Bylaws

TASMA Bylaws
July 31, 2012
ARTICLE I – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. CATEGORIES
a. REGULAR membership is open to any person who is authorized to operate an amateur
radio station on frequencies within the two-meter band.
b. DELEGATE membership is open to any person who (1) qualifies for membership
under section 1a and (2) is authorized to represent any club or organization, the
interests of which include two-meter operations.
Section 2. APPLICATION
Application for membership shall be made through the Secretary of the Association, and shall
require a concurrent payment of one year’s dues.
Section 3. RIGHTS OF MEMBERSHIP
a. A voting member is defined as a member that held a paid membership 45 days prior
and concurrent with the voting. Each member shall have one vote.
b. In cases where a member cannot be present at a Meeting, that member may vote with
respect to the election of officers, and any other published agenda item, by written
ballot, delivered to the Secretary of the Association before or during balloting.
ARTICLE II – OFFICERS (Amended 06/05/98 & 12/5/09)
Section 1
The Officers of the Association shall be:
a. Chairman
b. Vice-Chairman
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Board Member At Large (Amended 06/05/98)
f. Membership Director (Amended 12/5/09)
g. Internet Services Manager (Amended 12/5/09)
These elected officers shall be the Board of Directors of the Association.
Section 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
a. Nominations of officers will be held at the regular meeting immediately prior to the
Annual Meeting. A slate of persons running for office shall be printed in the mailing
preceding the Annual Meeting.
b. Nominees for any TASMA officer position shall have maintained continuous
membership for at least one year and be at least 18 years of age at the commencement
of term of office. (Amended 4/13/2002)
c. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting. Only
members may make nominations.
d. Balloting shall be in accordance with ARTICLE IV, Section 4 of these Bylaws.
e. In the event of a vacancy of office, a special election shall be held at the next regularly
scheduled meeting of the Association. Advance notice of special elections is not
required.
Section 3. TERM OF OFFICE
The term of the elected office shall be one (1) year commencing January 1 and concluding
December 31, or concluding with the election of his successor.
Section 4. VACANCY OF OFFICE
Resignation from office shall be by oral or written notification to the Chairman, except that
resignation of the Chairman shall be to the Secretary.
Section 5. DUTIES OF THE CHAIRMAN
The Chairman:
a. Shall administer association affairs.
b. Shall appoint committees, specifying the goals and functions thereof, and shall be
responsible for maintaining committee activity toward those stated goals.
c. Shall appoint a Database Manager.
d. Shall preside at the Annual, Board, Special, and General Meetings.
e. Shall not vote, except in the case of a tie, in which case he shall cast the deciding vote.
f. Shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
g. Shall be responsible for the adherence of the Association to its Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws.
h. If the elected Chairman is a delegate member of a club or organization, pursuant to
ARTICLE I, Section 1b, the vote of the Chairman shall be delegated to an alternate
member of the Association, of the Chairman’s choosing, who shall exercise
independent discretion in casting the deciding vote. No member may be selected as
an alternate who, by reason of absence or abstention, did not cast his own vote prior
to the Chairman’s selection of an alternate.
i. (Amended 12/17/2005) (Deleted 12/5/09)
Section 6. DUTIES OF THE VICE-CHAIRMAN
The Vice-Chairman of the Association shall assist the Chairman in the Discharge of his
duties, and shall assume the duties of the Chairman in his absence.
Section 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY
The Secretary:
a. Shall retain Association records.
b. Shall record the minutes of all meetings of the Association, including General, Board,
Annual and meetings, and prepare those minutes for publication, if necessary.
c. Shall prepare membership mailings in accordance with these Bylaws.
d. Shall distribute official correspondence and committee reports as required or directed
by the Chairman of the Association.
e. Shall transmit to each new member a copy of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
of the Association and shall provide copies thereof to other members on request.
f. Shall maintain and keep all Association minutes, correspondence and other records and
surrender these Association files to his successor.
