Model County By-LAws
_________________ COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE
ARTICLE 1 — NAME
The name of this organization shall be the _________ COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE.
ARTICLE 2 — PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be to uphold and advance Republican principles and elect
Republican candidates to town. county, state, and federal offices.
ARTICLE 3 --- AUTHORITY
Vermont Statutes Annotated, the Rules of the Vermont Republican State Committee, and these Bylaws shall constitute the authority for this organization. In the event of any conflict between these By-Laws and the Rules of the Republican State Committee, the latter shall prevail.
ARTICLE 4 — POLICY
It shall be the policy of this organization not to endorse any candidate for public office prior to any contested primary election. This policy, however, does not prevent any individual, including officers of this organization, from endorsing candidates in a primary, provided that the individual makes clear that he or she is speaking individually and not on behalf of this organization.
ARTICLE 5 — MEMBERSHIP
Membership in this organization shall be in accordance with Chapter 45, Title 17, V. S. A., applicable State Committee Rules, and these Bylaws
ARTICLE 6 — RELATIONSHIP TO TOWN COMMITTEES
Members of this organization shall take adequate steps to bring before this organization any relevant information from their respective town committees and to bring before their town committees any relevant information from this organization.
ARTICLE 7 — OFFICERS
Officers of this organization shall be a Chair, Vice Chair, Finance Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman. In accordance with 17 V.S.A. §2314, the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer need not be members of this organization at the time of their election, but if not, shall automatically become members upon their election, with full voting privileges.
All officers shall deliver records which are the property of this organization to their successors within one month after their election.
ARTICLE 8 — DUTIES OF OFFICERS
CHAIR — The Chair shall: preside at all meetings of the County Committee; coordinate and have general supervision over the work of this organization in order to fulfill the purposes of this organization; perform all duties required by the laws of the State of Vermont, the Rules of the Republican State Committee, these Bylaws, and such other duties designated to her or him by this organization; have authority to sign and endorse checks in the absence or disability of the Treasurer; approve all expenditures within the limits of the adopted budget; appoint a Parliamentarian; except for the Finance and Executive Committees, appoint all members of committees of this organization, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee; designate one member of each committee as chair of that committee; and, with the approval of the Executive Committee, fill all vacancies in offices and committees for the remainder of the applicable term.
VICE CHAIR — The Vice Chair shall: discharge the duties of the Chair during the absence or disability of the chair; perform such other duties as may be delegated to her or him by the Chair; and, upon a vacancy in the office of Chair, become Chair until the next election.
FINANCE CHAIR — The Finance Chair shall: be responsible for raising funds in support of both the County and State Committees; present a proposed financial plan to raise such funds for the approval by the Executive Committee; and make a report upon completion of each fund-raising effort.
SECRETARY — The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the County Committee and report them at subsequent meetings of the organization.
TREASURER — The Treasurer shall: be the custodian of all funds belonging to this organization and deposit such funds promptly in a bank approved by the Executive Committee; make disbursements authorized by the Chair within limits of the adopted budget; be charged with seeing that all legally required reports are duly filed and that all persons engaged in fund raising within the County are familiar with the legal requirements applicable to their activities; keep accurate records of all receipts and expenditures; and present a financial report at each meeting of the Executive Committee and of this organization.
ARTICLE 9 — STANDING COMMITTEES
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE — The Executive Committee shall be chaired by the County Chair and shall consist of the officers of this organization and not more than three at-large members elected by members of this organization for terms coincident with the terms of the officers. The Executive Committee shall: not later than January 31 of each year, formulate and present to the membership of this organization for approval an annual budget and political action plan; act in place and on behalf of this organization between meetings of this organization, reporting all such actions to the full organization at the next meeting thereof; have authority to approve disbursement of any expenditures not provided for in the approved budget; approve all fundraising activities proposed by the Finance Committee; and approve all committee members and vacancy appointments submitted by the Chair.
FINANCE COMMITTEE — The Finance Chair shall be elected at the biennial organizational meeting of this organization for a term of two years. The Finance Chair, in consultation with the County Chair, shall appoint the other members of the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is responsible for the fundraising activities of this organization and is also charged with supporting the fundraising activities of the Vermont Republican State Committee.
CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE — The Campaign Committee shall be responsible for the identification, recruitment, training, and support of all Republican candidates for House and Senate seats representing this County.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE — The Communications Committee shall: be responsible for public media relations of this organization, including maintenance of social media sites, creation and production of news and publicity releases, and promotion of letter-writing activities in support of Republican candidates and positions; and be responsible for communications within this organization, including production of a newsletter and other communications to members, town Republican chairs, and other interested persons.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE — The Membership Committee shall have responsibility for new member recruitment and registration, maintenance of County checklists, poll watching activities, and oversight of absentee ballot access.
AUDIT COMMITTEE — The Audit Committee shall consist of two members of this organization who are not the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, or member of the Finance Committee. They shall conduct an informal annual review of this organization’s books no later than 30 days after the end of the fiscal year and shall report their findings to the membership at the next meeting following the completion of their review.
