BYLAWS

HOUSTON SECTION OF TEXAS CHAPTER

AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION

ADOPTED ______________, 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS				Page
ARTICLE I		NAME AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA
	Section 1.		Name	1
	Section 2.		Geographic Area	1
ARTICLE II		PURPOSES		1
ARTICLE III		MEMBERSHIP
	Section 1.		Eligibility	1
	Section 2.		Membership Status	1
	Section 3.		Dues	2
ARTICLE IV		SECTION OFFICERS
	Section 1.		Number, Type, Eligibility, and Term of Office	2
	Section 2.		Vacated Offices	2
	Section 3.		Duties of Officers	2
ARTICLE V		ELECTIONS
	Section 1.		Nomination of Officers	3
	Section 2.		Election of Officers	3
	Section 3.		Timetable	4
ARTICLE VI		OFFICIAL SECTION POSITIONS
	Section 1.		Content	4
	Section 2.		Method of Adopting Official Section Positions	5
	Section 3.		Responsibility	5
ARTICLE VII		MEETINGS
	Section 1.		Frequency of Meetings	5
	Section 2.		Notification of Meetings	5
	Section 3.		Nature of Meetings	5
	Section 4.		Special Meetings	5
	Section 5.		Chapter and National APA Meetings	6
ARTICLE VIII		COMMITTEES
	Section 1.		Standing Committees	6
	Section 2.		Special Committees	6
ARTICLE IX		FISCAL YEAR		6
ARTICLE X		AWARDS		6
ARTICLE XI		BYLAWS ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS
	Section 1.		Proposal of Amendments	7
	Section 2.		Voting on Adoption and Amendments	7
ARTICLE XII		RULES OF PROCEDURE		7

BYLAWS

HOUSTON SECTION OF TEXAS CHAPTER

AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I - NAME AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA

Section 1. Name

A. The name of the organization shall be the Houston Section of the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association.

B. As used in these Bylaws, the Houston Section is referred to as "the Section;" the Texas Chapter is referred to as "the Chapter;" and the American Planning Association is referred to as "the Association" and abbreviated as "APA." The American Institute of Certified Planners is abbreviated as "AICP."

Section 2. Geographic Area

The geographical area served by the Section shall be defined and approved by the Chapter.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSES

Section 1. To promote the dissemination of information on the profession of planning and on planning programs.

Section 2. To provide a forum for the expression of views on important planning policy matters.

Section 3. To carry on the business of, and promote the interests and objectives of, the Association and the Chapter.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Eligibility

APA members and Chapter-only members residing and/or working in the Section area shall be eligible for Section membership.

Section 2. Membership Status

A. Section membership is established and determined by the list of APA members, chapter-only members within the Section area which is periodically provided by the Chapter and kept up-to-date by the Chapter Secretary.

B. Persons who are not APA members or Chapter-only members, and thus not eligible for Section membership, may become ex-officio members of the Section to be known as "Friends of Planning." Ex-officio members shall receive the Section Newsletter, be invited to attend Section meetings and events, and shall be encouraged to become APA members or Chapter-only members.

C. When a member's address ceases to be in the Section area or the member stops paying dues, the Section membership will terminate.

Section 3. Dues

A. The amount of Section member dues shall be established by the Chapter. Section member dues are collected annually as part of the Chapter dues by the Association, and are periodically rebated to the Section through the Chapter.

B. Dues for ex-officio members who are "Friends of Planning" shall be established and collected by the Section Executive Committee, based upon the estimated annual cost of providing the Section Newsletter and membership directory to such members.

ARTICLE IV - SECTION OFFICERS

Section 1. Number, Type, Eligibility, and Term of Office

A. Officers of the Section shall be known as the Director, Assistant Director, Secretary, Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor.

B. Only Section members are eligible to hold office. Ex-officio members are ineligible to hold office.

C. The term of office for all officers shall be two (2) years, with the Director serving a staggered term with the terms of the other officers of the Executive Committee.

D. No member shall serve consecutive terms as the Section Director. In addition, no member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same Section officer position.

Section 2. Vacated Offices

A. Officers may be removed from office by a petition signed by fifty-one percent (51%) of the Section members and presented to the Executive Committee.

B. In the event that any office, other than that of Director, becomes vacant during the year, the Director shall appoint a member to fill the term of office.

C. In the event that the Director's office becomes vacant during the year, the Assistant Director shall fulfill the duties of the Director for the remainder of the term.