Section 8. DUTIES OF THE TREASURER
The Treasurer:
a. Shall maintain financial and property records of the Association.
b. Shall collect membership dues.
c. Shall arrange that signatures of the Chairman and Treasurer are registered with
depositories of Association funds.
d. Shall disburse moneys, and shall retain copies of bills, vouchers, and receipts to
substantiate disbursements.
e. Shall submit quarterly financial statements of the Association to the Board of Directors
and the Association within 45 Days of the end of each quarter, and an Annual Report
at the Annual Meeting.
f. Shall be subject to annual financial audit at such times as may be required by the
Chairman.
g. Shall surrender Association financial records and funds to his successor upon
termination of his term.
Section 9. DUTIES OF THE MEMBER AT LARGE (Amended 06/05/98)
The Member at Large has no regular duties.
Section 10. DUTIES OF THE MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR (Added 12/5/09)
The Membership Director:
a. Shall maintain the membership database.
b. Shall process all membership applications.
c. Shall be responsible for leading membership drives and retaining and increasing
association membership.
d. Shall be responsible for obtaining membership statistics.
e. Shall be responsible for determining membership status and eligibility for voting.
Section 11. DUTIES OF THE INTERNET SERVICES MANAGER (added 12/5/09)
The Internet Services Manager (ISM):
a. Shall prepare and submit an expenditure plan for inclusion in the annual budget.
b. Shall arrange and manage the services of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and shall
approve invoices associated with the ISP. The ISM will keep the Board advised of all
agreements with the ISP.
c. Shall arrange for and maintain a domain name for TASMA.
d. Shall maintain mailing lists as requested by the Board and update these lists as
requested. The ISM shall moderate use of these lists in accordance with direction from
the Board.
e. Shall arrange for a Webmaster to maintain a TASMA web site under the direction of
the Board.
f. Shall maintain a file server for use by the Board, the Newsletter Editor, the database
Manager, the Technical Committee and other entities identified by the Board. Access
privileges shall be maintained in accordance with Board direction.
Section 12. REMOVAL OF AN OFFICER (Renumbered 12/5/09)
a. Any officer of the Association may be removed from office for acting outside of these
Bylaws, neglect of duty, or otherwise putting the association in possible jeopardy.
b. An officer can only be removed by a majority vote of the Association voting members
at a general meeting or a special meeting.
c. A motion to remove an officer must be made and seconded from the floor at a general
or special meeting, at which time it becomes an agenda item for the next general
meeting or special meeting.
d. All members of the Association must be notified of the motion to remove said officer,
and the time, location and date of the General or special meeting in which the vote
regarding the removal of the officer will take place, not less than (1) week prior to the
meeting.
e. Upon an officer being removed from office, Article II, Section 2d of these Bylaws shall
govern the election of a replacement officer.
ARTICLE III – COMMITTEES and APPOINTED POSITIONS
Section 1.
a. The Technical Committee shall prepare and submit a Band Plan and Technical
Standards to the membership for approval. These documents will describe the
spectrum plan for the 2-Meter Band and the functional standards for having
coordination on this band. The Technical Committee is bound by these documents,
once approved. All changes to these documents require a majority approval of both
the Technical Committee and the voting membership at a General or Special
Meeting.
b. The Chairman of the Association shall designate all committees and appoint a
Chairman of each such committee from members of the Association. The
appointments of committee members must be approved by the Board of Directors.
c. The Chairman of the Association shall appoint a member of the Association to be the
Database Manager. The appointment of the Database Manager must be approved by
the Board of Directors.
d. Association appointees, committee chairs, and committee members terms are
concurrent with that of the Chairman of the Association and terminate upon the
termination of the Chairman.
e. An Association appointee may only be removed from his appointment at the request of
the Chairman of the Association with the consent of the Board of Directors.
