| Constitution As Amended, June 1998 |
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| Constitution As Amended, June 1998 |
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Article I. Name and Purpose
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc.
Section 2. The purpose of this Society shall be to promote interest in the study of Bryology and Lichenology; to provide an opportunity for the presentation of research studies in these subjects; to provide a means of publication of such studies; and to facilitate the exchange of specimens.
Article II. Membership
Section 1. Membership. As defined below the membership of the Society shall consist of (A) Individual Member, (B) Family Members, (C) Student Members, (D) Contributing Member.
(A) Individual Member. A person who is actually engaged in or interested in pursuits contributing to the development and advancement of bryology and/or lichenology and who pays the annual dues and subscribes to one or both of the journals of the Society.
(B) Family Members. Persons qualified as Individual Members but who are members of the same family, who together pay reduced annual dues and subscribe to one or both of the journals of the Society.
(C) Student Member. A person who is a full or part-time student engaged in, or interested in pursuits contributing to the development and advancement of bryology and/or lichenology. Excluded from this class are persons employed full-time and taking courses as a hobby. This limitation for qualifying as a student member shall be five (5) years. Those applying for student membership shall document their student status by having their advisor submit a signed statement verifying the student status of the applicant. They pay the student dues and subscribe to one or both of the journals of the Society.
(D) Contributing Member. A person qualified as an Individual Member, but who assists the Society to carry out its purposes by paying an amount equal to twice or more the annual dues paid by an Individual Member and by subscribing to one or both of the journals of the Society.
Section 2. Individual Members, Family Members, Student Members and Contributing Members shall be entitled to voting and all other privileges of membership and shall receive one copy of each subscription to the journals of the Society (unless otherwise specified) so long as they remain in good standing, i.e., have paid their annual dues and subscriptions.
Section 3. Institutions and organizations may subscribe to one or both of the journals without becoming members of the Society.
Article III. Government
Section 1. The officers of the Society shall be a President, a president-Elect and a Secretary-Treasurer, elected from the membership.
Section 2. The government of the society shall be in the care of an Executive Committee, consisting of the President, the President-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Business Manager, the Editor of The Bryologist, the Editor of Evansia, the Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee, three elected Members-at-large and the two most recent past Presidents.
Section 3. The Advisory Committee of the Society shall consist of all the members who have served the organization as Presidents.
Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. The annual Business Meeting shall be held at a time and place determined by the Executive Committee. Whenever practical, the meeting shall be held in connection with annual meetings of other American botanical societies.
Section 2. A program for the presentation of research papers shall be held annually, convenient to the Annual Meeting.
Section 3. A foray shall be held by the Society at least once a year, preferably associated with the Annual Meeting, in a region of bryological and lichenological interest.
Article V. Finance
The expenses of the Society shall be met by annual dues, subscriptions, voluntary contributions or bequests, and by such other means as the Executive Committee may approve.
Article VI. Amendments and By-Laws
Section 1. This constitution may be amended by affirmative vote of three-fourths of those members voting. Each member of the Society shall be sent by mail a copy of the proposed amendment, accompanied by a ballot. The amendment shall be considered adopted if three-fourths of the ballots returned in thirty days are in favor.
Section 2. Changes in By-Laws recommended by the Executive Committee may be adopted by majority vote at any Annual Meeting, but all members shall be informed of the proposed action thirty days in advance of this meeting.
Article VII. General Prohibitions
Notwithstanding any provision of the Constitution or By-Laws which might be susceptible to a contrary construction:
(a) the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall be organized exclusively for scientific and educational purposes;
(b) the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall be operated exclusively for scientific and educational purposes;
(c) no part of the net earnings of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall or may under any circumstance inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;
(d) no substantial part of the activities of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall consist of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation;
(e) the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office;
(f) the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall not be organized or operated for profit;
(g) the American Bryological and Lichenological Society shall not:
(1) lend any part of its income or corpus, without the receipt of adequate security and a reasonable rate of interest;
(2) pay any compensation, in excess of a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services actually rendered, to;
(3) make any part of its services available on a preferential basis to;
(4) make any purchase of securities or any other property, for more than adequate consideration in money or money's worth from;
(5) sell any securities or other property for less than adequate consideration in money or money's worth to; or
(6) engage in any other transactions which result in a substantial diversion of its income or corpus to;
any officer, member of the Executive Committee or substantial contributor to the American Bryological and Lichenological Society. The prohibitions contained in this subsection (g) do not mean to imply that the American Bryological and Lichenological Society may make such loans, payments, sales or purchases to anyone else, unless such authority be given or implied by other provisions of the Constitution or By-Laws.
