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IX. Bylaws for Sections

While sections should tailor their bylaws for their particular needs, each section's bylaws must be in accord with the bylaws of the Mathematical Association of America. In particular, to preserve the tax-exempt status of MAA and its sections, it is important to follow the suggested format as closely as possible for Articles I, II, and V. In addition to the format and suggestions contained here, consideration should be given to further ideas contained in Chapter II, "Organization of an Effective Section". Sections contemplating changes in bylaws should consult the Committee on Sections early in the process. This committee will provide guidance after reviewing a preliminary version of the proposed section bylaws. (See section I-B of the Guidelines for Section Officers at www.maa.org/sections/guidelines/toc.html.)

1. The name of this section shall be the _________________ Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).


2. The purposes of the ______________ Section shall be to advance the mathematical sciences, especially at the collegiate level, and to promote the purposes of MAA within the territory defined in Article II below.

The membership of the ___________________ Section shall be members of the Mathematical Association of America whose MAA mailing addresses are in (geographic area), postal codes ____________. Exceptions may be made by the MAA headquarters office upon request of the affected member.

Article III describes the officers of the Section, other members of the Executive Committee, and their duties. It includes nomination and election procedures.

1. The officers of this Section shall be...
   
   [Each section must have a chairperson (or president) and either a secretary-treasurer or a secretary and a treasurer. There could be one or more vice chairpersons. In some sections, one of the officers is specially charged with representing the interest of members and potential members from two-year colleges as well as high schools.]


2. The executive committee of the section shall consist of the officers of the section and the section governor ex officio.
   
   [Some sections include such persons as chair-elect, immediate past chair, webmaster, newsletter editor, student activities coordinator, section liaison coordinator, section NExT coordinator, program chair, archivist, and members-at-large as voting members of their executive committees.]


3. Each section officer must be a member of the Mathematical Association of America and of this section.


4. The officers shall be elected...
   
   [Many sections specify that elections be held during a designated regular meeting but elections by mail or email ballot are also acceptable. A method for resolving ties, such as a decision by the nominating committee, should be included. The terms of office for each officer must be specified in this paragraph. (Terms of at least three years for secretary-treasurer are encouraged.) If the section wishes to prohibit successive terms by an officer, such a restriction is included here. The case for not letting a chair serve consecutive terms is particularly persuasive but care should be taken to provide continuity on the executive committee when considering terms of office and rules against consecutive terms.]


5. The nomination procedure for section officers shall be...
   
   [Typically the chair appoints a nominating committee to recommend a slate of officers. The number of persons required for the nominating committee and the time of the existence of the nominating committee should be stated. Provision should be made to permit additional nominations by members of the section prior to elections.]


6. The duties of the section officers shall be...
   
   [This paragraph details the duties of all section officers named in Paragraph 1. For example, the chair shall preside at each meeting of the section and of the executive committee. The chair shall appoint committees of the section and shall be an ex officio member of each such committee unless specifically barred by vote of the membership at an official section meeting or unless otherwise specified in these bylaws.
   
   Duties that should be assigned to the secretary include keeping minutes of official meetings (including meetings of the executive committee), preservation of records of the section, maintenance of files of official correspondence of the section, notifying members of all regular and special meetings, notifying members of the executive committee of meetings of that group, and sending an annual section report to the Committee on Sections. (See Chapter III, "The Section Secretary or Secretary-Treasurer", for other possible duties.)
   
   Duties of the treasurer shall include the collection of voluntary section dues and/or registration fees, the receipt of funds provided by MAA, the arrangement for safekeeping of all section monies, the maintenance of proper and accurate books of account of such monies, responsibilities for the timely payment of all debts of the section, and filing an annual report with the MAA headquarters office. If it is desired that the treasurer only disburse section funds with the concurrence of another section officer, provision for countersignatures or other forms of authorization should be spelled out in this section.
   
   If the chair-elect, past chair, the webmaster, the newsletter editor, or other persons are identified as members of the executive committee, their duties should be defined here.]


7. The executive committee shall conduct the affairs of the section between meetings of the section membership.


8. If a vacancy on the executive committee should occur...
   
   [Except for the position of section governor, the executive committee fills vacancies that occur between elections. If the first position in a sequence of positions (such as a chair-elect) is filled by appointment, provision should be made for an election of the succeeding position (such as chair) in the sequence. For the section governor, the MAA Board of Governors elects a replacement to complete the unexpired term when a vacancy occurs between elections.]

1. The section normally shall hold _______ regular meetings each year.


2. Regular meetings shall be planned by...
   
   [There are two distinct tasks here; logistical arrangements (often assigned to the host institution), and program planning. Many sections identify the vice-chair (or the first vice-chair) as program chair. It is best to trust meeting arrangements and program planning solely to several individuals, although the bylaws should indicate who has overall responsibility if it is anticipated that committees will do the detail work.]


3. A special business meeting shall be called...
   
   [Provision should be made to permit the executive committee to call such meetings. In addition, provision for calling such meetings upon petition by a specified number of members of the section should be included. No matter how called, arrangements for such meetings should be a responsibility of the executive committee, which may, of course, delegate specific duties to program committees, etc.]


