Four ( 4 ) Proposed Amendments to the Palm Beach County Bar Association ’ s Bylaws and Brief Explanation for the Proposed Amendments
Dear Members , The Board of Directors are proposing four ( 4 ) amendments to the Bylaws which will be voted on at our Judicial Candidate Membership Luncheon scheduled for July 25 , 2018 . Below are the proposed amendments and a brief explanation of each for your consideration :
1 . Proposed Amendment to Article III , Dues :
Section 3 . Dues Deductions from Young Lawyers Section . The Corporation shall cause to be deducted thirty-five percent ( 35 %) of the dues collected from members of the Corporation for membership in the Young Lawyers Section of the Corporation (“ YLS Dues Deduction ”). The YLS Dues Deduction shall be used at the discretion of the Corporation .
Section 4 . Dues Deductions from North County Section . The Corporation shall cause to be deducted thirty-five percent ( 35 %) of the dues collected from members of the Corporation for membership in the North County Section of the Corporation (“ NCS Dues Deduction ”). The NCS Dues Deduction shall be used at the discretion of the Corporation .
Explanation for the Proposed Amendment to Article III , Dues :
The Young Lawyers Section and North County Section are important arms of the Palm Beach County Bar Association that provide various networking , education , and community service opportunities to our members . The Sections utilize the resources and staff of the PBCBA to assist in putting on and marketing their events . After considerable debate and discussion , the Board of Directors voted on October 25 , 2017 to direct 35 % of the Sections dues to the PBCBA ’ s main budget . A concern of the Sections , which was well taken , was that the Board of Directors could vote to continue to increase the amount of the dues deduction at its discretion . To address the Sections ’ concern , it was determined that the dues deduction should be ratified as part of the Bylaws which would then require any future increase to be voted on and approved by the membership of the PBCBA as set forth in Article XI of the Bylaws . The proposed Amendments in Section 3 and 4 set forth above are intended to address this concern .
2 . Proposed Amendment to Article V , Board of Directors :
2 . E . Board Appointment if no Candidates for Election . In the event no qualified member seeks to become an at-large Director , which leads to a vacant seat , the Board of Directors shall promptly cause to be issued a notice to the membership that a vacancy exists on the Corporation ’ s Board of Directors and for thirty ( 30 ) days shall solicit and accept applications from members for appointment to a position of at-large Director (“ the Application Period ”). The Board shall endeavor to obtain at least three ( 3 ) applications for at-large Director and may reasonably extend the Application Period if necessary for the purpose of obtaining additional applications . The Board shall make every effort to encourage diverse candidates to seek an at-large Director position during the Application Period . At the first regularly-scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors that follows the conclusion of the Application Period , the Board shall discuss and vote upon ( by simple majority vote ) the appointment of a qualified candidate for at-large Director (“ the Appointee ”). The Board shall make every reasonable effort to appoint a qualified , diverse applicant to be the Appointee . That Appointee will have a one-year term that shall start and end as if the Appointee had been elected in the most previous election . When applicable , the Appointee will be considered to have received the lowest number of votes for purposes of Section
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 6