Section 2. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
a. Requests for frequency coordination shall be made in writing to the Technical
Committee using the forms provided by the association in compliance with the
coordination guidelines establish by the Board of Directors. The Technical
Committee, wherever consistent with FCC Part 97, the Articles of Incorporation and
Bylaws of the Association and in strict accordance with the guidelines established by
the Board of Directors, shall coordinate frequencies and repeater activities in a given
area based on information provided by the Applicants therefor.
b. The applicant shall provide, at his expense, such studies, surveys, research, and
findings on technical and engineering matters, including equipment design, antenna
configuration and location, frequency coordination, control functions, deviation
levels, and related technical parameters, as may be required by the Technical
Committee for the purpose of analyzing and acting upon the applicant’s request.
c. The Secretary of the Technical Committee shall be elected by the Technical
Committee, from among its members, and shall maintain records, handle
correspondence, and prepare agendas for Technical Committee meetings.
d. The Chairman of the Technical Committee may appoint Sub-committees on specific
subjects as necessary or as directed by the Chairman of the Association. The Subcommittee
Chairman shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Technical
Committee, with approval of the Board of Directors.
e. The Technical Committee shall meet to address pending applications for frequency
coordination and other matters, at such times and places as shall be designated by the
Chairman of the Technical Committee.
f. A report of actions taken by the Technical Committee shall be returned to the Board of
Directors, the applicant, and all other affected parties as soon as possible after the
meeting at which the applicant’s request was considered, but not to exceed (45) days.
g. The decisions of any TASMA Committee may be appealed by any member of the
Association to the Board of Directors, but may not be appealed to the committee. All
appeals must be in writing explaining the points of the appeal and contain supporting
documents, and must be made no later than 90 days after proof of notification of the
committee action or decision. The Board of Directors must review and act on a
properly submitted appeal within 90 days of receipt of the appeal. A decision of a
TASMA committee can only be over turned by a majority vote of the TASMA Board
of Directors. The decision of the TASMA board of directors on an appeal shall be
final.
h. The Board of Director may overturn, reverse, or modify the actions or decisions of
committees if they are found to have been made in violation of these Bylaws.
Section 3. DATABASE MANAGER (Amended 10/27/00)
a. The Database Manager shall be responsible for maintaining and keeping current a
database of all repeater coordinations.
b. The Database Manager shall provide the Board and Committee Chairs all information
requested from the database.
c. The Database Manager shall be provided all information regarding new coordination,
and changes in coordination. (Amended 10/27/00)
d. The Database Manager shall produce and forward completed frequency grant forms
and notifications to the technical committee after coordination information has been
received and entered in the database.
e. The Database Manager shall not provide any information from the Associations
databases to any parties except the Board of Directors and Association Committees
with out the prior approval of the Board of Directors.
f. The Database Manager shall return all Association records and databases to the Board
of Directors at which time his appointment is terminated.
g. The Association databases are the sole property of the Association.
Section 4. (Deleted 12/5/09)
ARTICLE IV – MEETINGS
Section 1. GENERAL (Amended 10/27/00)
a. The general membership shall meet three (3) times a year, April, August and
December. Each meeting shall be preceded by an agenda, to be transmitted in writing
and/or electronically at least (14) days prior to the scheduled date of the meeting.
(Amended
b. The December meeting shall be the Annual Meeting. (Amended 10/27/00)
c. Special Meetings may be called by the Chairman or by majority vote of the Board of
Directors to conduct business that cannot be deferred until the next scheduled
General, Technical or Annual Meeting. If any regular business (with the exception of
amendments to the Bylaws of the Association) is pending at the time a Special
Meeting is called, such regular business may also be conducted, without notice, at
such Special Meeting.
d. The Board of Directors may meet separately to conduct business other than
coordination issues and appeals.
e. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Bylaws of the Association and in
accordance with parliamentary practice as set forth in the most recent edition of
Robert’s Rules of Order.
