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To the Officers, Directors and Members of Texas Chapter IAAI, The following proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws have been received and reviewed by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee. The affected sections are listed below, along with the name of the author of the proposal and any supporting comments provided by the author. Further, you will find comments of, and the recommendation reached by the majority of the committee members on each proposal. Underlined text indicates proposed additions, strikethrough text indicates proposed deletions. Respectfully submitted, Constitution and By-Laws Committee: Paul Cunningham; Kurt Harris; Michael Laws; Gary Nabors, Chair Proposed Amendment No. 1: Article IV GOVERNMENT Section 9. ELECTION. Officers and other members of the Board shall be elected at the annual meeting of the organization to fill terms soon to expire, unless otherwise ordered by resolution or motion duly approved by the membership. a. Only one Board member or officer maybe elected from a department or agency. To, be eligible for nomination as an officer, the candidate must have served one full term on the Board of Directors. b. No member may be nominated for more than one position per election. c. Nominating Committee members cannot be nominated for an elective office without first resigning from the nominating committee. d. Vice Presidents shall advance to the next vacancy until reaching the office of President, unless removed for just cause. Proposed by: Ken Finley, CFI President, Texas Chapter IAAI Supporting Comments: “To encourage and allow more participation from the membership in running for and holding office.” Constitution and By-Laws Committee: The committees recalls a time period in which our board was composed largely of members concentrated from a single region of the state, producing the illusion of the board being more of a “clique” than a group of people who represent the interest of fire investigators across the entire state. Having more than one member from a single department or agency may rekindle and/or strengthen that illusion. The committee recommends the amendment be not adopted. Proposed Amendment No. 2: ARTICLE III ELECTION, TERMS, AND OFFICES Section 3. TERMS OF OFFICE. The officers shall hold office from the time of their election and qualification for terms of two years one year, or until the election and qualification of their respective successors. Other members of the Board shall hold office from the time of their election and qualification for terms of three years. Their terms shall be so arranged that three retire each year. No member of the Board of Directors shall succeed himself/herself from an expiring two full terms of office. Ex-officio members of the Board of Directors, excepting Past Presidents, shall serve one year, or until the qualification of their respective successor. Proposed by: Ken Finley, CFI President, Texas Chapter IAAI Supporting Comments: “To lessen the commitment of time in service to the chapter of an officer from six (6) years to three (3) years and by doing so, encouraging and allowing more participation from the membership in running for and holding office.” Constitution and By-Laws Committee: The committee agrees that the prospect of a three-year, rather than a six-year commitment may present a less overwhelming commitment to a prospective nominee for the office of 2nd Vice President, and the amendment as proposed may make serving as an officer in the chapter more attractive to members. The committee recommends the proposed amendment be adopted. Proposed Amendment No. 3: ARTICLE III ELECTION, TERMS, AND OFFICES Section 2. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The officers and nine six other members of the organization, duly elected, shall constitute the Board of Directors. Proposed by: Ken Finley, CFI President, Texas Chapter IAAI Supporting Comments: “To establish a more realistic ratio of the total number of members to the number of members on the Board of Directors and by doing so establish a more effective Board of Directors in terms of attendance and participation on Board of Directors meetings, and (2) to facilitate a more competitive election process.” Constitution and By-Laws Committee: There have been several schools of thought among the committee members on this topic. It is definitely agreed that two candidates for a position on the Board of Directors (BOD) would more likely surface than would three. However, as for participation by BOD members, regardless of the total number, it still requires one more than half of the total to establish a quorum. And, leaving the number at nine will potentially increase the number of qualified candidates for officer positions. The committee therefore recommends the amendment be not adopted. Proposed Amendment No. 4: ARTICLE III ELECTION, TERMS, AND OFFICES Section 3. TERMS OF OFFICE. The officers shall hold office from the time of their election and qualification for terms of two years, or until the election and qualification of their respective successors. Other members of the Board shall hold office from the time of their election and qualification for terms of three years. Their terms shall be so arranged that three two retire each year. No member of the Board of Directors shall succeed himself/herself from an expiring two full terms of office. Ex-officio members of the Board of Directors, excepting Past Presidents, shall serve one year, or until the qualification of their respective successor. Proposed by: Ken Finley, CFI President, Texas Chapter IAAI Supporting Comments: “To conform with the prior motion concerning the reduction of the BOD from 9 members to 6 members.” Constitution and By-Laws Committee: Since this proposed amendment is intended to conform with the previous proposed amendment, the committee recommends that this proposed amendment be adopted only if the previous proposed amendment is adopted. Proposed Amendment No. 5: ARTICLE IV GOVERNMENT Section 8. EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS All Ex-Officio members shall have the privileges of attending and participating in all meetings of the Board, but shall not have voting power in such meeting. This section, shall not, nor shall any other section of the Constitution and By-Laws preclude any ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Chapter from also serving as an officer or director of the Board of Director of the Texas Chapter. Such elected or appointed officer or director shall, during their term in that position have the voting powers granted by that elected or appointed position. Proposed by: Gary Nabors, CFI Past President; Constitution and By-Laws Committee Chair Texas Chapter, IAAI Supporting Comments: “To clarify that any member who is an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Chapter by virtue of ARTICLE IV, SECTION 12 may also serve as an elective or appointed officer or director of the Texas Chapter and shall have full voting powers as granted by that elective or appointed position, during their term in that elective or appointed position.” Constitution and By-Laws Committee: The committee is divided on this proposed amendment, therefore we have no firm recommendation. Proposed Amendment #6: ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENT Section 1. REQUIREMENTS This Constitution may be amended at any regular or special meeting of the organization by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, providing: a. The proposed amendment is presented in a form consistent with and without conflict, with the remainder of the existing Constitution of the Chapter. b. The proposed amendment is disseminated to the general membership for review through publication in the News-Letter or, by mail, by electronic mail, or by posting on the Texas Chapter website with an electronic mail notice of the posting to the membership, at least thirty (30) days preceding the next regular or special meeting of the Chapter. c. To authorize the Constitution and By-Laws Committee to review and automatically amend, as necessary, those portions of the Constitution and By-Laws which are in conflict with existing Federal rules, regulations or laws pertaining to gender/sex discrimination. Proposed by: Gary Nabors, CFI Past President; Constitution and By-Laws Committee Chair Texas Chapter, IAAI Supporting Comments: “This is a ‘housekeeping’ issue, to clarify and reinforce the current practice of posting proposed amendments on the website, by forwarding the proposed amendments to the membership by email, or by posting the proposals on the website with an email alert of the same to the membership. This has been an accepted practice in the Texas Chapter for the last few years. I fully realize that not everyone in the organization has email access, but the greatest majority of the membership has such access, and those who are interested in the activities of the Texas chapter will take time to notify the Texas Chapter of up-to-date email addresses and will periodically check the website for updates. This procedure has significantly reduced the workload on the Secretary, and has reduced expenses for the Texas Chapter. Constitution and By-Laws Committee: The committee agrees that it is a good idea to provide this amendment for clarification of current procedures. Internet and electronic mail has become quite wide spread and provides a fast, simple and inexpensive way to disseminate information. The committee recommends that this proposed amendment be adopted.
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