Bylaws of the East Tennessee Chapter Health Physics Society
Adopted December 1, 1973
Article I
Name
Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the East Tennessee Chapter of the Health Physics Society, hereinafter designated as the Chapter.
Article II
Objectives
Section 1. The primary objective of the Chapter is to (i) encourage the dissemination of information between individuals in the field of radiation protection and related fields, (ii) improve public understanding of the problems and needs in radiation protection, and (iii) provide for open lines of communication between Chapter members and the Health Physics Society, as provided for in the Chapter CHARTER.
Section 2. The objectives of the Chapter shall be accomplished by meetings, conferences, and publications with emphasis on all sciences and technologies that contribute to the knowledge of radiation effects and radiation protection.
Article III
Membership
Section 1. Every member of the Health Physics Society shall automatically become a member of the Chapter upon presenting to the Chapter proof of membership in the Society followed by payment of Chapter dues.
Section 2. The Executive Council of the Chapter serves as the Committee on Admissions and is responsible for approving applications for membership involving persons who are not members of the Health Physics Society. An applicant may be any person who is engaged in a field of endeavor related to Health Physics or whose interests in the profession would make them a desirable member of the Chapter.
Section 3. The Executive Council may confer honorary membership on any person whose personal contribution to the advancement of the Chapter affairs is particularly worthy. Persons so honored shall receive program announcements of Chapter activities and no dues are required but they shall have no vote and the honorary membership terminates at the end of the Chapter Term in which it is granted unless renewed by action of the Executive Council. Other classes of membership, with or without dues requirements, may be established by the Executive Council if provided for in the Rules of the Chapter.
Section 4. Membership in the Chapter ceases when (i) the Executive Council accepts the written resignation of a member, (ii) the death of a member is confirmed, or (iii) a member allows their dues to go unpaid after March 1 of the calendar year for which the dues are specified. Persons whose membership ceases because of nonpayment of dues may be reinstated to membership during the calendar year in which the delinquency occurs upon payment of dues in arrears. Resigning from the membership or loss of membership because of failure to pay dues shall not prejudice the right of an individual to make a new application for membership in the Chapter.
Article IV
Officers (Amended 2001, 2015)
Section 1. The officers of the Chapter are a President, immediate Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and either the Past-Secretary or Past-Treasurer for one year following their two year term of office. The President and President-Elect shall be persons who are members of the Health Physics Society in good standing.
Section 2. The President is the presiding officer of the Chapter and as such is responsible for the overall administration of Chapter affairs.
Section 3. The President-Elect shall be chosen by vote of the membership for three Chapter Terms. At the conclusion of the first Chapter Term, the President-Elect automatically becomes the President; the President-Elect performs duties as delegated by the President and, in the absence of the President, will assume the duties of the President. After the term as President, the President becomes the immediate Past-President of the Chapter, and is responsible for chairing the Nominating Committee.
Section 4. The Secretary and the Treasurer serve a term of two years each; their tenures of office shall not run concurrently. The Secretary and Treasurer serve a one year term as Past Secretary and Past Treasurer, respectively, following their tenures of office.
Section 5. The Secretary keeps a record of all transactions and meetings of the Chapter and Executive Council. The Secretary carries out correspondence of the Chapter as directed by the President, collects all dues, keeps an accurate mailing list of the membership, and posts all ballots used in elections and amending procedures.
Section 6. The Treasurer is the custodian of all monies of the Chapter and pays all authorized bills against the Chapter. The Treasurer shall submit the Chapter accounts for audit to the Executive Council prior to the Annual Meeting of the Chapter, submit an annual report summarizing the financial status of the Chapter to the membership at the Annual Meeting, and turn over all funds and properties of the Chapter to the new Treasurer at the end of the term.
Article V
Executive Council (Amended 2001, 2015)
Section 1. The Executive Council is the governing body of the Chapter, and, as such, shall have, hold, and control all funds, properties, and activities of the Chapter in accordance with the BYLAWS governing these matters. It consists of nine (9) voting members including the President, President-Elect, immediate Past-President, Secretary, Treasurer, either the Past-Secretary or Past-Treasurer for one year following their two year term of office, and three elective Council members. The Council members shall be elected from the membership of the Chapter for three Chapter Terms each and one of three Council members shall be elected each year.
Section 2. The Executive Council shall adopt and document RULES that govern the conduct of all meetings and the administration of Chapter affairs. The RULES, when enacted and documented as such, shall be construed so as to expedite administrative matters and they are effective until amended by due process through appropriate Council action.
Section 3. The Executive Council meets at the call of the President who presides over the meetings. A written request directed to an Officer and which bears the signatures of at least five (5) members of the Council requires that a meeting be called.
