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BYLAWS OF THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST DISTRICT
YOUNG RELIGIOUS UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be the Pacific Southwest District Young Religious Unitarian Universalists.
ARTICLE II
Affiliation
The organization shall be a program team of the continental Young Religious Unitarian Universalist Organization (YRUU) and the Pacific Southwest District (PSWD) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
ARTICLE III
Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be to support youth and adults working with youth in their religious growth; to encourage communication and cooperation between local youth groups and provide and manifest a greater understanding of Unitarian Universalism; to encourage the development of independence and responsibility; to support members and member groups by maintaining a communications network with religious education resources; to develop an effective system of social action; and to raise our levels of mutual respect, communications, and community consciousness.
ARTICLE IV
Members
Section 1. Membership. Membership shall be limited to persons 14 – 20 years of age.
Section 2. Advisers. Advisers shall be defined as stated in the PSWD safety guidelines.
ARTICLE V
Board
Section 1. Board Structure. The board of the PSWD YRUU organization shall consist of all officers and any local representatives.
Section 2. Local Representatives. Each church that is a member of the PSWD district may send one local representative to the PSWD YRUU board. This representative shall be a member of the church's youth group and shall be 14-20 years of age.
Section 3. Restrictions. No church shall have more than four members on the PSWD YRUU board, except in the case that the candidate is running unopposed at the time of the election, in which case there may be six youth from one congregation on the board.
Section 4. Powers. The PSWD YRUU board shall have full power and authority over the affairs of the organization with the exceptions of: elections, bylaw amendments, and any decisions made by the two-thirds (2/3) majority of the present membership, as those shall have priority over decisions made by the board.
Section 5. Quorum. A quorum shall be established when two-thirds of the board is present.
Section 6. Transparency. All board meetings unless otherwise noted shall be open meetings, defined as any person being able to attend a board meeting unless otherwise noted.
Part A. Closed Meetings. The majority of the board can rule to move a meeting to be closed. A closed meeting can have only board members present and any persons that the majority of the board has voted to allow to attend.
Section 7. Voting. All voting by the board shall be made by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, a hand vote shall be taken and majority shall rule.
ARTICLE VI
Officers
Section 1. Chair. There shall be one Chair position. Persons who have held a position on the PSWD YRUU board previously must hold this position. This position shall be a non-voting position. The duties of the Chair includes facilitating meetings, setting agendas, fostering bylaw review/revision if deemed necessary, reminding members of commitments, being the central contact person for the organization's affairs, appointing any additional positions not otherwise specified in these bylaws, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 2. Clerk. There shall be a Clerk position. The duties of the Clerk includes taking minutes at all board, delivering copies of the minutes to all board members, tracking the organization's budget, regularly reporting on the organization's current financial status, and any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 3. Social Action Coordinator. There shall be a Social Action Coordinator position. The Social Action Coordinator will adopt a cause at the beginning of the fiscal year, and foster board involvement throughout the year for that cause, as they see fit. The duties of the Social Action Coordinator shall include acting as a resource to local congregations wishing to actively pursue social action activities, coordinating at least one social action conference, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 4. Representative to the PSWD Board of Trustees. There shall be one Representative to the PSWD Board of Trustees position. The duties of the Representative shall include attending all PSWD Board of Trustees meetings, attending the annual PSWD Board of Trustees retreat, reporting to the PSWD YRUU board, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 5. Communications Engineer. There shall be a Communications Engineer position. The duties of the Communications Engineer shall include updating and maintaining a list of electronic main addresses and street addresses of all members of the organization, updating and maintaining a web site that included contact information for board members and information about upcoming events, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 6. Spirituality Coordinator. There shall be a Spirituality Coordinator position. The duties of the Spirituality Coordinator shall include acting as a spirituality resource, providing the organization with information on spirituality conferences, working with the Minister in fostering spirituality among members, planning a Spirituality Development Conference every odd year, planning worship at board retreats, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 7. Minister. There may be one Minister position. An adviser shall fill this position. The duties of the Minister shall include fostering spirituality, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 8. Adult At-Large. There shall be two Adult At-Large positions. An adviser shall fill these positions. The duties of the Adult At-Large shall include acting as advisers to PSWD YRUU, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 9. Additional Duties and Responsibilities. All officers shall be responsible for training their replacement during the training period between the election and the start of their term, and for attending all board meetings. Any officer unable to attend a board meeting must immediately contact the Chair.
Section 10. Co-Positions. All positions may be shared by two people except the Representatives to the PSWD Board of Trustees positions, and the Chair position.
Section 11. Nomination Procedure. All nominations shall be made from the floor. Any member who has won a position or will be continuing their current position is not allowed to be nominated for further positions that election. Only non-adviser members can be nominated for any position except the Minister, or the At Large Adults.
Section 12. Election Procedure. All elections of officers shall be elected at the annual election conference to be held in May. The election of officers shall take place every year. Each candidate shall be permitted to make a short speech and take questions from those present, after which they will leave the voting location. After, time will be given to discuss the candidate's merits, and then a hand vote shall be taken with member's heads down. The candidate with a plurality wins the election. The majority can vote to postpone the election with a majority on a separate vote if it is proposed and seconded by members.
Section 13. Term of Office. A candidate's term of office shall start on the first of September the year following their election. The term of office shall end on the first of the September the next year.
