PART I BYLAWS OF SIERRA NEVADA SWIMMING
ARTICLE 4
HOUSE OF DELEGATES
4.1 MEMBERS - The House of Delegates of SNS shall consist of the Group Member Representatives, the Athlete Representatives, the Coach Representatives, the Board Members designated in Section 5.1, and the At-Large House Members.
.1 GROUP MEMBER REPRESENTATIVES - Each Group Member in good standing shall annually appoint from its membership a Group Member Representative and one or more alternates. The appointment shall be in writing, addressed to the Secretary of SNS and duly certified by the chief executive officer or secretary of the appointing Group Member. The appointing Group Member may withdraw its Group Member Representative or one or more of its alternates and substitute a new Group Member Representative or new alternates by written notice, addressed to the Secretary of SNS and signed by the chief executive officer or secretary of the appointing Group Member.
.2 AT-LARGE HOUSE MEMBERS -With the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, the General Chair may appoint up to 10 at-large members of the House of. The At-Large House Members shall hold office from the date of appointment through the conclusion of the annual meeting of the House of Delegates following such appointment or until their successors are appointed to the House of Delegates.
.3 ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVES - Two or more Athlete Representatives shall be appointed by the General Chair with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, one or more each year for a two-year term or until their respective successors take office. At the time of appointment, each Athlete Representative must (a) be an Athlete Member or a Seasonal Athlete Member in good standing; (b) be at least 16 years of age or at least a sophomore in high school; (c) be currently competing, or have competed during the three immediately preceding years, in the program of swimming conducted by SNS or another LSC; and (d) reside in the Territory and expect to reside therein throughout at least the first half of the term. The General Chair shall make the appointment within 60 days of the meeting of the House of Delegates at which Board Members were elected. Prior to each year's appointment, the current Athlete Representatives and the Athletes Committee shall be asked to nominate one or more Athlete Members or Seasonal Athlete Members for consideration.
.4 COACH REPRESENTATIVES - Two Coach Representatives shall be elected, one each year for a two-year term, or until their respective successors are elected. The election of the Coach Representative shall be conducted during the SNS long course age group swimming championship, at a meeting timely called by the Senior Coach Representative, the Coaches Committee or the Board of Directors, and determined by a majority of the Coach Members in good standing present and voting or, failing that, at a time and place and in a manner designated by the Board of Directors.
4.2 ELIGIBILITY - Only Individual Members in good standing shall be eligible to be elected or appointed members of, to be heard at or to vote at the House of Delegates in any capacity. Members of the House of Delegates must maintain their status as Individual Members in good standing throughout their terms of office.
4.3 VOICE AND VOTING RIGHTS OF MEMBERS - The voice and voting rights of members of the House of Delegates and of Individual Members shall be as follows:
.1 GROUP MEMBER REPRESENTATIVES, BOARD MEMBERS, ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVES, COACH REPRESENTATIVES AND AT-LARGE HOUSE MEMBERS - Each Group Member Representative, Board Member, Athlete Representative, Coach Representative and At-Large House Member shall have both voice and one vote in meetings of the House of Delegates.
.2 AFFILIATED GROUP MEMBER REPRESENTATIVES - Group Member Representatives of Affiliated Group Members, unless entitled to vote under another provision of these Bylaws, shall have voice but no vote in meetings of the House of Delegates and its committees.
.3 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS - Individual Members who are not members of the House of Delegates may attend open meetings of the House of Delegates and its committees and be heard in the discretion of the presiding officer. Unless entitled to vote under another provision of these Bylaws, Individual Members shall have no vote in meetings of the House of Delegates.