Section 3. Duties of Officers

A. The Director shall call meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee: shall preside at those meetings; shall create, appoint, and discharge standing and special committees; shall speak and correspond in the name of the Section on Chapter and Association business; shall serve as a member of the Chapter Board of Directors; shall appoint the Newsletter Editor with concurrence of a simple majority vote of the Section Executive Committee; and, shall perform other duties as are customary to the office. The Director, serving in the capacity of Past-Director, shall serve on the Section Executive Committee for a term of one (1) year in an advisory role.

B. The Assistant Director shall assume the duties of the Director in the event of the resignation or removal from office of the Director; shall become Acting Director in the event of the temporary absence of the Director; shall serve as the Programs Committee Chairman; and shall perform other duties as are customary to the office.

C. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings; shall file two copies of the Section Bylaws and amendments thereto with the Chapter within one month after adoption; shall coordinate with the Chapter to prepare a Directory of Section Membership and make it available to the members; shall coordinate with the Chapter to maintain an up-to-date roster of Section members, have it available at all Section meetings, and provide it to the Election Committee for use in balloting; furnish mailing labels to the Newsletter Editor to be used for mailing the Newsletter and shall perform other duties as are customary to the office.

D. The Treasurer shall maintain financial records of the Section; shall prepare an Annual Budget for approval by the Executive Committee; shall receive all Section dues and other monies in the name of the Section and deposit them in the bank account of the Section, from which funds shall be disbursed in accordance with the Section budget; shall receive claims for payment owed by the Section which must be in writing, signed, and submitted to the Treasurer; shall keep accounts which shall at all times be open for the inspection of the Executive Committee; shall prepare an annual financial statement for presentation to the membership; and shall perform other duties as are customary to the office.

E. The Newsletter Editor shall prepare a Section newsletter or other periodical on a quarterly basis; shall serve as the official Section liaison with the Chapter newsletter staff; shall report news of the Section activities to Section members and the Chapter; and shall prepare for release to the local news media press releases on Section activities.

ARTICLE V - ELECTIONS

Section 1. Nomination of Officers

A. By August 15 of each election year, the Director shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of three (3) Section members. The committee’s membership shall be announced to the Section. Members of the Nominating Committee or the Election Committee shall not be eligible for nomination while serving on the committees.

B. Prior to and at the September Section meeting, the Committee shall publicize a call for self-nominations, and shall then prepare a report recommending at least two (2) and not more than four (4) Section members for each of the offices listed in Section 1, Article IV.

C. The report of the Nominating Committee shall be given at the October meeting of the Section. Additional nominations for office may be made from the floor by Section members.

D. A nominee shall give his or her approval to be nominated.

Section 2. Election of Officers

A. By August 15 of each year, the Director shall appoint an Election Committee consisting of three (3) Section members not on the Nominating Committee. The committee's membership shall be announced to the Section.

B. The Election Committee shall be responsible for conducting the election in conformance with these Bylaws.

C. Ballots shall be mailed to all Section members on or before November 1 prior to the election. The ballot shall list the names of the candidates alphabetically for each office; shall indicate the closing date for the election November 20; and shall state the date, time, and place of the Election Committee meeting to count the ballots. Only ballots received postmarked on or before the closing date of the election shall be valid.

D. Only Section members are eligible to vote in the election of officers. Ex-officio members are ineligible to vote.

E. Ballots shall be counted by the Election Committee at an open meeting, the time and place of which shall be announced on the ballot. Results shall be reported to the Executive Committee by November 25 after the election.

F. The candidate for each office receiving the majority votes cast is elected.

G. Should no candidate for an office receive a majority of the votes cast, the Election Committee shall conduct a runoff election between the two persons receiving the largest number of votes in the undetermined race. Runoff ballots shall be mailed no later than December 1 and must be postmarked no later than December 10.

H. Formal notification to the membership of the election results shall be made at the annual Christmas Party, but no later than December 31, at which time the new officers assume office.

Section 3. Timetable

August 15	Nominating Committee and Election Committee appointed.
September	Call for self-nominations at Section meeting.
October	Report of Nominating Committee and additional nominations from floor at Section meeting.
November 1	Ballots mailed.
November 20	Election closing date for postmark of ballots.
December 1	Ballots tabbed and reported to Executive Committee.
December 10	Closing date for postmark of runoff ballots At the annual Christmas Party, or no later than December 31, the results are announced.

