BYLAWS OF THE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 26 DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
April, 2007 (Amended Oct. 16, 2007)

ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization is the Legislative District 26 Democratic Committee (also known as the LD-26 Democratic Committee.) This organization may be referred to in these Bylaws as the Committee.

ARTICLE II. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE
This Committee is established under the auspices of Arizona Revised Statutes, Chapter 5, Article 2, Section 16-823. The purpose and objectives of the Committee shall be to promote and carry out the aims and objectives of the Democratic Party, and to aid in the election of Democratic candidates for public office, particularly in Legislative District 26.

ARTICLE III. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
The organization, procedure, powers and conduct of the Committee shall be regulated and governed in order of authority and precedence by – (1) these Bylaws insofar as said Bylaws are not in conflict with the Bylaws of the Arizona State Democratic Committee, the Bylaws of the Pima County Democratic Committee, or the laws of the State of Arizona, and – (2) the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP (Amended 11/17/09: additions and changes bold and underlined)
A. Participation and Voting
1. Full participating membership of the Committee shall consist of all Democratic Precinct Committeepersons (hereafter referred to as PC’s), residing and registered to vote within Legislative District 26 as defined by the most recent state districting.
2. All Precinct Committeepersons in LD-26, both those in Pima County and those in Pinal County may vote for Chair.
3. Voting for those other persons who will serve on the Pima County Democratic Executive Committee (i.e.The District Chair and the two (2) Executive Committee Representatives), and for members of the Arizona State Democratic Committee according to the Pima County allotment, and for matters relating solely to Pima County, shall be limited to PC’s registered in Pima County.
4. Only Pima County PC’s may hold the offices of Chair or Executive Committee Representative, or State committee member from the Pima County allotment. Only Pima County PC’s may nominate to such offices.
5. LD-26 PC’s registered in a county other than Pima shall be permitted to vote for officers other than those mentioned above, and may vote on all matters not specifically relating to Pima County. They may hold offices or make nominations to offices other than Chair or Executive Committee Representative.
6. Associate membership shall be available to other interested Democrats residing in LD-26 who may live in precincts where the PC allotment is filled, or to other Democrats having an interest in the activities of the Committee. Such persons shall have no voting rights on the Committee.
B. Responsibilities
1. All members shall have the responsibility to support the purposes of the Committee as outlined in these Bylaws.
2. No member of the Committee shall publicly endorse any candidate of an opposing party for any office in a primary, general, or special election. A candidate of an opposing party is defined as a candidate not registered as a Democrat.
3. Dues: All members are encouraged to pay the annual dues which shall be set by the Committee. Payment of dues is voluntary and non- payment shall not be grounds for any loss of participatory rights.
4. Attendance: All members are encouraged to attend meetings of the Committee whenever possible.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS
A. Officers Enumerated. Officers of the Committee shall consist of the following:
Chair, First Vice-Chairperson, Second Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Two (2) Representatives to the Pima County Democratic Executive Committee.

B. Duties of Officers.
1. Chair: The Legislative District Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Board and of the full Committee. The District Chair shall make appointments to all committees, and shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees. The Chair shall set the agenda for all meetings, with the advice and consent of the Executive Board. The District Chair shall be a member of the Pima County Democratic Executive Committee and shall represent the District’s interests on that body
2. First Vice-Chairperson: The First Vice-Chairperson shall act as Chair in the absence or disability of the Chairperson. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chairperson, the First Vice-Chairperson shall serve as Chairperson until a successor is selected. The First Vice-Chairperson shall have duties as assigned by the Chairperson and approved by the Executive Board.
3. Second Vice-Chairperson: The Second Vice-Chairperson shall act as Chair in the absence of both the Chairperson and First Vice-Chairperson. The Second Vice-Chairperson shall have duties as assigned by the Chairperson and approved by the Executive Board.
4. Secretary: The Secretary shall keep a written record (“minutes”) of all meetings of the Committee and of all meetings of the Executive Board. The Secretary shall also keep a record of attendance at all meetings of the Committee and of the Executive Board. The Secretary shall cause a current roll of Committee members to be kept. The Secretary shall have responsibility for the issuance of notices of all meetings and for all correspondence necessary to conduct the business of the Committee. The Secretary shall be responsible for the determination of a quorum at all meetings.
5. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have responsibility for the care and custody of the funds of the Committee, and shall deposit or cause funds to be deposited in the name of the Committee in a timely manner into an account in a financial institution as designated by the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall keep full and accurate records of all receipts and disbursements. These accounts shall be open to inspection by any member of the Committee upon reasonable notice. The Treasurer shall report on financial matters at all regular meetings of the Committee and of the Executive Board, and at the Biennial (organizational) Meeting of the Committee.

