BYLAWS | monroe-county-gop

BY LAWS

CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS
MONROE COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE

RULE ONE
ORGANIZATION OF THE PARTY

The organization of the Monroe County Republican Committee shall consist of the following bodies, namely:

SECTION 1: A County Committee composed of:

All countywide elected officials who are registered Republicans occupying the offices of: county commissioner, controller, coroner, district attorney, prothonotary, register of wills/recorder of deeds, sheriff and treasurer.
A committee of precinct committeemen (as apportioned in Rule 4 Section 2) elected to four-year terms by Republican electors in the county during the Primary Election in the years in which electors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are regularly scheduled to elect a Governor commencing in 2018.

SECTION 2: An Executive Committee consisting of a minimum of fifteen (15) members of the Republican Party.

SECTION 3: A Finance Committee consisting of a chairperson(s) and a minimum of six (6) members.

SECTION 4: There shall be a District Captain position, arranged by school district within the county. The District Captain shall be nominated by the County Committee members whose precincts lie within the school district. The nominee for District Captain shall be voted upon by
the Executive Committee. A District Captain does not have to be a sitting County Committee member.

SECTION 5: Other Committees as deemed necessary and as named by the County Chairperson, including but not limited to Voter Registration Committee, Committee Persons Development Committee, Candidate Recruitment Committee and Volunteer Committee. Additionally, there shall be a district captain position, arranged by school district within the county. The District Captain shall be nominated by the committee members within the school district and shall be voted upon by a majority vote of the election committee. A District Captain does not have to be a sitting committee member.

RULE TWO
OFFICERS AND TERMS OF OFFICE

SECTION 1: The Officers of the Republican Committee of Monroe County shall consist of a Chairperson, (2) two Vice-Chairpersons (1 male and 1 female), a Secretary and a Treasurer.

SECTION 2: The County Chairperson shall be elected by the duly elected voting district/precinct Republican Committee representatives following the Spring Primary in even numbered years commencing in 2014 and shall be elected for a term of two (2) years. The election of the County Chairperson shall take place within thirty days of the Spring Primary in even numbered years at meeting of the full County Committee.

SECTION 3: Vice Chairpersons, Finance Chairpersons, Secretary, Treasurer and all the Committee Chairpersons shall be appointed by the County Chairperson to serve at the pleasure of the County Chairperson.

SECTION 4: The terms of the officers of the Republican Committee of Monroe County, with the exception of the County Chairperson, shall begin from the date of their appointment and continue concurrently with the term of the Chairperson unless sooner terminated by resignation,
death or removal from office by the County Chairperson. Any qualified elector of the County of Monroe, Pennsylvania, except as limited in Rule Two Section 2, shall be eligible for appointment to any of the aforesaid offices. The term of the County Chairperson shall begin on
the date of his/her election by the County Board of Elections. The newly elected Chairperson shall be installed at the next regularly scheduled County Committee Meeting.

SECTION 5: All persons entitled to vote at meetings of the County Committee shall have the right to substitute by proxy, any registered Republican voter from his/her district. Such proxies shall be in writing, on the form approved by the County Committee, signed by the person
appointing the proxy, and witnessed. No person may act as proxy for more than one (1) person.

RULE THREE
DUTIES OF OFFICERS

COUNTY CHAIRPERSON

The County Chairperson shall be the Executive Officer of the committee in the county and, as such, shall put into operation the resolutions and actions of the County Committee, and shall preside at meetings thereof, and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees appointed by
him or her. The County Chairperson, with advice of the Executive Committee, shall have general supervision of the County Committees activities in the support of all the political campaigns in the county. The County Chairperson may not disburse funds or obligate the party
for any single expenditure in any one-month for general party operating expenses in excess of $1,000.00, except upon resolution of the County Committee. At the County Chairperson’s discretion, monies for campaigns may be extended by the party, if the money came from specific campaigns for specific purposes, so long as the same does not obligate the general funds of the party.

VICE-CHAIRPERSONS

One of the Vice-chairpersons shall preside over meeting in the absence of the County Chairperson. The first Vice-chairperson appointed to office shall have precedence in assuming the chair and shall have charge of the activities of the County Committee in the absence of the
County Chairperson.

FINANCE CHAIRPERSON

The Finance Chairperson(s) shall have charge of raising funds for the committee. The Finance Chairperson(s) shall keep track of all said funds received and promptly turn the funds over to the Treasurer.

