NECA

Members May Be Asked To Dissolve NECA’s Constitution

Since it was originally adopted in 1954, NECA’s current constitution has been amended 15 times, and our current bylaws, adopted the same year, have been amended 27 times. With all these changes over the past half century, it should come as no surprise that many redundancies – and a few inconsistencies – now exist between these two documents.

As reported previously – and recapped on the next page of this supplement – efforts to improve our governing documents have been underway for about two years. These efforts will culminate in Los Angeles this fall. Among the many issues that will be considered at the NECA Board of Governors Meeting there on October 16 is a proposal to adopt revised bylaws.

The revised bylaws would address all the topics that are essential to NECA governance and thereby make our constitution redundant. (In fact, most modern associations have only one governing document, not a constitution and bylaws.) Therefore, if the governors approve the revised bylaws, they will also vote on a proposal to recommend that NECA’s membership dissolve the constitution.

And, if that proposal passes, then NECA’s membership – represented by their delegates – will vote during the Convention on dissolving the constitution. (See the box on the next page of this supplement for information on delegate voting.) The outcome of this vote would take immediate effect.

NECA’s current constitution requires that constitutional amendments must be voted upon during a NECA Con-vention by delegates and that a copy of the proposed amendment(s) be sent by the Secretary to all NECA members at least 50 days prior to the Convention where such a vote is expected to take place. This special NECA News supplement was prepared and mailed to members and chapter offices in order to meet this obligation. The “official notice” containing the wording of the proposed “Recommendation to Membership To Dissolve the Con-stitution” appears in the adjacent box.