Texas Ornithological Society
By-Laws
(revised, 1999)
Article I. Fiscal Year and Meetings
Section 1. The fiscal year shall be from April 1 through March 31
Section 2. There shall be at least one meeting each year to be known as the Annual Meeting. the first meeting held each year shall be the Annual Meeting. Other meetings may be held at the discretion of the Executive Board.
Article II. Dues
Section 1. The annual dues shall be set by the Executive Board and may be changed if a majority of the members of the Executive Board deem it necessary or desirable. The annual dues for a Family membership shall be set by the Executive Board and shall be an amount more than an Active Membership, but less than the amount for a Sustaining Membership. The annual dues for a Sustaining Membership shall be set by the Executive Board and shall be an amount double that of an Active Membership. The annual dues for a Student Membership shall be set by the Executive Board and shall be an amount less than an Active Membership. The Annual dues for the Institutional Membership shall be set by the Executive Board. the annual dues for s Subscription Membership shall be set by the Executive Board to cover the cost of printing and mailing the Bulletin.
Section 2. Annual dues shall be for one year beginning the first day of the month following the date of joining, and renewals are payable on or before he anniversary of joining. Active, Family, Sustaining, and Student memberships who have not renewed their dues ninety days after their anniversary date shall not be permitted to cast a vote in Society affairs.
Section 3. Life Membership or Life with Spouse Membership shall be assigned to any person or person who pay the Society for this purpose a sum of money: the amounts of which shall be determined by the Executive Board. The total amounts may be paid in lump-sums or in four equal payments. Other dues shall not be required during this period.
Article III. Publications
Section 1. A newsletter shall be published and distributed free of charge to all members in good standing, except Subscription members. The editor shall be appointed by the Executive Board.
Section 2. A bulletin shall be published and distributed to all members in good standing. The editor shall be appointed by the Executive Board.
Section 3. Other publications, such as technical papers and seasonal bird lists, shall be issued from time to time as data and writings are available and as the Executive Board deems advisable; such occasional publications shall be distributed at a reasonable cost to person requesting them.
Article VI. Committees
Section 1. there shall be standing committees provided in this section, whose chairpersons shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board. The chairperson of each committee shall be responsible for forming that committee; all such selections shall be subject ti the approval of the Executive Board, and the Board may place on any committee such additional members as it deems advisable.
(a) membership: the duties of this committee are to obtain additional members of the Society. It shall be the responsibility of the committee to encourage with, and to coordinate the activities of the Society in soliciting new members for the Society. At the discretion of the Executive Board a membership secretary may be employed to receive dues and monetary gifts, remitting said funds to the Treasurer. The membership secretary will keep an accurate list of the current membership and provide such a list at least once a year to the Secretary of the Society.
(b) Publicity: The duties of this committee are to publicize the aims and activities of the Society and to promote beneficial publicity for the Society.
(c) Field Trips: The duties of this committee are to plan, organize, and arrange for field trips for Society members and other interested persons, and to encourage and promote local and sectional trips trips by local clubs and by regional sections for the Society.
(d) Conservation: the duties of this committee are to bring to the attention of the members of the Society any matters affecting conservation of birdlife, to recommend desirable conservation legislation or proposed legislation, and to provide leadership in practical conservation projects.
(e) Nominating: the duties of this committee shall be to submit, by the first day of June prior to election years, the names of one or more nominees who have agreed to act as candidates for each office of President, President-elect, Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer. The report of the nominating committee shall be published in the Newsletter in July. Other nominations for officers may then be made on petition signed by ten or more members of the Society. Any such petition must be filed with the Secretary within thirty days of the publication of the nomination committee's report in the Newsletter so that the nominee's name may be placed on the official ballot. No person may be nominated or appointed to any office unless that person is a member of the Society.
(f) Texas Bird Records: The duties of this committee shall be to establish criteria for record of birds in Texas, to prepare and publish a Texas State Bird List, to review report of species new to the state or of rarity and decided on the acceptability of the records, and to maintain records of the birds of Texas.
(g) Publications: The duties of this committee shall be to oversee the publication of the Newsletter and the Bulletin and other publication of the Society; to solicit funding for publications of the Society; to solicit articles for the publications of the Society; and to assist the editors of the Newsletter and Bulletin and other publications of the Society, as directed by the Executive Board.
