Official Bylaws and Charter of the Decommissioning Section.

 

CHARTER OF THE DECOMMISSIONING SECTION

Established January 23, 1999

(Charter Revised ____________________, 19__)

ARTICLE 1

Name

The name of the Section shall be the Decommissioning Section (hereinafter designated as the Section) of the Health Physics Society (hereinafter designated as the Society).

ARTICLE II

Jurisdiction

The Section headquarters shall be located with the Society Secretariat or the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section and the Section membership is not limited to a specific geographical area.

ARTICLE III

Objectives

The objectives and purpose of the Section shall coincide with the objectives and purposes of the Society as set out in the BYLAWS of the Society and BYLAWS of the Section. The general objective of the Section shall be to promote the mutual interests of Society members in activities related to decommissioning, including regulatory rulemakings on decommissioning, decontamination techniques, environmental dose assessment models, waste management, and advances in survey instrumentation and procedures.

ARTICLE IV

Section Society Relationships

Section 1. The Section operates in affiliation with the society. It is governed by the provisions of its CHARTER, BYLAWS, and RULES. The Section-Society relationship shall not be placed in jeopardy so long as (i) the Section complies with the provision of its Charter as augmented by those parts of the bylaws of the Society which deal with the Section-Society relationship, and (ii) the Section and the Society fulfill their stated objectives maintaining a balance as to the mutual interests of the two.

Section 2. The Charter shall be placed in the custody of the Section with a duplicate copy kept on file at the business office of the Society. The signatures of the duly authorized officers of the Section and the Society affixed at the time of chartering and appearing on the Charter over the seal of the Society signify the Section-Society relationship in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.

Section 3. Any conflict requiring an interpretation of the provisions of the Charter shall be resolved by the Board of Directors of the Society and Executive Board of the Section.

Section 4. The responsibility for determining Section policy is set out in the BYLAWS of the Section. The Section may designate a spokesperson to represent the Section in carrying out such policies but no person shall presume to speak for the Section or the Society on matters of Section policy or Society policy without appropriate authorization. However, these provisions shall not be construed so as to limit members of a Section from expressing their personal views either publicly or privately.

Section 5. No action, financial or other obligation, or expression of the Section shall be considered an action, obligation or expression of the Society as a whole without prior approval of the Board of Directors of the Society.

Section 6. The Section shall submit to the business office of the Society, and in a form approved by the Society, annual reports concerning the activities of the Section.

Section 7. The Section may be dissolved and its Charter revoked by the Board of Directors of the Society for good cause shown in accordance with the RULES of the Society.

ARTICLE V

Membership

Section 1. Members of the Section shall be persons who are Plenary or Associate members of the Society and who have substantial interests in decommissioning and its related activities, including in part, radiological surveys and instrumentation, decontamination techniques, and waste management.

Section 2. Any qualified person who is a Plenary or Associate member of the Society becomes a member of the Section upon presenting proof of membership in the Society and the payment of Section dues.

Section 3. Membership dues for the Section shall be established in accordance with provisions set out in the BYLAWS of the Section.

ARTICLE VI

Administration

Section 1. The Section shall have Officers and an Executive Board. The Officers administer the affairs of the Section in accordance with its objectives, performing those functions as may be customary to the office, and as further defined in the BYLAWS and/or RULES of the Section.

Section 2. The elected Officers of the Section shall be a President, a Past-President, a President-Elect, a Secretary-Treasurer and such others as may be provided for in the BYLAWS of the Section.

Section 3. The President, the Past-President, the President-Elect and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section shall be persons who are voting members of the Society.

Section 4. The Executive Board shall be the governing body of the Section and shall exercise control over all funds, activities, and policies of the Section or as defined in the BYLAWS and/or RULES of the Section.

