BYLAWS
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
SECTION
MAINE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I: IDENTIFICATION

1.1 NAME. This Section shall be known as: "The Section on Natural Resources and Environmental 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:

(1) to promote the development of all aspects of natural resources and environmental law, procedure and practice; (2) to promote scholarly research in the field of natural resources and environmental law; (3) to disseminate to the bar and the general public helpful information in the field of natural resources and environmental law; (4) to initiate and participate in Maine State Bar Association (the "Association") sponsored continuing legal education activities; and (5) to initiate and participate in Association sponsored efforts to publish materials relevant to the Section's activities, including legislative and regulatory amendments, commentary and practice and forms manuals.

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 Executive Director of the Association, be enrolled as a member of the Section.

2.2 THE MEMBERSHIP. Members so enrolled pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall constitute the membership of the Section.

2.3 DUES. There shall be no dues for membership in the Section unless such dues are authorized or required by the Association.

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 the Annual (Winter) Meeting of the Association. The Section shall also hold a meeting in conjunction with the Summer Meeting of the Association. The Section may hold other meetings of members throughout the year as the Chairperson may call. 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, except that the election of officers of the Section or actions to amend these Bylaws shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the Section membership received by mail in accordance with Section 4.7 of these Bylaws.

4.4 VOTING ELIGIBILITY. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records 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 prior to the meeting 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 announcement by the outgoing Chairperson of the result of the election of officers. The agenda shall consist of other matters as decided by the incoming Chairperson.

4.7 MAIL VOTING. The election of officers of the Section or actions to change these Bylaws shall be submitted by the Chairperson to the members of the Section for vote by mail. The Chairperson may direct that any other 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 Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary/Treasurer. Those three members shall constitute the Executive Committee.

5.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson, or the Vice-Chairperson, in the absence of the Chairperson, shall preside at all meetings of the Section. The Chairperson shall appoint the chairs and members of any committees of the Section who are to hold office during the term of the Section Chairperson. The Chairperson shall plan the program of the Section during his or her term, subject to the directions and approval of the Board, and shall superintend the performance of all activities of the Section. The Chairperson shall keep the Board duly informed and carry out its decisions. The Chairperson shall perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to that office or as may be designated by the Board.

5.3 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. The Vice Chairperson (Chairperson-Elect) shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee for a period of one year, at the conclusion of which the Vice Chairperson shall assume the duties of the Chairperson for a term of one year in accordance with these Bylaws. The Vice-Chairperson shall perform such further duties and have such further powers as usually pertain to his or her office as may be designated by the Board or the Chairperson.

5.4 SECRETARY/TREASURER. The Secretary /Treasurer shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section and shall be the liaison between the Section and the Association staff regarding the retention and maintenance of the Section's financial accounts, financial records, books, papers, documents and other property pertaining to the work of the Section in the custody of the Association. The Secretary/Treasurer shall monitor all accounts, reports and other documents prepared as to Section funds, revenues and expenditures, if any, and seek to make certain that all such accounts, reports and documents are, at all times, accurate and correct. The Secretary/Treasurer shall report on the Section's present and projected financial condition at each meeting of the Section. To the extent that there is any budget established for and funds available to the Section, the Secretary/Treasurer shall at least once a year prepare and submit a projected budget to the Section for approval or modification at a meeting of the Section, which approved budget shall be submitted to the Association. In the absence or disqualification of both the Chair and Vice-Chair, the Secretary/Treasurer shall act in their place and stead.

5.5 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The members of the Executive Committee shall aid the Chairperson in the performance of his or her responsibilities in such manner and to such extent as the Chairperson may request. They shall perform such further duties and have such further powers as usually pertain to their office or as may be designated by the Board or the Chairperson. In the event of the death, resignation or disability of the Chairperson, then the Vice Chairperson, or after consultation with the Vice Chairperson, the Secretary/Treasurer, shall perform the duties of the Chairperson for the remainder of the Chairperson's term or disability, as the case may be.

5.6 MEETINGS OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The Executive Committee may meet at times and places designated by the Chairperson. The Executive Committee may meet to assist the planning of Section meeting agenda; to discuss CLE matters, legislative matters, or other Section matters or problems, and to formulate recommendations for action on these matters or problems at Section meetings; or to take other action on behalf of the Section, if necessary, between Section meetings. Meetings of the Executive Committee may be conducted in person, with reasonable advance notice to Executive Committee members, or by teleconference or by polling Executive Committee members by telefax. All such actions or recommendations shall be recorded by the Secretary/Treasurer and be available to the Section membership. All actions taken by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Section with respect to legislation and major substantive policy shall be in compliance with Article VII of these Bylaws and subject to the ratification by the Section membership at the next meeting of the Section.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

6.1 ELECTIVE OFFICES. Within the thirty day period prior to each Annual meeting of the Section, the membership shall elect, pursuant to Article 4.7, a Vice-Chairperson for the Section, who shall be the Section's recommendation to the Association President (pursuant to Association Bylaws Article X, Section 2) as Chairperson-elect (i.e., Vice Chairperson for the following year). The Chairperson-elect shall hold the office of Vice Chairperson for one year after his or her election. At the expiration of the one year term of office of the Chairperson, the Chairperson-elect shall automatically assume the duties of the Chair for the Section for the next year, as provided in these Bylaws. During this same election, the membership shall elect a Secretary/Treasurer.

6.2 ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records shall be eligible for office.

6.3 NOMINATIONS AND VOTING. Section members shall nominate candidates for Section office at the Section meeting held during the Summer meeting of the Association. Voting on those nominations shall occur by mail within thirty days prior to the Annual Meeting.

6.4 TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office of the Chairperson shall be one year and shall begin at the second Annual Meeting following his or her election as Vice Chairperson and shall end at the following Annual Meeting. The term of office of the Vice Chairperson shall be one year and shall begin at the Annual Meeting following the election, and shall end at the following Annual Meeting. The term of office of the Section Secretary/Treasurer shall be two years and shall begin at the Annual Meeting following election and shall end at the second following Annual Meeting. If at the close of any term of office a successor has not been elected, the term shall be extended until a successor shall have been elected.

ARTICLE VII: 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 VIII: AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the members of the Section in accordance with these Bylaws and particularly Sections 4.3 and 4.7 herein. Any amendments to these Bylaws shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Governors.