Please note: This item is from a member of the Bylaws committee and not from the full committee.
DC Chapter Considers Revisions for its Bylaws and Constitution 2017
Our Chapter’s Bylaws and Constitution Committee has been reviewing the current Bylaws and Constitution and we are proposing some revisions for consideration by the Board and Chapter members. Some of these comments were recommended by the Chapter’s Audit Committee. We welcome your comments on any proposed suggested comments and changes. Please send them to the Chapter’s Recording Secretary, Kathryn Foxhall: kfoxhall@verizon.net
These consist of changes in job titles, policy changes, modernizing word choices and style format (i.e. shifting from a capitalized word to a lower-case word.) These changes are underlined. For easier reading of the document, the Articles are all underlined. You can compare these newest proposed changes with the current bylaws and constitution which are found on the chapter’s website at: http:// www.spjdc.org./chapter-constitution-bylaws/
The chapter’s executive board will consider these proposed revisions and forward their recommendations to the membership for consideration and ratification.
Proposed Revisions of the Current CONSTITUTION:
Article One – Name
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Washington, DC, Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
[no change]
Article Two – Purpose
Section 1: The purpose of this chapter shall be to associate journalists possessing the qualities symbolized by the Society—talent, energy and truth—-into an organization of professional camaraderie, to assist the members in upholding the noblest of principles of journalism, and to cooperate with them in this field, and to advance the highest ethical standards.
Article Three – Membership
Section 1: Any national member of the Society of Professional Journalists is eligible for membership in this chapter.
[no change]
Section 2: New members may be admitted provided they fulfill the requirements set forth in the national bylaws of the Society of Professional Journalists.
[no change]
Article Four, Section 1—Officers
-change the current position of Vice President to that of President-Elect. This concept is based on the Ladder used for selecting officers used by National SPJ. (But they use if for selecting all four officer positions, starting at Treasurer and then rising to Secretary, followed by President-Elect and President.) A President-elect would have year of hands-on experience on the Board and is ready to step into the slot for President once the vacancy occurs. For the DC Chapter, the President-Elect would also be considered as Program Chair, as the VP now does. And we are not shifting to a required Ladder for all officers, in order to finally reach the job of President. Under our system, one need not move up the ladder. And, in the past, we have had some Presidents who had no Board experience whatsoever and it made it difficult for them to step into the demands of the top job on the Board.
-Change the current office of Corresponding Secretary to that of Membership Secretary. The reason for the shift is that the current Corresponding Secretary is already handling Membership, and this would clarify the position.
–We propose that to the current office of Treasurer be added an assistant Treasurer position, so that there is another person familiar with the intricacies of the Chapter’s finances. This change has been recommended by the Chapter’s Audit Committee, for 2 years in a row.)
Article Four, Section 2—Term of office
[changes proposed]
At present, all Board members are elected for a one-year term. However, the Audit Committee for two years in a row has recommended that some term limits be set. They initially said this should apply to the office of Treasurer, because of the fiduciary responsibility the position carries. However, the Bylaws and Constitution Committee is asking Chapter members to consider term limits for all officers and set it at four years in one position. That person can run again for the Board, but not for the same position.
Article Five –Directors
Section 1: There shall be elected from the membership of this chapter six directors who shall meet at least nine times per year with the officers of the chapter to formulate plans and procedures. These directors (REMOVE” together with”) and officers of the chapter (REMOVE” and the immediate past president”) shall constitute the executive board.
Section 2: Three directors shall be elected each year for a term commencing at the next annual installation of officers and expiring at the installation two years thereafter.
Section 3: If the Region 2 director or an elected national officer is a member of this chapter, that person shall be a voting member of the executive board.
Section 4: Do we want something here on the vacancy of a director, or is that covered by Article 5 of the Bylaws?
Article Six—Meetings
Section 2—The current document states: “An annual business meeting may be held at least once each year {REMOVE “ to hear reports from all officers and committee chair persons.”]
Should we keep the same wording, which allows us planning options?)
[Change and addition proposed]
Should it also say that the Annual Report, which contains this information, be listed on the Chapter’s website by July 1 so that Chapter members can view it? It is mandatory for all Chapter’s to file this statement with the National SPJ Headquarters by May 31, so the document would be ready for distribution to members, via the website.
Article Seven —-Amendments
[change proposed]
Section 2 should add include both US postal service and digital services to contact chapter members. These notices can be mailed or emailed to all Chapter members. The current wording cites only postal mail: that the notice be mailed “ not less than 15 working days prior to the meeting.” That is a lead time of 3 weeks. Does it need to be that long? And can we switch “mailed” to “emailed”?
Section 1: An amendment to this Constitution may be proposed in writing at any regular meeting of the chapter. Such proposed amendment must be signed by 5 percent of the chapter membership before being submitted and shall be read to the meeting by the presiding officer. After such notice, the proposed amendment and a ballot for voting on its adoption shall be sent to all members. The amendment shall be effective if approved by a majority of the chapter members voting.
[addition proposed]
Section 2: an amendment to the Constitution may be proposed in writing by two-thirds of the executive board membership and shall be enacted if approved by two-thirds vote of those chapter members attending the next regular meeting of the chapter, providing that notice of said meeting and the full wording of the proposed amendment will have been mailed or emailed to all chapter members, not less than 15 working days prior to the meeting.
Section 3: Amendments to this Constitution shall become effective immediately unless otherwise specified in written proposals for this amendment.
[no change]
Proposed Revisions for Current BYLAWS:
Article One—Membership
NOTE the wording changes:
–Section 1: Any individual who applies and is approved for national membership in the Society of Professional Journalists may become a member of the Washington, DC, (REMOVE” by submitting a chapter application”) by paying annual National and Local chapter dues. (REMOVE “Prospective members may apply for national and local membership through the national headquarters. Both national and local membership applications may be processed through the Chapter’s Corresponding Secretary.”)