SECRETARY

The Secretary shall keep minutes of each of the Executive and County Committee meetings in a book provided for that purpose; which, together with all papers, documents and data in his/her possession, shall be turned over to the County Chairperson at the end of his/her term, and shall attend to other duties as the County Chairperson may from time to time direct. The Secretary shall keep a record of attendance at all committee meetings

TREASURER

The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all monies for party purposes and shall keep accurate records of all such monies and their disbursements. Upon the expiration of his/her term, the Treasurer shall turn over to his/her successor all funds, books, checkbooks, documents and data in his/her possession in a condition to be audited at the discretion of the County Committee. No disbursements shall be made of party funds except upon signature of the County Chairperson and the Treasurer. The Treasurer will provide to the County Committee at its regularly scheduled Committee Meeting a Treasurer’s Report consisting of, but not limited to, all monies received, and all expenditures, itemized.

RULE FOUR
THE COUNTY COMMITTEE

SECTION 1: Duties: The duties of the members of the county committee shall include, but not limited to the following:

IN THEIR ELECTION DISTRICTS:

To increase Republican registration.
Distribute Party literature.
To insure a Republican vote turn out on Election Day.
To promote the welfare of the residents.
To present views of their constituents to the committee as a whole.

AS A MEMBER OF THE COUNTY COMMITTEE:

Accept a position on the governing body for the operation of the Republican Committee within the county.
Cooperate with the whole committee in the furthering of Republican goals.
Attend all meetings and special meetings of the committee.
Cooperate with the County Chairperson, and the Executive Committee to insure the overall effectiveness of the committee within the county.

SECTION 2: Composition and Qualifications:

Composition: Each election precinct within Monroe County shall elect precinct committee members to represent them on the full committee.Every precinct shall have at least one seat on committee.For every 500 registered Republicans in their precinct, they shall receive an additional committeeman. (ie. 1-499 registered Republicans = 1 committeeman; 500-999 = 2; 1000-1499 = 3; 1500-1999 = 4; 2000-2499 = 5, etc.)
Qualifications:Each member of the County Committee shall be a resident and registered Republican voter of the municipality in which he or she is elected or appointed.They do not have to live in the exact precinct that they serve; however, they must live in the same municipality.A County Committeeman elected via write-in votes must received at least 50% of the number of votes as they would have had to have gotten in nomination petition signatures in order to get on the ballot.(ie. 10 signatures to get on the ballot = minimum 5 write-in votes)

SECTION 3: Vacancy: in the case of the resignation or death of the County Chairperson, the vice-chairperson appointed first shall declare a vacancy in said office and the county committee shall choose a successor from among qualified registered Republicans within the County within thirty (30) days to fill the UN-expired term. If vacancies occur in the county committee, the County Chairperson shall make a reasonable effort to fill the same by appointment, said Appointee shall serve at the pleasure of the County Chairperson. In the event a vacancy occurs with an elected position within a district/precinct, the duly elected committee member(s) from same district/precinct in conjunction with the Monroe County Republican Committee shall fill the vacancy within thirty days of the vacancy occurring. (In keeping with Rule 10 – 4 of the State Republican Committee)

SECTION 4: Loyalty: By accepting office, all County Committee members bind themselves to support all registered Republicans Committee nominees in the general election. Whenever it shall appear that any member of the County Committee opposes or is about to oppose the
Republican Committee of any of its candidates, or who neglects or refuses to attend the duties of office, the County Chairperson shall appoint a committee of three (3) qualified Republican Electors of the county to investigate such charges. The investigating committee shall notify the
person so charged of the time and place of a hearing. If upon investigation it finds such charges to be true and correct, it shall so report in writing to the County Chairperson. At the next regularly scheduled meeting of the County Committee at which time the County Committee may censure, reprimand or take such action as it deems just or proper.

RULE FIVE
MEETINGS

SECTION 1: The County Committee shall meet monthly on a date at the discretion of the County Chairperson.

SECTION 2: Each December written notice of the next year’s annual County Committee monthly meeting calendar shall be given by mail to each member of the County Committee. Should changes occur to the annual monthly meeting calendar, County Committee members
must be notified at least five days prior of the newly scheduled meeting date via telephone, US Mail or email when applicable. The annual monthly meeting calendar, along with meeting date changes that may occur, will be posted on the Monroe County Republican Committee website.

SECTION 3: If upon request of a member of the County Committee, the County Chairperson fails to call a meeting of said Committee, a lawful meeting thereof shall be called upon the petition of at least ten (10) members of said committee; three (3) days written notice of the time and place of such meeting is to be given by petitioners to all members of the County Committee. The aforesaid petition and notice shall set forth the purpose or purposes of the meeting and the business of the meeting shall be limited to those stated purposes only.

SECTION 4: One-third (1/3) of the voting Committee members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction or business at county meetings.

