SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHESS FEDERATION
BYLAWS
ARTICLE 1: SCOPE
Section 1. The Bylaws of the Southern California Chess
Federation (SCCF) may be amended by the Board of Directors and thus are
subservient to the Constitution which may only be amended by the membership.
Section 2. The Bylaws of the SCCF control all activities
of the SCCF not specifically regulated or prohibited by the Constitution.
ARTICLE II: TERRITORY
Section 1. The territory and jurisdiction of the SCCF,
as recognized by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), is defined by
postal zip codes 90000 through 93199 and 93300 through 93599.
ARTICLE III: AFFILIATES
Section 1. Any group that has a purpose consistent with
the SCCF may affiliate with the SCCF.
Section 2. Any group authorized to sponsor an SCCF
sanctioned tournament which has been approved by the Board or by an
appropriately empowered committee will be considered an affiliate until the
conclusion of the event.
Section 3. Except for sponsors of sanctioned
tournaments, specific approval by the Board is required for any group to be
considered an affiliate of the SCCF.
This approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Section 4. Affiliates are not agents of the SCCF and
have no rights or powers to represent the SCCF except as may be granted and
restricted as part of written agreements approved by the Board and signed by
the President, or in his absence, the Vice President.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. The membership, at its annual membership
meeting, may pass resolutions by simple majority of those present. These resolutions are advisory only; the
Board shall consider them within a six-month period.
ARTICLE V: SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEETINGS
Section 1. Regular meetings of the Board shall be
conducted a minimum of six (6) times per
year.
Section 2. Special meetings of the Board may be called by
the President or by five (5) members of the Board as follow:
A written notice including time, place, and
reason for the special meeting must be mailed to all Board members at least ten
(10) days in advance.
Special meetings must be for a specific purpose.
Business conducted at a special meeting must be strictly limited
to the announced specific purpose.
ARTICLE VI: CONDUCT OF MEETINGS
Section 1. The agenda shall be prepared or approved by
the President prior to the meeting.
Section 2. The agenda for regular Board meetings shall
include the following:
Call to order and President's remarks
Approval of the agenda
Approval of the minutes of the previous
meeting
Treasurer's report
Membership report
Committee reports
Old business
New business
Set time and place for next meeting
Adjournment
Section 3. Topics of new business may be present to the
Secretary or the President prior to the meeting. They shall be added to the agenda before the
agenda is approved. Additional topics
during the meeting require approval of an amendment to the agenda by the Board,
before the matter can be taken up.
Section 4. All regular meetings of the Board may be
recorded on audio tape.
Section 5. The acceptance of Committee reports shall not
be construed as authorizing action items.
Committees shall present separate motions for action items.
ARTICLE VII: STATEMENTS AND BUDGETS
Section 1. The Treasurer shall prepare annual and
interim statements of accounts in formats approved by the Board.
Section 2. Early in each fiscal year, the President
shall arrange a joint meeting of the President, the Treasurer and the Chairman
of the Finance Committee. The agenda for
this meeting shall include:
Recommendations to the Board for changes in formats or contents
of statements.
Review of existing operating plans and budgets.
Identifying areas in these plans which may need revision.
Providing for the periodic reporting to the Board of the
comparison between actual statements and budgeted amounts.
ARTICLE VIII:
COMMITTEES
Section 1. The standing committees of the SCCF, and their
functions, are as follows:
Clubs and Leagues Committee.
The committee reports on activities of chess clubs, and leagues in
Southern California and is responsible for programs to promote, develop and
support these activities.
Constitution and By-Laws Committee. The committee shall
review and prepare proposals to amend the SCCF Constitution,
By-Laws and Standing Rules.
Finance Committee. The
committee shall prepare and monitor budgets, audit SCCF financial records.
advise the Treasurer and Board concerning financial controls and statements.
National Events Committee.
The committee shall recommend and prepare the SCCF bids for National
Events and the formation of appropriate sub-committees to administer these
events when the bids are accepted.
Public Relations Committee.
The committee shall be responsible for programs to promote the SCCF and
chess in general to non-members and the general public.
Publications Committee.
The committee shall recommend improvements in the overall publication of
RANK AND FILE and any other publications as authorized by the Board.
Scholastic Committee.
The committee shall recommend and
administer programs for the promotion of chess in schools of all levels, and
shall hold or sanction events to award appropriate scholastic and junior state
titles.
The committee shall propose and
administer non-scholastic youth chess programs and activities throughout the
year.
Title Events Committee.
The committee shall organize or sanction adult state title events
approved by the Board, including, but not limited to, the Southern California
Open annually, and an annual or semi-annual playoff for the Southern California
Invitational Championship.
Tournament Development Committee. The committee shall:
Organize or sanction at least one
playoff qualifying event in each Southern California county annually.
Promote and administer any regional or
interstate competitions approved by the Board, unless specifically referred to
another committee by the Board.
Promote new USCF-rated tournaments in
areas of Southern California where such have been lacking.
Develop qualified tournament directors
and organizers where such are lacking.
The preferred role of the committee
shall be sanctioning local affiliates, organizers and directors, rather than
direct sponsorship. Whenever responsible
local sponsors are available, they will be given the opportunity to assume
sponsorship of local events previously administered by SCCF.
Women's Committee. The
committee shall be responsible for programs to increase chess competition by
and among women.
Section 2. The recurrent committees of the SCCF and
their functions are as follows:
Election Board. The committee
shall administer the annual nominations and elections process, as specified in
the constitution, by-laws, or standing rules.