f. For purposes of determining a quorum, annual general and special meetings shall
require the lesser of 15 members, or a 10 percent attendance of the regular members
in good standing to conduct business. Board meetings shall require a majority
attendance of the officers, and committee meetings shall require a majority
attendance of the committee members. (Amended 4/13/2002)
Section 2. NOTIFICATION OF MEETINGS
a. Any group or individual being placed on a meeting agenda shall be sent notification of
said meeting at least (14) days in advance of the meeting. They shall also be sent the
location and time of the meeting, and subject of the said agenda. (Amended 06/05/98)
b. Each member shall be notified in writing of the time and place of the Annual Meeting
at least (14) days in advance of the Annual Meeting. Such notification may be
concurrent with the transmittal of the agenda of the Annual Meeting.
c. All members of the Association must be notified of the motion, time, location and date
of the General or special meeting in which the vote regarding the removal of the
officer will take place not less than (14) days prior to the meeting.
Section 3. ORDER OF BUSINESS
a. The business of the Annual Meeting shall be conducted in the following sequence:
1. Registration 7. Committee Reports
2. Call to Order 8. Unfinished Business
3. Introductions 9. Election of Officers
4. Approval of Previous Minutes 10. New Business
5. Treasurers Report 11. Next Meeting Date/Location
6. Correspondence
b. Special Meetings may follow any order of business or agenda determined to be
appropriate by the Chairman of the Association or the Chairman of the Committee or
Sub-committee which has caused the Special Meeting to be called.
Section 4. BALLOTING
Balloting at Meetings, shall be of eligible votes cast on a ballot as verified and determined by
the Secretary.
ARTICLE V – COMMUNICATIONS
Section 1. COMMUNICATIONS
A copy of any communication or statement by or addressed to the Association or its officers,
which in the opinion of the Chairman of the Association is of interest to the general
membership, shall be transmitted by regular mail to each member, by the Secretary of the
Association.
Section 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS
Correspondence or communication concerning personal phone numbers, system control
information, exact repeater site location, or other information of a personal or sensitive nature
may be requested by the person making the communication, or any other person having a
reasonable interest therein, to be held in confidence by the Association, and such information
shall be withheld from publication or public scrutiny.
ARTICLE VI – DUES (Amended 10/27/00, 12/06/08)
a. The dues for membership in the Association shall be recommended by the Officers of
the Association, which shall be due and payable upon application for membership and
shall be due at the beginning of each fiscal year thereafter. In the absence of action on the
part of the Officers, the dues are established at Ten Dollars ($10) per year. The Officers
may recommend a change to the dues at any time by formal vote and the change shall be
voted on at the General meeting. If approved, it shall become immediately effective.
(Amended 4/9/2005, 12/06/08)
b. Failure to remit dues within ninety (90) days after expiration the end of membership
each fiscal year, shall result in the member being dropped from the membership. Any
person so dropped from membership may seek reinstatement to membership only upon
resubmitting of an application for membership and the membership dues to the Secretary
of the Association. (Amended 10/27/00, 12/06/08)
c. TASMA shall adopt a fiscal year beginning on 1 January of each year and extending
through 31 December. (Amended 12/06/08)
ARTICLE VII – PROPERTY OF THE ASSOCIATION
a. The Association may acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in
accordance with Articles of Incorporation of the Association.
b. Distribution of funds or interest in real or personal property, shall be on an equal basis
to each member in good standing of the Association at the time the distribution is
made.
c. In the event that it becomes necessary for the Association to dispose of real or personal
property, the preferred disposition shall be liquidation of the property for cash. The
method of liquidation, and the reasonable or fair market value of the property to be
liquidated, shall be at the discretion of the Technical Committee.
The Bylaws were revised and adopted at a General Meeting held 6/5/1998 and superseded all
prior issues. The revised Bylaws were first officially published 6/19/1999 following
ratification by the 1999 Board. Amendments to the Bylaws were approved on 10/27/2000,
4/13/2002, 4/9/2005, 12/17/2005, and 12/06/2008 by the General Membership. Amendments
are noted in the body of the document.