Proposed Bylaw Changes - Quorum and Voting

[donald-selle]

Due to the growth of the membership of HAS, obtaining a quorum at the annual meeting where our officers directors and committee chairpersons are elected and other business of HAS is decided has been very uncertain. The current bylaws require 10% of the members attend the annual meeting in order for any vote of the membership to be valid.

The proposed amendment lowers the quorum requirement to 5% of the membership, and establishes the possibility of having the membership vote electronically, provided that the BOD establishes voting procedures that meet minimum requirements

A quorum of the HAS BOD has voted unanimously to recommend that the Membership of HAS vote to adopt the following proposed amendments to the bylaws regarding Quorum and Voting

Article IV, Section VI of the By-Laws shall be amended to read as follows:
On any matter brought to the Membership for decision, either at a Special or Annual Meeting, a quorum shall exist when five (5) per cent or more of the voting membership are present. In order for a vote of the membership to be valid, a quorum for that vote of the membership must exist. Each member shall have a single vote. No member is entitled to vote by proxy.
Voting by the membership may be accomplished by suitable electronic means when the vote is conducted in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors, and such procedures are sufficient to ensure that:
a) The means for voting electronically shall be generally available to the membership;
b) The membership is instructed on how they can vote by electronic means and ensure their vote is recorded;
c) The matters for consideration, and the schedule for voting shall be publicized to the membership at least 30 days prior to the commencement of voting;
d) On each matter under consideration by the membership, only one vote is recorded for each member;


The current Bylaws can be found here: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/content/bylaws

All members are encouraged to post questions or comments about the proposed amendment to this thread and each will be addressed.

Best Regards;

Don Selle
HAS VP

[sirby]

Given the fact that our membership is spread over a very large geographic area and it is often difficult to get to the meeting location, I like the idea of being able to vote by electronic means. I also believe that the quorum rule is impacted by the same factors and that the proposed change is prudent.

Sherry Irby

[donald-selle]

Yes I agree, its time we move into the present and take advantage of current technology.

The fact is that currently, the only way for the membership to vote on issues is to attend a monthly meeting. The bylaws committee was optimistic that adoption of this amendment would increase the level of membership participation in deciding on how HAS is run, and ultimately ensure we are a better organization that is more responsive to our members for years to come.

Don Selle
Chairman- bylaws committee