Bylaws

ARTICLE I. Membership and Dues

Section l. Persons who are members of the American Sociological Association and who subscribe to the objectives of the Section, may become Members. The dues for Membership in the Section shall be determined by the Section Council.

Section 2. Members of the Section shall have the right to attend all meetings of the Section and shall be entitled to one subscription to the Section newsletter. Members shall have the right to initiate new business for the Section, by submitting a proposal in writing to the Section Chair or co-Chair(s). The Section Chair (or co-Chair(s)) shall refer the proposal with its recommendation for action to the Section Council. Only Members of the Section shall have the right to vote and to hold elected office in the Section.

Section 5. All Members of the Section shall comply with the provisions of the ASA Code of Ethics, as adopted and revised from time to time by the membership of the Association. Membership in the Section may be suspended or terminated, and the privileges of membership may be suspended wholly or in part, for failure to adhere to the Code of Ethics.

Section 6. Upon the failure to pay annual dues, membership and the privileges of membership in the Section, including subscriptions to the Section’s publications and the right to vote, shall be terminated on July l of the year following the last year for which a full payment of dues has been made.

Section 7. An application for membership received prior to October l in any year shall be dated back to January l of that year. An application for membership received on or after October l shall generally be dated forward to January l of the next year.

Section 8. Dues of Members from other countries who are residing abroad may be reduced at the discretion of the Section Council.

ARTICLE II. Elections And Voting

Section l. The Chair(s) of the Section, Chair(s)-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, members of the Council, and Committees who are elected, shall be elected by the members qualified to vote and shall serve for a term of two years. In order to activate elections, an exception to this procedure takes place in the initial year of electing officers—2006—in which the voting will be done exclusively by the members of the Section Council, at the Council meeting, with the Co-Chairs acting as the Nominating Committee. The new Co-Chairs will take office at the close of the 2006 annual meeting. The term of office for positions Elect shall begin on the date announced for the close of the Annual Meeting of the Section in the year during which they are elected. At the close of the 2006 meetings there will be no officers Elect. There will be an election in the spring of 2007 for positions Elect who will take Elect status in their positions immediately and then take office at the close of the 2008 meetings. In the spring of 2008 there will be another election for positions Elect who will take on Elect status at the close of the 2008 meetings and then take over their positions at the close of the 2010 meetings. After the 2008 election the Section will be caught up, all positions and positions Elect will be filled and elections will only be held every two years.

Section 2. (a) The Nominations Committee shall select the names for the offices of Section Chair(s), Chairs-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and for each vacancy on the Council. (b) Prior to the time of decisions by the Nominations Committee, Members and Student Members shall be invited to suggest names for nominations for all elective offices (unless the Chair(s) are acting as the nominating committee); the Committee shall be guided but not bound by the suggestions received. (c) Prior to the submission of the official ballot for the election, the nominees of the Committee on Nominations shall be made known to the membership (Except in the first year of the By-Laws – 2006 – in which the voting will be done by the council only at the annual meeting). The Committee will take any proposals for additions to the ballot under advisement, but need not make any changes to the ballot. (d) Members of the Nominations Committee shall be appointed by the members of the Section Council. (e) In the event that no Nominations Committee has been appointed, in any year the Chair(s) shall act as the Nominations Committee.

Section 3. In all years following the acceptance of these by-laws in 2006, the general election ballots shall be sent to the members eligible to vote no later than May 15 of each year. To be valid as votes ballots must be returned to ASA staff by the date specified on the ballot, which shall be no less than thirty days from the date ballots were submitted to members. Procedures for the counting of ballots are usually handled by the ASA staff and shall insure the anonymity of individual voters. In 2006 only voting will be done by the Section Council at the Council meeting and the result made known at that meeting and at the business meeting following.

Section 4. In all years following the acceptance of these by-laws in 2006, for the positions of Chair(s), Chair(s)-Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer a majority of those members voting is required before a candidate is declared elected. If none of the candidates receives a majority of those members voting, the election shall be decided in accordance with procedures adopted by Council. For other elected positions, including Council and the Nominations Committee, the candidate (or candidates when two or more vacancies are to be filled) receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected. In case of a tie vote, the Chair(s), shall decide by lot between them. For all positions other than Chair(s), Chair(s)-Elect, Past-Chair(s), if the elected person dies, resigns, or becomes unable to complete the full term for which that person was elected, the candidate who received the next highest number of votes shall be declared elected for the remainder of the term, unless otherwise specified herein.

Section 5. ASA staff are responsible for the conduct of elections and for the tabulation of ballots. Upon notification from ASA, the Chair(s) shall report the results of tabulations to the Secretary-Treasurer and to the appropriate Committees. The Chair(s) may arrange for outside review of election and counting procedures.

