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ARTICLE
I: Name and Purpose
ARTICLE II:
Membership
ARTICLE III:
Officers
ARTICLE IV:
Nomination and Election of Officers
ARTICLE V:
Duties of Officers
ARTICLE VI:
Duties and Powers of the Council
ARTICLE VII: Meetings
ARTICLE VIII: Standing
Committees
ARTICLE IX:
Miscellaneous Provisions
ARTICLE X:
Section Status
ARTICLE XI:
Amendments
ARTICLE
I
Name and Purpose
Section 1. This section
shall be known as the Juvenile Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
Section 2. The purpose of
this Section shall be to promote the objectives of the State Bar of Texas within
the area of gathering, improving and analyzing existing laws as related to
Juvenile Law and to keep the members of the State Bar of Texas advised in that
respect. All acts of this Section
shall be subject to the laws governing the State Bar of Texas and its policies,
rules and regulations.
Section 3.
This Section may compile and submit suggestions to the Legislative
Policy Subcommittee of the State Bar of Texas regarding legislation prior to the beginning
of each Regular Session of the Legislature which the Section feels are necessary
for the operation of or would benefit Juvenile Law.
The
Section may also seek the authority to present its position before a public,
judicial, executive, or legislative body. The Section’s authority to take such a
position shall be authorized by the Council only after written notice to all
officers and Members of the Council of the proposed position to be adopted and
the date at which the position will be considered by the Council. The Section
will at all times comply with requirements of the legislative policy as set
forth in State Bar Policy Manual Section 8.01 and Policy Supplement Section
8.01. Except as provided in this Section, no positions may be taken by the
Section or its members in the name of the Section that advocates or advances a
political or social policy position.
Section 4.
This Section may correspond and cooperate with similarly oriented
committees or sections of the American Bar Association, other State Bar
organizations and similar organizations.
Section 1. Except as
provided in Section 3 of Article II, all members of the Section shall be members
of the State Bar of Texas, and each shall pay annual dues in an amount set by
the Council and approved by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.
Section 2.
Any person eligible to be a member, upon request of the Treasurer and
upon payment of dues for the current year, shall be enrolled as a member of the
Section. Thereafter, dues shall be
paid in advance each year beginning on July 1.
Any member whose annual dues shall be more than six (6) months past due
shall cease to be a member of the Section.
Section 3.
Any person not a member of the State Bar of Texas, who is interested in
Juvenile Law, may be eligible to be a public member.
A public member of the Section shall be entitled to all the same rights
and privileges of membership as members of the state Bar of Texas, but public
members shall not be eligible to vote, nor to hold any office requiring election
by the Council or the Section.
ARTICLE III
Officers
Section 1.
The Officers of this Section shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect (Vice
Chair), a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
Section 2.
There shall be a Council which shall consist of the past Chair, the
Chair, the Chair-Elect (Vice Chair), the Secretary
and the Treasurer, all of whom shall be members of the Council with full vote
and voice, together with nine (9) other members to be elected by the Section.
Section 3. All
officers except the Chair shall be nominated and elected in the manner herein
provided at each annual meeting of this Section, to hold office for a term
beginning at the close of the annual meeting of the Section at which they shall
have been elected, and ending at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting
of the Section and until their successors shall have been elected and qualify. The Chair-Elect shall, at the end of his/her term of office,
become Chair for a term of one year, and no Chair shall be eligible to succeed
himself/herself for consecutive terms as Chair.
Section 4. Upon the expiration of the terms of the members of the Council, three (3)
members of the Council shall be elected at each annual meeting of the Section,
for a term of three (3) years beginning at the close of the annual meeting at
which the member shall have been elected and ending at the close of the third
succeeding annual meeting of the Section.
In order to be nominated for
a position as an Officer of the Section, a person must currently be serving as a
member of the Council prior to nomination.
Section 5. No person
shall be eligible for election as a member of the Council or as an Officer if
that person is at the time of the election a partner, associate or an employee
of another voting member of the Council or an Officer of the Section or such
member’s or Officer’s law firm.
Section 6. No
person shall be eligible for election as a member of the Council or as an
Officer if that person is at the time of the election a spouse of or related
within one degree of consanguinity or affinity to another voting member of the
Council or an Officer.
