CFALL - Central Florida Association of Law Libraries

Central Florida Association of Law Libraries Bylaws

AMENDMENT HISTORY

June 2008 Amendments

September 1999 Bylaws

September 1999 Amendments

Bylaws – AS AMENDED JUNE 2008
Click for a printable PDF version of the current Bylaws.

Changes passed in June 2008 are in bold.

ARTICLE I
Name

The name of the Association shall be CENTRAL FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES.

ARTICLE II
Objectives

The Association is established for educational and scientific purposes. It shall be conducted as a nonprofit corporation to promote librarianship, to develop and increase the usefulness of law libraries, to cultivate the science of law librarianship and to foster a spirit of cooperation among the members of the profession, particularly those in the West Central Area of Florida.

ARTICLE III
Membership

Section 1. Any person interested in law libraries may become a member of the Association by qualifying under the provisions of one of the classes of membership.

There shall be five classes of membership:

a. Active Members. Any person in Florida engaged in or qualified for law library or legislative reference work or any librarian interested in law libraries. Dues for Active Members shall be $15.00 per year.

b. Associate Members. Any person not connected with a library who through occupation or profession is interested in law libraries. Dues for Associate Members shall be $15.00 per year.

    c. Institutional Members. Any law library may become an Institutional Member. Dues for Institutional Members shall be $100.00 per year.

    d. Student Members. A Student Member shall be any individual enrolled in any degree program related to librarianship. Dues shall be $10.00 per year.

   e. Honorary Members. An Honorary Member must be nominated by the Executive Board and approved by a majority at any regular business meeting. There are no dues for Honorary Members.

Section 2. The right to hold office and vote is restricted to members in good standing.

Section 3. The term of membership shall run from June through May. New members joining after February 1 will have their membership extended through the next year.

ARTICLE IV
Meetings

Section 1. Regular Meetings. There shall be at least two meetings of the Association each year. The June meeting shall be the Annual meeting, unless a majority of the executive board agrees upon an alternative date.

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Association may be called by the President upon receiving a written petition requesting such a meeting, endorsed by at least five members in good standing of the Association. The petition shall specify the reason for calling the special meeting and only that issue shall be addressed at the meeting.

Section 3. Quorum. Six members qualified to vote shall constitute a quorum for Association meetings.

Section 4. Voting. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by the majority vote of members voting.

ARTICLE V
Officers

Section 1. Officers. The Officers of the Association are the President, Vice President/President Elect, and the Secretary/Treasurer. All Officers of the Association must be members in good standing of the Association. No Officer may hold more than one office at a time.

Section 2. Terms of Office. Each Officer shall be elected to serve a term of office of one year, or until he or she has been duly succeeded. Each Officer's term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting immediately following his or her election.

Section 3. Duties of Officers. The Officers shall perform those duties assigned to them by these Bylaws, the Executive Board and the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

ARTICLE VI
Executive Board

Section 1. Members. The Executive Board shall be composed of the Officers of the Association and the immediate Past President.

Section 2. Terms of Office.

a. Officers. Executive Board members who are Association Officers shall serve a term on the Executive Board corresponding to their Term of Office.

b. Immediate Past President. The immediate Past President shall serve a term of one year on the Executive Board.

Section 3. Duties. The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Association between its business meetings, fix the time and place of business meetings, make recommendations to the Association and perform other duties as specified by these Bylaws or the parliamentary authority. The Board shall be subject to the orders of the Association and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Association.

Section 4. Powers. The Executive Board shall have sole power, on behalf of the Association, or any of its committees or sub-units, to incur indebtedness, solicit funding, make public statements, issue public writings and establish and maintain relations with other organizations.

Section 5. Quorum and Voting. Three members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum. Resolutions of the Executive Board shall be supported by the vote of at least three of its members.

Section 6. Meetings. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be called, and the time and place for them set, at the discretion of the President. However, there shall be at least one meeting of the Executive Board called and convened between the Annual meetings of the Association.

ARTICLE VII
Committees

Section 1. There shall be such committees and other organizations as the Executive Board shall create or shall be created by a majority vote of those present and voting at any business meeting of the Association.

Section 2. Committees shall be of two classes: standing committees and special committees.

a. Standing committees shall be as follows: Bylaws Committee, Membership Committee, Newsletter Committee, Nominating Committee, Program Committee.

b. Special committees shall be appointed by the Executive Board for a stated period to accomplish a specific purpose. At the end of that period the continuation of each special committee shall be decided upon by the Executive Board.

c. Members of standing committees shall be appointed by the President for a term of one year.

Section 3. Each committee shall submit to the Executive Board a written annual report of its activities which shall contain any recommendations considered necessary or advisable. Additional reports may be submitted at the option of a committee or as requested by the Executive Board or President.

Section 4. No committee shall incur expenses on behalf of the Association except as authorized by the Executive Board, nor shall any committee commit the Association by any declaration of policy.

Section 5. The President shall be ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.

ARTICLE VIII
Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Association may adopt.

