Tips for Reviewing Your Bylaws

Jo Konen, VP Bylaws
jokonenbylaw@sbcglobal.net

            Since you have to make changes to your Bylaws anyway, you should review your entire Bylaws to make sure they are in complete compliance with TFRW and NFRW Bylaws. I have already had several submitted that had to be sent back because the club had not made some changes in the past. OR, if the changes were made in accordance with the TFRW changes, those changes were not incorporated into the clubs bylaws when they were published. Overlooking that final step seems to be quite common among many volunteer organizations.

            I suggest that you consult the “Sample Bylaws,” Page 129, and the “Preface to the Sample Bylaws,” Page 128, in the 2008-09 TFRW Leadership Handbook provided to every club president around the first of February of this year. Although designed for new clubs, they provide an excellent “check list” for what your bylaws should contain.

            Several items I want you to check in addition to the required changes discussed in the previous “President’s Newsletters”:

1)      Policy. You should probably include this statement under “Policy”: “This club shall be a Political Action Committee and registered as such with the Texas Ethics Commission.” You are already doing that because TFRW requires it. So it stands to reason that it should be a written policy in your bylaws.

2)      Membership Eligibility. Many of you have not made it clear in your bylaws that all your members, whether active or associate, must be U.S. citizens. You still have the old sentence: “If she is a U.S. citizen, she must be a registered voter.” When we all became PAC’s, we were required to admit only U.S. citizens to membership. The reason is that PAC’s, by law, cannot accept money from foreign nationals. Dues fall into that category.

3)      PAC Treasurer. Many of you may need to review her duties. You need to include a requirement for her to be registered with the TEC and to file all reports required by the TEC and in a timely manner to meet their deadlines.

4)      Assistant PAC Treasurer. If you only have one treasurer, your PAC Treasurer, you might consider providing for your president to appoint an Assistant PAC Treasurer who is registered with the TEC. In case of an emergency that leaves your PAC Treasurer unable to file your reports, you will have someone already registered with the TEC who can file those reports. One club that I know of did have that problem.

5)      Audit Committee. Many of you still use this term. The term “audit” has a very specific meaning in CPA circles, involving a professional, paid audit by a CPA. Therefore, several years ago TFRW suggested that all the clubs change that term in their bylaws to “Financial Review Committee,” unless you actually do have a paid audit.

Be sure to send your bylaws (in hard copy) to me for review after you have had your membership ratify them. After I approve them, I will ask you to send an electronic version for the TFRW archives. Thanks.

NOTE: When you send me an e-mail, I would like to request that you put the full name of your club in the subject line. Many of you simply use initials. While you are confident that “everyone knows” what those letters stand for, I have to guess. For example, we have four clubs whose initials are CCRW and four GCRW’s, just as a start. When I get a letter, I look at the return address; but e-mails don’t have that handy device. Thanks for your cooperation.

Deadline for submitting your Bylaws is OCTOBER 31, 2008