4.4 DUTIES AND POWERS - The House of Delegates shall oversee the management of the affairs of SNS and the establishment of policies, procedures and programs. In addition to the duties and powers prescribed in the USA-S Code or elsewhere in these Bylaws, the House of Delegates shall:
.1 Elect the officers, regular and alternate members of the Board of Review, and the committee chairs and coordinators listed in Section 6.1 in accordance with Sections 6.2 through 6.6;
.2 Elect alternates to the USA-S House of Delegates in accordance with section 502.2 of the USA-S Code (see also Section 6.7.13 B);
.3 Elect the members of the Nominating Committee;
.4 Review, modify and adopt the annual budget of SNS recommended by the Board of Directors;
.5 Call regular and special meetings of the House of Delegates;
.6 Ratify or prospectively modify or rescind policy and programs established by the Board of Directors, except any action or authorization by the Board of Directors with respect to contracts or upon which any person may have relied shall not be modified or rescinded;
.7 Establish joint administrative committees, or undertake joint activities with other sports organizations where deemed helpful or necessary by SNS;
.8 Establish by resolution or the SNS Policies and Procedures Manual one or more committees of its members. The committees shall have the powers and duties specified in the resolution or the SNS Policies and Procedures Manual, which may include delegation of one or more of the powers and duties of the House of Delegates other than the powers to amend these Bylaws or remove Board Members and other elected officers;
.9 Amend the Bylaws of SNS in accordance with Section 11.3; and
.10 Remove from office any Board Members, members of the Board of Review, or committee chairs, members or coordinators who have failed to attend to their official duties or member responsibilities or have done so improperly, or who would be subject to penalty by the Board of Review for any of the reasons set forth in Section 010.4.7 C. However, no Board Member, Board of Review member or elected committee chair or coordinator may be removed except upon not less than 30 days written notice by the Secretary or other officer designated by the House of Delegates specifying the alleged deficiency in the performance of member responsibilities or specific official duties or other reason. All notices and proceedings under this section shall be prepared, served and processed utilizing the procedures for a formal hearing pursuant to Section 10.6.1 to the extent applicable. Should the Board Member, Board of Review member or elected committee chair or coordinator contest the alleged deficiency or other reason alleged in the notice, the House of Delegates shall hold a hearing at which the defendant shall have the same rights as if the hearing were to be conducted by the Board of Review pursuant to Article 10.
4.5 ANNUAL AND REGULAR MEETINGS - The annual meeting of the House of Delegates of SNS shall be held on the fourth Tuesday of June of each year.
4.6 SPECIAL MEETINGS - The Board of Directors or the General Chair may call special meetings of the House of. Should the Board of Directors or the General Chair fail to call the annual meeting or should a special meeting be appropriate or helpful, a meeting of the House of Delegates may be called by a petition signed by at least five members of the House of Delegates, or by at least three Board Members.
4.7 MEETING LOCATION AND TIME - All meetings of the House of Delegates shall take place at a site within the Territory. The House of Delegates or the Board of Directors shall determine the location and time of all meetings of the House of Delegates.
4.8 NOMINATING COMMITTEE -
.1 MEMBERS OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE; ELECTION - The Nominating Committee shall comprise the Immediate Past General Chair and not fewer than four Individual Members elected in odd-numbered years by the House of Delegates or the Board of Directors if the House of Delegates does not act in a timely fashion to serve until their successors are elected. Either the House of Delegates or the Nominating Committee may designate a number greater than four from time to time. Each Nominating Committee member shall be a member of the House of Delegates and no more than two (two-fifths if there are more than five members of the Nominating Committee) shall be Executive Committee members. Section 6.6.3 shall apply to members of the Nominating Committee, but service as the immediate Past General Chair shall not be counted for that purpose. If any member of the Nominating Committee resigns or otherwise becomes unable to participate in its affairs, the General Chair, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, shall appoint a successor to serve until the next meeting of the House of Delegates.
.2 CHAIR ELECTED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE - The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the members of the Nominating Committee present at a meeting called promptly after the members are elected or appointed.
.3 DUTIES OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE - A slate of candidates for election as officers, committee chairs, coordinators, and members of the Board of Review to be elected at the next annual meeting shall be prepared by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee may in its discretion nominate a slate of one person for each position to be filled or may nominate more than one candidate for one or more of the positions. The Nominating Committee shall also nominate a slate of candidates for the Nominating Committee to be elected at the same annual meeting of the House of Delegates.