Section 1. The Chair
shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of the Immediate Past Chair, and
of two (2) members of the Section, which committee shall make and report
nominations for the election of Officers and members of the Council at the next
Annual Meeting, to succeed those whose terms will expire at the close of that
Annual Meeting. Other nominations
may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
Section 2. In
selecting nominees for Officers and the Council, the Nominating Committee shall
adhere, insofar as possible, to the principle that the nominees as a group shall
be representative of all constituent groups of the membership.
Section 3. All
elections shall be by majority vote of the members of the Section present and
voting at the Annual Meeting at which time the election is held.
Section 1. Chair. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and of
the Council, shall be responsible for formulating and presenting to the State
Bar of Texas an annual budget and an annual report which shall include a
financial report of the previous year, and shall perform such other duties and
acts as usually pertain to this office.
Section 2. Chair-Elect.
Upon the death, resignation, or during the disability of the Chair, or
upon the Chair’s refusal to act, the Chair-Elect shall perform the duties of
the Chair for the remainder of the Chair’s terms except in case of the
Chair’s disability and then only during so much of the term as the disability
continues. The Chair-Elect shall be
responsible for and perform those tasks and functions assigned by the Chair,
and, in conjunction with the other Officers as authorized by the Council shall
attend generally to the business of the Section.
The Chair-Elect shall serve as parliamentarian.
The Chair-Elect shall be responsible for and perform those tasks and
functions assigned by the Chair, and in conjunction with the other Officers, as
authorized by the Council, shall attend generally to the business of the
Section.
Section 3. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all financial books,
papers, documents and information of the Section, shall keep an accurate record
of all monies appropriated to and expended for the use of the Section, prepare
the annual budget for the year to be served as Treasurer and of financial
reports for the year served as Treasurer, and, in conjunction with the other
Officers, as authorized by the Council, shall attend generally to the business
of the Section.
Section 4. Secretary. The Secretary shall be the custodian of all non-financial
books, papers, documents, and property of the Section, shall keep a true record
of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section and of the Council, and, in
conjunction with the other Officers, as authorized by the Council, shall attend
generally to the business of the Section.
Section 5. If any
elected member of the Council shall fail to attend two consecutive meetings of
the Council, the office held by such member shall be vacated, absent a showing
of good cause, as determined by the Council, and the vacancy shall be filled for
the unexpired term by the Section if at an annual meeting, and by the Council if
the vacancy occurs between annual meetings.
Section 6. No member
of the Council is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full three-year
terms as a non-officer member of the Council, provided, however, that a member
of the Council may be elected to an officer position immediately after having
served as a member of the Council.
Section 1. The
Council shall have general supervision and control of the affairs of the Section
subject to the laws governing the State Bar of Texas and its policies, rules and
regulations and the By-laws of this Section.
It shall supervise the expenditure of any monies received as dues by the
Section appropriated for the use or benefit of the Section. It shall not, however, authorize commitments to contracts,
except as authorized by the Executive Director of the State Bar under the
State Board of Directors Policy Manual, which shall entail the payment of any money during any fiscal
year beyond that in the treasury of the Section unless the money shall have been
previously appropriated to the Section for that fiscal year by the Board of
Directors of the State Bar of Texas.
Section 2. The
Council may authorize the Chair to appoint committees from Section members to
perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Council may direct, subject
to the limitations of these By-laws and the laws governing the State Bar of
Texas and its policies, rules and regulations.
Section 3. The
Council, during the interim between annual meetings of the Section, may fill
vacancies in its own membership or in the office of Chair, Chair-Elect (Vice
Chair), Secretary and Treasurer. Members
of the Council and officers so elected shall serve until the close of the next
annual meeting of the Section.
Section 4. All
binding action of the Council shall be by a majority vote of the whole Council.
Section 5. Members of
the Council, when personally present at a meeting of the Council, shall vote in
person, but when absent may communicate their vote in writing or by electronic
means upon any
proposition to the Secretary and have it counted with the same effect as if case
personally at such meeting.
Section 6. The Chair
of the Section may, and upon the request of any member of the Council shall,
submit or cause to be submitted in writing or by electronic means to each member of the Council, any
proposition upon which the Council may be authorized to act, and the members of
the Council may vote upon such propositions so submitted by communicating their
vote thereon in writing over their respective signatures or by electronic means to the Secretary, who
shall record upon the Minutes each proposition so submitted, when, how, at those
request submitted, and the vote of each member of the Council thereon, and keep
on file such written and signed votes.
