Tau Beta Pi California Phi Chapter Bylaws

b. The President shall see that each Officer and committee Chair is provided with a written list of specific duties for which each is responsible. A copy of each list shall be placed in the Recording Secretary’s notebook and in the President’s Book.

c. The Recording Secretary shall see that each Candidate accepting election receives copies of The Constitution and Bylaws and Eligibility Code of The Tau Beta Pi Association, Information About Tau Beta Pi, these Bylaws, and such other materials as the Chapter may deem desirable.

d. The Corresponding Secretary Corresponding Secretary shall notify each active member and Advisor of the time, place, and purpose of any special meetings at least one week in advance of the meeting.

e. The Corresponding Secretary shall serve as secretary of the Advisory Board.

f. The President and Vice-President shall pay a courtesy call upon the Dean of Engineering early in the Summer / Fall semester to discuss ways in which the Chapter may be of service to the School of Engineering. The substance of such discussions shall be reported to the Chapter at the next meeting.

g. The President shall cooperate with the Director of Tau Beta Pi District 15 and shall encourage the Chapter members to participate in the District’s activities.

h. The President and Corresponding Secretary shall establish contact early in the year with the Officers of the Sacramento Alumni Chapter in the interest of cooperation between the Chapters and the discussion of mutual problems.

Bylaw III - Meetings

Section 1. The following five meeting shall be schedules and held during the Summer / Fall semester:

a. member sign-in, election of alumnus Advisor, election and installation of Officers, and assignment of committee seats;

b. Candidate consideration;

c. Candidate election;

d. Candidate initiation

e. at least one meeting of a social, literary, or technical nature.

Section 2. The following five meetings shall be scheduled and held during the Spring semester:

a. member sign-in and filling of vacant Offices or committee seats;

b. Candidate consideration;

c. Candidate election;

d. Candidate initiation

e. at least one meeting of a social, literary, or technical nature.

Section 3. Special meetings may be called at any time by the President, any alumni member of the Advisory Board or upon written request to the President signed by 20% of the active members of the Chapter.

Section 4. "Robert’s Rules of Order" shall be the parliamentary guide of the Chapter in all matters not covered in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association or in these Bylaws.

Section 5. The first meeting of each semester shall be held within 3 weeks of the start of the semester.

Section 6. The Officers shall present a complete calendar of the regular meetings of the Chapter for the year to the active members at the second meeting of the Summer / Fall semester.

Section 7. Notices sent to the active members and alumni Advisors announcing special meetings shall clearly state the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.

Section 8. Chapter meetings shall last no longer than two hours, unless extended by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the active members present. The order of business at these meetings shall be as follows:

a. Roll call

b. Minutes of the previous meeting

c. Reports of Officers

d. Reports of Committees

e. Unfinished business

f. New Business

g. Adjournment

Section 9. Attendance of active members shall be required at all regular meetings of the Chapter, unless excused by the President for reasons which he or she judges to be good and shall submit his or her reasons to the President, in writing, before the meeting, unless the excuse is illness.

Section 10. The president shall call a meeting of the Advisory Board at the beginning of each semester to discuss Chapter activities for the semester. The minutes of each Advisory Board meeting shall be read at the following regular meeting of the Chapter. Additional meetings of the Board may be called by any of its members or upon written request to the Chair of the Board signed by 20% of the active members of the Chapter.

Section 11. A quorum for the consideration of routine business shall consist of one half the active membership of the Chapter; for the election of new members, for changing the initiation fee or Chapter dues, for the passing of an assessment on the members of the Chapter, and for the approval or disapproval of the proposed amendment to the Bylaws of the Chapter, three-fourths; and for the Advisory Board, five-sevenths.

Bylaw IV - Committees

Section 1. Subject to the provisions of B-V, 5.02, the president shall appoint the chair and members of the following committees: Membership, Initiation, Program, Social Activities, and such other committees as the Chapter shall desire and establish. Appointments shall be made at the first meeting in the Summer / Fall semester.

Section 2. As early as possible after committee appoints are made, the President shall provide each committee chair with a list of his or her specific duties and responsibilities.

Section 3. Each committee chair shall make a report on the progress of his or her group’s activities at each chapter meeting.

Bylaw V - Election of New Members

Section 1. Election of new members shall be held in the Summer / Fall and Spring semesters as soon as possible after grades for the previous term become available.

Section 2. All provisions of C-VIII and B-VI shall be strictly followed.

Section 3. Scholastically eligible students in the following curricula shall be considered for membership in the Chapter: Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Management Engineering, and Engineering Physics.

Section 4. Transfer students shall be eligible for consideration at the third regular election after their registration. Such students may be eligible at the second regular election after their registration, provided the consent of five-sevenths of the Advisory Board is obtained.

Section 5. The cases of students whose scholastic eligibility is in doubt because of irregularities in standing or curriculum shall be determined by the Advisory Board of the Chapter.

Section 6. The Chapter may elect to specify scholastic requirements higher than those stated in C-VIII.

Section 7. The Membership Committee shall periodically consult with the chairs of the various engineering departments to determine the names of graduate students, alumni, and faculty eligible for membership under provisions of C-VIII,3-6.

Section 8. Exemplary Character Evaluation

a. A list of scholastically eligible candidates shall be circulated to selected faculty members of Tau Beta Pi. The faculty shall be asked to make recommendations on Candidates they know and also to suggest persons who may have been overlooked.

b. The Candidate Consideration Meeting shall be held. At this meeting there shall be an informal discussion of the eligible Candidates along with discussion of the faculty recommendations obtained.

c. Activities shall be scheduled and held so that the Candidates and Chapter members can become acquainted.

d. The Candidate Election Meeting shall be held within two weeks after the Candidate Consideration Meeting.

