Constitution and By-Laws

The National Capital Area Branch of
The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
Constitution and By-Laws

Constitution

Article I: Name

The name of this organization is the National Capital Area Branch- American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (NCAB-AALAS).

Article II: Affiliation

This branch is affiliated with the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, herein referred to as AALAS, a national non-profit educational association of persons and institutions professionally concerned with the production, care, and study of laboratory animals used in research.

Article III: Objectives

The objectives of this organization shall be to:

Promote the aims and interest of AALAS at the branch level.
Sponsor training courses, workshops, and seminars. Provide public outreach information on the use of animals in research.
Promote exchange of information between persons working in the field of laboratory animal science and cooperate with other local branches for the same purpose.
Promote improvements in the care and humane use of laboratory animals.
Recognize outstanding persons in the field of laboratory animal science.
Provide current information on laboratory animal science to its members, other branches, AALAS and any intruded members if the general public, news media o governmental organizations.
Support other local branches and non-profit organizations with similar goals.

Article IV: Membership

Individual membership in the NCAB-AALAS shall be open to:
- Any person interested in the care, improvement and use of laboratory animals is eligible for membership in the National Capital Area Branch of AALAS.
- Any person in the National Capital Area obtain gin AALAS certification as an Assistant Technician, Technician, or Technologist or Certified Manager of Animal Resources will be given on year of free membership in the Branch when presenting appropriate documentation within 6 months of receipt.
Honorary life membership shall be bestowed upon an individual contributing significantly to the NCAB-AALAS by unanimous approval of the Council.
Institutional membership shall be open to an organization supporting the objectives of the NCAB-AALAS and paying the annual membership dues. Institutional members are comprised of educational or research facilities/institutions, government or civilians, whose interests can be promoted or aided by the interaction within the NCAB-AALAS scientific/educational organization.

The privilege of membership may be withdrawn for cause by majority vote of the Council.

Article V: Voting Power

The privilege of voting shall be vested only in members on good standing.

Article VI: Officers

The officers of the organization shall be a President, Immediate Past President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer, all of whom must be members of the NCAB-AALAS in good standing. These officers are to be elected by the membership.

Article VII: Council

The governing body of the NCAB-AALAS shall be the council, composed of the President, the Immediate Past President, the President-Elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Chairpersons of the standing committees, the District 3 AALAS trustees, and two members appointed at large. In the event of a vacancy among the appointed Council members, the Council call name an interim appointee to serve during the unexpired term. The council shall have the power, except as provided otherwise by this Constitution, to fill at interim any vacancies that may occur among the Branch officers. Officers appointed at interim shall serve only until the next regular election. The Council shall conduct all affairs of the organization. All Council members must be member in good standing during their term in office.

Article VIII: Terms of Office

The president-elect serves for three year obligation: President-Elect, President and Past-President. Each term is one year.
The Secretary shall be elected for a two-year term and shall be eligible for no more than two consecutive terms.
The Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term, first year is a year in training with the existing treasurer and the final two with full treasurer duties. They shall be eligible for no more than two consecutive terms.

Article IX: Election by Ballot

At a general meeting which shall be held during the month of August/September, the slate of the Nominating Committee, consisting of two candidates per office, shall be placed on the ballot.
The election of the officers shall be conducted by ballot. The ballot shall be provided to all eligible voting members by October 1st. Ballots will be provided either at the Annual Seminar or by mail. Ballots must be post marked for return by October 31st.
The Nominations Committee, chaired by the Past-President, shall receive and tally all ballots by November 15th.
The candidate for each who receives the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected. The officers chosen shall take office on the following January 1st.

Article X: Quorums

A simple majority of members in good standing, present (or voting), shall constitute a quorum for the consideration of business at any general meeting of the Branch.
For changes in the Constitution and By-Laws, one-third of the members in good standing shall constitute a quorum, with a period allowed for the return of ballots postmarked within 30 days. If a return of the ballots from less than one-third members of the members is received the business will go to a vote by Council by quorum. This applies to all business with the exception of the election by ballot as described in Article IX above.
At any meeting of the Council, two-thirds of the voting members shall constitute a quorum.

Article XI: By-Laws

The Branch shall establish By-Laws and many amend them form time-to-time as herein provided.