Section 5. The Executive Board shall consist of ten persons elected from the membership of the Section. Each year a President-Elect and two Executive Board members shall be elected. Every other year, in addition to the President-Elect and Executive Board members, a Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected. The term of office for Executive Board members shall be three years. The President-Elect will automatically become President and then past-President during his/her three-year tenure on the Executive Board. Terms of Office shall begin at the close of the Section?s Annual Meeting.

Section 6. The BYLAWS of the Section shall provide for the establishment of committees and other administrative posts as may be considered essential for administration of the affairs of the Section.

Section 7. Vacancies occurring in an elective office or an appointive post shall be filled in accordance with provisions set out in the BYLAWS of the Section.

ARTICLE VII

Election Procedures

Section 1. Nominations for all elective offices that are to be filled by a poll of the membership of the Section shall be made by a Nominating Committee consisting of a chairperson and at least two other members chosen in accordance with procedures set out in the BYLAWS of the Section. No officer or member of the governing body shall be eligible to serve on this committee.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall select two nominees for each elective office to be filled and no person shall have his/her name placed in nomination by the Nominating Committee without his/her consent.

Section 3. The polling of the membership shall be done by secret ballot with provisions for write-in candidates. The procedure may be (i) by means of a letter ballot or (ii) by sealed written ballots collected at a regular Section meeting. Other matters governing polling procedures shall be set out in the BYLAWS of the Section.

ARTICLE VIII

Meetings

The Section shall hold at least one meeting each calendar year which shall be designated as the Annual Meeting of the Section. Meetings of the Section shall be held at such time and place as may be provided for in the BYLAWS or RULES of the Section.

ARTICLE IX

Section Bylaws and Rules

Section 1. The BYLAWS of the Section shall be adopted by the voting membership of the Section before they become effective. A BYLAW is adopted, rejected, or amended on the basis of a majority of the votes cast on the issue designated in a particular poll.

Section 2. RULES for handling administrative matters may be promulgated by the Officers and/or governing body of the Section if, and as, provided for in the BYLAWS.

ARTICLE X

Amendments to the Charter

Amendments to the Charter are approved by the Board of Directors of the Society and Executive Board of the Section.

ARTICLE XI

Attestations

Section 1. The signed Charter shall be construed as evidence that the Section-Society affiliation relationship is in effect.

Section 2. The Section may use the OFFICIAL SEAL of the Society, in part, modified, or in the whole, on Section stationery, and/or for other legitimate purposes so long as the use of the seal is such as to guarantee that an observer will recognize that he is dealing with the Section and not the Society.

Section 3. The Decommissioning Section of the Health Physics Society is duly authorized by the Board of Directors of the Society to function as a Section of the Society in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing this 23rd day of January 1999, as witnessed by the signatures below.

OFFICERS OF THIS SECTION       

Eric W. Abelquist, President                              1/8/99      

Not available,  President-Elect  

Greg C. Chapman,  Secretary                             1/11/99

                                 

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY

Keith H. Dinger,  President                                  1/23/99 

Ray Johnson, President-Elect                             1/23/99 

Richard E. Toohey, Secretary-Treasurer             1/23/99

 

 

 

 

BYLAWS OF THE DECOMMISSIONING SECTION

Adopted 1998

ARTICLE I

Name

The name of the organization shall be the Decommissioning Section, hereinafter designated as the Section, of the Health Physics Society, hereinafter designated as the Society.

ARTICLE II

Objectives

Section 1 The primary objectives of the Section are to (i) disseminate information related to decommissioning activities, including regulatory rulemakings on decommissioning, decontamination techniques, and advances in survey instrumentation and procedures (ii) provide a forum for discussion of decommissioning issues, (iii) promote professional development of Section members, and (iv) provide for open lines of communication between Section members and the Health Physics Society, as provided in the Section CHARTER. Specific interests include, but are not limited to: radiological surveys in support of decommissioning, decontamination techniques, pathway modeling, waste management, ALARA techniques for remediation activities, risk assessments, survey instrumentation, training and risk communication and education, and public education and outreach.