4. Each member of the section shall be notified in writing at least 20 days in advance of any regular or special business meeting of the section.
   
   [Consider specifying whether notification by such means as section newsletters or email is acceptable, at least for special meetings, since direct mailing to individual members is costly.]


5. A quorum shall consist of not fewer than ___ members of the section and no business may be validly transacted at meetings where less than a quorum is present.
   
   [Insert a relatively small number, possibly 15, here. A specific number should be included.]

1. Fees...
   
   [If the section wishes to charge registration fees for section meetings, that fact should be included here. Sections may also request voluntary dues from members of the section in addition to MAA dues in order to provide supplemental funds for section activities. Since every MAA member is a member of a section, the section dues must be voluntary dues. To avoid having to amend the bylaws unnecessarily, the bylaws should assign responsibility for setting fees and voluntary dues (most likely to the section's executive committee) rather than state dollar amounts since the amounts needed may change over time.]


2. The assets of the section shall be used exclusively to further the purposes of the section and, in the event of the dissolution of the section; the remaining assets shall be turned over to MAA to be used for purposes consistent with the bylaws of that organization.

This article (which should be numbered like the others if it has separable clauses) should define each of the standing committees and detail specified duties. If the members of such committees are elected, provisions for such elections and terms of membership should be spelled out. Terms of service should also be set so as to provide continuity of membership on standing committees.

1. Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by...
   
   [Normally changes in the bylaws are proposed by the section executive committee. Some sections also provide a means for amendment proposals to be brought for a vote of the membership upon petition by a specified number of members.]


2. Subject to subsequent approval by the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America, these bylaws may be amended by 2/3 of the votes cast at a quorate regular or special meeting of the Section.


3. The secretary of the section shall communicate to each member of the section a copy of any proposed amendment(s) at least 20 days prior to the meeting at which voting on the proposed amendment(s) takes place.


4. A complete revision of these bylaws shall be subject to all of the same procedures required for other amendments to these bylaws.

The Committee on Sections suggests that each MAA section thoroughly review the section's bylaws every ten years so that the bylaws reflect current practice in the section and current MAA policies. After new bylaws have been approved by the Board of Governors, for the next nine years, a section may amend the bylaws without an examination of the entire document by the Committee on Sections or by the Board of Governors.

The Committee on Sections will work with each MAA section to review the section's bylaws every ten years. The following table shows the suggested rotation schedule for reviews of section bylaws.

2008-2009 EPaDel Intermountain Metro New York	2009-2010 Florida Maryland/DC/Virginia Missouri	2010-2011 NoCaNeHi Texas Wisconsin	2011-2012 Nebraksa/SE South Dakota Indiana Louisiana-Mississippi
2012-2013 Oklahoma/Arkansas SoCal/Nevada	2013-2014 Pacific Northwest Southwestern Northeastern	2014-2015 North Central Ohio Rocky Mountain	2015-2016 Allegheny Mountain New Jersey Kansas
2016-2017 Iowa Kentucky Southeastern	2017-2018 Illinois Michigan Seaway	2018-2019 EPaDel Intermountain Metro New York	2019-2020 Florida Maryland/DC/Virginia Missouri

In the year that a section is reviewing bylaws, the section should follow certain procedures in a timely fashion. Important steps before the section members vote on the proposed bylaws are study of the model for section bylaws posted on MAA Online and consultation with the Committee on Sections.

The following table shows a suggested schedule for a section that plans to vote on a bylaws proposal at a spring business meeting held after March.

TIME	ACTIONS
Spring of preceding year & Fall	The Section decides on any needed bylaws changes after considering current Section practice and reading the model for section bylaws posted on MAA Online. Preliminary versions of proposals may be sent to the Committee on Sections for comments.
December 1	The section submits the following to the chair of the Committee on Sections via email: the current bylaws, and the proposed new section bylaws and a list of major changes, if changes are anticipated.
JMM	The Committee on Sections reviews the current or proposed bylaws.
After JMM	The Chair of the Committee on Sections sends any suggestions to the Section.
February 15	If requested, the Section submits a new proposal to the Chair of the Committee.
February 15 - March 15	The Section and Committee continue to communicate about the proposal until the Committee and Section agree.
Spring Section Meeting	Formal notice of the proposed bylaws is sent to section members according to the Section's current bylaws. The Section votes on the proposed bylaws at the business meeting. After approval, the Section formally submits the bylaws to the Chair of the Committee.
Summer	The Committee approves the proposed bylaws. The Chair of the Committee places approved bylaws on the agenda of the MAA Board of Governors meeting held the day before MathFest. The Board votes on the bylaws.

Interim Amendments to Section Bylaws

After a ten-year review, limited amendments to section bylaws may be proposed in the years when a ten-year review is not scheduled. In this case, only the amendment and related parts of the bylaws, not the entire document, will be considered. The procedure is analogous to that for complete review: the Section consults with the Committee on Sections, the Section members vote on the proposed change, the Committee approves, and finally the MAA Board of Governors approves.

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Questions about Sections? | email Kerry Sullivan at ksullivan@maa.org