The committee shall be formed no later than April 1 of each year, will
include at least three Board members not running for reelection that year, and
will serve until the end of the first Board meeting after election results are
certified.
USCF Representation Committee. The committee
shall recommend a slate of USCF delegates, voting members and alternate voting
members to represent Southern California.
The committee shall be formed no later than August 1 and shall contact
all suggested individuals to ascertain their willingness to serve and shall
present an ordered slate to the Board at the first meeting of the new Board
year.
Section 3. Other committees may be formed as needed at
the discretion of the Board. Committees
not name as standing or recurring above may not exist for more than three years
unless pre-approved by the Board or added to the above categories by amendment
of the By-Laws.
Section 4. Committee chairmen shall be appointed by the
President subject to ratification by the Board.
The President shall nominate chairman for all standing committees at the
first Board meeting after the annual SCCF election.
Section 5. Committee members may be appointed by the
President, the Chairman, or may volunteer, subject to acceptance by the
Chairman. The roster of members for each
committee, and any changes thereto, must be approved by the Board. All committee members must be current members
of SCCF.
Section 6. A list of the membership of all committees,
including address and telephone number of the chairman, shall be published no
later than the next issue of RANK AND FILE following the second Board meeting
after each annual SCCF election.
Section 7. In general, committees are empowered to
administer existing programs and propose changes only. Exceptions to previous practice, as well as
major policy changes must be approved by the Board. Between meetings, changes must be approved by
the President and committee chairman, to be ratified by the Board at the next
meeting.
ARTICLE IX:
GENERAL ELECTIONS
Section 1. Regular SCCF members as of July 1, and others
who become regular members before the close of the polls are entitled to vote
in the general election, which is conducted by mail ballot or by voting in
person on election day at the Southern California Open on Labor Day weekend.
Section 2. The report of the Election Board shall
include:
A list of all qualified SCCF members
receiving votes and the number of votes received by each.
The vote count for any other issues on the
ballot.
The number of ballots disqualified, the
reasons for the disqualification, and the number disqualified for each reason.
The signatures of at least two Election
Board members, certifying the accuracy of the report.
Section 3. The report of the Election Board shall be
given to the previous President and the previous Secretary. If neither retains a Board seat as evidenced
by the results of the election, the report will be given in writing to two of the
previous Board members elected the prior year for two-year terms.
Section 4. At its first meeting after the general
election, the Board shall certify the election results. The Secretary shall retain the ballots for
six (6) months after which, if there is no challenge, they will be destroyed.
Section 5. In the event that two or more candidates
shall tie for the last (eighth) Board seat in an election year, the tie shall
be broken by the elected and present Board members in a secret ballot taken at
the first Board meeting.
ARTICLE X:
ELECTIONS BY THE BOARD
Section 1. The first order of business after a general
election, or after a vacancy in a Board position or an office is declared, will
be the filling of the vacant Board position(s) followed by the election of new
or replacement officers.
Section 2. The previous President will preside until his
successor is elected. However, if the
previous President is no longer a Board member, then the previous
Vice-President, followed by the Election Board Chairman, will preside until a
new President is elected.
Section 3. The election for any contest office will be
by secret ballot.
Section 4. Officers will be elected sequentially in the
order listed in Article VIII of the Constitution.
ARTICLE XI:
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
Section 1. Officers may be removed from office by a
majority of the full Board voting "no confidence". If an officer is removed, the election of a
successor will become the first order of business.
Section 2. A vote of censure may be taken against any
Board member alleged to have acted improperly.
Passage requires a majority of the full Board. This is a less strict penalty than removal
from the Board under Article XII of the Constitution which requires a 3/4
majority of the Board.
Section 3. Suspension or revocation of SCCF membership
requires a 2/3 vote of those Board members present, after the member has been
given due process, including a chance to reply to the changes against him.
Section 4. Due Process.
Suspension or revocation. Any
Board member may move to suspend or revoke a membership. Upon approval of 2/3 majority of the members
present, the Secretary shall send a notification of pending suspension or
revocation to the subject member, by certified mail with return receipt
requested. This notification shall
include (1) a notice of the charges against him and (2) information advising
the member of his right to contest the charges within a 60-day period. The member may contest the charges by
appearing at the next Board meeting or by writing a letter to the Secretary.
If the member does not respond within 60 days, his
membership shall be considered suspended or revoked.
If the member does not respond within 60 days, the
Board, at the following meeting shall review and act upon the case. If a motion of affirmation, requiring a 2/3
majority of Board members present, is passed, the subject's membership shall be
suspended or revoked.
ARTICLE XII:
STANDING RULES
Section 1. Standing Rules are defined as Board actions
which have a long term policy effect not in conflict with the Constitution or
Bylaws.
Section 2. Standing rules are limited to an effective
period of no more than three (3) years.
A shorter effective period may be specified in the original motion or by
later Board action.
Section 3. At the end of the effective period, standing
rules become null and void, unless specifically extended by a Board vote or
made into a Bylaw.
Section 4. Standing Rules may be adopted or amended or
voided at any time by a simple majority of those Board members present at any
Board meeting.
ARTICLE XIII:
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Proposed Bylaws amendments may be submitted
by any member of SCCF.
Section 2. Amendments to Bylaws may only be considered
at meetings for which an advance written proposed amendment was mailed to all
Board members at least three (3) weeks in advance. Only amendments relevant to proposed Bylaw
topics mentioned in the above written notice may be considered.
Section 3. Passage of a Bylaws amendment requires a 2/3
majority of the full Board.
Adopted March 16, 1991