 2. Anything
contained in these by-laws or in any bylaw adopted by the Chapter deemed to be
in conflict with the by-laws of the Soil and Water Conservation Society or any
provision thereof shall be void and of no effect.
Article B-X
Policies
Section 1. Policies adopted or established by the Chapter or
Council are instruments for the administration or management of Chapter affairs
or activities. These policies are not
amendments to or part of the By-laws.
These policies shall be an appendix to the By-laws as information for
the purpose of assisting the Officers, Council persons, and members in the
administration of the Chapter.
CONSTITUTION AND
BY-LAWS OF THE
EMPIRE STATE CHAPTER-
SOIL AND WATER
CONSERVATION SOCIETY
CONSTITUION
Article I
Organization
The name of this organization, which is located in the State
of New York,
shall be the EMPIRE STATE CHAPTER of the Soil and Water Conservation
Society. The Chapter is established as a
non-profit, professional, scientific education organization.
Article II
Objectives
The objectives of the Chapter shall be to enhance our
environment; to promote and advance the science and an of good land and water
use and management and promote the conservation of all nature resources; to
provide a medium of exchange for facts, experience and thought; and to
represent, advance, and protect the standards of the science of resource
management and conservation.
Article III
Membership
Section 1. Membership eligibility in the Chapter shall be
limited to those holding membership in the Soil and Water Conservation
Society. Student members of the Society
shall be eligible for membership in the Empire State Chapter.
Article IV
Governing Body
Section 1. A council of twelve members shall be the
governing body of the Chapter. Members
of the Council shall consist of the President, President-elect, Vice-president,
the immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, and four area and one
at-large Council persons elected from the membership of the Chapter, and one
council person representing the Student Chapters.
Section 2. The
officers of the Chapter shall consist of the President, a President-elect, a
Vice-president, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
Article V
Subchapters
Section 1. Student chapter shall be bonafide subchapters of
the Empire State Chapter.
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