MAINE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
ELDER LAW SECTION
BYLAWS
Adopted: January 5, 1988
Approved by Board of Governors: September 13, 1988
ARTICLE I: IDENTIFICATION
1.1 NAME. This Section shall be known as: "The Section on Elder Law" and shall be hereafter designated simply as "the Section".
1.2 PURPOSE. The general purpose of the Section shall be the promotion of the objects of the Maine State Bar Association within the particular fields designated by the name of this Section. To that end, it shall be the purposes of this Section:
To promote greater awareness among the members of this Association and of the Maine Bar generally of the special legal needs of the elderly; to initiate and assist in the presentation of programs of continuing education in areas of the law relating to the elderly; to initiate and assist in the presentation of community programs of education in areas of the law relating to the elderly; to improve the administration of justice in this state, with special emphasis on its impact upon the elderly citizens of this state.
1.3 LIMITATIONS: These bylaws have been adopted subject to the Bylaws of the Association, and particularly Article XV thereof.
ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP
2.1 ENROLLMENT. Any member in good standing of the Association shall, upon request to the Secretary of the Association, be enrolled as a member of the Section by the payment of annual Section dues.
2.2 THE MEMBERSHIP. Members so enrolled and whose dues are paid pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall constitute the Membership of the Section.
2.3 DUES. Dues for membership in the Section shall be an amount set by the Section and approved by the Board of Governors, payable upon enrollment and thereafter mutually in advance each year, at the beginning of the Association's fiscal year succeeding such enrollment.
2.4 DELINQUENCY. Any member of the Section whose annual dues shall be more than six months past due shall thereupon cease to be a member of this Section.
ARTICLE III: SECTION ORGANIZATION
3.1 COMMITTEES. This Section is authorized to establish, or to empower the Chairperson of the Section to establish, such committees as it may deem necessary and desirable to promote effectively the activities of the Section within the jurisdiction of the Section. In establishing a new committee, the Section shall state the area of its proposed activities.
3.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson shall announce the membership and the chairperson of each committee of the Section for the following Section year no later than the business meeting held during the Annual Meeting of the Section.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERSHIP
4.1 ANNUAL MEETING. The Section shall hold an Annual Meeting of members in conjunction with either the Annual or Summer Meeting of the Association. The Section may hold other meetings of members throughout the year. The notice requirements for such meetings shall be the same as for the annual meeting.
4.2 QUORUM. The members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
4.3 CONTROLLING VOTE. Action of the Section shall be by majority vote of the members present.
4.4 VOTING ELIGIBILITY. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records for thirty days prior to the time of voting shall be eligible to vote.
4.5 NOTICE. Notice in writing of the place and time of the meeting shall be mailed no fewer than seven or more than forty days to each member entitled to vote at the meeting. In lieu of a separate notice, the notice may be printed in an issue of the Maine Bar Journal mailed to each member entitled to vote. A brief statement of the purpose of the meeting shall be included.
4.6 AGENDA. Among the matters of business to be transacted at the annual meeting of the membership shall be the election of officers. The agenda shall consist of other matters as decided by the Chairperson.
4.7 MAIL VOTING. The Chairperson may direct that a matter be submitted to the members of the Section for vote by mail. In that event, binding action of the Section shall be by a majority of the votes received from members in accordance with rules fixed by the Section.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
5.1 OFFICERS. The officers of the Section shall be the Chairperson, the Chairperson-elect, the Vice-Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
5.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson, or successively, the Chairperson-Elect and the Vice-Chairperson, in the absence of the Chairperson, shall preside at all meetings of the Section. He or she shall appoint the chairperson and members of any committees of the Section who are to hold office during his or her term as Chairperson. He or she shall plan and superintend the program of the Section during his or her term, subject to the directions and approval of the Board. He or she shall superintend the performance of all activities of the Section. He or she shall keep the Board duly informed and carry out its decisions. He or she shall perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to his or her office or as may be designated by the Board.