Article XII: Amendments

An amendment to the Constitution may be proposed by four members of the Council or by at least ten members of the Branch and shall be filed in writing with the Secretary. The proposed amendments shall be considered at the next scheduled meeting of the Branch. If approved by a majority of the members present and voting, a copy shall be sent by the Secretary to each member of the Branch, together with a ballot and an abstract of the discussion. An amendment shall be considered adopted if it received an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the members voting, provided that at least one-third of the membership shall vote on the amendment within 30 days. An amendment shall become effective immediately upon adoption.

By-Laws

Chapter I: Officers

President: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at general and scientific meetings of the Branch, and at meetings of the Council. The President shall convene the Council at least twice each year and as often as the business of the Branch may require its action. He/she shall appoint the Chairperson of each standing committee. The President shall be an ex officio member of all committees and shall be the principal Branch officer to which all committees shall be responsible.
Immediate Past President: It shall be the duty of the Immediate Past President to sever as parliamentarian and principal Council Officer responsible for maintain the file of established Branch policies and precedent-setting actions taken by either the Branch or the Council.
President-Elect: The President-Elect shall assume the office of the President at the expiration of the latter's term or upon the President's resignation or inability to continue to serve as determined by the Council. It shall be the President-Elect's duty to preside at the general and scientific meetings of the Branch and meetings of the Council in the absence of the President and to appoint the Seminar Chairperson for the Seminar to be held during his/her presidential administration. The President-Elect will review and revise the Constitution and/or By-Laws as necessary.
Secretary: The term of office shall be for two years and will not coincide with the term of the treasurer. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings of the Branch and Council; and shall lay before the Council all the matters which require the consideration of the Council. The Secretary will supply a list of the Branch members to the Executive Director of AALAS annually and the names of its officers.
Treasurer: The term of office shall be for three years. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial matters of the Branch and be bonded during their term of office as deemed necessary by vote of council. A licensed accounting firm will manage the receipt of monies and payment of bills. The Treasurer shall report to the Council at each meeting thereof a statement of the current income, expenses and balance, and the January meeting report to the Branch the balance sheet of funds and income for the year.