• Disbursements: All disbursements shall be by check and shall require two (2) signatures of which one shall
  be that of the Treasurer and the second shall be that of one of the persons approved by the Committee to be a signer.
• All disbursements over one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be approved in advance by the Committee.
  Disbursements of $100 or less, for expenditures for Committee business, may be made with the approval of two of the following: (1) either the Chair or First Vice-Chair and (2) the Treasurer.
  The Treasurer may be empowered by the Committee to make regular expenditures for continuing expenses
  (such as postage), without specific Committee approval of each disbursement.

6. Representatives to the Pima County Democratic Executive Committee: These Representatives shall attend all meetings of the Pima County Democratic Executive Committee whenever possible, and shall report the actions of the Executive Committee to the Committee and the Executive Board at the next meetings of these groups. These Representatives may also report (in the absence of the District Chair) to the Pima County Executive Committee on the actions of the Legislative District 26 Committee.

C. Election of Officers, Term of Office, Removal of Officer, Vacancy.
1. Election: Officers shall be elected at the Biennial Organizational Meeting which shall be held within the time period designated by Arizona law. (see ARS 16-823)
Only Precinct Committeepersons elected at the primary election immediately preceding the Biennial Meeting may nominate, vote, or be elected to an office at the Biennial Meeting. Officers shall be elected by a secret ballot, and to be elected, must receive an affirmative vote of a majority of Precinct Committeepersons present and voting. In any election, if no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election shall be held. The lowest vote-getter from the previous ballot, shall be eliminated from each successive run-off until a winner is elected.

2. Term of Office: The term of office for all officers is two years. The term shall begin immediately following the election at the Biennial Meeting and shall end at the time any one of the following occurs:
a. The officer resigns the position
b. The officer becomes deceased
c. The officer ceases to hold valid status as a Legislative District 26 Precinct Committeperson
d. The officer is removed from office under the provisions of subparagraph 3. Removal from office.
e. The two-year term of office ends at the next Biennial Organizational Meeting.

3. Removal From Office: Any officer may be removed from office upon a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of Precinct Committeepersons present and voting by secret ballot at a regularly scheduled meeting. Written notice of intent to remove an officer must be mailed to all Precinct Committeepersons in the District at least one week prior to the meeting.
4. Vacancy & Replacement: A vacancy will exist in an office when one of the four items in subparagraph 2. above, occurs. The vacancy must be filled by a special election at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee within ninety (90) days following the occurrence of the vacancy. All Precinct Committeepersons in Legislative District 26 (elected and appointed) may participate in this election, subject to the limitations of Article IV, Paragraph A. Written notice of the election to fill a vacancy shall be mailed to all members of the Committee at least 30 days prior to the election. Voting shall follow the same procedures as in subparagraph 1. Election above, except for the addition of appointed Precinct Committeeperson as eligible voters.
The term of office of a person elected to fill a vacancy shall be the unexpired term of the replaced officer.

ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. Membership. Membership of the Executive Board shall consist of the Officers of the Committee enumerated in Article V, Paragraph A.
B. Duties of Executive Board.
1. The Executive Board shall make recommendations to the full Committee about matters to be voted upon at meetings of the Committee.
2. The Executive Board, shall advise the Chair on the setting of the agenda for future meetings.
3. In emergency situations, the Executive Board may take actions between regular meetings of the full Committee which would normally require action by the full Committee.
4. The full Committee may ratify or contravene any action of the Executive Board at the next regular meeting of the full Committee following such action.

ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS

A. Regular Meetings. Regular meetings shall be held monthly at a time and place determined by the Committee. The Executive Board shall have the authority to postpone or cancel any regularly scheduled meeting except that there shall be at least 10 meetings annually and no more than two (2) concurrent months shall elapse without a regular meeting.
B. Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the Chair, or by a majority of the Executive Board, or by at least 25 per cent (25%) of the full voting membership of the Committee.
C. Notice of Meetings. 1. Written notice of any meeting shall be sent at least one week in advance of the scheduled meeting date.