5.3 CHAIRPERSON-ELECT. The Chairperson-Elect shall, on consultation with the Chairperson, arrange for the appointment of the chairpersons and members of any committees who are to hold office during his or her coming term as Chairperson. He or she shall aid the Chairperson in the performance of his or her responsibilities in such manner and to such extent as the Chairperson may request. He or she shall perform such further duties and have such further powers as usually pertain to his or her office or as may be designated by the Board or the Chairperson. In case of the death, resignation or disability of the Chairperson, the Chairperson-Elect shall perform the duties of the Chairperson for the remainder of the Chairperson's term or disability, as the case may be.
5.4 VICE-CHAIRPERSON. The Vice-Chairperson shall aid the Chairperson in the performance of his or her responsibilities in the manner and to the extent the Chairperson may request.
5.5 SECRETARY. The Secretary shall consult with and assist all the officers of the Section as to the work of the Section generally in the manner and to the extent they may request. The Secretary shall be the liaison between the Section and Association staff regarding the retention and maintenance of books, papers, documents, and other property pertaining to the work of the Section in the custody of the Association. He or she shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section, whether assembled or acting under submission. He or she, in conjunction with the Chairperson, shall attend generally to the business of the Section.
5.6 TREASURER. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all monies appropriated to and expended for the purpose of the Section. He or she shall monitor all accounts, reports and other documents prepared as to Section funds, revenues, and expenditures, and seek to make certain that all such accounts, reports, and other documents are, at all times, accurate and correct. He or she shall report on the Section's present and projected financial condition at each meeting of the Section. He or she shall advise the officers as to the financial impact of any proposed action by the officers, or Section which, in his or her judgment, would have a significant impact on the financial condition of the Section. At least once each year, he or she shall prepare a projected budget to the Section for approval or modification at the time of the annual meeting, or such other time as may be expressly fixed by the Section. He or she shall submit to the Section, at the annual meeting, a report on the Section's financial affairs and financial condition. He or she shall prepare such other recommendations and special reports on financial affairs of the Section as may be requested by the Chairperson of the Section. The Treasurer is authorized, however, to allow the Association Treasurer to do the membership billing and to maintain the Section monies in one of the Association's accounts.
ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS
6.1 ELECTIVE OFFICES. At each annual meeting of the Section, the membership shall elect:
(i) a Chairperson-Elect, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, to serve a term of one year.
6.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson-Elect shall automatically succeed to the office of Chairperson. He or she shall serve a term of one year and may not again accede to that office. In the event the office of Chairperson-Elect shall be vacant, then a Chairperson shall be elected by Section members.
6.3 ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records for thirty days prior to the time of election shall be eligible for office.
6.4 NOMINATIONS AND VOTING. Section members shall elect their officers at their annual meeting.
6.5 TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office shall begin with the adjournment of the Annual Meeting following the election, and shall end following the Annual Meeting at which a successor has been duly elected. If at the close of any term of office a successor has not been elected then the term shall be extended until a successor shall have been elected.
ARTICLE VII: SUCCESSION OF
OFFICERS AND VACANCIES
7.1 CHAIRPERSON-ELECT. The Chairperson-Elect shall, unless he or she shall have refused to act as Chairperson-Elect or been disqualified, automatically assume the office of the Chairperson for a term of one year at the end of the Annual Meeting following his or her election.
ARTICLE VIII: REPRESENTATION
OF ASSOCIATION POSITION
Any action by this Section must be approved by the Board of Governors of the Maine State Bar Association before action can be effective as the action of the Maine State Bar Association. Any resolution adopted or action taken by the Section shall, on request of the Section, be reported by the Chairperson to the Board of Governors for action by the Association. In all respects, Article XV of the Association Bylaws shall govern.
ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS
These Bylaws may be amended at any annual meeting of the Section by a majority vote of the members of the Section present and voting. They shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Governors.