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Bylaws of the Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology
Last updated 7 March 2007
Ratified by the SCB Board: July 2002
Any member of the Society for Conservation Biology who has an interest in the objectives and the activities of the Section may join the Section as a voting member. Only voting members may be elected to Section offices and vote on official matters affecting the Section. If the Section assesses dues, all voting members shall be responsible for payment.
Membership in the Section shall terminate upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (1) member's notice of such termination delivered to the President or Secretary of the Section, personally or by mail, (2) a determination by the Section Board that the member has engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interests or purposes of the Section.
There shall be nine elected officers: President, Communications Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Science Officer, Policy Officer, International Officer, and three Officers-at-Large to serve as heads of currently standing committees as deemed necessary by the Section Board. Officer positions shall be appointed by members of the Section Board of Directors at the first meeting of the Section Board of each calendar year (see Article 3 and Article 9). All officers must be voting members of the Section for their entire term of office.
The nine elected officers and the representative on the Society's Board of Governors (see Article 4, Section 1 and Article 4, Section 7) shall constitute the Board of Directors of the Section. Members of the Board of Directors shall be elected annually each year by mail or electronically via the SCB web site. Term of office shall be three years, with two members retiring and two new members elected each year. The board shall include at least one non-US citizen (see Article 3, Section 5).
Nominations for elected officers shall be solicited by the Section Board. All nominees must be voting members of the Section. The slate of nominations shall be submitted by the Communications Officer to the membership at least one month prior to the deadline for receipt of ballots by mail or email.
Written or electronic ballots shall be received from the members by a duly announced deadline and shall be counted by one or more members of the Section Board or agent(s) authorized by the SCB Board. The President shall appoint a replacement to count ballots for any member of the Section Board who has been nominated. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes on the ballots shall be declared elected.
If the office of President is vacated for any reason, the Communications Officer shall assume the duties of the President for the balance of the President's term. All other vacancies occurring during an officer's term shall be filled by appointment by the Section Board.
A special election may be held at any time during a period of dormancy (see Article 11) to reactivate the Section.
If retirement or resignation of existing member(s) results in the Board being composed of only US citizens, the next regular or special election shall include one position designated as a non-US citizen.
The President shall organize and preside over meetings and mailings (including electronic mailings) intended to substitute for meetings. The President or his/her designee shall serve as the Section's representative on the Society's Board of Governors in accordance with Section 7. The President shall receive reports from committees, and arrange meetings and other activities.
The Communications Officer shall record minutes, administer correspondence between the Section and the Society, maintain the Marine section web site. and list server, and maintain historical records and a roster of members. In addition, the Communications Officer shall prepare newsletters to members of the section and quarterly section notes for the Society newsletter. The Communications Officer shall be responsible for promoting membership and outreach via electronic publications, newsletters, list servers and web sites. This officer shall present and file an annual report of the Section's activities with the SCB Board of Governors. The Communications Officer shall perform the duties of the President when the latter is absent.
The Financial Officer shall collect dues (if any), maintain accounts, and collect and distribute funds for Section activities. The Financial Officer shall coordinate fund raising activities. The Financial Officer shall keep track of marine conservation funding opportunities to be included in the marine newsletter, list server or web site.
The Science Officer shall advise the President on science issues and prepare reviews of current marine science (compiled by the Science Committee) to be included in the newsletter, web site., and list server
The Policy Officer shall advise the President on policy issues to be presented at Society's Board of Governor's meetings, and write Resolutions and Public Advocacy statements (Article 8) on behalf of the section for review and action.
The International Officer shall promote international marine conservation through promoting international membership in the Section. The International Officer shall promote marine education through an international marine education component of the section.
The representative (the President or his/her designee, see Section 1) serves as a Member-at-Large of the Society's Board of Governors in accordance with the Society's Bylaws. Only the representative may officially represent the Section on business of the Society.
The Section Board and the membership may at any time decide to form a committee to address a particular issue. Committees shall be chaired by a voting member of the Section. Chairs will be appointed by the President with the approval of the Section Board. Committees shall be composed of interested individuals of the Section Board and the membership. The Chair shall be responsible for appointing the other members of the committee, and these members will serve at the pleasure of the Chair. All committees shall, at any time, be accountable to the Section Board.
This Committee shall keep Section members informed about current conservation issues on a regional or global scale and help facilitate awareness of regional conservation issues by Society members outside the Section. Should the membership decide to deliver Resolutions and Public Advocacy explaining the Section's view on a particular issue or controversy, such statements shall be prepared by this committee for review and action. This committee shall be chaired by the Policy Officer.
This committee shall keep Section members informed about current conservation research on a regional or global scale and help facilitate awareness of regional conservation science by Society members outside the Section. This committee shall be chaired by the Science Officer.
This committee shall act as an extension of the Section within the academic and regional community. The committee shall act as necessary to inform the public of regional and global conservation issues and shall promote the study of conservation biology. The committee also may act as a forum in which solutions to regional issues may be discussed and debated. This committee shall be chaired by the International Officer.