ARTICLE VI - OFFICIAL SECTION POSITIONS

Section 1. Content

The Section may prepare, adopt, and make public an official Section position on matters of planning policy. Such positions should be reserved for matters which might have extensive effects on the practice of the planning profession in the community.

Section 2. Method of Adopting Official Section Positions

A. Proposed official Section position statements must be distributed in writing to all members of the Section and the Chapter Executive Committee a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which the position will be considered for adoption.

B. Written notices of meetings at which voting on official Section positions will take place must state the proposal being considered for adoption and the place and time of the meeting.

C. Only members of the Section are eligible to vote on adoption of official Section positions. Any Section member may vote by proxy, if said proxy is in writing, duly signed, and names another Section member present at the meeting for which the proxy is given. The proxy shall state the specific matter(s) for which it is given.

D. Adoption of a proposal requires at least two-thirds majority vote of those matters present or voting by proxy to be reported as an official expression of Section opinion.

Section 3. Responsibility

A. Reference to the Houston Section of the American Planning Association should not be made so as to imply collective responsibility for a statement or opinion unless the voting procedure outlined in Section 2, Article VI for adopting an official Section position is followed.

B. Position papers prepared by special committees, but not adopted under the provisions of Section 2, Article VI, should be so described in any press releases or formal presentations.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS

Section 1. Frequency of Meetings

The Director shall call at least eight (8) regular meetings per year, preferably twelve (12), at a time and place reasonably convenient to the membership at large.

Section 2. Notification of Meetings

Meeting Notices stating the time and place of the meetings shall be mailed to the members at least seven (7) days prior to the meetings.

Section 3. Nature of Meetings

Regular meetings may be exclusively business meetings, exclusively program meetings, or a combination of the two.

Section 4. Special Meetings

In the event of pressing Session business, special meetings may be called by the Director or a majority of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. Chapter and National APA Meetings

The Section Director or a representative appointed by the Director shall represent the Section at Chapter and national APA meetings. The representative of the Director shall have a written proxy to vote on behalf of the Section.

ARTICLE VIII - COMMITTEES

Section 1 Standing Committees

A. The Executive Committee shall consist of all elected Section officers and the immediate past Section Director. In addition, Committee Chair or other members may be appointed by the Director to serve on the Executive Committee. The Committee shall conduct the business of the Section, including preparing and adopting an annual budget.

B. The Programs Committee may consist of at least three (3) members of the Section as appointed by the Director, to provide the members with informative programs. This Committee is responsible for the presentation of such programs to the membership at Section meetings. The Assistant Section Director shall be the Chair of the Programs Committee.

C. The Professional Development Committee may consist of at least three (3) members of the Section, and the Chair of the Committee shall be a member of the AICP. The Chair shall also serve as the Section's representative to the Chapter Professional Development Committee. This Committee shall work with educational institutions in the Section area to promote planning or planning related educational and training programs, and shall encourage and assist Section members in pursuing continuing education and professional development.

Section 2. Special Committees

The Director may create and appoint Chairs and members of Special Committees when particular topics require concentrated discussion or study. Examples of such topics may be membership, hosting of planning conferences, or planning policy issues. Special Committees shall report their findings to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE IX - FISCAL YEAR

The Fiscal Year for the Section shall be January 1 to December 31.

ARTICLE X - AWARDS

Section 1. Purpose

Section 2. Criteria

Section 3. Categories

Section 4. Process

ARTICLE XI - BYLAWS ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Proposal of Amendments

A. Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by any Section member.

B. Such proposals shall be reviewed by the Executive Committee, which will present the proposal to the membership at large for decisive vote at a regular Section meeting.

Section 2. Voting on Adoption and Amendments

A. Written notice must be distributed to all members of the Section at least ten (10) days prior to voting on adoption of Bylaws or amendments thereto.

B. A decisive vote for adoption or amendments of the Bylaws shall be two-thirds of those members present or voting by proxy at the Section meeting. Any member may vote by proxy, if said proxy is in writing, duly signed, and names another Section member present at the meeting for which the proxy is given.

ARTICLE XII - RULES OF PROCEDURE

Except as provided herein, all matters of procedure shall generally be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, as revised.

Adopted this ___ day of __________ 1998.

ATTESTED BY: APPROVED BY:

John W. Jackson, Jr., AICP Bret C. Keast, AICP

Secretary, Houston Section APA Director, Houston Section APA