Section 2 The objectives of the Section shall be accomplished by meetings, conferences, electronic communications (Internet web site for the Section) and publications with emphasis on all sciences and technologies which contribute to the knowledge of decommissioning and related activities.

Section 3 To further the objectives given in the CHARTER, the Section shall:

a. Hold meetings for the presentation and discussion of topics and issues relating to decommissioning and related activities.

b. Disseminate knowledge and information concerning the topics and programs as listed in sections 1 and 2 supra by discussions, communications, and the presentation of papers.

c. Encourage closer professional relations among the members.

d. Cooperate with other scientific and professional groups that have similar objectives.

ARTICLE III

Section-Society Relationship

Section 1 The activities of the Section and its members shall be governed by the Articles of Incorporation, BYLAWS, and RULES of the Society and BYLAWS and RULES of the Section.

Section 2 The Section shall not have authority to act for or in the name of the Society. No action, financial or other obligation or expression of the Section as a whole without prior approval of the Executive Board of the Society shall be considered an action, obligation or expression of the Society.

Section 3 Section policy shall be set by the Section Executive Board. An annual report concerning the Section shall be submitted by the Section Secretary-Treasurer to the business office of the Society prior to the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Report shall describe the financial and membership status of the Section and major technical and program activities during the year.

Section 4 Every activity of the Section shall be conducted in such a manner that it shall be financially sound as determined by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section.

ARTICLE IV

Membership

Section 1 Any Society member who pays the Section dues will be considered to have expressed an interest in the Section and will be granted membership without a specific application.

Section 2 The Executive Board of the Section serves as the Committee on Admissions and is responsible for approving applications for membership involving persons who are not members of the Society. An applicant may be any person who is engaged in a field of endeavor related to the objectives set forth in Article II, Sections 1 and 2 whose interests in the profession would make the person a desirable member in the Section.

Section 3 The Executive Board may confer honorary membership on any person whose personal contribution to the advancement of the Section affairs is particularly worthy. Persons so honored shall receive program announcements of Section activities and no dues are required but they shall have no vote and the honorary membership terminates at the end of the Section Term in which it is granted unless renewed by action of the Executive Board. Other classes of membership, with or without dues requirements, may be established by the Executive Board if provided for in the RULES of the Section.

Section 4 Membership in the Section ceases when (i) the Executive Board accepts the written resignation of a member, (ii) the death of a member is confirmed, or (iii) a member allows his/her dues to go unpaid after March 1 of the calendar year for which the dues are specified. Persons whose membership ceases because of nonpayment of dues may be reinstated to membership during the calendar year in which the delinquency occurs upon payment of dues in arrears. Resigning from the membership or loss of membership because of failure to pay dues shall not prejudice the right of an individual to make a new application for membership in the Section.

ARTICLE V

Officers

Section 1 The officers of the Section are a President, a Past-President, a President-Elect, and a Secretary-Treasurer. The officers shall be persons who are members of the Society in good standing.

Section 2 The President is the presiding officer of the Section and as such is responsible for the overall administration of Section affairs.

Section 3 The President-Elect shall be chosen by vote of the membership. At the conclusion of the first Section Term, the President-Elect automatically becomes the President; the President-Elect performs duties as delegated by the President and, in the absence of the President, will assume the duties of the President. After the term as President, the President becomes the Past-President of the Section.

Section 4 The Secretary-Treasurer is chosen by vote of the membership on alternate years for two Section Terms.

Section 5 The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a record of all transactions and meetings of the Executive Board and Section. The Secretary-Treasurer shall carry out correspondence for the Section as directed by the President, including preparation and mailing of all ballots used in election and amending Section procedures, maintaining an accurate mailing list of the membership, maintaining Section procedures, BYLAWS and other documents current, and submittal of information releases about the Section to the Health Physics Society or other organizations as approved by the President or the Executive Board.

