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CONSTITUTION OF
THE LOUISVILLE YOUNG
REPUBLICANS
March 11, 2002
Amended March 10, 2008
ARTICLE
I
This
club is organized under the Constitution and By-Laws of the Kentucky
Young
Republican Federation and the Young Republican National Federation. It
shall be
guided by the ideals of its membership. Its
purpose shall be the furtherance and achievement
of the membership’s
goals and those of the Republican Party.
ARTICLE
II
The
power of this organization rests in its many members.
United
States citizens that are
registered Republicans residing in the state Kentucky, between the ages of 18 and
40 may
become members. Annual dues of $15 per
person will place that member in good standing during that membership
year. Associate members, those who are
age 41 and over, may join in the membership during the year, but have
no voting
privileges.
ARTICLE
III
Officers
shall be elected from the membership of this organization.
Any member in good standing may become a
candidate for an office upon nomination and second.
Each member in good standing present at the
election may cast one vote for a candidate in each of the office
elections. The candidate for each office
receiving the most votes shall assume that office and retain it until
the
following election. Elections for all
offices shall be held on the second Monday of March in each year. There shall be thirty (30) days notice prior
to the election.
ARTICLE
IV
The
officers of this organization shall be four in number and comprise the
Executive Committee. These officers
shall be Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
The powers and responsibilities of these
officers shall be as follows:
Section
1. CHAIRMAN
The
Chairman shall possess the executive powers of this organization, and
all other
powers necessary and proper for the effective administration of its
activities. The Chairman shall preside
at the meetings of this body and its Executive Committee.
The Chairman shall fill any vacated elected
positions with majority approval of the membership present. The Chairman shall have the power to appoint
committee chairpersons to head committees created by the four officers. The Chairman may also have other powers and
duties as conferred by this Constitution or the By-Laws.
Section
2. VICE CHAIRMAN
The
Vice Chairman shall preside over meetings in the absence, disability,
or
resignation of the Chairman. The Vice
Chairman in the event of Chair resignation shall assume the office of
Chairman
and discharge the responsibilities and duties of same.
The Vice Chairman may also have other power
and duties as conferred by this Constitution and By-Laws.
Section
3. SECRETARY
The
Secretary shall maintain records of all proceedings of this body,
including but
not limited to minutes of Club meetings and procession of
correspondence. The Secretary shall
maintain a Club
membership roster containing the names, addresses, telephone numbers,
e-mail
addresses and voting precinct of each member in good standing and other
members. The roster must be in the form as
approved by
the Young Republican National Form. Voter
registration will be verified by the Board of Elections.
The Secretary may also have other powers and
duties as conferred by this Constitution and the By-Laws.
The roster must be forwarded to the state
secretary by March 15 of each year. All
minutes shall be forwarded to the state KYRF secretary within 30 days
of the
monthly meeting. All records of the
Louisville
Young Republicans shall be passed on to the new administration at the
end of
term.
Section
4. TREASURER
The
Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the financial accounts,
books
and records of this organization. The
Treasurer shall collect, make deposits, and have custody of all Club
funds. The Treasure shall make such
disbursements
as are authorized by the Executive Committee. The
Treasure shall make monthly financial reports to
the Membership of
the Club, addressing the financial status of the Club, as well as other
reports
required by the Chairman or the By-Laws. The
Treasure may also have other powers and duties
as conferred by this
Constitution or the By-Laws. A current
list of LYR officers shall be kept on file with the bank.
ARTICLE
V
Officers
may be removed for neglect in their official capacities to faithfully
discharge
the duties and responsibilities of their respective offices. Any officer who misses three consecutive
monthly meetings will be automatically removed form office; or, upon
formal
complaint filed by an officer and a concurring vote by two-thirds of
the
members present shall be sufficient to remove that officer from his or
her
post.
The
Club year, which shall apply to all activities of the Club and to the
Membership of the Club, shall be from the second Monday in March until
the
second Monday in March the following year.
Section
V.1
Dispute
Resolution Procedure
Section
V.2
Any
dispute over the identity of an officer, outcome or validity or any
election,
or matter pertaining to any constitutional provisions or by-law, of the
JCYR
shall be resolved in accordance with the following dispute resolution
procedure:
Section
V.3
Any
party to such a dispute may initiate proceedings under this Section by
filing a
written complaint with the LYR Chairman by delivering such complaint to
the
Chairman to the home address of record. Any
such complaint must be post marked no later than
thirty (30) days
following the incident, election, or other event from which the dispute
arises.
Section
V.4
If
the dispute pertains to the LYR Chairman, the Kentucky Young Republican
Federation and its Dispute Resolution Process must address the
complaint.
Section
V.5
No
later than fourteen (14) days following receipt of any complaint filed
in
accordance with this Section, the LYR Chairman shall appoint a
Committee to
investigate the dispute and make a final decision.
The Committee shall be composed of five (5)
members; two (2) of which shall be appointed pursuant to a
recommendation by
the Complainant, and two (2) of which shall be appointed pursuant to
the
Respondent (or Respondents collectively). These
four member, acting jointly, within fourteen
(14) days following
the date on which the last of such members in appointed shall appoint
the fifth
member. If the four members do not agree
on a fifth member with such time, the LYR Chairman shall immediately be
appointed as the fifth member. If the LYR
Chairman is not available, he may appoint any current LYR Officer not
involved
in the dispute.
Section
V.6
The
five (5) members of a Committee appointed pursuant to subsection V.5
shall
select by a majority vote, within five days of the date on which the
last of
the Committee, based on a majority vote of the Committee.