Section 2. Special committees may be established by the President or by the Executive Board as the need arises.
Section 3. The president, with the approval of the Executive Board, shall appoint a Parliamentarian whose duties shall be those customary to that office; who shall attend the meetings of the Society and of the Executive Board; and shall advise on parliamentary procedures in keeping with the Constitution and By-Laws, and thereafter to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
Section 4. The Texas Bird Records Committee shall choose its own chairperson, subject to recall by the Executive Board or Annual Meeting.
Section 5. The publications committee shall choose its own chairperson, subject to recall by the Executive Board or Annual Meeting.
Article V. Life Membership fund
Section 1. Funds received from Life Membership shall be segregated from other Society funds and shall be invested at the direction of the Executive Board; the principal shall remain intact as the principal of the Life membership Fund. The principal shall be invested at the direction of the Executive Board. Interest and dividends shall be transferred to the General Fund of the Society and used at the discretion of the Executive Board. Gains and losses from investments shall be added to or subtracted from the principal.
Article VI. Regions and Directors
Section 1. Boundaries of each Region named in the Constitution are shown on the map published in the Newsletter of the Texas Ornithological Society dated 31 December 1953, and they may be changed by the Executive Board.
Section 2. One or more nominees for the office of Director in each Region shall be selected by the Nominating committee. No person may be nominated or appointed as regional Director unless that person is a member of the Society in good standing, and no member of the Society may serve as a Director of a Region other than that in which the member resides. Voting for nominees for Regional Director shall be by members of the Region only.
Article VII. Voting and Quorum
Section 1. legal votes may be cast only by Active members, Family members, Sustaining members, Student members, Life members, and Honorary members.
Section 2. Voting at the Annual Meeting shall be by actual count of hands or persons standing, or by ballot. for actions at the Annual Meeting a majority vote of those present shall govern.
Section 3. Voting between Annual Meeting shall be conducted by mail ballot when so ordered by the Executive Board. Ballots resulting from any mail vote shall be available for inspection by any member of the Society for thirty days after result of the vote is announced. For mail balloting, the votes cast by the members of the Society shall constitute a quorum, and the majority vote shall rule unless otherwise specified in these By-laws.
Section 4. Voting for officers shall be by mail ballot. Should the President-elect have no opposition for the office of President and has not resigned prior to the beginning of the election process, the name of the President-elect will not be required to be placed on the ballot.
Section 5. Voting for Regional Directors shall be by same mail ballot as the general election for officers. Only one vote for Regional Director shall be counted on any one ballot, and no member may cast a vote for a director in any Region other than in which the member resides. Provisions regarding run-off ballots shall be the same as those included in Section 4 of this Article.
Article VIII. Dissolution
Section 1. No part of the net earnings of the Society shall inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, nor shall the Society participate or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office or be partisan in its approach to such political campaigns.
Section 2. In the event of liquidation or dissolution of the Society, whether voluntary or involuntary, no member or founder shall be entitled to any distribution or division of its remaining property or its proceeds, and the balance of all money and other property received by the Society form any source, after the payment of all debts and obligations of the Society, shall be used or distributed exclusively for purposes within those set forth in these Articles and within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code and its Regulations as the same now exist or as they may be hereafter amended from time to time.
Article IX. Amendments to the By-Laws
Section 1, These By-laws may be amended by vote of the majority of the members in good standing present and voting at the Annual Meeting, provided that all proposed amendments shall have been published in full, together with the names of the sponsor o sponsors, in the Newsletter at least two weeks prior to the Annual Meeting, and shall have been approved by the Executive Board before submittal to the membership for voting; and provided further that tany proposed amendment that has been rejected by the Executive Board may be put to vote of so demanded by three-fourths of the members in good standing present at said Annual Meeting, but such demand shall not in itself constitute acceptance of the amendment.
Section 2. Additions to the By-Laws may be made by the Executive Board in any manner that does not materially conflict with the provisions already adopted by the members of the Society, provided that such additions or additions shall be announced at the next annual Meeting for confirmation or rejection.