ARTICLE IX
Nominations and Elections

Section 1. General Elections.

a. Nominating Committee. The Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee, consisting of two members of the Association.

b. Nominations by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall submit nominees to the President at least one month prior to the annual meeting.

c. Nominations by Petition. Additional nominations may be made by any member in good standing of the Association by communicating such nomination to the President at least 15 days prior to the June meeting.

d. Mailing of Ballots. Ballots including the names of all persons nominated by the Nominating Committee or by petition shall be distributed to the membership of the Association at least 10 days prior to the annual meeting.

e. Receipt and Counting of Ballots. Election ballots shall be received by the Chair of the Nominating Committee no later than the annual meeting. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall then tabulate the results of the election and report the results to the Association.

Section 2. Vacancies and Special Elections.

a. President. In the event that a vacancy occurs in the office of the President, the Vice President/President Elect shall automatically assume the office of the President for the remainder of the term plus one year.

b. Vice President/President Elect. In the event that a vacancy occurs in the office of the Vice President/President Elect, a special election will be held to elect a new Vice President/President Elect to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. The Vice President/president Elect thus elected shall duly succeed to the office of the President.

c. Secretary/Treasurer. In the event that a vacancy occurs in the office of the Secretary/Treasurer, the Executive Board shall appoint a member to fill that office for the remainder of the term.

d. Special Elections. Special elections shall be held within 30 days of a vacancy occurring, and shall observe the procedures established for general elections.

Section 3. Voting. General and special elections shall be decided by the majority vote of the members voting.

ARTICLE X
Amendment of Bylaws

Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-third vote of the voting members in attendance; provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the membership prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XI
Anti-discrimination

Section 1. Neither membership, nor full participation in the activities of this Association, shall be denied to any person on account of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.

June 2008 Amendments:

AMENDMENT ONE:
ARTICLE III - Section 1: There shall be ~~four~~ five classes of membership:
Note: Corrects an error in the bylaws created when the honorary membership category was created.

AMENDMENT TWO:
ARTICLE III - Section 1 (c): Institutional Members. Any law library may become an Institutional Member. Dues for Institutional Members shall be ~~$30.00~~ $100.00 per year.

AMENDMENT THREE:
ARTICLE III - Section 2: The right to hold office and vote is restricted to members in good standing. ~~active~~ ~~and institutional members. The holding of committee chairpersonship is restricted to Active and Institutional Members. Voting is restricted to Active, Institutional and Student Members.~~

AMENDMENT FOUR:
ARTICLE IV - Section 1: Regular Meetings. There shall be at least two meetings of the Association each year. The June meeting shall be the Annual meeting, unless a majority of the executive board agrees upon an alternative date.

AMENDMENT FIVE:
ARTICLE V - Section 2: Each Officer's term of office shall begin at the close of the ~~June~~ annual meeting immediately following his or her election.

AMENDMENT SIX:
ARTICLE VI - Section 6: However, there shall be at least ~~three~~ one meeting of the Executive Board called and convened between the Annual meetings of the Association.

AMENDMENT SEVEN:
ARTICLE IX - Section 1 (a): The Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee, consisting of ~~three~~ two members of the Association.

AMENDMENT EIGHT:
ARTICLE IX - Section 1 (b): Nominations by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall submit nominees to the President at least one month prior to the ~~June~~ annual meeting.

AMENDMENT NINE:
ARTICLE IX - Section 1 (c): Nominations by Petition. Additional nominations may be made by any member in good standing of the Association by communicating such nomination to the President ~~in writing, endorsed by the signature of at least 20 percent of the Association's members in good standing,~~ at least 15 days prior to the June meeting.

AMENDMENT TEN:
ARTICLE IX - Section 1 (d): Mailing of Ballots. Ballots including the names of all persons nominated by the Nominating Committee or by petition shall be ~~mailed~~ distributed to the membership of the Association at least 10 days prior to the ~~June~~ annual meeting.

AMENDMENT ELEVEN:
ARTICLE IX - Section 1 (e): Receipt and Counting of Ballots. Election ballots shall be received by the Chair of the Nominating Committee ~~prior to~~ no later than the ~~June~~annual meeting. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall then tabulate the results of the election and report the results to the Association.

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Bylaws as amended as of September 1999 (in affect through May 2008).

ARTICLE I
Name

The name of the Association shall be CENTRAL FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES.

ARTICLE II
Objectives

ARTICLE III
Membership

Section 1. Any person interested in law libraries may become a member of the Association by qualifying under the provisions of one of the classes of membership.

There shall be four classes of membership:

b. Associate Members. Any person not connected with a library who through occupation or profession is interested in law libraries. Dues for Associate Members shall be $15.00 per year.

    c. Institutional Members. Any law library may become an Institutional Member. Dues for Institutional Members shall be $30.00 per year.

    d. Student Members. A Student Member shall be any individual enrolled in any degree program related to librarianship. Dues shall be $10.00 per year.

   e. Honorary Members. An Honorary Member must be nominated by the Executive Board and approved by a majority at any regular business meeting. There are no dues for Honorary Members.