RULE SIX
ORDER OF BUSINESS

The order of business at all regular monthly meetings of the County Committee shall include but
not be limited to:
1. Pledge of Allegiance to the USA Flag
2. Minutes of previous meeting
3. Treasurer’s Report
4. Chairman’s Report
5. Unfinished Business
6. New Business
7. Good of the Order

RULE SEVEN
AMENDMENT TO THE RULES

SECTION 1. The foregoing rules may be amended from time to time by a two-thirds (2/3) vote in the affirmative by the eligible voting members of the County Committee or their proxies present and voting at any meeting of the County Committee provided that notice shall be sent to each member by first class mail at his/her last known address, fax, e-mail, or any other communication method approved by the committee person, not later that ten (10) days prior to the stated meeting. Said notice shall state that an amendment or alteration to the rules is proposed. A Motion to suspend any of the rules herein shall not be allowed.

SECTION 2. The foregoing rules shall become effective upon adoption by the County Committee.

RULE EIGHT
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SECTION 1. Appointment: The County Chairperson, immediately upon election shall appoint an Executive Committee, which shall serve at the pleasure of the County Chairperson, which shall assemble at his/her call.

SECTION 2. Vacancy: If vacancies occur in the Executive Committee, the County Chairperson shall fill by appointment.

SECTION 3. Meetings: The County Chairperson shall call meetings of the Executive Committee whenever the Chairperson deems it necessary, or whenever requested to do so by a minimum of eight (8) members of said committee. Meeting shall be scheduled no further than
two (2) months apart.

SECTION 4. Duties: The Executive Committee shall act in an advisory capacity to the County Chairperson and all officers.

SECTION 5. Loyalty: By accepting office, all Executive Committee members bind themselves to support all registered Republican committee nominees in the general election. Whenever it shall appear that any member of the Executive Committee opposes or is about to oppose the Republican Committee, or any of its candidates, the County Chairperson shall have the authority to remove the member from the Executive Committee.

SECTION 6. Proceedings: Recommendation shall be simple majority vote with the Chairperson having an additional vote should a tie occur.

SECTION 7. Party Business: The Chairperson may bring to the Executive Committee any issues of committee business and seek their recommendation which the Chairperson shall then bring before the County Committee.

SECTION 8. Candidates: Any person seeking the nomination of the Republican Party may on invitation of the Chairperson appear before the Executive Committee to seek the committee’s endorsement. The Executive Committee upon motion may or may not choose to endorse any
Republican candidate. The County Chairperson must present to the County Committee the decision of the Executive Committee with regards to endorsement of any candidates for a final vote to be taken by the County Committee.

SECTION 9. Former County Chairpersons: Any former County Chairperson shall automatically become a member of the Executive Committee as well as any other person whom the Chairperson shall appoint.

SECTION 10. Members Responsibilities: In addition to attending meetings and advising the Chairperson, members shall assist in fund raising, voter registration and election campaigns carried out by the Republican Committee.

RULE NINE
REMOVAL OF AN OFFICER, COMMITTEE MEMBER

SECTION 1. Removal for Cause. Upon the referral of the Chair, any Committee Member or officer or any other District Captain, or any other member of a committee created by the Chair may be removed for cause from such office, as follows:

The Chair shall appoint a committee of three Committee Members (“Removal Committee”) to investigate the grounds for a committee member’s removal for cause.
The Removal Committee shall make a report and recommendation to the Executive Committee after investigation.
Upon report of the Removal Committee to the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee may vote to refer the issue of removal of a Committee Member by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall establish rules and procedures before the Executive Committee; however, in all cases the member subject to these proceedings shall have the right to address the Executive Committee and present evidence and witnesses in his own defense at a hearing. Any hearing required by this section shall be held with at least seven (7) calendar days’ written notice to the member or members involved. Written notice shall be made by regular United States first class mail to the member’s last address of record with the County Committee, and by email, if applicable.
Upon referral to the full committee from the Executive Committee, a Committee Member or officer or any other District Captain, or any other member of a committee created by the Chair may be removed for cause from such office upon a sixty percent (60%) vote of the full committee at a regular or special meeting called under these bylaws, and at which a quorum is present.

SECTION 2: Grounds for removal may be for cause, including, but not limited to:

Contributing to, supporting or working for a candidate for nomination or the nominee or candidate of any political party or body other than the Republican Party (except that an attorney’s representation of a client, who is a candidate for nomination or the nominee or candidate of a political party or body, in the course of his/her practice is not a violation of this provision).
Affiliation with - or registration as a member of a political party or body other than the Republican party; or
Publicly advocating the defeat of or discouraging any voter from voting for the Republican nominated candidate for any office, including, without limitation, judicial retentions.
Failing to attend regular meetings of the full committee, which grounds shall be presumed upon missing three meetings in a row or sixty (60%) of regular meetings for two successive calendar years.
The forgoing provisions shall not apply to cross-filed candidates who appear in a Democrat ballot position, but who are registered Republicans.

SECTION 3: Removal for Balance of Term of Office. Removal shall be valid through the end of the term of office of any affected a Committee Member or officer or any other District Captain, or any other member of a committee created by the Chair.