ARTICLE III. Officers

Section l.  The Chair(s) of the Section shall preside at all meetings of the Section. The Chair(s) shall also chair the Council and shall perform such duties as may be assigned to the Chair(s) by the Council. The Chair(s) shall have the authority to fill any vacancies that may occur on committees for the remainder of unexpired terms except as otherwise provided. In the event of the death, resignation, absence or inability to serve of the Chair(s), the duties of the Chair(s) shall devolve successively upon the Co-Chair (if there is one), and then on the Chair(s)-Elect. The officer concerned shall become Chair(s) if that officer is to serve a full term and shall become Acting Chair(s) if only a partial term to be served. In the event of the death, resignation, or absence of the Chair(s)-Elect, the office and duties of the Chair(s)-Elect shall devolve on a person or persons to be appointed by the Council. The Chair(s) of the Section shall make decisions and conduct the actual process of affiliating the Section with other Sections, societies, or associations. The Chair(s) may do this with or without the recommendations of the Council. The Chair(s) may also appoint a representative of the Section to engage in the process of securing and maintaining such affiliations. The Chair(s) of the section shall appoint the Editor of the Newsletter. Incoming Chairs may reappoint the existing Editor and there is no limit to the number of terms that a successful Editor can be appointed to. The Chair(s) shall appoint a committee of three to decide on an annual publication prize. The Chair(s) shall appoint one of the three to Chair this committee. In any given year the Chair(s) may decide to hold a competition for both student papers/ dissertations, and scholarly publications, or to hold a competition for only one of these. In any given year they may decide to hold a competition for a distinguished career of scholarship award. They may decide to hold the competitions every two years or to hold a student competition one year and a scholarly competition the next. In any given year the Chair(s) may announce that the scholarly competition is only for books, only for published articles, or both. In any given year, the Committee may deem there to be lack of sufficient quality publications to make an award.
The Chair(s) shall serve a term of office of two years.

Section 2. 

The Secretary-Treasurer shall chair meetings of the Section and the Council in the absence of the Chair(s). In the event of the death, resignation, or inability to serve of the Secretary-Treasurer, or in the event that the Secretary-Treasurer succeeds to the office of Chair(s) or is elected to the office of Chair(s)-Elect, the duties of the Secretary-Treasurer shall devolve upon the Secretary-Treasurer-Elect who shall serve the remainder of that term as Acting Secretary-Treasurer, and shall then serve
as Secretary-Treasurer for the term for which the Secretary-Treasurer-Elect was originally elected.
If the Secretary-Treasurer succeeds to the office of Acting Chair, the Council position of the Secretary-Treasurer-Elect shall remain vacant until the next election. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be an advisory and recording officer of the Section and shall provide liaison between the Chair(s) and the Council at the request of either. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record and report the transactions of the Section and the Council, shall work closely with various committees as requested, and shall perform such other duties as the Council may assign. Each year the Secretary- Treasurer shall provide the Association with a written report recording the Secretary- Treasurer's views on the organization and activities of the Section. In the event of the death, resignation, or inability to serve of the Secretary- Treasurer, the office and duties of the Secretary-Treasurer shall devolve upon the Secretary-Treasurer-Elect, if there is a Secretary-Treasurer-Elect at that time. Otherwise, the Council shall select a member of the Section to serve as Acting Secretary-Treasurer and to fulfill the duties of the Secretary-Treasurer until the next election, at which time a Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected in the prescribed way but without serving two years as Secretary/Treasurer-Elect. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of office of two years.

Section 3. (a) The Council shall meet once annually in conjunction with the annual convention of the Association and may convene by email whenever necessary in between annual meetings. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Chair(s) or by a majority of the members of the Section Council. (b) Meetings of the Section Council may be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order, the enforcement of which may be requested by any member of the Council. (c) The Council may make recommendations to the Chair(s) to cooperate or affiliate with other societies and associations. When appropriate it may recommend representatives from this Association to such other societies or associations. The Chair(s) may also make decisions to cooperate or affiliate with other societies, sections, or associations without the approval of the Council. The Chair(s) appoints representatives when they are necessary. The Council may also make the recommendation to the Chair(s) that the Section recognize other societies or associations as cooperating or affiliated organizations for purposes of planning programs or other activities. (d) All actions taken by the Council must be communicated to the Chair(s) promptly and communicated to the members of the Section at the annual meeting, or by other means as deemed necessary by the Council. (e) The Council may recommend that the Chair(s) create such temporary committees not provided in the Constitution and By-Laws as may seem useful for promoting the work of the Section. The Chair(s) shall appoint members of such committees. The Chair(s) shall appoint the Chair of the publication awards
committee, and the two members of this committee at (for continuing Chairs) or after (in years when Chair(s)-Elect are taking office) the annual meeting. (f) Any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the Council may be taken when the Council is not in session, provided all members of the Council consent in writing by signing their name and set forth in the same writing the action or decision taken or made. Consent in writing shall have the same force and effect as a unanimous vote, and may be described as such. Requests for actions by members of the Council may be submitted to members by mail, electronic mail, fax, or by other means. (g) Teleconferencing. One or more members of the Council may participate in a meeting by means of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment through which all members participating in the meeting can speak to and hear each other at the same time. Participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at the meeting. (h) There will be up to twelve members of the Section Council. Every two years two members of the Council will be replaced by new Council members in a rotation. Council members who have served before may serve again. The term of office will be determined by the rotation. That is; ten Council Members were elected at the meeting in 2005. Two Council members same off in 2006 to serve as Co-Chairs and were replaced in the Council. In two years (2008) two more members of Council will be replaced in 2010, and so on every two years.