The Secretary-Treasurer is also the custodian of all monies of the Section and pays all authorized bills against the Section. The Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for financial accounting and reporting for the Section, and shall submit the Section accounts for audit to the Executive Board prior to the Annual Meeting of the Section, and shall submit an annual financial report to the Executive Board and Section at the Annual Meeting, and turn over to the successor all funds and properties of the Section.

The Health Physics Society Secretariat may perform any or all of the administrative functions for the Section. The functions typically may include maintaining Section archives, acting as custodians of all monies of the Section, receiving all monies due, and paying all authorized bills against the Section.

Section 6 An office shall be declared vacant by the Executive Board in the event an officer resigns, ceases to be a member of the Section or is declared by the Executive Board as unable to serve in that office for other reasons, as determined by the Executive Board.

Vacated offices will be filled by the Executive Board by appointment until the vacated office can be filled by an election conducted by letter ballot. Vacated offices may be filled by special election or as part of an annual election, at the discretion of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI

Executive Board

Section 1 The Executive Board (the Board) is the governing body of the Section, and, as such, shall, have, hold, and control all funds, properties, and activities of the Section in accordance with the BYLAWS governing these matters. The Executive Board shall review the programs of the Section as presented by the President and other members and furnish appropriate guidance. It consists of ten (10) voting members including the President, Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and six elected Board Members.

The Board Members shall be elected from the membership of the Section for three (3) Section Terms each and two (2) Board Members shall be elected each year.

Section 2 The Executive Board shall adopt and document RULES which govern the conduct of all meetings and the administration of Section affairs. The RULES, when enacted and documented as such, shall be construed so as to expedite administrative matters and they are effective until amended by due process through appropriate Executive Board action.

Section 3 Meetings of the Executive Board shall be called at the direction of the President. A request in writing made to the President and which bears the signatures of at least five (5) members of the Board shall require a meeting to be called.

Section 4 Five (5) members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum. Any member not able to be present at a meeting of the Executive Board may be represented by proxy, and the proxy may vote in the name of the member, except proxies shall not be counted in establishing a quorum. Decisions at a meeting of the Executive Board are reached by a majority of those present and voting provided the presiding officer shall have no vote except in case of a tie vote, in which case, the presiding officer may cast the deciding vote. If a quorum cannot be established at a regular scheduled meeting of at least three Executive Board members, a vote can be made by the three (3) members present to empower the President to conduct a letter ballot of all members of the Executive Board not present.

Section 5 Meetings of the Executive Board shall be closed to the public but open to the membership and such other persons as the Executive Board may designate. However, the agenda for each meeting of the Board may provide for a closed session at which only members of the Board shall be present.

ARTICLE VII

Meetings of the Section

Section 1 The Section shall hold an Annual Meeting of the Section no later than the Society Annual Meeting. Other meetings of the Section may be called at the discretion of the Executive Board and the Section shall hold at least one (1) meeting each calendar year. A petition directed to the Executive Board bearing the signatures of at least ten percent of the Section members shall require a meeting of the Section to be called.

Section 2 Notification of date, time and place of all meetings of the Section shall be given to members at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

Section 3 A quorum at a Section meeting for voting purposes shall consist of twenty percent (20%) of the Section membership or 25 qualified voters, whichever is less.

Section 4 Section meetings are open to all Section members. Members of the Health Physics Society who are not members of the Section may attend all regular meetings of the Section as nonvoting guests of a voting member. Section members may bring guests other than those mentioned above only when notification of permission to bring guests is included in the notification of the time, date and place of the meeting. Advance reservation, registration and other fees, when applicable, will apply to guests as well as members.

Section 5 Robert's Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary procedure guide for all meetings unless specifically designated otherwise.

ARTICLE VIII

Committees and Appointments

Section 1 The President shall appoint with the approval of the Executive Board, individuals and/or committees to assist the officers, Executive Board and other groups within the Section in the development and administration of Section affairs. In making such appointments, consideration shall be given to maintaining a balance of representation from the various organizational groups within the Section to include industrial, governmental, educational, and professional interests.