Section 4. Five (5) voting members of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum. Any member not able to be present at a meeting of the Council may be represented by their proxy, and the proxy may vote in the name of the member except proxies shall not be counted in establishing a quorum. Decisions at a meeting of the Council are reached by a majority of those present and voting provided the presiding officer shall have no vote except in case of a tie-vote, in which case, the presiding officer may cast the deciding vote.
Section 5. Ordinarily, the meetings of the Council are not open to the member-ship or public. However, on occasion, the Council may hold sessions that are open to any persons, or groups of persons, whom the Council may designate.
Article VI
Chapter Meetings
Section 1. The Chapter shall hold an Annual Meeting of the Chapter no later than May 31 of each calendar year. Other meetings of the Chapter may be called in the discretion of the Executive Council and the Chapter shall hold at least two (2) meetings each calendar year. A petition directed to the Executive Council bearing the signatures of at least ten (10) percent of the Chapter members shall require a meeting of the Chapter to be called.
Section 2. Members of the Chapter shall be given at least ten (10) days advance notice of all meetings of the Chapter. The notification shall include the date, time, place set for the meeting, and a program that lists the scheduled activities of the meeting.
Section 3. A quorum at a Chapter meeting for voting purposes shall consist of twenty (20) percent of the Chapter membership.
Section 4. All meetings of the Chapter are open to the entire membership and, except when otherwise specified in writing by the Executive Council, any member is privileged to bring guests to Chapter meetings provided reservations are made when required and/or registration fees are paid when applicable.
Section 5. The Roberts’s Manual shall be the guide for any parliamentary procedure not especially provided for in the RULES of the Chapter.
Article VII
Committees and Appointments
Section 1. The President shall appoint with the approval of the Executive Council individuals and/or committees to assist the officers and the Executive Council in the development and administration of programs, projects, policies, and so forth. In making such appointments, consideration shall be given to maintaining a balance of representation from the various organizational groups within the Chapter to include industrial, governmental, educational, and professional interests.
Section 2. All committees shall be responsible for keeping records of the activities of the committee when directed by the President and shall submit such records to the Secretary of the Chapter.
Section 3. The Permanent Committees shall include a Nominating Committee and such other committees as may be provided for in the RULES of the Chapter.
Section 4. The President and the President-Elect represent the Chapter at a meeting of the Chapter Council when it meets at an Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. In the event that the President and/or the President-Elect are unable to attend these meetings, the Executive Council may appoint alternates provided the appointees are members of the Society.
Article VIII
Tenure, Vacancies, and Election Procedures (Amended 2005, 2015)
Section 1. A new Chapter Term begins with the close of each Annual Meeting of the Chapter.
Section 2. The term of office for an appointive office ends automatically when a new President is installed and an individual who holds an appointive office shall not presume to continue in the office unless requested to do so by the newly installed President. The President, or duly authorized representative, names all persons who will serve in an appointive office subject to Article VII, Section 1, supra.
Section 3. The term of office for an elective office shall be as defined elsewhere in the BYLAWS of the Chapter. Such officeholders remain in office until a successor has been selected and installed in the office. However, no person may succeed themself in an elective office unless they are filling out an unexpired term for another. Also, for purposes of Article VIII of the BYLAWS, the offices of President and President-Elect shall be considered as one office.
Section 4. A vacancy occurs in an office, whether it be appointive or elective, when (i) the officeholder resigns from office1 (ii) the officeholder ceases to function in the office because of death or other circumstances, or (iii) the term of office expires.
Section 5. In the event of a vacancy in an appointive office the vacancy is filled in accordance with procedures governing appointments.
Section 6. In the event of a vacancy which creates an unexpired term in any Elective office other than one which involves the presidency: The Executive Council may make an appointment to hold through the next Annual Meeting of the Chapter at which time the vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the membership under the regular election procedure. When the office of President becomes vacant: the President-Elect assumes the duties of the President but retains the title of President-Elect until such time as they would have ascended to the presidency in their own right and the office of President remains vacant. When a vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect: the vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the membership under regular election procedures and a special election may be called by the Executive Council for this purpose except where the provisions of Section 8, infra, are invoked. Regular Election Procedure
Section 7. Except as provided for in Section 8, infra, the regular election procedure by which a vote of the membership is taken shall be as follows:
(a) Nominations for all elective positions shall be made by a Nominating Committee consisting of a Chair and four (4) other members appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Council. No member of the Executive Council, other than the immediate Past-President who is responsible for chairing the Nominating Committee, shall be eligible to serve on this committee and an effort shall be made toward achieving a balance of representation on the committee to include local industrial, governmental, educational, and professional interests. Three (3) members of the committee shall constitute a quorum, and all decisions of the committee shall require the affirmative vote of at least three (3) members of the committee.
(b) The Nominating Committee shall select two nominees for each elective office: in no case shall an individual’s name be placed in nomination for more than one elective position during any one election; and no member shall have their name placed in nomination without their consent.