Within five (5) days of appointment, the
Chairman shall send notice, by certified mail, to the members of the
committee
of a hearing to be held by the Committee within thirty (30) days of
such
notice. Any such hearing shall be held
within the county in which the dispute arose.
Section
V.7
At
any hearing held pursuant to subsection V.6, all parties to the dispute
shall
be permitted to appear before the Committee and present evidence,
including
oral and written testimony, in accordance with procedures approved by a
majority of the members of the Committee. Audio
or video recording of any such hearing shall
be permitted at the
request of any party to the dispute or the LYR Chairman, and shall be
made a
part of the hearing record. The Chairman
of the Committee shall designate a member of the Committee to take
minutes of
the hearing and to preserve all evidence presented, which shall be
included in
the hearing record. The entire hearing
record shall be made available to any Member of the Committee no later
than
thirty (30) days following a request therefor.
Section
V.8
The
Committee shall issue a final decision, in writing, and shall send a
decision
to all parties to the dispute and the LYR Chairman and Secretary, no
later than
sixty (60) days following the conclusion of the hearing.
A minority of the members of the Committee,
in whole are in part, may issue a dissenting opinion.
A final decision of a Committee appointed in
accordance with this Section shall be binding on all parties. The decision may be appealed in accordance
with subsection (V.9).
Section
V.9
Any
party to dispute aggrieved by a final decision may appeal such final
decision,
in whole or in part, by filing a written appeal with the LYR Chairman
by
delivering such appeal to the LYR Secretary. Any
such appeal must be postmarked no later than
thirty (30) days
following the date on which the final decision is issued.
An appeal shall be decided by a majority vote
of the LYR Executive Committee at the next duly called Assembly meeting
thereof. The decision of the LYR Executive
Committee may be appealed in accordance with subsection (V.10)
Section
V.10
Any
party to dispute aggrieved by a final decision of the LYR Executive
Committee
may appeal such final decision, in whole or in part, by filing a
written appeal
with the KYRF Chairman by delivering such appeal to the KYRF Secretary. Any appeal must be postmarked no later than
thirty (30) days following the date on which the final decision is
issued. An appeal shall be decided by a
majority vote
on the KYRF Assembly at the next duly called meeting thereof.
Section
V.11
All
legitimate expenses incurred by the Committee and the participants
shall be
shared equally by the Complainant(s) and Respondent(s) until a verdict
is
rendered. The losing party is
responsible for reimbursing all recorded expenses of all parties
relating to
the dispute within thirty (30) days of the final decision after all
appeals
have been exhausted.
Section
V.12
No
later than thirty (30) days following a decision of the KYRF Assembly
with
respect to an appeal under Section V.10, or upon failure to appoint a
Committee
under Section V.5, failure to conduct a hearing under Section V.6 and
V.7,
failure to issue a final decision under Section V.8, or failure to
decide an
appeal under section V.10, within the time periods specified in those
sections,
any party to the dispute may request arbitration by the American
Arbitration
Association (hereinafter “AAA”) under the rules of the AAA. The hearing record shall be made available to
the AAA. In such arbitration the losing
party, as determined by the AAA, shall be responsible for all cost
imposed by
the AAA, unless otherwise determined by the AAA. Any
final decision, or ruling, of the AAA
shall be binding on all parties and enforceable in any Court of
competent
jurisdiction within the state of Kentucky. The
party initiating the arbitration shall be
responsible for making an initial deposit in an amount required to
initiate
proceedings by the AAA, but all parties shall be required to share
equally in
the incremental costs imposed by the AAA unless otherwise determined by
the
AAA.
Section
V.13
All
officers of the LYR and all members of the LYR Assemble, as a condition
of
accepting and holding office, elected or appointed, in their respective
position, agree to be bound by these provisions and any officer
refusing to
participate in such proceedings or to accept the result of any final
decision
arising in accordance with these provisions shall automatically forfeit
any
office or claim to such office in the LYR and any member club of the
LYR.
Section
V.14
Until
a pending dispute is finally resolved in accordance with the procedures
established by this Section, any Committee on Credentials appointed in
accordance with this Constitution shall give due deference to the
presumption
in favor of any existing Officer or Chairman as duly recognized at the
preceding 3rd District Convention convened in accordance
with the
provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws of the LYR, but take into
consideration the outcome of any relevant dispute which has been
finally
resolved in accordance with the procedures established by this Section
subsequent to the preceding 3rd District Convention.
All
questions of interpretation of this Constitution shall be referred to
the four
officers for consideration in writing. Two-thirds
approval by Membership present shall
legitimize the offers
recommended interpretation.
ARTICLE
VI
Amendments
to this Constitution may be proposed by any member in good standing of
this
Club. A proposed amendment shall be
submitted to the Secretary in writing. The
proposed amendment shall be forwarded to all
members in good
standing 10 days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered. If the proposed amendments, after being read
before the membership, receives the approval of two-thirds of the
members
present in good standing, the proposed amendment shall become a part of
this
Constitution.
ARTICLE
VII
All
meetings of the Club shall be governed by this Constitution, By-Laws,
and
Robert’s Rule’s of Order, Newly Revised.
ARTICLE
VIII
No
member
of this Club, in the name of this Club, shall endorse any candidate for
public
office where the office is contested in a Republican primary or
convention.
Such endorsement shall constitute grounds for discharge of that officer. This Club, or any of its officers, in the
name of this Club, may not endorse any candidate during a general
election who
is not a candidate of the Republican Party, unless said candidate is a
candidate in a non-partisan election contest.
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