ADOPTED BYLAWS OF THE

New York Correction History Society

ARTICLE III
-- Duties: Officers, Executive Committee, Board --

Proposed
NYCHS
Constitution
& Bylaws

The draft Constitution and Bylaws document can be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

Section 1. The president shall serve

-- as the chief spokesperson for the society;

-- as its lead officer in external affairs, including but not limited to relations with governmental agencies, academic institutions, and professional associations;
-- as presiding officer at executive committee meetings, general membership events and meetings, and annual meetings except those at which he/she is a candidate.

The president shall appoint a committee, or committees, to assist in conducting the external affairs of the society. The president may appoint such other committees as he/she deems appropriate, provided authority to appoint committees in those spheres of society operations is not placed elsewhere by the Constitution and Bylaws.

In advance of the annual meeting, the president shall report to the membership on the state of the society, reviewing its activities and plans. The general secretary shall cause the report to be posted on the society's web site and in other ways make known the report to the membership. The president -- by this report and other means -- shall endeavor to provide focus and direction for the society.

Section 2. The vice-president shall assume the duties of the president in his/her absence and shall succeed to the office of president if it becomes vacant by resignation or otherwise. The vice-president shall assist the president in his/her duties and take on such special projects within the scope of those duties as may be assigned by the president. The vice-president shall be the president's liaison with the recognized retiree organizations, unions and employee associations of correctional agencies that enter into working relationships with the society.

Section 3. The general secretary

-- shall serve as the administrative coordinator for the society's internal operations not explicitly assigned elsewhere by the Constitution and Bylaws, including but not limited to matters involving dues collection, agendas and arrangements for Executive Committee and Board meetings; communications (web, newsletter, journal, notices, correspondence), membership records, meeting minutes and calendars, and event schedules;

-- shall use data from membership enrollments, membership surveys, and other communications with the membership to help in the formation of the society's Shared Interest Groups in consultation and cooperation with Agency Coordinating Committees;
-- shall monitor non-archival historical projects undertaken by Shared Interest Groups, Agency Coordinating Committees and other society committees;

-- shall report to the Executive Committee on those monitored projects whose stages of development warrant their being considered for presentation to the general membership in special programs or other events;

-- shall assist Agency Coordinating Committees in operational and administrative spheres;

-- shall appoint a committee, or committees, to assist him/her in the administration and coordination of the society's internal operations not explicitly assigned elsewhere by the Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 4. The treasurer shall be responsible for the safekeeping of society funds, maintaining financial records, and depositing all monies with a reliable bank in the society's name. Monies shall be paid out by numbered checks signed by the treasurer and either the president or general secretary. The treasurer shall work with the general secretary in collection of dues, shall render periodic reports on the financial condition of the society, shall seek grants and other funding for the society, and shall appoint a committee or committees to assist him/her in these matters.

Section 5. The curator shall serve as the society's chief archival officer responsible for the collection, safekeeping, cataloguing, and exhibiting of historical artifacts in the care, custody and control of the society including but not limited to equipment, books, documents, photographs, illustrations, blueprints, and recorded interviews. Within the limitations of the society's Regents charter, the curator shall serve the society's lead officer in developing plans and organizing activities for the eventual establishment of a museum devoted to New York correction history. He/she shall appoint a committee or committees to assist in these matters.

Section 6. The counsel shall be the society's chief legal advisor and may appoint a committee(s) to assist in these duties.

Section 7. The Board chairperson shall schedule the Board's meetings after conferring with the president, general secretary and other Board members as to their availability and as to any need for conferencing arrangements. The chairperson shall serve as the Board's presiding officer at its meetings. Between Board meetings, the chairperson shall serve as liaison between the Board's trustee members and the Executive Committee officers and, as such, shall resolve any questions of interpretation of the Constitution and Bylaws and of the Board's guidelines, policies, protocols and priorities.

In addition to the committee on nominations required under Article VI Section 2 of the Bylaws, the Board chairperson may appoint other committees to assist him/her in his/her duties.

Section 8. The above named officers, in their individual capacities and as members of the Executive Committee, shall conduct the day-to-day operations of the society subject to its charter, Constitution, Bylaws and the Board of Trustees' guidelines, policies, protocols and priorities.

The president, general secretary and Board chairperson shall be ex officio members of all committees appointed by the individual officers.

a -- The Executive Committee meetings shall be so arranged and structured as to provide the officers ample opportunity for communication and coordination, each reporting on the status of matters within his/her sphere(s) of responsibility.

b -- Any proposed undertaking that would involve a significant commitment of society funds and/or activity by society officers and/or committees shall be presented for consideration and decision to the Executive Committee applying the guidelines, policies, protocols and priorities in place from the Board of Trustees.

Section 9. In addition to its responsibilities described elsewhere in Constitution and Bylaws provisions concerning nominations, elections, amendments and dues, the Board of Trustees shall

-- determine the society's budgets, allocations, and spending ceilings within which the individual officers and Executive Committee are to operate.

-- establish general guidelines, policies, protocols and priorities covering the society's projects, programs, activities, operations, and its relationships with correctional and other government agencies, educational institutions, professional organizations, recognized employee associations, Shared Interest Groups, Agency Coordinating Committees, and any subsequently-evolved regional societies.

Section 10. While the Executive Committee retains reserve rights of review and action on all society operations, the individual officers shall ordinarily have wide latitude and autonomy on matters within their respective spheres of responsibility. They shall keep the other officers and the trustees informed of their activities on these matters through their reports at the Executive Committee and Board meetings and by other means. Matters involving, or likely to involve, the spheres of responsibility of more than one officer shall be brought by the respective officers before the Executive Committee for review and action. These matters shall include, but not be limited to, the society entering into working relationships with correctional agencies, educational institutions, professional associations, agency-recognized unions and other current or former employee organizations the establishment of Agency Coordinating Councils and evolved regional associations; and the undertaking of projects, programs and expenditures likely to have significant impact on the society.

Operational responsibilities not delegated to individual officers by the Constitution and Bylaws are reserved to the Executive Committee. While the Board of Trustees retains reserve rights of review and action on all society matters, the Executive Committee shall ordinarily have wide latitude and autonomy on operational matters within its respective spheres of responsibility.

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