Section 2 Any member of the Section shall be eligible to serve on a committee. In all cases, the membership of standing committees is subject to approval by the Executive Board.

Section 3 All committees shall be responsible for keeping records of the activities of the committee and shall submit such records to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section.

Section 4 The Standing Committee shall include a Nominating Committee and such other committees as may be provided for in the RULES of the Section. The Nominating Committee will be comprised of a Chairman and three (3) other Section members, none of whom shall hold simultaneously an elective office. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The committee shall inform itself of the provisions of the articles of the Charter and BYLAWS which govern the nominating procedure.

ARTICLE IX

Tenure, Vacancies and Election Procedures

Section 1 A new Section Term begins with the close of each Annual Meeting of the Section.

Section 2 The term of office for an appointive office ends automatically when a new President is installed and an individual who holds an appointive office shall not presume to continue in the office unless requested to do so by the newly installed President. The President names all persons who will serve in an appointive office subject to Article VIII, Section 1.

Section 3 The term of office for an elective office shall be as defined elsewhere in the BYLAWS of the Section. Such officeholders remain in office until a successor has been selected and installed in the office. However, no person may succeed oneself in an elective office unless that person is filling out an unexpired term for another. Also, for purposes of Article VIII of the BYLAWS, the offices of President and President-Elect shall be considered as one office.

Section 4 A vacancy occurs in an office, whether appointive or elective, when (i) the officeholder resigns from office, (ii) the officeholder ceases to function in the office because of death or other circumstances, or (iii) the term of office expires.

Section 5 In the event of a vacancy in an appointive office, the vacancy is filled in accordance with procedures governing appointments.

Section 6 In the event of a vacancy which creates an unexpired term in any elective office other than one which involves the presidency: The Executive Board may make an appointment to hold through the next Annual Meeting of the Section at which time the vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the membership under the regular election procedure. When the office of President becomes vacant, the President-Elect assumes the duties of the President, but he retains the title of President-Elect until such time as he would have ascended to the presidency in his own right and the office of President remains vacant. When a vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect, the vacancy shall be filled by a vote of the membership under regular election procedures and a special election may be called by the Executive Board for this purpose except where the provisions of Section 8, infra, are invoked.

Section 7 Except as provided for in Section 8 of this article, the regular election procedure by which a vote of the membership is taken shall be as follows:

a. Nominations for all elective positions shall be made by a Nominating Committee consisting of a Chairman and three (3) other members appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board. No member of the Executive Board shall be eligible to serve on this committee and an effort shall be made toward achieving a balance of representation from the various organizational groups within the Section to include industrial, governmental, educational, and professional interests. All decisions of the committee shall require the affirmative vote of at least three (3) members of the committee.

b. The Nominating Committee shall select two (2) nominees for each elective office. In no case shall an individual?s name be placed in nomination for more than one elective position during any one election; and no member shall be nominated without that member?s consent.

c. At least 120 days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Section, the Nominating Committee shall submit in writing the names of the nominees to the Secretary-Treasurer.

d. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare or cause to be prepared all letter ballots for Section offices and Executive Board positions and mail to each member of the Section. Ballots shall include biographical sketches of nominees presented by the Nominating Committee and approved by the Board; provisions shall be made for write-in candidates.

Letter ballots shall be mailed to the membership at least ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Section. Balloting will close at the end of the thirtieth (30th) day following the mailing of the last ballot to the membership.

e. Members shall return marked ballots by mail to the Secretary-Treasurer with the member's name and mailing address displayed on the mailing envelope. In not more than thirty (30) days following the closing of the ballot, the Secretary-Treasurer shall convene a panel of three (3) persons for the purpose of tabulating and certifying the vote. The Secretary-Treasurer shall examine the names on the unopened outer envelopes to certify the eligibility of the voters. Eligibility will be determined on the basis of the current membership listing of members in good standing. This list will usually be obtained from the Health Physics Society. Envelopes from ineligible voters will be retained by the Secretary-Treasurer, unopened, separate from envelopes from eligible voters. The panel shall tally the vote, counting all ballots where the intention of the voter is clear. All envelopes, ballots and tally sheets shall be retained by the Secretary-Treasurer until the newly elected officers are installed, at which time they will be destroyed.