Article VIII. Distribution and Dissolution
Upon dissolution of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, the Executive Committee shall distribute the assets and accrued income to one or more organizations as determined by the Board, but which organization or organizations shall meet the limitations prescribed in subsections (a) - (g) inclusive of Article VII immediately preceding.
BY-LAWS
Article 1. Election of Officers
Section 1. The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three members who are not current officers, and shall designate one of this number as chairman.
Section 2. Ballots shall be prepared by the Committee, naming at least one candidate for each office, with space provided for write-in votes. These ballots, with instructions as to their return, shall be mailed by the Secretary-Treasurer to all members at least thirty days before the date of the Annual Meeting next preceding the end of the terms of officers.
Section 3. The President shall appoint a judge of elections who is neither an officer nor a member of the Nominating Committee. Marked ballots shall be returned by members to the judge of elections who shall transmit the results to the President and the ballots and tabulations to the Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 4. Officers shall be elected by majority of the ballots returned within thirty days. In case of a tie vote the judge of elections shall break the tie.
Article 2. Terms of Officers
Section 1. The President, President-Elect and Executive Committee Members-at-large shall serve for two years, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for four years, assuming office at the end of the Annual Meeting following their election. The President-Elect, at the end of his or her term, will assume the office of the President.
Section 2. No officer can be re-elected to the same office for two consecutive terms with the exception of the Executive Committee Members-at-large, who can be re-elected for one additional term.
Section 3.In case of resignation or incapacity of any officer other than the President, the Executive Committee shall designate a successor to complete the unexpired term. In case of resignation or incapacity of the President, the President-Elect will serve to complete the unexpired term.
Article 3. Duties of Officers
Section 1. The duties of the President shall be: (1) to have general supervision over the business of the Society; (2) to preside at all business and program meetings of the Society and at all meetings of the Executive Committee; (3) to call upon the Executive Committee, if it seems advisable, for a vote by mail on matters of Society business or policy; (4) to confer with Advisory Committee regarding long-term policies and means of providing an adequate income for carrying out such policies and to report action of the Advisory Committee to the Executive Committee; (5) to appoint all committees and to be ex officio a member of all committees; (6) to approve all bills paid by the Society, except those covering ordinary expenses of the offices of the Editor and the Secretary-Treasurer; (7) to serve as AIBS Governing Board Representative; (8) to serve as AAAS Council Representative.
Section 2. The duties of the President Elect shall be: (1) to make all arrangements for program meetings and forays of the Society, send out the call for papers, arrange the program and take whatever action is needed to ensure successful meetings; (2) to cooperate with officers of other organizations in arranging joint or concurrent meetings; (3) in case of resignation or incapacitation of the President, to serve as President for the remainder of that term.
Section 3. The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be: (1) to maintain a register of the members of the Society; (2) to inform the Editors concerning the status of members as to dues paid or not paid; (3) to prepare the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee and business meetings of the Society, to send copies to the Executive Committee members or other officers or committee chairs who have need of such information; (4) to send all ballots to voting members (allowing thirty days for voting by mail), to receive and tabulate the votes on all business other than the election of officers and to report results to appropriate persons; (5) to notify officers of their election and send each a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws; (6) to have custody of all funds of the Society, to issue bills for dues and assessments payable and make proper record of same, to pay all bills correctly chargeable to the Society; (7) to report upon membership and finances at the Annual Meeting of the Society.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be under bond.
The Treasurer's financial records shall be audited annually.
Article 4. Publications
Section 1. The official journals of the Society shall be The Bryologist and Evansia.
Section 2. The Editors of The Bryologist and of Evansia shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall serve for a period of five years. The editors may be reappointed for one additional five-year term.
Section 3.The Editors of The Bryologist and of Evansia shall have full charge of, the publication and distribution of respectively, The Bryologist and Evansia. Each editor shall determine the size and content of his/her journal, except that (1) the journals shall not compete for similar or the same material, (2) the journal's contents shall be limited to papers, notices, reviews or other matters deemed of interest to bryologists and lichenologists and (3) their respective size shall be kept within the income (from subscriptions or otherwise) allocated by the Executive Council of the Society.
