Section Bylaws
The following is the Southern California Section Bylaws as approved by the Institute of Transportation Engineers Western District (District 6):
ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.1
Membership in the Section shall consist of those Institute members meeting the requirements specified in the Section Charter. Admission of Institute Members of any grade to membership in the Section shall be initiated by application from such members.
Section 1.2
Persons in the area of the Section who meet the requirements of Section 3.3 of the Section Charter may be affiliated with the Section as Section Affiliates.
Section 1.3
All applications and nominations for Section Affiliates shall include as reference the names of not less than three persons to whom the candidate is personally known. At least two of the references shall be members of the Institute and one reference may be a member of a recognized Engineering Society or a person of recognized engineering reputation.
Section 1.4
All applications and nominations for membership in the Section, including Institute members and Section Affiliates, shall be transmitted to the Section in the format provided by the Section and shall be submitted to the Membership Chairperson of the Section.
Section 1.5
Upon application and payment of required entrance fees and dues, Institute members of any grade shall be enrolled in the Section.
Section 1.6
The Section Membership Chairperson shall process the applications and nominations for any Section Affiliate, including securing confidential reports from the applicant’s or nominees experience record. The confidential reports of the references, together with the Section Membership Chairperson’s recommendation, will be forwarded to the Section Executive Board for final action.
Section 1.7
Election of Section Affiliate members shall be by majority vote of the Section Executive Board. An affirmative vote of the Section Executive Board present shall be required for election.
Section 1.8
The total number of Commercial Section Affiliates, as defined by Section 3.3 of the Section Charter, shall not exceed fifty percent of the Institute members. The total number of all Section Affiliates shall not exceed two-thirds of the total number of Institute members within the Section.
ARTICLE II - RESIGNATION AND EXPULSION
Section 2.1
Any Member or Section Affiliate of the Section may resign by written communication to the Section Board. If and when all of the resigning member’s financial obligations have been satisfied, the resignation will be accepted.
Section 2.2
Any member or Section Affiliate of the Section shall forfeit his connection with the Section if his/her dues or special assessments become in arrears as provided for in Section 3.3 of these Bylaws. Any Institute member whose Institute membership has been forfeited or inactivated shall also forfeit membership in the Section, until such time as membership in the Institute has been reinstated and all outstanding dues and special assessments have been paid.
Section 2.3
Any Section member or affiliate who, by reason of any change in their occupation or profession, shall cease to be in contact regularly with transportation engineers, or who advertises, uses or attempts to use their membership in the Section in any manner whatsoever with intent to derive personal gains from, shall forfeit their membership in the Section without prejudice. In such cases, the Membership Chairperson shall submit the member’s name to the Section Board who shall then direct that this member be dropped from the Section.
Section 2.4
The Section Membership Committee shall periodically review the qualifications of Section Affiliates and members who are not Institute members. As soon as any Section affiliate or other member meets minimum qualifications for Institute membership, that member shall be encouraged to apply for such membership.
Section 2.5
The Section Board shall consider the expulsion of any Section Affiliate if(a) upon information coming to its notice; (b) upon the written request of five (5) or more Institute members; or (c) upon recommendation by the Section Membership Committee that, for the cause set forth, a person belonging to the Section should be expelled. If the circumstances appear to warrant further action, the Section Board shall notify the Section Affiliate of the charges against them, and on the date on which the charges will be considered. The accused, may, if they desire, present a defense, either in person or writing, on the date set forth in the letter. The final action of the Section Executive Board shall be taken at its next meeting. In case of expulsion, the Membership Chairperson shall immediately notify the person by letter. There is an expectation to keep these proceedings confidential to protect the accused if found guilty.
Section 2.6
In case such charges are brought against an Institute member, the Membership Chairperson shall immediately submit a full report to the Board of Direction of the Institute and the Section will take no further action, except at the request of the Institute Board of Direction.
ARTICLE III - FEES AND DUES
Section 3.1
The Section Executive Board shall establish fees and annual dues of the Section. Annual dues shall not be increased by more than ten percent in any year without a majority vote of the valid ballots cast by the voting membership.
Section 3.2
Annual dues for all members and Section Affiliates shall be billed and payable at the beginning of the calendar year, January 1st. Annual Section dues for Institute members may be billed through the Institute billing system. Dues collected at anytime during the calendar year shall be for the full annual amount. Any initiation or entrance fees and dues of new members shall be payable on election.