Section 14. Office-Holding Limitations. No member shall hold more than one office at the same time, and no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. Advisers can serve in the same position indefinitely.
Section 15. Resigning. Any officer can resign their position at any point by notifying the Chair.
Part A. Filling Vacant Positions. An election shall be scheduled for the next district youth event immediately after the vacancy.
ARTICLE VII
Gurus
Section 1. The board may appoint Guru positions to fulfill a job deemed necessary by the incoming PSWD YRUU board.
Section 2. Suggested Guru positions:
Part A. Transportation Guru. There shall be one Transportation Guru. The duties of the Transportation Guru shall include organizing the transportation for PSWD YRUU Board Members to and from Board meetings and retreats, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Part B. Clerk Guru. There shall be one Clerk Guru position. The duties of the Clerk Guru shall include assisting the Clerk with any duties they may need assistance with, including taking minutes at all PSWD YRUU board meetings, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Part C. Outreach Guru. There shall be one Outreach Guru position. The duties of the Outreach Guru shall include helping the communications engineer with any tasks, reach out to congregational-based youth, as well as any additional duties assigned by the organization.
Section 3. Elections. Board members shall have priority for nominating gurus; if no board member chooses to run for a particular guru position, the nominations are opened to all members. All gurus shall be elected by the PSWD YRUU board at their first meeting of each term.
Section 4. Term Limits. Each guru shall serve for a term from the time of their election to the next guru election. No member shall serve more than two consecutive terms as any one-guru position.
Section 5. Voting Privileges. Gurus shall have no voting privileges.
ARTICLE VIII
Conferences
Section 1. Attendance. Any member, providing that they are between the ages of 14 and 20 at the time of the con, not turning 14 or 21 during the con, can attend any conference unless ruled otherwise.
Section 2. Date. All conferences must be approved by the board two months before the conference is scheduled to take place. Any member may suggest a date and place for a conference.
Section 3. Staff. The proposer of the conference shall appoint the staff of the conference. In accordance with PSWD YRUU Conference Policies, staff members must be between the ages of 14 and 18 during the con. The staff must include at least one adult adviser, 25 or older. per ten youth members at all conferences.
Part A. In accordance with PSWD YRUU Conference Policies, applications for staff must be available in writing via listserve, writing, and e-mail. These applications must include clear definitions of the staff position and have a clearly stated deadline for submission. All applicants must be notified of their status on staff, no exceptions.
Section 4. Taxes. All conferences shall append $2 per person to the cost of the conference that shall go toward the account of the organization.
Part A. Social Action Con Tax. A $5 tax per person will be given to a cause chosen at the boards discretion. All other proceeds will be split as stipulated by the conference policy.
Section 5. Board Run Conference. The board shall run a conference in which the Chair shall act as Dean and officers shall act as staff. If officers cannot fill all staff positions, members may fill remaining positions. For the benefit of the hosting congregation, the board run conference shall not be held at the same church more than two years in a row.
Section 6. Proceeds from Conferences. Proceeds from non-district funded cons will be distributed as: fifty percent (50%) to the PSWD YRUU board account and fifty percent (50%) to the host congregation’s YRUU group with the hope that it will be used to increase their youth’s participation in other district evens.
ARTICLE IX
Committees
Section 1. Powers. All committees shall exist as advisory bodies only. All committees shall report to the board at every board meeting.
Section 2. Membership. All committees are open to any member unless otherwise noted. There is no limit to the number of members on any committee unless otherwise noted.
Section 3. Special Committees. A majority vote can establish a special committee that shall last no longer than the rest of the current board term.
Section 4. Executive Committee. There shall be one standing committee known as the Executive Committee. This committee shall be comprised of all elected board members. Additional members may only be admitted with a consensus of the board. All meetings of the Executive Committee shall be closed to all but members of the committee. The purpose of the Executive Committee is to allow the officers of PSWD YRUU to deliberate on sensitive matters that should not be open to the full community.
ARTICLE X
Rules Of Order
Section 1. Quorum. A quorum shall be established as the members attending any district youth event that was publicized at least one month in advance; including a quorum of the board.
Section 2. Voting. Majority rules.
ARTICLE XI
Rules
Section 1. Rules. The rules of PSWD YRUU shall include: respect others and their property; No illegal drugs, including tobacco and alcohol; no weapons or violence; no inappropriate sexual behavior; and no leaving the boundaries of an event without permission from the leader of the event. These rules shall be in place, and clarified as necessary at any PSWD YRUU event.
Section 2. Enforcing Rules. It shall be the responsibility of the staff at any event to enforce the rules.
Section 3. Punishments. The staff at the event shall decide all punishments at the event. They will also decide whether or not it is necessary to notify the host site. Any member caught breaking the no drugs, no weapons, no violence, or no sex rules will have their parents, the minister or Director of Religious Education (DRE) of their church, the District Executive staff, and the PSWD YRUU Board of Trustees notified, as well as punishments levied by the staff. All punishments shall be made with the intent to resolve the damage done to the organization by the offenders.
Section 4. Lasting Punishments. Staff at an event cannot levy punishments that last beyond the scope of that event. Recommendations for lasting punishments can be brought before the board.
ARTICLE XII
Amendment of Bylaws
These bylaws may be amended at any open meeting of the organization by a two-thirds majority vote, provided that the amendment has been publicized and copies distributed to interested members at least one month prior to voting.