This committee shall assist the President-Elect in arranging the program and activities schedule for the Section, including the Members' Meeting and any alternative mechanisms intended to substitute for meetings. This committee shall organize marine activities at Society annual meetings, including marine symposia, social events, Membership meetings, and outreach events that promote membership in the marine section. This committee shall be chaired by the President.
This committee shall provide advice on development of printed and electronic publications of the Section such as newsletters and web sites. This committee also shall work with the Membership Committee and other committees of both the Section and the Society to achieve the outreach and marketing goals. This committee shall be chaired by the Communications Officer.
This committee shall be responsible for encouraging membership in both the Section and the Society, and among unaffiliated individuals involved in marine conservation biology work. The committee shall assist the Communications Officer in maintaining the list of the Section's membership and shall help facilitate any mailings to the membership. This committee shall be chaired by the Communications Officer.
This committee shall assist in building international membership and shall be responsible for forming an international marine education component of the Section. This committee shall be chaired by the International Officer.
This committee shall organize all nominations for elected offices and present to the Section Board a complete slate of nominees. This committee shall be chaired by the Communications Officer.
This committee shall ensure the annual audit, independent of the Chief Financial Officer, of the Section's financial records. The committee shall report to the President.
The Section will be supported by grants, contributions, and fund-raising activities. If section dues are assessed, they shall be collected concurrent with annual Society dues. Assessment and amount of Section dues (if any) is left to the discretion of the Section. Funds of the Section shall be under the supervision of the officers, and shall be handled by the Financial Officer. Audited financial records (see Article 6, Section 9) shall be reported to the membership.
The Section may make Resolutions and engage in Public Advocacy subject to the conditions described below.
A "Resolution" is any public statement that reflects the position or view of the Section. "Public Advocacy" is any public activity by the Section in support of a Section Resolution.
Proposed Resolutions must be presented to the membership of the Section and approved by a majority of the voting members present and voting. Presentations and voting may take place at a scheduled meeting, by mail, or by email. A voting member who is absent may file an absentee ballot. Proposed Resolutions must include the following: (i) a statement of relationship of the Resolution to the objectives of the Society, (ii) a statement of the need for the Resolution, (iii) scientific documentation concerning the circumstances of the Resolution, and (iv) a list of the proposed recipients of the Resolution.
Any Public Advocacy must be based on an approved Resolution. Proposed acts of advocacy must be presented to the membership of the Section at a scheduled meeting, by mail, or by email and approved by a majority of voting members. A voting member who is absent may file an absentee ballot.
The Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology shall claim responsibility for all Resolutions and Public Advocacy enacted by its membership. All public documents or actions shall include the statement: Resolutions (or Advocacy) of the Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Conservation Biology as a whole.
All Resolutions and supporting materials and descriptions of acts of Public Advocacy by the Section shall be forwarded to the President of the Society with the Annual Report.
A Members' Meeting shall be held each year for conducting Section business and facilitating communication among members arranged. The Meeting shall be held concurrent with the SCB Annual Meeting. Meetings of the Section Board shall be held at least twice annually. Approved meeting formats include conference calls or in person meetings. Additional correspondence formats include email, list server, and newsletter communications.
Meetings and voting deadlines shall be announced at least one month in advance. At the beginning of each meeting any Section or Society business will be discussed prior to the scheduled program. The business portion of any meeting will be run by the President or his/her designated representative. The Section's Bylaws shall be available at each meeting. [All meetings will be governed by Robert's Rules of Order (The Modern Edition, revised by Darwin Patnode, 1993).]
All votes of the Section on matters not specified in the Bylaws will be decided by a simple majority of those voting. Tie votes in Members' Meetings or in meetings of the Section Board will be broken by the presiding officer. Tie votes in committee meetings will be broken by the Chair.
10% of the Section members or 15 individuals including members represented by proxy will constitute a quorum of the Section, and 50% of Section Board members or 3 individuals shall constitute a quorum of the Section Board.
The Communications Officer shall file an annual report on the Section's activities with the President of the Society.
If the membership fails to elect a Section Board, the Section shall be considered dormant. At that time the outgoing Section Board shall forward the Section's charter, bylaws, and remaining funds to the President of the Society. The Section may be reactivated at any time within a period of two years by holding a Special Election. The purpose of the Special Election is to vote for a Section Board.
If the membership falls below 100 for longer than two years, the section shall be considered dormant. At that time the outgoing Section Board shall forward the section's charter, bylaws, and remaining funds to the President of the Society. The section may be reactivated when membership rises above 100.
Proposals to modify the Section Bylaws must be approved by a majority of the voting members present and voting at any scheduled meeting (or alternative voting mechanism) of the Section. A voting member who is absent may file an absentee ballot.
No amendment to these Bylaws shall be enacted that results in a conflict with the Bylaws of the Society. Proposed amendments to the Section Bylaws must be approved by the Society's Executive Committee of the Board of Governors before becoming effective.
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