Section 2. The right to hold office is restricted to active and institutional members. The holding of committee chairpersonship is restricted to Active and Institutional Members. Voting is restricted to Active, Institutional and Student Members.

Section 3. The term of membership shall run from June through May. New members joining after February 1 will have their membership extended through the next year.

ARTICLE IV
Meetings

Section 1. Regular Meetings. There shall be at least two meetings of the Association each year. The June meeting shall be the Annual meeting.

Section 2. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Association may be called by the President upon receiving a written petition requesting such a meeting, endorsed by at least five members in good standing of the Association. The petition shall specify the reason for calling the special meeting and only that issue shall be addressed at the meeting.

Section 3. Quorum. Six members qualified to vote shall constitute a quorum for Association meetings.

Section 4. Voting. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by the majority vote of members voting.

ARTICLE V
Officers

Section 2. Terms of Office. Each Officer shall be elected to serve a term of office of one year, or until he or she has been duly succeeded. Each Officer's term of office shall begin at the close of the June meeting immediately following his or her election.

Section 3. Duties of Officers. The Officers shall perform those duties assigned to them by these Bylaws, the Executive Board and the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association.

ARTICLE VI
Executive Board

Section 1. Members. The Executive Board shall be composed of the Officers of the Association and the immediate Past President.

Section 2. Terms of Office.

a. Officers. Executive Board members who are Association Officers shall serve a term on the Executive Board corresponding to their Term of Office.

b. Immediate Past President. The immediate Past President shall serve a term of one year on the Executive Board.

Section 5. Quorum and Voting. Three members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum. Resolutions of the Executive Board shall be supported by the vote of at least three of its members.

Section 6. Meetings. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be called, and the time and place for them set, at the discretion of the President. However, there shall be at least three meetings of the Executive Board called and convened between the Annual meetings of the Association.

ARTICLE VII
Committees

Section 2. Committees shall be of two classes: standing committees and special committees.

a. Standing committees shall be as follows: Bylaws Committee, Membership Committee, Newsletter Committee, Nominating Committee, Program Committee.

c. Members of standing committees shall be appointed by the President for a term of one year.

Section 4. No committee shall incur expenses on behalf of the Association except as authorized by the Executive Board, nor shall any committee commit the Association by any declaration of policy.

Section 5. The President shall be ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.

ARTICLE VIII
Parliamentary Authority

ARTICLE IX
Nominations and Elections

Section 1. General Elections.

a. Nominating Committee. The Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee, consisting of three members of the Association.

b. Nominations by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall submit nominees to the President at least one month prior to the June meeting.

c. Nominations by Petition. Additional nominations may be made by any member in good standing of the Association by communicating such nomination to the President in writing, endorsed by the signature of at least 20 percent of the Association's members in good standing, at least 15 days prior to the June meeting.

d. Mailing of Ballots. Ballots including the names of all persons nominated by the Nominating Committee or by petition shall be mailed to the membership of the Association at least 10 days prior to the June meeting.

e. Receipt and Counting of Ballots. Election ballots shall be received by the Chair of the Nominating Committee prior to the June meeting. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall then tabulate the results of the election and report the results to the Association.

Section 2. Vacancies and Special Elections.

Section 3. Voting. General and special elections shall be decided by the majority vote of the members voting.

ARTICLE X
Amendment of Bylaws

Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-third vote of the voting members in attendance; provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the membership prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XI
Anti-discrimination

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Bylaws Amendments - Proposed August 17, 1999

The Bylaws Committee met on August 17, 1999 in downtown Tampa. The members in attendance were Bill Cronin, Marcia Morelli, Billie Courty, Wendy Brown and Wanda Barrett. Ten amendments to the Bylaws were proposed for consideration at the next CFALL Meeting on September 22, 1999. According to our Bylaws, voting is restricted to Active, Institutional and Student Members. A quorum of six Active, Institutional or Student Members is required in order to vote on these Bylaws changes, and the Amendments must be approved by two-thirds of those voting members.

The Amendments are posted on the CFALL website in Adobe Acrobat format at http://tblc.org/cfall/bylaws_amendments.pdf.

The ten amendments are as follows:

Amendment 1: Clarifies who qualifies as an Institutional Member and raises the dues for Institutional Membership based on the number of employees.

Amendment 2: Creates an Honorary Membership category.

Amendment 3: Defines the term of membership as running June to May and provides for extending the membership year for those new members joining after February 1 of each year.

Amendment 4: Requires that when a Special Meeting is called, it focuses only on the topic of that meeting.

Amendment 5: Changes the quorum required for a vote from six members to twenty percent of members.

Amendment 6: Clarifies that officers must be Active or Institutional Members.

Amendment 7: Typographical error.

Amendment 8: Changes the process for the election of officers. The Chair of the Nominating Committee will receive the ballots instead of the Secretary, and the ballots can be received prior to the annual meeting instead of at the annual meeting.

Amendment 9: Clarifies that the required two-thirds vote for amending the bylaws refers to two-thirds of the voting members in attendance at a meeting.

Amendment 10: Modifies the anti-discrimination clause by adding age and sexual orientation.