Section 3.3
Any Institute member of the Section whose dues are more than six months in arrears (dating from the beginning of the fiscal year) shall lose the right to vote. The Treasurer shall notify these Institute members when their dues become six months in arrears. Any member of the Section, whose dues have not been paid by June 30th of the current year and year immediately proceeding, may forfeit their membership in the Section. In such cases, the Treasurer shall submit the member’s name to the Section Executive Board who may then direct that this member be dropped from the Section. The Section Executive Board may, for a cause deemed by it to be sufficient, extend the time for payment and for application of these penalties.
Section 3.4
Special assessments may be made by the affirmative vote of two thirds of the valid ballots cast by the voting members.
ARTICLE IV - GOVERNMENT
Section 4.1
The government of the Section shall be vested in the Section Executive Board of Direction. Members of the Section Executive Board shall be members of the Institute and hold the grade of Member or higher.
Section 4.2
The Section Executive Board shall establish policies for the operation of the Section in conformance with the provisions of the Institute’s Constitution, the District’s Charter and the Section’s Charter.
Section 4.3
The Section Executive Board shall consist of the following, each of which shall be a voting member of the Section Executive Board:
Section 4.3.1: The Section President. The Section President shall be elected annually
for a term of one year, commencing at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 4.3.2: The Section Vice President: The Section Vice President shall be elected
annually for a term of one year, commencing at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 4.3.3: The Section Secretary: The Section Secretary shall be elected annually
for a term of one year, commencing at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 4.3.4: The Section Treasurer: The Section Treasurer shall be elected annually
for a term of one year, commencing at the Annual Business Meeting>.
Section 4.3.5: Past Presidents: The two immediate living Past Presidents of the Section
whose terms have most recently expired and currently reside within the Section area.
Section 4.4
The Section Executive Board, at their discretion, may choose a Student Chapter Faculty Advisor(s), appointed by the Student Chapter, and/or a Student Chapter Professional Liaison(s), appointed by the Section President, to serve as “ex-officio, non-voting” members of the Section Executive Board. Any such appointments to these positions shall be reported to the District Board in a timely fashion.
Section 4.5
The Section President shall serve as representative to the District Board of Direction each year. If the Section President is unable to perform his/her duties on the District Board of Direction, the Section Executive Board shall appoint a member to complete the term of office for the Section Representative. The Section Representative shall have achieved a membership grade of Member or higher in the Institute.
Section 4.6
In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of Section President, the Section Vice President shall fill the remainder of the President’s term. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of Section Vice President, or Section Secretary, or Section Treasurer, the Section Executive Board shall appoint, within sixty days, a Section member to fill the position for the remainder of the term. The Section Executive Board shall determine whether the filled vacancy constitutes a full term for the purpose of nominations and election of officers.
Section 4.7
Member grade and higher of the Institute are eligible to hold any office in the Section. Institute Affiliates and Section Affiliates shall be entitled to the privileges of the Section, except that they may not vote or hold elective office in the Section. Student members of the Institute may not vote or hold elective office in the Section.
Section 4.8
The Section President shall preside over meetings of the Section Executive Board. In the absence of the Section President, the Section Vice President shall carry out the duties of the Section President. If both the Section President and Section Vice President are absent, the Section Executive Board will appoint a Section Board member to preside over the meeting.
Section 4.9
The Section President shall appoint Chairpersons, Committees and Section representatives to non-ITE committees or associations as may be desirable. Committees may include, but not be limited to: Membership, Technical, Career Guidance, and Awards. The Section President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nomination Committee.
Section 4.10
The fiscal year of the Section shall be July 1 through June 30 of the following year.
Section 4.11
The Section Executive Board shall establish a budget each year.
Section 4.12
The Section Executive Board shall report the names and addresses of its officers and the beginning and ending dates of their term of offices to the District Board within 30 days after their election or appointment.
Section 4.13
The Section Executive Board is authorized to issue and revoke Charters for Chapters within the Section. The effective date for any new Chapter shall be as stated in the Charter. If a Charter for a Chapter is under consideration for revocation, the Chapter President must be notified in writing of the contemplated action a minimum of thirty days prior to the meeting when the Section Executive Board will discuss the revocation. The Chapter President has the right to appear before the Section Executive Board and discuss the proposed revocation. If a Charter is revoked, the revocation date is at the discretion of the Section Executive Board.
Section 4.14
The Section Executive Board is authorized to enter into contracts with individuals/firms for the handling and processing of routine duties the Section is responsible for. The District Board shall approve the responsibilities, term, qualifications and compensation package of any individual/firm the Section contracts with for services.
Section 4.15
The Section Executive Board shall act upon all proposals received from its Committees or the members on matters intended as policies, standards or recommendations of the Section. Approval by a majority of the Section Executive Board shall be required before Section policies, standards, or recommendations become official Section statements.