Section 1. The annual
meeting of the Section shall be held during the Annual Meeting of the State Bar
of Texas or at such time and place as may be fixed by the Council, as permitted
by applicable State Bar rules, with such program and order of business as may be
arranged by the Council of the Section.
Section 2. Special
meetings of the Section may be called by the Chair upon approval of the Council
and upon seven (7) days written notice at such time and place as the Council may
determine.
Section 3. The
members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business, and all binding action of the Section shall be by a
majority vote of the members present.
Section 4. Special
meetings of the Council may be called by the Chair at such place and time as the
Chair may designate.
ARTICLE
VIII
Standing Committees
Section 1. There
shall be two standing committees as described below.
The members of the standing committees shall be appointed by the Chair of
the Section within 30 days after the term of the Chair of the Section begins.
Members of any standing committee shall continue to serve until their
successor in office has been appointed and qualified.
Section 2. Annual Conference
Committee. There shall be a
standing committee called the Annual Conference Committee.
The Annual Conference Committee shall be chaired by the Chair-Elect.
It shall be the duty of the Annual Conference Committee to plan the
annual Juvenile Law Conference under the direction of the Chair-Elect.
The Annual Conference Committee shall consist of the Chair-Elect and two
(2) members of the Section (non-Council members) and two (2) members of the
Council.
Section 3. Publications
Committee. There shall be a
standing committee called the Publications Committee.
The Publications Committee shall consist of the committee Chair and two
(2) members of the Section (non-Council members) and two (2) members of the
Council. All members of the
committee, including the Chair of the committee shall be appointed by the Chair
of the section. It shall be the
duty of the publications to oversee the development, publication and
distribution and/or sale of all publications of the Section, including forms
manuals, newsletters, pamphlets, brochures, etc.
ARTICLE
IX
Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 1. The fiscal
year of the Section shall be the same as that of the State Bar of Texas.
Section 2.
Section funds are to be
invested consistent with State Bar investment policy as set forth in State Bar
Policy Manual Section 3.05 and Policy Supplement Section 3.05. All dues and other money shall be deposited into either a
branch of the State Bar banking depository, or an alternative banking depository
meeting the requirements of the investment policy as set forth in State Bar
Policy Manual Section 3.05 and Policy Supplement Section 3.05. In the event a
section selects the alternative depository, it shall instruct the depository to
provide directly to the State Bar a duplicate of the bank statements, canceled
checks and deposit slips. Any expense incurred in providing such duplicates to
the State Bar shall be borne by the section. Funds are subject to the control of
the Council and withdrawn on checks or drafts signed by the Treasurer. In
the event of disability of the Treasurer, the Chair may exercise the powers
delegated to the Treasurer. Part V, Sections 5.02.01, 5.02.02, 5.02.03, 5.02.04
and 5.02.05 of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors policy manual are
hereby incorporated by reference as a part of these bylaws as binding upon the
Section.
Section 3.
The Council shall submit to
the Executive Director of the State Bar of Texas by July 15 of each year a
complete financial report for the preceding Fiscal Year ending May 31 and a
section budget for the current Fiscal Year.
Section 4. Expenditures
out of the dues or other money, whether current or accumulated, shall be made
only by the authority of the Chair or the Council.
Section
5. No salary or compensation
shall be paid to any Section member, Officers, Council members and Section
members may be reimbursed for costs of the Section attributable to the business
as authorized by the Chair or the Treasurer.
Section 6. Any action
or policy recommendation of the Section shall not be construed to represent the
official action or policy of the State Bar of Texas.
Such action or policy recommendation of the Section shall reflect State
Bar action or policy only if the same is acted on and approved by the Board of
Directors, the General Assembly, or by the membership in response to a
referendum.
ARTICLE X
Section Status
These
By-laws and any amendment thereto shall not become effective until approved by
the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, whereupon, they shall become
effective immediately.
These By-laws may be amended at any meeting of the section by a majority
vote of the members of the Section present and voting, provided such proposed
amendment shall first have been approved by a majority of the Council and
provided, further, that no amendment so adopted shall become effective until
approved by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.
APPROVED by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas on the
8th day of April, 2005.
T
President, State Bar of Texas
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