Governance

Bylaws

Approved by APS Council, April 4, 2003

Note: As specified in Article XIV, in these Bylaws "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society, "Council" and "Executive Board" shall signify the Council and the Executive Board of the Society, respectively; and "Executive Officer" shall signify that Officer of the Society.

Article I - Name

This Section of the American Physical Society shall be called the Texas Section.

Article II - Objective

The objective of the Section shall be the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics.

Article III - Enabling Constitutional Provision

Article IX of the Constitution of the Society, as said Article may be subsequently revised or amended, is hereby incorporated in these Bylaws by reference.

Article IV - Membership

1. Geographical Region: The membership of the Section shall consist primarily of members of the Society residing in Texas and contiguous states.

2. Eligibility: Members of the Society who have indicated in accordance with procedures established by Council their desire to join the Section and who retain membership from year to year by the payment of designated dues or by some other method established by Council shall become members of the Section.

Article V - Executive Committee

1. Governance: The Section shall be governed by an Executive Committee, which shall have general charge of the affairs of the Section.

2. Composition: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Section, the most recent Past Chair, the Council Observer, four Members-at-Large elected to staggered three-year terms and two student Members-at-Large elected to staggered two-year terms.

3. Executive Committee Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice each year. At least one meeting shall be held during the Regular Meeting of the Section. Any member of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a nonvoting alternate to represent him or her, subject to the approval of the Chair. The Chair of the Section shall preside over the Executive Committee meetings. A majority of the voting members, including at least two Officers, shall constitute a quorum.

Article VI - Officers and Duties

1. Officers: The Officers of the Section shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary-Treasurer.

2. Duties of the Chair: The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Section at which his or her attendance is possible.

3. Duties of the Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect shall act in place of the Chair if the Chair is unable to perform his or her duties. The Chair-Elect shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

4. Duties of the Vice-Chair: The Vice-Chair shall act in place of the Chair-Elect if the Chair-Elect is unable to perform his or her duties. The Vice-Chair shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

5. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records of the Section, including minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Section activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring its decision and shall prepare the agenda of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions and shall submit these minutes to each member of the Executive Committee and to the Executive Officer within four weeks after each meeting. Following an election, such minutes are to include the results of the election and a roster of the current Executive Committee.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the Council and Executive Officer of the Society informed of the activities and needs of the Section.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall have responsibility for all funds in the custody of or placed at the disposal of the Section and shall authorize disbursements from such funds for expenses in a manner consistent with the general policies of the Society. Financial records shall be kept on an annual basis consistent with the fiscal policies of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer shall present a financial report at each meeting of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Section.

6. Duties of the Council Observer: The Council Observer shall be aware of the deliberations and activities of Council. The Council Observer shall report to the Chair and the Secretary-Treasurer regarding Council actions that affect the status and operations of the Section. Reports shall be made to the entire Executive Committee during their regularly scheduled meetings.

Article VII - Election and Tenure of the Officers and Executive Committee Members

1. Qualifications: Officers, the Council Observer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee must be members of the Section.

2. Ballot: The Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall be elected by mail or electronic ballot as determined by the Executive Committee.

3. Nomination and Election of the Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee: Each year the Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for the office of Vice-Chair and for open positions of Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. During the final year of the term of the current Secretary-Treasurer, they shall nominate at least one candidate for Secretary-Treasurer. The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the results not later than sixty days before the first Meeting of the calendar year, except under extraordinary circumstances.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall conduct the election. Members of the Section shall vote for candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee, or for any other member of the Section, by paper and/or electronic ballot, as the Executive Committee shall designate. The ballots shall be counted by the Secretary-Treasurer or his or her designate. The Secretary-Treasurer shall communicate the results of the voting to the Chair at least two weeks prior to the first meeting of the calendar year. Election shall be decided by a plurality of those voting. If there is a tie, the Executive Committee shall decide the election, with the Chair voting only in the case of a tie among the other Executive Committee members. Once the election results are reported to the Chair and any ties are resolved by the Executive Committee, the results shall be officially announced to the membership by mail and/or electronic communication.

4. Selection of the Council Observer: If a Councillor representing the Sections that is elected by the Texas Section is serving on Council, that same person shall be the Council Observer. Otherwise the Executive Committee shall appoint the Council Observer for a term of no longer than two years.

5. Official Year: The official year shall extend from the close of the first Regular meeting of one calendar year to the close of the first Regular meeting of the succeeding calendar year.

6. Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair: The member elected as Vice-Chair shall serve as Vice-Chair for one year, then as Chair-Elect the next year, and as Chair the following year. The Chair shall not be eligible for the office of Vice-Chair in the year following his or her term of office.

7. Terms of Office: The terms of office of the Officers and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall commence at the beginning of the official year following their election. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of three years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. In the event of his or her assumption of a post as an elected Officer of the Section, the tenure of a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall terminate, and the unexpired portion of his or her term shall be filled as hereinafter provided for a vacancy.

