Bylaws

Note: Nothing in these Bylaws is to be construed as to be contrary to the IEEE Bylaws, Constitution, Policy Manual and Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Operations Manual.

Article I - Name and Territory

Section 1: This organization shall be known as the Newfoundland & Labrador Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Section 2: The territory of the Newfoundland & Labrador Section, as approved by the Regional Activities Board, is the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Article II - Officers

Section 1

The elected officers of the Section shall be:

Chair
Vice-Chair
Secretary
Treasurer

Section 2

The terms of office of the elected officers shall be one year. Officers may not serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. A former officer is eligible for re-election to an office previously held, provided that at least one year has elapsed since he or she last held the office.

Section 3

The terms of office will normally begin on January 1st, but in any event the outgoing officers will continue in their office until their successors are duly elected and take office. Terms of office will normally terminate on December 31.

Section 4

Any vacancy occurring during the term of office shall be filled by a majority vote of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 5

The duties of the elected officers shall be as described in the MGA Operations Manual.

Article III - Standing Committees

Section 1

The Standing Committees of the Section may include, but are not restricted to:

Membership Development
Professional Activities
Newsletter
Awards and Public Relations

Section 2

The Section Chair, with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, shall appoint the Chairs of the Standing Committees. The terms of office of the Standing Committee Chair shall be two years, commencing on January 1 and terminating on December 31. Standing Committee Chairs may not serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. A former Standing Committee Chair is eligible for re-appointment to an office previously held, provided that at least one year has passed since he or she last held the office.

Section 3

Each Standing Committee Chair shall appoint committee members with the approval of the Section Executive Committee.

Section 4

Duties of the Standing Committees shall be generally as described in the MGA Operations Manual.

Article IV - Management

Section 1

The management of the Section shall be by the Section Executive Committee, which shall consist of the elected officers, the immediate Past Section Chair, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, and the following:

The Student Branch Counselor
The Student Branch Representative
Members at Large (maximum of three)

Section 2

A quorum of the Section Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of the members of the Section Executive Committee, but must include:

the Chair or, in his/her absence, the Vice Chair
a minimum of one other elected officer;

Section 3: A quorum of the Section Executive Committee shall be necessary to conduct business during a meeting of the Section Executive Committee. Section 4; Meetings of the Section Executive Committee ordinarily will be held monthly and shall be called by the Section Chair, or by a request of any three members of the Section Executive Committee. Section 5; The fiscal year of the Section shall be January 1st to December 31st. Section 6; The Annual General Meeting of the Section shall be held in the first quarter of each year.

Article V - Nomination and Election of Officers

Section 1

At the end of the term of the office of Chair, the Vice Chair serving during the preceding term will have the option of automatically becoming the Chair. If the Vice Chair declines to assume this role, the nomination/election procedure described below will take place . Section 2

The Section Chair with the approval of the Section Executive Committee shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of three members, not currently elected officers of the Section. The chair of the Nominating Committee will normally be the immediate past Chair of the Section. Section 3

The slate of nominations prepared by the Nominating Committee will be announced to the Section membership and, following this, a minimum of fourteen days allowed for additional nominations by petition. To be valid, the petition must be signed by ten or more voting members. Section 4

Candidates to serve as Section officers must be of Member, Senior Member, Graduate Student Member or Fellow Grade. Section 5

The election will be carried out by secret ballot, either mailed to the membership or made available electronically.

Section 6

The timetable for the election procedure is as follows:

September 15: Appointment of Nominating Committee
October 15: Announcement of Nominations
October 31: Close nominations by petition; mail ballots or publish electronically
November 30: Count ballots and announce results

Section 7

A plurality of the votes cast shall be necessary for election. Members of Associate, Member, Senior Member or Fellow grade are permitted to vote in the Section and subunit elections.

Article VI - Business Meeting

Section 1: In order to transact business at a general meeting of the Section, at least ten members, including a quorum of the Section Executive Committee, must be present to constitute a quorum.

Article VII - Finances

Section 1: All expenditures of Section funds must be approved by the Section Executive Committee.
Section 2: Section funds can be used only for normal operations of the Section without prior authorization of the IEEE Executive Committee.
Section 3: The Section Treasurer shall be authorized to draw funds as approved by the Section Executive Committee.
Section 4: Rebates distributed to the Section in recognition of the establishment and maintenance of a Chapter shall be considered Chapter funds.
Section 5: The IEEE Financial Statement and Summary of Activities will be prepared immediately following the end of the fiscal year.
Section 6: All unit bank accounts, including those of Chapters, Affinity Groups or Subsections, shall provide for the signature authority of the IEEE Staff Director of Financial Services, provided that Canadian, or Newfoundland & Labrador government or banking regulations do not prohibit such a practice.

Article VIII - Technical Society Chapters and Affinity Groups

Section 1: This Section shall encourage the formation of Chapters and Affinity Groups.
Section 2: All Chapter and Affinity Group meetings shall be announced to all Section members, and reported to the Section Secretary.
Section 3: Chapters and Affinity Groups will exist within the administrative management of the Section and these bylaws.

Article IX - Amendments

Section 1: Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may originate in the Section Executive Committee or by a petition signed by ten or more voting members.
Section 2: Amendments to or revocation of these Bylaws shall be in accordance with the IEEE Bylaws, Policy Manual and MGA Operations Manual.
Section 3: Amendments to these Bylaws must be approved by a favorable vote of 2/3 of the members attending a meeting or an electronic ballot, for which notice and proposed amendments have been sent at least 20 days prior.
Section 4: Amendments or revisions of these bylaws become effective upon the approval of the Region 7 Director and the Regional Activities Board.

Revision History:

Dated: June 15, 2001
Revision proposed (RAB) 26 March, 2002
Revision proposed (Gerard Dunphy) Dec. 4, 2002
Revision proposed (G. Dunphy & D. Peters) Oct. 4 2003
Revision approved by RAB Nov. 14, 2003
Revision proposed (Brian Kidney) Jan. 23, 2015
Revision approved (Newfoundland & Labrador Section) Feb. 27, 2015