Section 4.16
The Section Executive Board shall establish the duties and responsibilities of the elected officers as it deems necessary for the efficient operation of the Section not otherwise specified in the Bylaws.
Section 4.17
Disposition of Section officers shall conform to the provisions of District 6 Bylaws for District officers, except that geographical requirements shall not apply.
Section 4.18
Rescinding actions of the Section Executive Board shall conform to the provisions of District 6 Bylaws for similar actions, except that geographical requirements shall not apply.
ARTICLE V - NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 5.1
The Nominations Committee shall consist of one or more recent past presidents and one or more Section members appointed by the Section President, and shall not be less than three nor exceed five persons. The Nominations Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for each office that is up for election. Written consent to hold office must be received from each person nominated. The Nominations Committee shall transmit its list of nominees to the Section Secretary no later than ninety days prior to the election.
Section 5.2
Not later than sixty days prior to any Section election, the Section Secretary shall present the list of candidates nominated by the Nominations Committee to the membership. Additional nominations for any office shall be made by petition, signed by not less than thirty members eligible to vote. Each petition shall be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee to run for the office nominated and must be received by the Section Secretary not later than forty-five days prior to the election. No member may be a candidate for more than one office.
Section 5.3
Not later than thirty days prior to the election, the Section Secretary shall transmit to each eligible voter a final ballot, listing the candidates nominated for office. Returned ballots will be transmitted to the Section Secretary. A Teller Committee consisting of the Nominations Committee or three Section members appointed by the Section President shall count the ballots received from eligible voters. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared elected. In the case of a tie vote, the Section Executive Board shall choose the successful candidate from among those tied.
ARTICLE VI - VOTING AND VOTING ELIGIBILITY
Section 6.1
Any member of the Section in good standing, excluding those classified as Section Affiliates, shall have voting privileges in the Section.
Section 6.2
Voting for Section officers, for amendments to these Bylaws and for petitions to amend the Section Charter shall be by secret ballot.
Section 6.3
Whenever a secret ballot is required, all eligible voters shall be sent a ballot. Ballots shall be canvassed as described in Section 5.3.
Section 6.4
If state law permits electronic balloting, the Section Executive Board may follow the procedures set forth for District electronic balloting or shall establish new procedures for electronic elections in the Section.
ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS
Section 7.1
There shall be a minimum of two meetings of the Section each year, one of which shall be the Annual Meeting. The Section ExecutiveBoard shall set the date, time and place of regular Section meetings. Notice of regular Section meetings shall be transmitted to the membership at least fifteen days prior to the meeting.
Section 7.2
The Section Executive Board shall meet in conjunction with each regular meeting of the Section, including at least one annual planning meeting. Other meetings of the Section Executive Board shall be called by the Section President, as he or she deems necessary or upon receipt of a petition signed by a majority of the other members of the Section Board. The notice of a Section Executive Board meeting shall be transmitted to the membership at least fifteen days prior of any called meetings of the Board.
Section 7.3
Official transaction of business at any Section Executive Board meeting requires a majority of the voting members of the Board. The affirmative vote of a majority ofthe Board members in attendance shall be necessary to take action. The Board can utilize video and/or telephone conferencing technology to conduct Board meetings.
Section 7.4
When unusual or unexpected conditions arise, the Section President may call an emergency meeting of the Section Executive Board. An emergency meeting requires that all Board members be notified at least three days in advance. Either the Section President or Vice President must preside over an emergency Section Executive Board meeting. The Board can use technologies such as emails and/or telephone or video conference calls for transacting business at emergency Board meetings.
ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS
Section 8.1
Proposals to amend these Bylaws or the Charter may be made by resolution of the Section Executive Board or by written petition of at least five percent of the voting members of the Section.
Section 8.2
Proposals to amend these Bylaws shall be transmitted to all Section members who are qualified to vote. The voting shall be by secret ballot. Ballots returned within thirty days shall be canvassed in the manner set forth in Section 5.3. The majority of those voting shall prevail.
Section 8.3
The Bylaws of the Section shall not take effect until filed with the District Board of Direction. At any time thereafter, the Board of Direction may amend any part of the Section's Bylaws which it considers to be contrary to the Constitution, Bylaws or best interests of the Institute by giving written notice to the elected officers of the Section.
APPROVED BY THE WESTERN DISTRICT
(DISTRICT 6) BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ON JULY 14TH, 2013.
KAREN ASPELIN (2/24/2014)
ITE WESTERN DISTRICT (DISTRICT 6) PRESIDENT