(c) At least sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Chapter, the Nominating Committee shall submit in writing the names of the nominees to the Secretary.
(d) Letter ballots shall be prepared at the direction of the Secretary and mailed to each member of the Chapter. Ballots for elective positions shall be mailed or posted on the Website at least forty-five (45) days prior to the Annual Meeting and provisions shall be made for the names of write-in candidates on the ballots. A ballot shall be closed on the thirtieth (30th) day following the mailing or posting of the last ballot to the membership.
(e) The member shall submit their vote on the Website or return their ballot by mail to the Secretary with the member’s name and return address displayed upon the mailing envelope. In not more than ten (10) days following the closing of the ballot, the Secretary shall convene not less than four (4) members of the Executive Council for the purpose of tabulating and certifying the vote. The Secretary shall examine the names on mailed-in envelopes and certify the eligibility of the member to vote.
The ballots shall be removed from the envelope in such a manner as to preserve the vote as secret and no ballot shall be voided if the intent as to the choice of the member is clear. The Website and mail-in ballots and envelopes, and tally sheets shall be retained by the Secretary and sealed in a suitable container until the close of the next meeting of the Chapter, after which time the ballots, envelopes and tally sheets shall be destroyed. A majority vote of the membership voting for an elective position shall be required to elect. Ties shall be settled by lottery. Following certification of the results of the poll, nominees shall be notified promptly of the outcome of the election.
Section 8. (Catastrophe clause). In the event that the membership of the Executive Council falls below four (4) members, the provisions of Section 8 take precedence over provisions of Sections 6 and 7, supra, as may be applicable.
As the first order of business at the first scheduled meeting of the Chapter at which thirty (30) percent or more of the active membership is in attendance and following appropriate notification to the active members of the Chapter, the person who is presiding at the meeting shall cause the election of a Temporary Chair who, in turn, shall convene the members of the Nominating Committee who are present.
In the event that one or more of the members of the Nominating Committee are not present, or if a Nominating Committee has not be named, the Temporary Chair shall form a Nominating Committee of five (5) persons to include those members of the Nominating Committee who may have been appointed previously and who are present. The Nominating Committee as now constituted shall select two nominees for all vacated elective positions.
The Temporary Chair shall present the names of the nominees to the membership at the meeting allowing additional nominations from the floor. After the nominations are closed, a secret ballot shall be taken and a majority vote of those members present shall be required to elect.
If a majority vote is not obtained on the first ballot, the name of the individual receiving the least number of votes shall be dropped from the ballot and balloting shall continue in this manner until a majority vote is obtained.
Persons elected under this Section of the BYLAWS shall take office immediately and they shall serve through the next Annual Meeting of the Chapter at which time any unexpired term shall be filled in accordance with regular election procedures except if a President-Elect has been chosen under the provisions of this Section they shall ascend to the office of President.
Following the above procedures the Temporary Chair shall turn the meeting over to the appropriate officer at which time the office of Temporary Chair is dissolved.
Article IX
Financial (Amended 1986)
Section 1. The Executive Council shall review the financial status of the Chapter annually and establish membership dues for each class of membership.
Section 2. All funds accrued by the authorized agents of the Chapter shall, after proper accounting, be paid into the office of the Treasurer where they shall be entered in the books of the Chapter and deposited in a bank approved by the Executive Council.
Section 3. All expenditures shall be made in accordance with a budget of appropriations as adopted by the Executive Council.
Article X
Amendments (Amended 2005, 2015)
Section 1. Amendments to the BYLAWS may be proposed in the form of a motion by any member at any meeting of the Chapter where a quorum is present. A motion covering a proposal to amend the BYLAWS shall require, as determined by a standing vote, the approval of a majority of the membership present at the meeting at which the motion is presented. Upon passage of a motion to amend the BYLAWS, the President shall appoint a committee that, within thirty (30) days following the motion to amend, prepares and submits the proposed amendment in writing to the membership.
A waiting period of thirty (30) days shall elapse following the mailing of the proposed amendment to the membership, before a vote is taken. However, a vote shall be taken prior to the conclusion of the first meeting of the Chapter following the thirty (30) day waiting period set out above. The Executive Council is authorized to poll the membership on proposed amendments to the BYLAWS by means of (i) a letter ballot, (ii) electronically through e-mail or the Website, or (iii) at a meeting of the Chapter. The proposed amendments to the BYLAWS are submitted to the SOCIETY RULES Committee.
The SOCIETY RULES Committee reviews the Chapter BYLAWS to ensure conformance to the SOCIETY BYLAWS and RULES in accordance with SOCIETY rules. Upon recommendation of the SOCIETY RULES Committee, the SOCIETY Board votes to approve the proposed changes. Upon approval of the SOCIETY Board, an affirmative vote of a majority of the CHAPTER membership voting is required to amend.
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