BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I - Name, Affiliation and Purposes

Section 1. Name. The name of this association shall be called the Texas Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (TexAMCD).

Section 2. Affiliation. The TexAMCD shall be a division of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA) and a branch of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD).

Section 3. Purposes. The purposes of the Texas Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (TexAMCD) are identical to those of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development:

a. To seek to develop programs specifically to improve ethnic and racial empathy and understanding.

b. To advance and sustain personal growth

c. To improve educational opportunities for persons from diverse cultural backgrounds.

d. To provide an alliance with other divisions of TCA to advance multicultural counseling.

e. To defend human rights and civil rights as prescribed by law.

f. To encourage changing attitudes and enhance understanding of cultural diversity.

ARTICLE II- Membership

Section 1. Eligibility Any person whose primary responsibilities or interests are in the area of human development- specifically guidance, counseling, or personnel work and others with similar interest and responsibilities shall be eligible for membership.

Section 2. Classes of Membership. This Association shall include four classes of membership: Professional, Regular, Emeritus and Student

Section 3. Qualification for Membership. Membership in TCA shall be a condition of membership in TexAMCD.

a. Professional Membership. A Professional member must hold membership in TCA and AMCD.

b. Regular Membership. A regular member holds membership in TCA and TexAMCD.

c. Emeritus Membership. A person who has been a continuous member for a least 10 years, has attained age 65, and has retired, shall be designated an emeritus member by the Board of Directors and thereafter, shall enjoy all privileges of membership but shall be exempt from payment of dues.

d. Student Membership. A student engaged in full or part-time study in an accredited undergraduate or graduate school in a course of study in a course of study related to personnel and/or guidance work may be admitted as a student member upon application and endorsement by his faculty advisor.

Section 4. Dues shall be determined by a Board of Directors’ recommendation to the TexAMCD membership and by a majority vote of the membership voting.

Section 5. Severance of Membership

a. A member may be dropped from membership for non-payment of dues.

b. A member may be dropped from membership for any conduct that tends to injure of discredit the Association, or that is contrary to or destructive of the objectives according to the Bylaws and the Code of Ethics of AMCD.

c. It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Directors upon investigation and recommendation of the Ethics Committee to determine whether or not a member should be dropped from the membership for reasons under “b” of this section.

ARTICLE III – Officers of the Association

Section 1. Officers and Terms of Office

a. The officers of the Association shall be the President, the President- Elect, the Immediate Past President, Secretary, the Treasurer, the Senator and the Director

b. All officers of the Association shall be elected at large from the members of the Association, except the Treasurer, whom the Board of Directors shall appoint.

c. The term of the office for all elected officers shall begin on July 1, and no officer may serve more than one consecutive term in the same office. The President, the President-Elect, and the Immediate Past President shall serve for a period of two years. The senator and the Director shall serve for a periods of three years.

d. The President-Elect shall automatically become President of the Association one year after commencement of the term of office as President-Elect, or upon the death or resignation of the President. In the event a President-Elect should resign or be unable to complete the President’s unexpired term, the Immediate Past President of the Association shall assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

e. The Immediate Past President shall serve for one year following the expiration of the term as President.

Section 2. Duties of Officers. The officers shall be responsible for those duties ordinarily connected with the office and shall constitute the Board of Directors. Both the President and President-Elect shall be ex-officio members of all committees. In the event of a vacancy in an office, the Board of Directors shall elect a professional member to fill the position.

a. THE PRESIDENT shall: 1) serve as presiding officer of the Association, 2) serve as a member and chairperson of the Board of Directors, 3) appoint all necessary committees, 4) perform such other duties as are incident to the office or may be properly required by vote of the Board of Directors, 5) maintain an up-to-date TexAMCD policy handbook, and 6) serve as the Association’s delegate to AMCD Delegate Assembly.

b. THE PRESIDENT-ELECT shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors. In the event that the President shall not serve out the full term for any reason, the President-Elect shall succeed to the unexpired remainder thereof, and continue through the elected term. The President-Elect will assist the President in maintaining and updating TexAMCD policy handbook. In the event that the President-Elect should be unable to complete the President’s unexpired term according to Article III, section 1 (e), the Immediate Past President shall serve until the next annual election. This person will serve as the Association’s delegate to the AMCD’s Delegate Assembly.

c. THE IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT shall serve as chairperson of the Nominations Election Committee and perform such other duties as delegated by the Board of Directors.

d. THE SECRETARY shall keep the records of all the meetings of the Association, as well as minutes of the Board of Directors; shall assist in conducting the official correspondence of the Association, issue calls and notices of meetings and other duties as may be delegated by the Board of Directors.

e. THE TREASURER shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors and shall review and approve for payment properly submitted vouchers. He/She shall keep records of all funds belonging to the Association as directed by TCA. A complete fiscal report shall be submitted to the Board of Directors as soon as possible after the close of the fiscal year.

f. THE SENATOR shall represent Tex AMCD in the Texas counseling Association Senate; shall meet with the senate at the regular meeting during the Annual Conference of TCA and attend any special meeting, which may be called. An alternate shall serve only in the absence of the Senator. The Board of Directors shall appoint the Tex AMCD Senator alternate.

g. THE DIRECTOR of TexAMCD shall attend TCA Board meeting and inform the TexAMCD executive Committee and the membership of actions taken at the TCA Board meetings. He/She will bring relevant TexAMCD business items to the TCA Board and complete the required report to the TCA Board from the Division. He/She shall act as the official TexAMCD spokesperson to the TCA Board and shall seek membership on the stand that TexAMCD would like taken in TCA matters affecting the TexAMCD membership.

Section 3. Each officer shall transmit all records of the office to his successor no later than June 30.

