Bylaws of the Religion and Family Life Section
National Council on Family Relations

Article I - Name
The name of this section shall be the Religion and Family Life Section of the National Council on Family Relations.

Article II - Government
The Constitution of the National Council on Family Relations shall govern the Section in all of its practices. The Bylaws of this Section shall not conflict with the Constitution of the National Council on Family Relations. Every amendment to the Constitution of the NCFR shall become effective and binding on this Section.

Article III - Purpose
The purpose of this section shall be to unite those members of the NCFR who are concerned with issues pertaining to religion and families.

Article IV - Membership and Finances

Section 1 - Eligibility - Any person who is a member of the NCFR shall be eligible for membership in the Religion and Family Life Section upon payment of the annual national and Religion and Family Life Section dues.

Section 2 - Termination of Membership - Non-payment of dues. A member whose dues remain unpaid shall be dropped from membership.

Section 3 - Amount of Dues - Annual dues for regular and student Section members shall be set the Executive Committee.

Section 4 - Payment of Dues - Dues of all members are payable concurrently with NCFR dues, and are paid through NCFR.

Section 5 - Finances - a) Monies of the Religion and Family LIfe Section shall be administered by the Section's Executive Committee or by the Section's Chair; b) Requests for expenditures shall be referred to the Section's executive committee prior to preparation of the annual budget. The Religion and Family Life Section shall not be responsible for debts except as authorized by the executive committee of the section.

Article V - Officers

Section 1 - Officers - The officers of this Section shall be elected by Section members only.

Section 2 - The officers of the Section shall be the following: 1) Chair (serving a two-year term); 2) Vice Chair (serving a concurrent two-year term); 3) Secretary-Treasurer (serving a concurrent two-year term); two student representatives to be appointed by the chair; and the immediate past chair.

Section 3 - The elected officers shall take office at the close of the annual meeting. If for any reason an annual meeting is not held, officers will take office on November 1st of the year.

Section 4 - In case of vacancies in any office, the Executive Committee of the Section, which shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary-Treasurer, shall be empowered to fill such vacancies.

Section 5 - Duties of Officers

a. Chair - The Chair shall serve on the NCFR Board of Directors. S/he shall be the official representative of the Section in all activities of the NCFR. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and Executive Committee, and shall call special meetings when necessary. The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, and shall perform all other duties pertaining to the office, including being in charge of annual meeting programs. In the event of the Chair's absence, incapacitation, resignation, of death, his or her duties shall be assumed by the Vice-Chair.

b. Vice Chair - The Vice-Chair shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair, act for the Chair in the Chair's absence or disability and perform other duties as are requested by the Chair. The primary duty of the Vice-Chair is to be responsible for the Section Newsletter.

c. Secretary/Treasurer - The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping minutes of the meetings and shall keep an accurate list of the names and addresses of all members. S/he shall make an annual financial report for the Section.

Section 6 - Election of Officers

a. Nominations - The Executive committee will serve as the nominating committee and shall present a slate of nominees to the Section members biannually (even years) through the NCFR newsletter.

b. Election - Voting shall be by ballot and a majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for election. Elections shall be held biannually (even years) by mail through the NCFR office. All regular and student members of the Section are eligible to vote. Each member shall have one vote. Write-in votes may be made.

Section 7 - Removal from Office - Any officer who fails to perform his or her duties adequately may be relieved of his or her office by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Article VI - Meetings - An annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in conjunction with the annual NCFR meeting.

Article VII - Committees - There may be committees as shall be deemed advisable by the Executive Committee. These special committees shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee. A student representative should be appointed to each committee.

Article VIII - Rules of Order
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern this Section in all parliamentary procedures in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws.

Article IX - Amendments
Provisions of these bylaws not governed by the Constitution of the NCFR may be amended by a three-fourths vote of Section members in attendance at any annual business meeting of the Section, or by mailed ballot.

Approved 1987