Bylaws of the NSS Chapters' Assembly

(Revision 1 dated May 25, 1996)

Bylaw I – Bylaws

These are the bylaws of the National Space Society (hereinafter known as "NSS") Chapters' Assembly (hereinafter known as the "CA"). When these bylaws are in conflict with provisions of the Charter of the CA, the Charter shall be considered supreme. When these bylaws are in conflict with one another, the most recent bylaws shall be considered supreme.

Bylaw II – Voting Delegates

Each chapter of the CA shall choose a number of voting delegates as allotted to it by Section V(b) of the Charter.

1)	Each voting delegate must be a member of the NSS.

2)	The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and other requested and appropriate information of each voting delegate shall be reported by the recognized chapter leadership to the Council and the Executive Secretary.

3)	The terms of these voting delegates shall extend until they are replaced by the chapter granting them authority or until they are no longer able to fulfill the duties of their post.

4)	Each voting delegate shall be responsible for voting upon every matter sent before them. If a voting delegate fails to reply to more than two successive postal votes, then that voting delegate shall be considered to have relinquished their post and the chapter represented shall be asked to appoint a new voting delegate.

5)	If the identity of a legitimately appointed voting delegate is in doubt, the Council shall have the power to temporarily resolve the conflict until the chapter represented can provide accreditation.

6)	If a chapter is unable to send its allotment of voting delegates to a general meeting of the CA, then that chapter may grant a proxy of its vote to any member of NSS. Such proxy may include any instructions or limitation upon the proxy voter, which shall be registered, along with other appropriate and requested information, with the Executive Secretary before the general meeting.

7)	Voting delegates may be required to pay a participation fee as set by the Administrative Council.

Bylaw III – Postal and E-mail Voting

At any time, any member-chapter of the CA may call for a postal and E-mail vote on any resolution.

1)	The chapter call for the vote is responsible for providing the costs of distribution of the resolution. If at least one chapter from each NSS region endorses the proposed resolution, then the CA shall be responsible for the expense of distribution. The action distribution shall be the responsibility of the Council to each voting delegate and each chapter of the CA.

2)	The voting delegates of the chapters shall send their response to the sponsoring chapter, the Secretary of the Council, and their regional representative.

3)	Ninety days after the resolution has been circulated the received votes shall be reported by the Council. If either greater than 1/2 of the entire number of voting delegates vote in favor of the resolution, or greater than 2/3 of the possible votes are received within 60 days from the resolution's distribution, then the resolution shall be considered passed with all the status and other considerations of a resolution passed by other means.

4)	Any disputes in accounting, notification, or other matters shall be adjudicated by the Administrative Council.

5)	All resolutions shall be distributed without comment.

Bylaw IV – Chairman

The Chairman of the CA shall oversee the general meetings of the CA.

1)	The Chairman of the CA shall:

a)	Serve as a non-voting member of the Administrative Council, unless separately elected as a member of the Administrative Council,

b)	Aid the Administrative Council in preparing the agenda for each general meeting,

c)	Appoint special officers of the CA,

d)	Assume the executive duties of the CA during each general meeting,

e)	Limit debate and set procedures at each general meeting,

f)	Perform other duties and functions assigned by the CA.

2)	The Chairman of the CA shall be elected at the last general meeting of the CA held in each odd-numbered calendar year.

a)	To be nominated for the position of Chairman of the CA a person must receive the endorsement of at least one chapter from each NSS region. Such endorsements must be registered with the Executive Secretary and the Administrative Council at least 45 days three persons before the election. If less than three persons are eligible as nominated candidates for the position of Chairman of the CA at the opening of the election proceedings at a general meeting, then (and only then) shall nominations for the position of Chairman of the CA be solicited from the floor.

b)	To be eligible to run for the position of Chairman of the CA, each nominee must be a member of a chapter of the CA, must be a member of the NSS, must be present at the general meeting, and must personally accept the nomination.

c)	Each candidate, in random order, shall be allotted five minutes (or thirty minutes divided by the number of candidates, whichever is less) of time, which may be used by the candidate personally or granted to others to be used by the candidate's behalf.

d)	When all candidates have been given a chance to speak the voting shall be held if anybody remains awake. If no candidate received a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be held.

e)	The newly elected Chairman of the CA shall assume the responsibilities of the post immediately upon the adjournment of the general meeting. The Chairman of the CA shall serve until he or she resigns, is unable to fulfill the duties of the post, or reaches the end of the term. If the Chairman of the CA leaves the post before the election of a new Chairman of the CA, the Executive Secretary shall become the Chairman of the CA for the remainder of the term.

f)	No Chairman of the CA may serve consecutive terms.

Bylaw V – Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary of the CA shall record the proceedings of the general meetings of the CA.

1)	The Executive Secretary shall:

a)	Serve as a non-voting member of the Administrative Council unless separately elected as a member of the Administrative Council,

b)	Make an accurate and complete record of all proceedings of the general meeting,

c)	Aid the Administrative Council in the distribution of said proceedings and a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of each voting delegate.

d)	Aid the Administrative Council in the identification and registration of voting delegates and candidates for office, and

e)	Perform other duties and functions as assigned by the CA.