Section 9. Voting Procedures.

a. At the Candidate Election Meeting, the Eligibility Code shall first be read.

b. The election of senior Candidates shall precede the election of junior Candidates. Each name shall be presented in alphabetical order on a secret ballot to be voted on.

c. After all names have been considered and voted on, there shall be a second individual ballot, to be taken in the same order, for each student who failed election on the first ballot.

d. No student who fails election on the second ballot shall be considered further unless 25% of the members present so request.

e. No student who fails election on the third ballot shall be considered again at this election. He or she may be considered again at the next election if he or she is then eligible.

Section 10. The President shall direct the Membership Committee to have sufficient letters of Notification of Election prepared in advance of the Candidate Election Meeting. These letters shall be signed by the President, addressed to the Electees, and mailed within 24 hours after the meeting.

Section 11. All members shall keep the election results in absolute confidence so that no Candidate shall learn of his or her election except by means of official letter; likewise no Candidate shall be informed of the details of the vote, especially concerning the personal matters discussed at the time of voting.

Section 12. Included in the Notification of Election shall be an invitation to a Candidate Orientation Meeting. At this meeting the President shall explain the requirements, objectives, and activities of the Association and of the Chapter. Those Electees desiring to accept election shall formally state their acceptance, in writing, in a letter addressed to the President.

Section 13. Each Electee who refuses initiation for financial reasons shall be interviewed by the Advisory Board, as required by C-VIII, 10(a).

Section 14. Each Electee shall be required to take part in a activity recommended or approved by the Chapter to foster a spirit of liberal culture. This activity may take the form of a project and/or the writing of an essay, as specified in B-VII, 7.01. The Electees shall also be required to read the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association and these Bylaws.

Section 15. The Chapter may assign additional duties to the Electees, subject to the provision of B-VII, 7.02.

Bylaw VI - Election and Installation of Officers

Section 1. A President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Cataloger shall be elected at the first Chapter meeting of the Summer / Fall semester. The President and one other Officer shall serve for one-year, while the other Officers may serve one year or one semester to allow for co-op. A Tau Beta Pi Alumnus shall also be elected to the Advisory Board to replace the outgoing fourth-year Advisor and shall become the first-year advisor. The first-thru third-year Advisors shall become the second-thru fourth-year Advisors.

Section 2. Officer and Advisor election procedure:

a. list of eligible Advisors shall be prepared before the meeting by the Tau Beta Pi alumni members of the Advisory Board.

B. Open offices shall be written on the chalkboard in the following order: President, Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Cataloger, and Advisor.

c. Nominations shall be solicited from the floor for the

d. Nominations shall be closed.

e. A secret ballot shall be cast and the victor determined.

f. Steps c. thru e. shall be repeated for the remaining offices.

Section 3. Officers Elect shall be installed at the end of the meeting. The Advisor Elect shall be installed at the first Advisory Board meeting. The Chapter Officer Installation procedure given in the President’s Book shall be employed to install the new officers. Transfer of financial records between past and newly elected Treasurer is contingent upon audit as required by Cal Phi-VII, 8.

Section 4. The election of officers shall be by secret ballot. Two-thirds of the active membership shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of the quorum shall be required for election. A vote by the members present will cause the nominee receiving the least number of ballots to be dropped from further consideration until one receives a majority vote.

Section 5. If any office becomes vacant between regular elections, a special election shall be held at the next Chapter meeting to fill the vacancy. The Officer elected shall serve until the next regular election.

Bylaw VII - Finances

Section 1. The expenses of the Chapter shall be borne by Associated Students of the Pacific (ASUOP), the initiation fee, and by such dues and pro-rata assessments as may be voted by the Chapter. A vote shall be required to change any fees or dues or to levy any assessments. (See Cal Phi-II, 2 and Cal-Phi-III, 11). Within one week the corresponding Secretary shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association of any changes in amounts of the Chapter's initiation fee, dues, or assessments.

Section 2. The initiation fee for California Phi Chapter of Tau Beta Pi shall be $60.00 payable in advance of the initiation to the Chapter Treasurer. This amount covers the National initiation fee of $30.00 and local dues of $30.00.

Section 3. Within one week after being elected in the Summer, the President and Treasurer shall prepare an operating budget for the for the next year. The budget shall be submitted to the Chapter for approval at the next Chapter meeting. The budget shall include a recommended amount for the initiation fee to be charged during the year. Any additional expenses not provided for by the adopted budget must be approved by the Chapter, except that the Treasurer shall be authorized to advance to the Convention delegate a sum sufficient to cover expenses he or she expects to incur in attending the annual Convention of the Association.

Section 4. The Chapter shall use the official bookkeeping system of the Association.

Section 5. There shall be at all times a balance of at least $50.00 in the Chapter treasury. A sum of no more than $20.00 may be kept in petty cash by the Treasurer.

Section 6. Expenditures in excess of $10.00 shall be made by check, signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the President. Expenditures of less than $10.00 may be made from petty cash by the Treasurer.

Section 7. The Chapter's fiscal year shall be from May 1 to April 30.

Section 8. Immediately following the end of the fiscal year, at least one alumni member of the Advisory Board (but not the Treasurer if he or she is an alumni member of the Board) shall audit the Chapter's books. If necessary, the Treasurer shall file the Internal Revenue Service's form 990.

Section 9. No part of the net earnings of the Chapter will inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, members or Officers of the Chapter or to any other individual.

Bylaw VIII - Discipline

Section 1. It is the intent of this disciplinary Bylaw to impress the membership with the seriousness of the purpose of this Chapter and of the Tau Beat Pi Association, and to enable the Officers and dedicated members of this chapter to accomplish necessary business in a manner not inconvenienced or encumbered by a lack of interest on the part of a few members.