2. The notice of regular meetings should include an agenda of items to be discussed. However, the Committee may permit other business not on the written agenda to be dealt with, within the limits of these bylaws.

3. Notice of special meetings must include the matters to be discussed and only those matters shall be dealt with at that meeting.
D. Quorum.
1. No official business shall be conducted at any meeting until the presence of a quorum has been determined.
2. A quorum for meetings of the full Committee shall be twenty per cent (20%) of the voting membership.
3. A quorum for meetings of the Executive Board shall be a majority of the Board (4 persons).

ARTICLE VIII. STATE COMMITTEE
A. Election. The selection of members of the Arizona State Committee from LD-26, shall be ratified at the Biennial Organizational Meeting of the Pima County Democratic Committee (ARS 16-825). At the Biennial Organizational Meeting of the LD-26 Legislative District Committee, the Pima County PC’s elected at the previous primary election may choose the LD-26 State Committee members. Election shall be by secret written ballot, if needed. The Chair shall ask for nominees to the State Committee, and if the number nominated is greater than the allotment, the written ballot shall proceed. All voters may vote for a number of nominees no greater than the LD-26 State Committee allotment. The highest vote-getters comprising a number no greater than the allotment shall be deemed elected. A tie vote resulting in a greater number than the allotment, shall require a run-off election.

B. Number. The number of State Committee slots available to LD-26 shall be determined by the Arizona State Democratic Party, and shall be based on 1/3 the number of LD-26, Pima County elected PC’s (subject to the accounting for the overall Pima County allotment)

C. Duties. The duties of the State Committee members from LD-26 shall be to attend all State Committee meetings in person or by proxy (preferably in person when possible), and to vote in the interest of LD-26 and Pima County. Additional duties are specified in Article II, Section 4, of the Arizona State Democratic Party Bylaws.
C. Vacancy. A vacancy in the position of State Committee member shall occur upon resignation, death, or loss of valid Pima County PC status within LD-26. A vacancy shall be filled by the State Chairman with the advice and consent of the Pima County Chair and the LD-26 Chair.
D. Removal from Office. A member of the State Committee may be removed from office under the provisions of Article II, Section 4. of the Arizona State Party Bylaws.

ARTICLE IX. ENDORSEMENTS
A. Contested Primary Election. Neither the full Committee nor the Executive Board shall endorse any candidate in a contested primary election. (This provision should not restrict individual PC’s in any way from working for any of their favored Democratic candidates as this is one of their functions.)
This provision may mean waiting until the filing deadline for an election, before any endorsement by the Committee. Individual District officers shall remain neutral in contests between Democrats in any contested election

B. Opposition Party Endorsement. Neither the Committee, nor the Executive Board shall endorse in any fashion, a candidate of an opposition party in any primary, general, special, partisan or non-partisan election. An opposition party candidate is defined as any candidate not registered in the Democratic Party.

No individual member of the Committee shall publicly endorse any opposition party candidate in any election.

ARTICLE X. COMMITTEES

A. Establishment. The District Chair may establish standing or special committees with the advice and consent of the Executive Board, as deemed necessary.
B. Membership. The District Chair shall select the chair and members of all committees, and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
C. Powers. Committees shall make recommendations to the full Committee which shall approve such recommendations before any expenditure of funds, or public expression on behalf of the full Committee may occur.

ARTICLE XI. PROXY VOTING
No proxy voting shall be permitted at any meeting of the full Committee, the Executive Board, or any committee of the organization.

ARTICLE XII. ADOPTION & AMENDMENT
A. Adoption. A majority of voting members, present and voting at a meeting of the full Committee shall be required for adoption of these Bylaws. The Bylaws shall go into effect immediately upon adoption, and shall continue in force for present and future membership of the Committee subject to amendment.
B. Amendment. These Bylaws may be amended by a vote of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members of the Committee present and voting at any regular or special meeting of the Committee. The full text of any proposed amendment shall be mailed to all members of the Committee with the notice of the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be discussed. Voting on the amendment shall take place at the next meeting following the meeting at which the discussion occurs.

ADOPTED __________________ by the Legislative District Democratic Committee.
(Date)
_________________________ ___________
(signed) LD-26 CHAIR (Date)
ATTEST:
______________________________ _________
LD-26 SECRETARY (Date)