Section 4. The Editors of The Bryologist and Evansia shall send approval of bills for the printing and distribution of The Bryologist and Evansia to the Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 5. The Secretary-Treasurer maintain respective mailing lists for checking membership records.
Section 6. Four Associate Editors of The Bryologist shall be appointed from the membership to give counsel and assistance to the Editor, and a Book Review Editor shall be appointed from the membership to aid the Editor in the production of book reviews for the journal. These individuals shall be selected by the Executive Committee from a panel submitted by the Editor. Associate Editors and the Book Review Editor shall serve for five (5) years and may be reappointed for one (1) succeeding term.
Section 7. An Associate Editor of Evansia shall be appointed from the membership to give council and assistance to the Editor. The individual shall be selected by the Executive Committee from a panel submitted by the Editor of Evansia. The individual shall serve for five years and may be reappointed for one (1) succeeding term.
Article 5. Business Manager
Section 1. A Business Manager of the Society shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for a term of four years. The Business Manager can be reappointed for additional four-year terms.
Section 2. The duties of the Business Manager shall be (1) to handle the sales of the Society's publications; (2) to maintain an inventory of the stock of publications; (3) to recommend to the Editors the reprinting of issues as their stock becomes depleted.
Article 6. Finance Committee
Section 1. The President will appoint a Financial Advisory Committee of three members who are not current officers, and shall designate one of this number as chairperson. Appointees will serve a three year term; terms will be staggered so that a new member is appointed to the committee each year.
Section 2. The duties of the Committee will be to monitor the financial health of the Society and provide counsel on financial goals, investments and opportunities to the Executive Committee.
Section 3. The Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee will be a member of the Execuative Committee.
Article 7. The Exchange Services
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall designate a Director of the Moss Exchange, a Director of the Hepatic Exchange and a Director of the Lichen Exchange. These Directors shall serve for four (4) years.
Section 2. The Exchanges shall be operated by the Directors according to the rules adopted by the members of each Exchange, and shall render a statement of the packet and money receipts and disbursements at each Annual Meeting.
Article 8. Governing Board and Council Representatives
The duties of the Representatives to the AIBS Governing Board and AAAS Council shall be to attend meetings of these said groups and to keep the American Bryological and Lichenological Society informed of their actions.
Article 9. Awards
Section 1. The Society will administer the following annual awards to recognize distinguished contributions to bryology and lichenology: the A. J. Sharp Award, awarded to a student for an outstanding presentation at the annual meeting; the William Starling Sullivant Award, awarded for a distinguished, original research article in bryology, published in The Bryologist; and the Edward Tuckerman Award, awarded for a distinguished, original research article in lichenology, published in The Bryologist.
Section 2. The President will appoint a three member committee from members present at the annual meeting to serve as judges for the A. J. Sharp Award.
Section 3. The Awards Committee for the William Starling Sullivant and Tuckerman Awards will consist of the three most recent past Presidents of the Society and The Editor of The Bryologist, who will serve as Committee Chair.
Section 4. All awards will be presented at the annual meeting of the Society.
Article 10. Dues and Subscriptions
Section 1. The amount of dues or subscriptions shall be determined by a three-fourths vote of the Executive Committee, based upon their knowledge of the funds of the Society and the costs of publishing The Bryologist and Evansia.
Section 2. The Advisory Committee shall be consulted regarding dues and subscription rate.
Section 3. Before any change in dues or subscriptions shall be determined upon, each member of the Society, of whatever category, shall be sent a ballot upon which to register his opinion of the change.
Section 4. Any assessment upon the membership other than dues must be approved by a two-thirds majority of voting members upon a mail ballot.
Section 5. Dues and subscriptions shall be collected in advance of January each calendar year. Unpaid members are entitled to a second notice. Any member who is in arrears after the second notice shall be dropped automatically from the Society rolls, but at any time may be reinstated by the payment of dues.
Article 11. Auditors
Two members of the Society other than officers shall be appointed as auditors by the Executive Committee for a two year term. The auditors may bereappointed for additional terms.
Article 12. The Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Society shall end on the thirtieth day of June.
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Last modified 5 October 2009