Chapter II: Council

Meetings: The Council shall hold at least two meetings each year at times it may decide upon, or at the call of the President. If, however, five members of the Council present a written request to the Secretary for a meeting of the entire Council, it shall be the duty of this officer to issue a call for such meetings.
Officers: The President, Immediate Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer of the Branch shall hold office of the same designation in the Council.
District 3 AALAS Trustees: Will be the liaison between the National AALAS and the NCAB, keeping NCAB-AALAS informed of the all AALAS activities. When an At-Large Trustee resides in the NCAB-AALAS region, that trustee may be appointed as an additional Council member at the discretion of the President, with agreement from the at-large trustee.
Members at Large: There are to be two members-at-large appointed by the President. These members will be given designated duties by the President to aid any officer or committees where needed.
Committees: The Standing Committees shall be:
1. Awards Committee: The duties of the committee shall be to 1) inform the Council and general membership of awards activities, 2) solicit applications and determine recipients of the Branch sponsored scholarships and awards, 3) disseminate National AALAS and other laboratory animal science award information, and 4) upon approval of the Council, present special recognition awards, memorials, and scholarships for the Branch.
2. Education Committee: The duties of the committee shall consist of establishing and supervising the any training programs offered by the Branch, exclusive of workshops.
3. Financial Advisory Committee: The committee is composed of at least three members. One member will be the immediate Past-Present. The FAC will ensure that all previous years' bookkeeping materials are transferred to the auditor by February 15th. The FAC shall verify the inventory of capital equipment or other specific tangible assets as directed by the council. The Independent Auditor's report will be submitted in writing to the President and Secretary annually. Once approved, it will be published in the following newsletter.
4. Government Relations Committee: The duties of the committee are to inform the Branch and its members of any pending animal welfare or animal rights legislation and promote/assist in letter writing campaigns to support or prevent proposed legislation. This support may be in the form of providing contact information, detailed facts or figures, or from letters. This may also involve working as a liaison with the Foundation for Biomedical Research or similar organizations in their campaigns.
5. Historian: The Historian will prepare an annual report on the year's activities of the Branch. This shall include the following information and activities:
  - List of all the Council members and committees.
  - Information about monthly meetings (topic, speaker, attendance, location, etc.)
  - Public Relation activities to include type of events, location, NCAB representatives, attendance numbers.
  - Branch events such as picnic and banquets.
  - Annual seminar information to include seminar committee members, theme, location, attendance, banquet information and any other information that may be helpful for future planning.
  - TBR activities, if any, to include all pertinent information
  - Workshop activities, if any, to include all pertinent information.
  The historian will maintain the NCAB list of past award winners and update the list annually.
6. Individual Membership Committee: The duties of the committee will be to accept applications for the membership in the Branch, promote NCAB-AALAS membership through the newsletter and general meetings, and to maintain the NCAB-AALAS membership list.
7. Institutional Membership Committee: The duties of the committee will be to accept applications for membership in the Branch, promote NCAB-AALAS membership through the newsletter and general meeting, and maintain the membership list.
8. Management Information System Committee: The duties of this committee shall include the planning and acquisition of equipment and supplies necessary to maintain Branch records and produce required data and reports. The committee shall develop policies and procedures for the scheduling and the proper use of equipment and formulate or review proposed new Branch information systems. The duties of this committee shall also include maintaining the NCAB website.
9. Nominations Committee: The committee shall carry out those duties outlined in Article IX of the NCAB-AALAS Constitution. The Immediate Past-President will serve as Chairperson of the committee and select other committee members.
10. Program Committee: It shall be the responsibility of the committee to arrange the general meeting programs and other Branch sponsored activities.
11. Public Outreach Committee: The duties of the committee shall be to provide information about NCAB-AALAS and laboratory animal science in general to the membership and/or interested persons and organizations within the public sector. The committee shall also maintain awareness of those activities which might influence NCAB-AALAS goals and objectives and regularly report findings to the membership.
12. Publicity Committee: The duties of the committee shall be to 1) disseminate information concerning the Branch and AALAS to appropriate individuals and organizations; publish a newsletter which will contain announcements of meetings of the Branch, 2) notify members of election results and committee appointments; and examine and approve any publications of the Branch. If any committee produces information about AALAS, its final product shall pass approval by this committee before being made public or published.
13. Seminar Committee: The President-Elect will appoint, for each year, that a seminar is held, a member in good standing to serve as Chairperson of the Annual Seminar.
14. Technician Committee: The Chairperson shall be the Technician Branch representative, whom shall be appointed by the President for a period of three years. The duties of the committee shall be to promote technical involvement in local and national AALAS activities through direct interaction with Branch educational programs and liaison with CTAD.
15. Workshop Committee: The duties of the committee shall consist of the establishment and execution of any workshop programs established by the Chairperson upon approval by the President and Council.
16. Other ad hoc committees as may from time-to-time be authorized by the Council shall be appointed by the President. The term of all ad hoc committees shall expire, unless otherwise specified, upon expiration of the term of the President appointing them.

Chapter III: Meetings

General Meetings: General meetings are to be called at least four times per year during the period January through December.
Special Meetings: to be called by the Council with due notice to members.
Council Meetings: to be called at least twice per year.
The order of business at the meetings of the Branch shall be:
1. Call to order.
2. Roll Call.
3. Approval of the minutes.
4. Treasurer's report.
5. Report of standing committees.
6. Report of special committees.
7. Unfinished business from previous meeting.
8. New Business.

Chapter IV: Fiscal Policies

Individual membership shall be on anniversary year. Membership will expire one year from initial membership date. Institutional membership shall be on calendar year, January 1 through December 31.
Dues for individual and institutional memberships shall be established by a 2/3 vote of the Council.
The Council shall have a goal of maintaining a reserve, equal to 100% of the annual operating budget, with a minimum of 50% of the operating budget, set aside form Branch assets to cover contingency expenses. The FAC shall monitor and make recommendations on adjusting the amount held in reserve. All fees for NCAB-AALAS activities shall be reviewed by the FAC and recommended for approval by Council prior to advertisement to the membership.
Corporate sponsorship is prohibited. Corporations can support NCAB through the Institutional Membership program.

Chapter V: Changes in By-Laws

No alteration shall be made in these By-Laws unless it shall be submitted in writing at a business meeting of the Branch, been entered on the minutes with names of the members proposing it, and shall be adopted by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a subsequent meeting, or by ballot as specified for Constitutional changes.

References to any persons, organizations, activities, products, services, websites, etc., do not constitute or imply the endorsement, recommendation, or favor of NCAB/AALAS or Council members acting on its behalf.