A majority of the voting membership is required to elect or amend. In the event of a tie vote, the tie shall be broken by a coin toss. Following certification of results of the poll, the Nominating Committee will inform nominees promptly of the outcomes of the election. Additionally, the outcome of the election will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Section.

f. The initial election of Section Officers and Board members shall be in accordance with Rule 10.2 of the Society?s Rules.

Section 8 (Catastrophe clause) In the event that the membership of the Executive Board falls below five (5) members, the provisions of Section 8 take precedence over provisions of Section 6 and 7, above, as may be applicable. As the first order of business at the first scheduled meeting of the Section at which twenty percent (20%) or more of the membership is in attendance following appropriate notification to the members of the Section, the person who is presiding at the meeting shall cause the election of a Temporary Chairman who, in turn, shall convene the members of the Nominating Committee who are present. In the event that one or more of the members of the Nominating Committee are not present, or if a Nominating Committee has not been named, the Temporary Chairman shall form a Nominating Committee, including any members who may have been appointed previously and who are present. The Nominating Committee as now constituted shall select two nominees for all vacated elective positions. The Temporary Chairman shall present the names of the nominees to the membership at the meeting allowing additional nominations from the floor. After the nominations are closed, a secret ballot shall be taken and a majority vote of those members present shall be required to elect. If a majority vote is not obtained on the first ballot, the name of the individual receiving the least number of votes shall be dropped from the ballot and balloting shall continue in this manner until a majority vote is obtained. Persons elected under this Section of the BYLAWS shall take office immediately and they shall serve through the next Annual Meeting of the Section at which time any unexpired term shall be filled in accordance with regular election procedures except if a President-Elect has been chosen under the provisions of this section, that person shall ascend to the office of President. Following the above procedures, the Temporary Chairman shall turn the meeting over to the appropriate officer, at which time the office of Temporary Chairman is dissolved.

ARTICLE X

Financial

Section 1 The Executive Board shall review the financial status of the Section annually and establish membership dues for each class of membership. The dues fee structure and budget report shall be submitted to the Society Board of Directors for approval.

Section 2 All funds accrued by the authorized agents of the Section shall, after proper accounting, be paid into the office of the Secretary-Treasurer where they shall be entered in the books of the Section and deposited in a bank approved by the Executive Board. Alternatively, the Society Secretariat may execute these functions.

Section 3 All expenditures shall be made in accordance with a budget of appropriations as adopted by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE XI

Amendments

Section 1 Amendments to the BYLAWS may be proposed in the form of a motion by any member in good standing at any meeting of the Section where a quorum is present.

Section 2 A motion covering a proposal to amend the BYLAWS shall require, as determined by a standing vote, the approval of a majority of the membership present at the meeting at which the motion is presented.

Section 3 Upon passage of a motion to amend the BYLAWS, the President shall appoint a committee which, within thirty (30) days following the motion to amend, prepares and submits the proposed amendment in writing to the membership.

Section 4 A waiting period of thirty (30) days shall elapse following the mailing of the proposed amendment to the membership, before a vote is taken. However, a vote shall be taken prior to the conclusion of the first meeting of the Section following the thirty (30) day waiting period set out above.

Section 5 The Executive Board is authorized to poll the membership on proposed amendments to the BYLAWS by means of (i) a letter ballot or (ii) at a meeting of the Section. The affirmative vote of a majority of the membership voting is required to amend.

END OF BYLAWS