8. Vacancies in Offices: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Chair-Elect shall succeed and complete the term and shall serve as Chair also in the following year. The Vice-Chair shall serve simultaneously as Chair-Elect during the remainder of the term and shall continue to serve as Chair-Elect in the following term.

   If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair-Elect otherwise than through advancement to Chair, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair-Elect. In this case, and also if the office of Vice-Chair becomes vacant for other reasons, the office of Vice-Chair shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term. In the next scheduled election, candidates for both Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair shall be nominated.

   If vacancies occur in the offices of both the Chair and the Chair-Elect, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair and shall complete the term. In this case a special election shall be held to fill the offices of Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair. The members so elected shall continue to serve as officers in the normal succession order.

   Vacancies in any other elected office shall be filled (or left unfilled) by the Executive Committee until such time as the vacancy can be filled by regular election procedures.

Article VIII - Appointed Committees

1. Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee and one member appointed by the Council for a one-year term. The Chair shall ascertain through the Executive Officer the identity of this member. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the positions of Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee according to Article VII.3 of these Bylaws. The Nominating Committee shall advise the Chair on suitable candidates for Society committees, including relevant Society Prize and Award committees, and on candidates for Society offices. The Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties as described in the Bylaws.

2. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Chair-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer and two other members appointed by the Chair, upon recommendation of the Chair-Elect, to terms specified by the Chair of not more than two years.

   The Chair-Elect shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee. The Program Committee shall be responsible for the solicitation and selection of invited and review papers and for the arrangement of the programs for meetings of the Section.

3. Terms of Office of Appointed Committee Members: The term of a committee member appointed or recommended by an incoming Chair shall be the official year, as defined in Article VII.5 of these Bylaws, in which the Chair assumes office, with the exception of the Program Committee members, whose terms are specified in Article VIII.2 of these Bylaws.

4. Ad Hoc Committees: The Chair shall appoint other ad hoc committees as necessary, which shall serve only during the term of office of the Chair.

Article IX - Meetings

1. Regular Meeting: At least one meeting of the Section, to be known as the Regular Meeting, shall be held annually at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the Executive Board. Whenever it shall be feasible and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Section, the Executive Committee may order this or any other meeting to be held conjointly with a Meeting of the Society or of another society, conference, or group, provided the joint meeting does not conflict significantly with the schedule of Meetings of the Society as determined by the Executive Board. The registration fee for the Regular Meeting, when not held jointly with a Meeting of the Society, shall be fixed after consultation with the Executive Officer.

   Non-members of the Society shall pay a surcharge to be set each year by the Executive Board.

2. Annual Business Session: At least once each year the Section shall hold a Business Session that shall be a session of the Regular Meeting. This Business Session shall be devoted exclusively to the reports of officers and committees, election results, and the transaction of business affairs. No scientific program of the Section shall be presented simultaneously with the Business Session. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Section members of the agenda for the Business Session no later than three weeks prior to the Regular Meeting. A quorum for the transaction of business shall be three percent of the membership of the Section. A majority vote of those Section members present at a Business Session shall be sufficient for approval of actions.

3. Other Meetings: Meetings of the Section, other than the Regular Meeting, may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by petition of twenty percent of the members of the Section, subject to approval by the Executive Board. Special conferences may be sponsored in whole or in part by the Section, subject to the rules and regulations specified in the Society Constitution and Bylaws.

4. Papers at Meetings: Programs of meetings of the Section may include both invited and contributed papers. When a meeting of the Section is held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the rules of the Society shall apply to submitted papers. Otherwise, the Executive Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of the meeting, which may include limitations on the subject matter of submitted papers. The Secretary-Treasurer shall fix the deadline date for receipt of titles and abstracts in consultation with the Executive Officer and shall designate the place to which they should be sent. The presentation time for a paper at a meeting shall be determined by the Program Committee, except as otherwise directed by the Executive Committee. These allotments of time shall be consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society and with regulations of Council.

Article X - Dues

Dues for maintenance of membership in the Section shall be established by Council.

Article XI - Official Announcements

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News and in such other publications as the Executive Committee may direct.

Article XII - Procedure of Amendment of Bylaws

Proposal of an Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Executive Committee, or by a petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent of the members of the Section. If the proposed Amendment originates within the Section, it must be approved by Council before further action can be taken.

Following Council approval, copies of the proposed Amendment shall be distributed to all members of the Section, who then shall vote on the proposed Amendment by paper and/or electronic ballot, as the Executive Committee shall designate.

Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds vote by those voting.

Article XIII - Councillor Representing the Sections

Article IX of the Constitution of the Society provides for the Section to elect a Councillor representing the Sections when the Section’s turn in a rotation occurs. The nomination of candidates and the election shall proceed in a manner similar to that for the Vice-Chair of the Section.

Article XIV - Definitions

In these Bylaws "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society, "Council" and "Executive Board" shall signify the Council and the Executive Board of the Society, respectively; and "Executive Officer" shall signify the Executive Officer of the Society.