.4 PUBLICATION OF NOMINATIONS - Nominations by the Nominating Committee shall be published by distributing a slate of candidates together with the positions for which they have been nominated to each member of the House of Delegates and to each Group Member not less than twenty (20) calendar days prior to the election. This notice may be combined with the notice of the meeting pursuant to Section 4.15.1 where convenient. See Section 16.1.5 for the methods that may be used for the distribution.
.5 ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS - Additional nominations may be made from the floor of the House of Delegates by any member of the House of Delegates eligible to vote.
.6 MEETINGS AND NOTICES - Meetings of the Nominating Committee shall take place at a site within the Territory when called by the Chair or any three members of the Committee with a minimum of six days notice required. Pertinent provisions of Sections 7.5 through 7.11 and Section 16.1.5 also shall apply to the Nominating Committee's meetings and notices.
.7 QUORUM - A quorum for any meeting of the Nominating Committee shall consist of not fewer than four members. The committee shall act by a majority vote of its members voting in any meeting at which a quorum is present.
4.9 MEETINGS OPEN; EXECUTIVE SESSIONS -
.1 HOUSE OF DELEGATES - House of Delegates meetings shall be open to all members of SNS and USA-S. Issues pertaining to personnel, disciplinary action, legal, tax or similar affairs of SNS shall be deliberated and decided in a closed executive session that only House of Delegates members may attend. By a majority vote on a motion of a question of privilege, the House of Delegates may decide to go into executive session on any matter deserving of confidential treatment or of personal concern to any member of the House.
.2 HOUSE OF DELEGATES COMMITTEES - All meetings and deliberations of the Nominating Committee shall be conducted in executive (closed) session. Meetings of all other committees established by the House of Delegates shall be open to all members of SNS and USA-S unless otherwise provided by the House of Delegates resolution creating the committee or by a vote of the committee as provided by the rules of the Parliamentary Authority.
4.10 QUORUM - A quorum of the House of Delegates shall consist of those members present and voting.
4.11 VOTING - Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws or the Parliamentary Authority, all motions, orders and other propositions coming before the House of Delegates shall be determined by a majority vote. A motion or order calling for the removal of a member of the Board of Review pursuant to Section 4.4.10 shall be determined by a two-thirds vote after at least 30 days notice. See also Section 11.3 regarding amendment of these Bylaws.
4.12 PROXY VOTE - Voting by proxy in any meeting of the House of Delegates shall not be permitted.
4.13 MAIL VOTE - Any action which may be taken at any regular or special meeting of the House of Delegates, except elections, removals of Board Members, members of the Board of Review, elected committee chairs or coordinators and amendments of these Bylaws, may be taken without a meeting. If an action is taken without a meeting, the Secretary, by first class mail, postage prepaid, shall distribute a written ballot to every member of the House of Delegates entitled to vote on the matter. The ballot shall set forth the proposed action, provide an opportunity to specify approval or disapproval, and provide a reasonable time (but in no event less than the period specified in Section 4.15.1) within which to return the ballot to the Secretary. Action by written ballot shall be valid only when the number of votes cast in favor of the proposed action within the time period specified constitutes a majority of the votes entitled to be cast.
4.14 ORDER OF BUSINESS - At all meetings of the House of Delegates the following shall be included in the order of business to the extent applicable. The order in which the various subjects are taken up may be varied.
Roll Call
Reading, correction and adoption of minutes of previous meeting
Reports of officers
Reports of committees and coordinators
Presentation and approval of the annual budget
Presentation and approval of the annual audit pursuant to Section 8.5,
when applicable
Unfinished (old) business
Elections
New business
Resolutions and orders
Adjournment
4.15 NOTICES -
.1 TIME - Not less than twenty (20) days written notice shall be given to each member of the House of Delegates and each Group Member for any annual, regular or special meeting of the House of Delegates. See Section 16.1.5 for the various permitted forms of notice.
.2 INFORMATION - The notice of a meeting shall contain the time, date and site. For special meetings of the House of Delegates, the expected purpose (which may be general) of the meeting shall be stated. If an expected purpose is the amendment of the Bylaws, a copy of the proposed amendment shall be included in the notice. Failure to have included in the notice any germane amendments subsequently adopted by the House of Delegates at the noticed meeting shall not be the basis for any claim that the amendments as so adopted are invalid.
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