Section 4. Nominations and Election

a. There shall be established a nominations and Election Committee consisting of the Immediate Past-President of the Association as Chairperson and other such members as shall be appointed.

b. The voting membership of the Association shall be composed of professional, regular, students, and emeritus membership.

c. The Nominations and Election Committee shall conduct the nomination and election of officers as called for by these Bylaws, secret ballot mailed to the voting membership.

d. All elected officers of the Association shall be members of TCA, TexAMCD, ACA, and AMCD

e. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall use the following guidelines in the nominating and election procedures:

(1)the nomination ballot for the appropriate officers, directors, such other persons as are called for by these Bylaws, shall be mailed to the voting membership no later than March 1 of the year following the annual meeting of the Association.

(2)the nomination ballot shall include a statement indicating the return ballot must be postmarked prior to March 15.

(3)The election ballot shall be mailed to the voting membership of the Association no later than April 1, of each year. The election ballot shall include a statement indicating the returned ballot must be postmarked prior to April 15.

(4)The nominees and the President shall be notified of the results of the election no later than May 1.

(5)The results of the election shall be certified to the Board of Directors by the Nomination and Election Committee at the first Board meeting following the election.

(6)All ballots, envelopes, and tally sheets shall be sealed and held secure until the next annual convention of the association.

f. The Nominations and Election Committee shall submit a plan regarding nominations and election procedures to the Board of Director of the board meeting conducted during the annual meeting of the association. The plan shall include procedures for:

(1)certification of date of mailing of nominations and election ballots.

(2)method of determining authenticity of the voter

(3)criteria for the nomination vita sheet as not to be preferential to any candidate.

(4)counting and verifying correctness of election results

(5)filing nomination if there is an inadequate response.

Section 5. Compensation of Officers.

a. None of the elected officers of the Association shall receive any compensation for their services as such to the Association.

b. Necessary expenses of officers may be paid from the funds of the Association by specific authorization of the President.

ARTICLE IV. – Board of Directors

Section 1. FUNCTIONS:the Board of Directors shall be the agency through which the general administrative and executive functions of the Association shall be carried out The President of the Association shall be the chairperson of the Board of the Directors.

Section 2. MEMBERSHIP:The Board of Directors shall be composed of the officers of the Association and shall be selected in a manner specified in the Bylaws of this association.

Section 3. MEETINGS:The Board of Directors shall meet at the time and place of the Annual Conference of the Texas Counseling Association and at such other time may be designated by either the President or five members of the Board of Directors.

Section 4. A majority of the members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. In the intervals between meetings of the association, the Board of Directors shall take such actions as are necessary for the conduct of the Association’s affairs, except that no action shall be taken which is contrary to an action taken by the Association at the official meetings. The Board of Directors shall report at each annual convention on all actions taken during the intervals.

ARTICLE V- Official Meeting

Section 1. The official meeting of the Association shall be held at the Texas Counseling Association convention.

ARTICLE VI- Committees

Section 1. The committees of the Association shall be such special and standing committees as may be determined by the Board of Directors. All committees shall report annually. A special committee shall serve until, in the opinion of the Board, the purpose of the said committee is accomplished.

Section 2. The following shall be the standing committees:(a) Nominations and Elections, (B) Budget and Finance, (c) Program, (d) Membership, (e) By-Laws, (f) Awards, (g) Public Relations, (h) Legislative and (i) Human Rights

Section 3. The functions of the standing committees shall be as follows:

a. The Nomination and Election Committee shall be responsible for carrying out nominations and elections procedures in accordance with these bylaws.

b. The Budget and Finance Committee shall be responsible for the preparation and presentation of the annual budget. It shall also carry out such other duties as assigned by the President.

c. The Program Committee shall be responsible for the program and arrangements of the annual meetings.

d. The Membership Committee shall actively promote membership in the Association. The chair is the TexAMCD representative to the TCA Membership Committee.

e. The By-Laws Committee shall be responsible for reviewing and monitoring the By-Laws of the TCA and TexAMCD to ensure consistency with the AMCD By-Laws.

f. The Awards Committee shall actively seek nominations for outstanding contribution toward developing, multicultural awareness programs. The awards Committee will research recipients for Emeritus membership status and make recommendations to the Board of Directors The Emeritus member(s) will be recognized at the TexAMCD Breakfast during the TCA Fall Conference. The Awards Committee will seek other meritorious contributions of any member of TexAMCD.

g. The Public Relations Committee shall be responsible for timely publication of the TexAMCD newsletter.

h. The Legislative Committee will report any unethical practice of the members of TexAMCD to the Executive Board. The Executive Board will report to the appropriate committee of TCA. The Committee will lobby the legislature and report new issues affecting counselors.

i. Human Rights Committee shall be responsible for fostering and encouraging acceptance that human rights is an inherent guarantee of all people.

ARTICLE VII- Delegates to AMCD Assembly

Section 1. The President, the President-Elect, and the Past President shall be TexAMCD’s elected representatives to the AMCD’s Delegate Assembly. Should the Association need additional representatives, the election of such person shall be made by the Board of Directors acting upon the recommendations of the President

ARTICLE VIII- Property of the Association

Section 1. In the event the Association is to be dissolved, none of the property owned by the Association shall be distributed to any of the members, and all of the property shall be transferred to such organizations as the Board of Directors shall determine to have purposes and activities most nearly like those of the Association.

ARTICLE IX – Bylaws

Section 1. Adoption and Amendment of Bylaws shall be approved by a majority of the members present and voting.

Section 2. No proposition to amend the Bylaws shall be acted upon unless written notice thereof is submitted to the membership at leas fifteen (15) days prior to the same being submitted for action.

Section 3. A copy of said proposal shall be given to the Secretary at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting at which said amendments(s) are to be proposed.