ARTICLE IV. Publications


Section l. All the publications of the Section shall be under the general direction of
the Chair(s), or such committee(s) as the Chair(s) may appoint.

Section 2. The Section newsletter shall have an editor appointed by the Chair(s). The Chair(s) shall serve as Editor-in Chief of the Newsletter.

Section 3. The Editor and Editor-in Chief of the newsletter shall be responsible for the editorial management of the publication. The Editor in consultation with the Chair(s) shall have the authority to appoint such special issue editors as the Editor may deem necessary. Each Editor must work within the policies established by the Committee on Publications and within the budget set by the Council.

Section 5. The Editor shall have the right to reject for publication any paper or other communication that is submitted. Only the Chair(s) (as Editor-in Chief) can overrule such decisions.

Section 6. Publication of official news and notes, and matters pertaining to the business affairs of the Association shall be published as appropriate in either the newsletter or by email messages to the membership.

ARTICLE V. Committees

Section 1. Committee on Publications. (a) There shall be a Committee on Publications, consisting of the Chair, the Secretary-Treasurer, and from one to three members appointed by the Council. The Chair of the Section shall serve as the Chair of the Committee on Publications. (b) The Committee on Publications shall be responsible for all proposals for the establishment of a new publication or for major modifications in an existing publication of the Section, subject to the approval of the Council.

Section 2. Committee on Nominations. The Committee on Nominations shall be appointed by the Chair(s) from members of the Council.

Section 3. Program Committee. The Chair(s)-Elect shall act as the program Committee for the second year following their election and for the year after that year. The Chair(s)-Elect may appoint others to assist in this regard as they so choose.

Section 4. Committee on the Executive Office and Budget. (a) The Council shall act as the committee on the Executive Office and Budget. In this capacity they will advise the Chair who has the authority to make all budgetary decisions. A treasurer will be appointed to keep records of the budget and assist the Chair(s) by keeping records of the budget and of discussions of the Council in their capacity as the committee on the Executive office and Budget.

Section 5. Committee on Awards. The Chair and members of the annual paper/publications award committee shall be appointed by the Section Chair(s). The Chair of the award committee is responsible for announcing the winner of the competition(s) to the Chair(s) of the Section so that they can announce the winner at the annual meeting of the section. The Chair of the award committee will decide on the procedures that will be used by the committee to decide on a winner in any given year. If the committee has a problem agreeing on a winner, or if any members of the committee have any problems with the procedure, the Chair of the committee has the right to make a final decision about the winner independently of the recommendations of the whole committee so that there may be a winner.

Section 6. Replacing Chairs and Members of Committees. In the event of the anticipated or actual absence of one or more members of a committee at scheduled committee meetings, the Chair(s) are empowered to appoint temporary members using the criteria for selection ordinarily employed in appointing members for the committee in question. The Chair(s) are also empowered to designate temporary chairs for all committees in the event of anticipated or actual absence of the regularly appointed chair of that committee. Temporary members or chairs of any committee shall have all the powers respectively of regular members or chairs for the period of their temporary appointment.

ARTICLE VI. Budget

Section 1. At each annual meeting, a budget covering all anticipated expenditures and income of the Section for that year shall be submitted by the Secretary/Treasurer(s) to the Section Council for approval. The Secretary/Treasurer(s) shall review the budget during the year and submit proposed changes to the Chair(s) for approval.

Section 2. At the end of each fiscal year, the accounts of the Section shall be reviewed by the Council and a report made available at the Council meeting, the business meeting and to the ASA, or by other means as deemed necessary by the Section Council.

ARTICLE VII. Amendments

Section 1. The By-Laws may be accepted and/or amended by a majority affirmative vote of members of the Section Council. This may be done at the annual meeting or electronically.