–Article Two—Dues
[addition proposed]
Section 1: The annual dues of this chapter shall be set by the executive committee at the beginning of each program year. Once they are paid, a person is considered a “member in good standing” and is eligible to vote and to run for office.
–Article Three—Nominations
–Section 1: A nomination committee shall be appointed each year in December to receive nominations, to nominate qualified members (dues must be current) for chapter offices and to present a slate of candidates, no later than April 2. Members seeking consideration as nominees must contact the nominating committee by February 1.
–Section 2: The nominating committee shall be appointed by the president, with the approval of the executive board.
–Section 3:
No change proposed
–Section 4:
No change proposed
[addition proposed]
–Section 5: The nomination process shall include publication of the slate as approved by the executive board; a formal notice in the chapter’s January newsletter calling for nominations from the membership;
a formal notice on the chapter’s website; and space provided for write-in candidates from the membership on the official ballot.
Article Four – Elections
–Section 1: A ballot listing all nominees shall be sent to all chapter members no later than April 15. All ballots returned to the recording secretary by May 1 and shall be opened and tallied by a committee of tellers to be appointed by the president and approved by the board.
–Section 2: The candidates receiving the most votes for each office shall be declared the winners.
All candidates should be notified of their status by a person designated by the board within 5 days of the results being formalized. [REMOVE “The executive board can authorize preferential or plurality voting for offices that have more than two candidates and so indicate on the ballot.”]
[addition proposed]
–Section 3: Results of the chapter election tally shall be published in the chapter’s next newsletter and posted on the chapter’s website within two weeks of announcing the results.
[new section proposed]
–Section 4: Term Limits—No one shall be allowed to serve on the board for more than 3 consecutive terms in the same position. They may opt to run for a different office. (The Audit Committee has also recommended this change for 2 years in a row.)
[New Section]
Article Five – Vacancies.
–[addition proposed]
Section 1: Vacancies occurring among the members of the executive board shall be filled by election of the executive board. Those chosen to fill vacancies will serve only until the next annual installation in June. At the annual election immediately preceding said installation, the membership of the chapter will elect a member or members to serve the remainder of any vacated terms.
Article Six – Duties of the Officers
[additions proposed, including changes in names of some officer slots]
–Section 1: The president shall preside at all meetings and exercise general supervision over the affairs and activities of the chapter, including attending the annual national convention, or selecting a delegate if they are unable to attend. The president should also prepare an agenda for all upcoming board meetings at least 3 days prior to that meeting.
–Section 2: If the president is absent or incapacitated, the president’s duties shall be assumed by the president-elect.
–Section 3: The president-elect shall also serve as program coordinator for the chapter.
–Section 4: The recording secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the chapter and send records of the proceedings to members of the executive board.
–Section 5: The recording secretary shall be custodian of all chapter written and digital records unless a special officer shall be appointed for that purpose; shall maintain the chapter roster of current board members and their terms; and shall conduct all correspondence of the chapter, as required.
—Section 6: The membership secretary shall maintain the chapter roster, including all records and reports on chapter membership.
–Section 7: The treasurer shall receive all chapter funds, keep them in one or more federally insure depositories approved by the executive board, and pay out funds only by the direction of the president. The treasurer shall make a written monthly report to the executive board of all disbursements, receipts and balances.
Article Seven –Executive Board
Section 1: The executive board of the chapter shall consist of the officers of the chapter, the immediate past president, and six directors as provided in the chapter constitution and, when applicable under Section 3 of Article Five of the constitution, the Region 2 director and any elected national officer who is a chapter member.
Section 2: The executive board of the chapter shall be responsible for conducting the business of the chapter.
Section 3: Any member of the executive board who has three consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled monthly meetings of the board shall be asked by the chapter president to resign from office. If this officer or director fails to resign, the executive board shall vote whether to remove the officer. If the executive board votes for removal, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article Five of the bylaws.
Article Eight –Committees
Section 1: Committees shall be appointed by the president. All committees, after appointment, shall be ratified by the executive board.
[additions proposed]
Section 2: The standing committees of the chapter include: Awards, HOF Banquet, Diversity, Ethics and Freedom of Information, Foreign Press, Membership, Communications (newsletter, website, publicity), SDX Foundation and Student Liaison.
Section 3:
Deleted
Article Nine —Quorum
Old Section 1:
Deleted
New Section 1: Seven members of the executive board shall constitute a quorum for board meetings.
Article Ten –Order of Business
Section 1: The order of business at all executive board meetings and at chapter business meetings shall be as follows: Meeting called to order, reading of minutes of previous meeting, reports of officers and committee chairpersons, unfinished business, new business and adjournment.
Article Eleven –Parliamentary Authority
[Addition proposed]
Section 1: The most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority of this chapter.
Article Twelve –Amendments
Section 1: An amendment to these bylaws may be proposed in writing at any regular meeting of the chapter. Such proposed amendment must be signed by 2 percent of the chapter membership before being submitted to the meetings and shall be read at the meeting by the presiding officer. After such notice, the proposed amendment and a ballot for voting on its adoption shall be sent to all members. The amendment shall be effective if approved by a majority of the chapter members voting.
[additions proposed]
Section 2: An amendment to these bylaws may be proposed in writing by two-thirds of the executive board membership and shall be enacted if approved by a majority vote of the chapter members attending the next regular meeting of the chapter, providing that notice of said meeting and the full wording of the proposed amendment will have been sent to all chapter members no later than 15 working days prior to the meeting by electronic or posted mail.
Section 3: Amendments to these bylaws shall become effective immediately unless otherwise specified in the written proposal for the amendment.
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