2)	The Executive Secretary shall be elected at the last general meeting of the CA held in each even-numbered calendar year.

a)	Nominations for the position of Executive Secretary shall be solicited from the floor.

b)	To be eligible to run for the position of Executive Secretary, each nominee must be a member of a chapter of the CA, must be a member of the NSS, must be present at the general meeting, and must personally accept the nomination.

c)	Each candidate, in random order, shall be allotted five minutes (or thirty minutes divided by the number of candidates, whichever is less) of time, which may be used by the candidate personally or granted to others to speak on the candidate's behalf.

d)	When all candidates have been given a chance to speak the voting shall be held if anybody remains awake. If no candidate received a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be held.

e)	The newly elected Executive Secretary shall assume the responsibilities of the post immediately upon the adjournment of the general meeting. The Executive Secretary shall serve until he or she resigns, is unable to fulfill the duties of the post, or reaches the end of the term. If the Executive Secretary leaves the post before the election of a new Executive Secretary, the Chairman of the CA shall appoint a new Executive Secretary with the approval of the majority of the voting delegates at the next general meeting of the CA.

f)	No Executive Secretary may serve consecutive terms.

Bylaw VI – Special Officers

At each general meeting of the CA, the Chairman of the CA may appoint officers whose jurisdiction is limited to the duration of the general meeting. Such officers may include, but are not limited to, a parliamentarian and a sergeant-at-arms. Such officers must be immediately approved by a majority of the voting delegates present.

Bylaw VII – Administrative Council

The administrative tasks of the CA shall be the responsibility of the Administrative Council (hereinafter known as the "AC").

1)	The AC shall consist of one counselor from each NSS region.

2)	The committee shall:

a)	Distribute information on CA activities to the chapters,

b)	Submit motions and resolutions to the CA for discussion,

c)	Collect, record, announce the votes cast upon motions and resolutions distributed to the CA,

d)	Prepare the Initial Agenda of each general meeting, with the assistance of the Chairman of the CA,

e)	Communicate with the NSS headquarters and the officers as directed of the votes of the voting delegates and as required elsewhere by the bylaws,

f)	Establish additional administrative procedures that do not conflict with these bylaws or motions enacted by the CA. Such procedures are subject to review by the CA.

3)	The AC shall consist of one counselor from each NSS region.

a)	Each counselor shall be elected at the first general meeting of the CA in each calendar year.

b)	To be nominated for the position of counselor, a person must be a member of a chapter of the CA, a member of NSS, must have the endorsement of at least one chapter of the CA from the region in question, must register the endorsement with the Executive Secretary and the AC at least 45 days before the election, and must be personally present at the election. If there are less than three eligible candidates from a given region then (and only then) shall nominations be solicited from the floor.

c)	The voting delegates from each NSS region shall gather in caucus where they shall be informed of the names and endorsements of each of the eligible candidates. Voting shall be held among each region's delegates. If no candidate in a given region receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates with the largest number of votes.

Bylaw VIII – Agenda

The Initial Agenda of each general meeting of the CA shall be created by the AC with the assistance of the Chairman of the CA.

1)	Items to be placed upon the agenda must be proposed by

a)	three chapters of the CA,

b)	a regional assembly, or

c)	the AC.

All items must be received by the Administrative Council at least 90 days before the general meeting.

2)	The Initial Agenda must be distributed to each chapter and voting delegate and the national headquarters of NSS at least 60 days before the general meeting.

3)	Bylaws may only be ratified by the CA at a general meeting if the proposed bylaw has been placed upon the Initial Agenda.

4)	At a general meeting, a time limit of no more than ten minutes (which may be extended by the approval of greater than 1/2 of the voting delegates present) must be set by the Chairman. Closure upon an initial agenda item will require the approval of greater than 2/3 of the voting delegates present.

Bylaw IX – New Bylaws

New bylaws must be distributed by postal vote to all of the chapters and voting representatives comprising the CA and ratified by greater than 2/3 of the total voting delegates of the chapters or 2/3 of those votes cast within 90 days of the proposed bylaw's distribution to all the representatives and chapters comprising the CA.

Bylaw X – Initialization

The initial Chairman of the CA shall be James Davidson of Houston, TX.

The Initial Executive Secretary shall be Ann Shjefte of Minneapolis, MN.

The NSSCA Transition Committee, selected at the Denver ISDC in May 1988, shall serve as the AC from the date of the ratification of these bylaws until the election of the AC at the Chicago ISDC.

The Initial participation fee shall be $10 per voting delegate.

Each chapter ratifying the Charter and Bylaws of the CA shall send a ratification letter, signed by at least two officials of the chapter, to Ann Shjefte (outdated address and phone number deleted March 1991).

Included with the letter should be the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the chapter's desired voting delegates and the $10 per voting participation fee. Checks should be payable to the National Space Society Chapters' Assembly (NSSCA).