SBE 47 proudly represents Broadcast Engineers working in the Los Angeles DMA.

SBE Chapter 47 ByLaws

Adopted 2/14/2012

Revised 5/13/2024 – Ver 1c

By-Laws

The Society of Broadcast Engineers, Inc.,

Los Angeles, CA Chapter #47

ARTICLE I. Name and Purposes

Section 1. Name. The name of this organization shall be The Society of Broadcast Engineers, Inc., Los Angeles, CA Chapter 47, hereinafter called the Chapter.

Section 2. Purposes. The Chapter is affiliated with a national non-profit professional society (the Society of Broadcast Engineers, Inc., a District of Columbia corporation, hereinafter the Society) designed to serve the professional needs of those persons engaged in Broadcast Engineering. Its purpose is to further the aims of the Society. The Chapter is an educational organization registered as a 501c3 non-profit.

ARTICLE II. Membership

Section 1. Qualifications. Each member of this Chapter shall be a member of the Society in good standing.

Section 2. Term. Memberships are annual and terminate on April 1. New and renewal applications shall be filed with the National SBE Office on the forms provided by the National Office.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS AND DUTIES

Section 1. The membership of the Chapter shall elect the Officers, which shall consist of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Program Chairman and Treasurer.

Section 2. The term of all officers shall be one year, beginning January 1.

Section 3. No officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office, unless there are no interested candidates to fill the Officer’s positions. In this case, the previously elected officials shall have the option to remain in office. See article V for further clarification.

Section 4. No officer shall receive any compensation for services performed in his official capacity, but officers shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.

Section 5. A vacancy in the office of Chairman shall be filled by the Vice Chairman. The Chairman shall fill vacancies in the other offices by appointment until the start of the next term.

Section 6. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and shall perform all other duties normally associated with the office.

Section 7. The Vice Chairman shall perform all duties normally associated with the office or assigned by the Chairman and shall assume the duties of the Chairman in the Chairman’s absence.

Section 8. The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings of the Chapter. The Secretary shall be responsible for the circulation of meeting notices and shall send meeting reports and attendance records to the Society National Office and shall keep any other Chapter records as may become necessary.

Section 9. The Program Chairman shall be responsible for organizing regular scheduled meetings. The Program Chairman shall contact prospective speakers or presenters for each meeting.  The Program Chair will work in collaboration with other Board members to establish any in-person meeting locations and/or online-presented meetings.

Section 10. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all records and books of account of the Chapter. All records shall be open to inspection by members in good standing at reasonable times. The Treasurer shall generally supervise all accounts and monies of the Chapter. The Treasurer shall furnish an annual financial report to the Society Treasurer and keep any other Chapter financial records as may become necessary.

Section 11. The Chapter shall maintain a checking account requiring that the checks be signed by any two of the five officers or approved Committee Chairman. The Chapter shall maintain a checking account that is closely monitored by the chapter treasurer. All chapter purchases over $200 need to be voted on by the board. Voting is to be recorded in the board meeting minutes or by email to the board group. Only then will the treasurer or a board member issue a check. Also, a Debit or Credit Card, or other electronic method of payment, will be available to access both Checking and Savings accounts and approval for use requires two Board members to approve of the expense via email, text or other electronic means.  In an emergency, verbal approvals will be considered an approval.

Section 12. If a Director of the National Society shall be a member of the Chapter, the Chapter will assist with travel expenses to National Society meetings and appropriate SBE related events and shall reimburse the Director for appropriate travel expenses not covered by others. Receipts shall be submitted to the Chapter Treasurer within 90 days of travel.

Section 13. The Chapter will allow the Chairman to travel to several National Society meetings and events each year and shall reimburse the Chairman for appropriate travel expenses including not covered by others. Receipts shall be submitted to the Chapter Treasurer within 90 days of travel.

Section 14. Given the uniqueness of the Los Angeles area broadcasting market, it may be possible that none of the Officers will be available for a regularly scheduled meeting due to last minute scheduling conflicts with their respective companies, illness, or family obligations. In such instance, the Chairman shall have the power to temporarily appoint a member in good standing with Chapter 47 to preside at the meeting, rather than have to cancel a regularly scheduled meeting at the last minute.

Section 15. The Chapter may appoint an individual in an “Emeritus” status.  Emeritus Board Member status refers to a person who is: 1) a Chapter47 member in good standing, 2) an outstanding individual who highly represents the goal and values of the Chapter and/or SBE National, 3) an individual held in high regard by the Chapter, 4) is not a current Chapter Board member.  The Board Member Emeritus shall be nominated only by any Chapter Board member.  The existing Board members shall vote on the nomination and must be passed by a majority, or >50%.  The Chairman will have equal voting rights for Board Member Emeritus. Only one individual shall hold the Board Member Emeritus position at any one time.  Board Member Emeritus will be for a period of FIVE years without yearly elections required and shall have the right to relinquish the title for any reason.  Once relinquished, the same individual may not be re-nominated or elected, for Board Member Emeritus, ever again.  The Board Member Emeritus shall have equal voting rights to all other Board members, but with a time limit of five years, but renewal thru the nomination process previously outlined.  A proposal from any standard Member or current Board Member, to remove a Board Member Emeritus, will be entertained without resistance by the current Board.  A vote of the remaining Board members would then take place with the Chairman having an equal vote for this scenario.  The Board Member Emeritus will not vote in this situation.

ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES

Section 1. The Chairman shall newly appoint members of all standing committees in a timely manner taking office. The Chairman may also appoint temporary committees as necessary, but with tenure not to exceed the Chairman’s term of office. The Chairman may appoint all the members of the committee or just the Chairman of the Committee and the Committee Chairman shall find members of the Chapter to join the Committee.

Section 2. Standing committees shall consist of the following:

a)      Nominations Committee, which shall consist of at least three members in good standing.

b)      Elections Committee, which shall consist of three members.

c)      Certification Committee, which will consist of at least one member.

d)      Frequency Coordination Committee, which will consist of at least one member.

e)      Program Coordination Committee, which will consist of at least one member.

ARTICLE V. ELECTIONS

Section 1. A nominations committee will be appointed by the Chairman each June to solicit for interested parties to run for officer positions. That committee will present a potential slate of candidates for office at the October meeting.

Section 2. Annual elections shall be held at the November meeting. Any member in good standing may vote but must be present at the November meeting to vote. There are no absentee ballots. The new officers will be announced at the meeting following the election, via website and email. Vote is by secret ballot or by show of hands.

Section 3. Prior to the election meeting, the Nominations Committee shall prepare and disseminate to all members a slate of proposed officers. The Committee, when possible, shall nominate at least two members for each office. Members of the Committee may be candidates unless nominated at large from the floor.

Section 4. The Elections Committee shall supervise the election, tally the votes, and notify all candidates and the Secretary of the results. The Secretary shall notify the members of the results in the next monthly mailing or email and notify the SBE National Office. The Election Committee shall arbitrate any election dispute. Its decisions are final.

Section 5. If there are no members willing to run for Office, the existing Officers of Chapter 47 shall remain in office, unless they specifically resign and step down.

ARTICLE VI. CHAPTER MEETINGS

Section 1. The Chapter shall meet once a month, at a time and location determined by the Chairman; advance notice shall be given to all members. The Chapter will not normally meet during April due to the NAB Convention in Las Vegas. Other months meetings may be cancelled if needed.

Section 2. The general order of business at the meetings shall be as follows:

·         Opening

·         Report of the Secretary

·         Report of the Treasurer

·         Report of the Program Chaiman

·         Report of the Committees

·         Unfinished Business

·         New Business

Section 3. Roberts Rules of Order, to establish procedure and ensure decorum, shall govern all meetings of the Chapter.

Section 4. A Quorum shall consist of at least ten percent of the registered membership of the Chapter, including one officer.

ARTICLE VII. OFFICER MEETINGS

Section 1. The Officers of the Chapter shall meet once to four times per year, at a time and location determined by the Chairman; advance notice shall be given to the Officers. This meeting will be exclusive to the Officers, but any standing Director of National shall be invited and included. Any National Director shall have equal rights with Chapter Officers for voting and decision making. The Chairman may elect to invite Committee Members to this meeting. The Immediate Past Chairman of the Chapter may also be invited at the discretion of the current Chairman. The Immediate Past Chairman shall have equal rights with Chapter Officers for voting and decision making. The Chairman may invite guests to the Officer meetings as needed to further the business needs of the Chapter.

Section 2. The general order of business at the meetings shall be as follows:

·         Opening

·         Report of the Secretary

·         Report of the Treasurer

·         Report of the Program Chaiman

·         Report of the Committees

·         Unfinished Business

·         New Business

Section 3. Roberts Rules of Order, to establish procedure and ensure decorum, shall govern all meetings of the Chapter and Officers.

Section 4. A Quorum shall consist of at least three of the following: Officers of the Chapter, the Immediate Past Chairman, and any Directors of National.

Section 5. The expense of the Officer meeting, including reasonable meals, shall be covered by the Chapter.

Section 6. The Decision making for the Chapter shall be decided only by the members with voting privileges. The members with voting privileges include the Officers of the Chapter, the Immediate Past Chairman and any Directors of National whom are a member of the Chapter. Voting may take place at the Officer Meetings or at other times via any available communication method. All changes to the Chapter Bylaws can only be decided by the Officers in a quorum as described in Section 4 of this Article.

ARTICLE VIII. DISCIPLINE

Section 1. The Chapter reserves the right to discipline its members.

Section 2. The Chairman reserves the right to remove a member from an Officer position, a Committee position or any future assigned position. This will be done with a simple majority vote of the standing Officers. All standing Officers will vote using any communication method. There is no reconsideration available. Once the Member is removed, the Chairman shall immediately appoint a replacement.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. The By-Laws may be amended upon resolution proposed by the Chapter Officers, or by a petition by not less than ten percent of the registered Chapter members. Copies of the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Chapter membership by mail or e-mail.

Section 2. There are no absentee ballots for amendments.

Section 3. Discussion and voting on the proposed amendment shall take place at the next scheduled monthly meeting.

Section 4. The amendment is adopted if affirmatively accepted by two-thirds of those voting. The amendment shall become effective 30 days after its adoption.

Section 5. The Secretary shall notify all members of newly adopted amendments in the next monthly notice or email and shall provide each member a copy of the amended By-Laws as soon as is practicable.

ARTICLE X. DISSOLUTION

Section 1. Should it become necessary to dissolve the Chapter, the assets shall be distributed by the Chapter in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Board of the Directors of the Society.