ARTICLE 10 — PARTICIPATION WITH THE STATE COMMITTEE
At the biennial reorganization meeting of this organization, the members shall elect a State Committeewoman, a State Committeeman, a member to the State Republican Platform Committee, at-large Delegates to the State Committee in a number not greater than the number of such Delegates apportioned to this county by 17 V.S.A. §2310 and Rule 4 of the Rules of the Republican State Committee, and alternate Delegates in a number not greater than the total number of Delegates (including the County Chair, Finance Chair, Committeewoman, Committeeman, and at-large Delegates). In all cases, any contested elections shall be decided by written ballot, and unless this organization by majority vote adopts different procedures, the following procedures shall govern these elections:
1. All nominations for State Committeewoman shall be received and voted upon, and the person receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected.
2. All nominations for State Committeeman shall be received and voted upon, and the person receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected.
3. All nominations for at-large Delegates shall be received, and each member shall be entitled to vote for not more than the number of at-large Delegates to be elected. Multiple votes by the same voter for the same candidate shall not be permitted. The persons receiving the greatest number of votes, up to the number of at-large Delegates to be elected, shall be declared elected.
4. All nominations for alternate Delegates shall be received, and each member shall be entitled to vote for not more than the number of Delegates (including the County Chair, Finance Chair, Committeewoman, Committeeman, and at-large Delegates) who have been elected. Multiple votes by the same voter for the same candidate shall not be permitted. The persons receiving the greatest number of votes, up to the number of alternate Delegates to be elected, shall be elected; the person receiving the greatest number of votes shall be the first alternate, the second greatest number of votes the second alternate, etc.
5. All nominations for Member to the State Platform Committee shall be received and voted upon, and the person receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected.
ARTICLE 11 — DUTIES OF STATE COMMITTEE DELEGATES
It shall be the duty of the Delegates to the State Committee to: attend State Committee meetings or to attempt to find an alternate delegate to attend in the absent Delegate’s place, contacting the first alternate first, the second alternate next, and so forth until an alternate has been found who will agree to attend; deliver a report on activities of the State Committee to this organization at its regular meeting; and submit promptly to the State Committee any request or statement which has been duly adopted by this organization.
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ARTICLE 12 — MEETINGS
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS — The organizational meeting shall be held in a public place, in accordance with 17 V.S.A §2309 and such State Committee Rules as may apply.
REGULAR MEETINGS — A minimum of four regular meetings shall be held per year, including the organizational meeting (in the odd year.)
SPECIAL MEETINGS — Special meetings may be called as deemed necessary by the Chair and shall be called by the Chair when petitioned in writing by ten members.
NOTICE — Notice of all meetings shall be given to members personally or by telephone, mail, email, or other effective means no less than ten days prior to the date on which the meeting is to be held. In emergency situations only, notice shall be given personally or by telephone to each member no less than three days prior to the date on which the meeting is to be held.
QUORUM —One-third of the members of the County Committee from at least 20% of the organized towns and cities in the County constitutes a quorum for all meetings of the organization.
PROXY VOTING — Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.
OPEN/CLOSED MEETINGS — All meetings of the County Committee shall be open unless voted otherwise following the call to order of the meeting.
ARTICLE 13 — NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS – Except as provided in Article 10 or by special rule adopted by majority vote prior to the commencement of the elections: all nominations for any position shall be made individually from the floor; election by ballot shall be required where there is a contest; election shall be by simple majority vote; and in the case of a contest among three or more nominees, none of them receiving a majority, a run-off election shall be held between the two members receiving the highest number of votes.
ARTICLE 14 — FINANCE
FISCAL YEAR — The fiscal year of the organization shall be January 1 through December 31.
BUDGET — A proposed annual budget shall be prepared by the Finance Committee and submitted to the Executive Committee for review, possible amendment, and submission to the full membership for adoption prior to January 1 of each year, or as soon as practicable thereafter.
FUND RAISING — Fund raising efforts for the support of this organization shall be proposed by the Finance Committee and conducted as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.
FUNDS — All funds belonging to this organization shall be promptly deposited in a bank designated by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer, with the approval of the County Chair, shall have authority to disburse funds in accordance with the adopted budget, except that any disbursements in excess of $5,000 shall require two signatures. Disbursements not provided for in the adopted budget may not be made until authorized by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE 15 — PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
Parliamentary procedures not covered by these By-Laws shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Latest Edition.
ARTICLE 16 — AMENDMENTS
Amendments to these By-Laws may be made by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at any meeting of the County Committee provided that:
(1) notice of such amendment is given at a previous meeting for discussion; and
(2) the written text of the proposed amendment has been included in the notice of the meeting at which the amendment is being proposed for adoption.
ARTICLE 17 — EFFECTIVE DATE
The effective date of these By-Laws shall be ________________
NOTE: These Model By-Laws are intended only as a working model, to be adapted to each County Committee’s needs; certain items in Article 12 have been printed in bolded italics in order to emphasize that these items, in particular, ought to be used as is or changed to suit the particular needs of each County Committee.