Student Bar Association Bylaws

SBA Bylaws

INTRODUCTION

These by-laws are to be interpreted in light of the Constitution of the Student Bar Association. These by-laws may be amended or repealed only by the board of the SBA. Any vote to amend or repeal shall be by a two thirds (2/3) majority of the entire Board.

The purpose of these by-laws is to provide a framework for the daily operation of the SBA Board of Directors. Board members are elected representatives in charge of the allocation of money and resources belonging to all students enrolled at the University of Maine School of Law. Any action taken by the Board should reflect those responsibilities.

The Board’s functions are primarily social and educational, in keeping with the purposes of the organization as set out in Section 2.01 of the SBA Constitution. The Board may engage in political activity concerning only those issues, which are substantially related to the law school community. The Board has the ability to pass resolutions. The resolution becomes effective upon passage by the SBA, subject only to repeal by referendum by submission of fifty (50) students names calling for a student vote, presented within one week of the posting of the resolution.

I. ELECTIONS

A. Timing of Elections:

Election of officers: Consistent with Article IV, Sec. 4.03 of the SBA Constitution, officers shall be elected at the end of the fall semester. This election shall take place within two weeks of the last day of classes of the first semester, on a date to be determined by the board of Directors.
Election of Class Representatives: Elections for class representatives shall be held twice a year. Timing of the fall election (1^st year class only) shall be governed by Article IV, Sec. 4.04(b) of the Constitution. The second election shall be held at least one day after the election of officers, to allow those students who were not elected officers the opportunity to run for class representative.

B. Nominations:

Candidates who wish to run for position as officers shall submit notice of intent to the SBA President by a date to be set by the Board. Candidates who wish to run for seats as class representatives shall, by a date to be determined by the Board, place their names on posted sign up sheets. Candidates for class representatives shall be self-nominated or nominated by others.

C. Speeches:

The candidates for positions as officers shall, at the discretion of the Board, have the opportunity to address the members of the SBA at an open forum prior to the election.

D. Election Procedures:

The elections shall be conducted and directed by the outgoing SBA President, with the assistance of Board members who are not running for reelection, according to the following procedures.

Notification of an upcoming election shall be posted publicly at least two weeks prior to election day.
Nomination sheets, together with descriptions of the duties of both officers and class representatives shall be posted publicly at least two weeks prior to election day.
Those nominated for positions as class representatives shall be informed of their nomination in order to ensure that those nominated wish to run.
The President and his/her assistants shall be responsible for the printing, collection, validation, and counting of ballots. The results of the election shall be certified and posted publicly no later than the first class day following the election.

E. Voting:

Each student enrolled at the University of Maine School of Law, to include part time students, shall have one vote in all elections. Officers are elected by the members of all classes. Officers shall be elected by a majority of the votes, in accordance with Article IV, Sec. 4.03(d) of the SBA Constitution. Student representatives are elected only by members of the class they shall represent. The designated number of Directors for each class shall be determined according to class size. The candidates receiving the most votes for the designated number of Directors shall be elected. In the case of a tie vote, a run-off election between those tied shall be held as soon as practicable.

II. MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A. General:

Meetings shall be held in accordance with sections 4.05, 4.08, and 4.09 of the SBA Constitution.

B. Leadership:

The President of the SBA shall conduct the meetings of the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall record the minutes of the meetings. Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used. In the event that the President is unable to attend a meeting, the Vice President shall conduct the meeting. If the Secretary is unable to attend, the President shall appoint someone to record the minutes.

C. Voting:

Each member of the Board, including the President, shall have one vote. Votes on all issues (excluding bylaws) shall be by simple majority. No voting by proxy shall be allowed in any case.

III. DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

A. President:

The President is responsible for the overall governance of the SBA. The president plans the agenda for, acts as chair of, and coordinates all SBA Board meetings which are held biweekly. The President also holds a voting membership position at monthly faculty meetings, at which important school matters are discussed. The President has frequent interaction with the Dean, other faculty, and administrators concerning a variety of issues. The President is the ultimate student-faculty liaison.

B. Vice President:

The Vice President is the right hand person of the President. The Vice President shall take over the President’s responsibilities in the case of absence, disability, or delegation of the President. In addition, the Vice President shall be responsible for signing checks and making deposits for activities, and/or reimbursements, for the SBA and SBA recognized organizations. The Vice President shall meet on a regular basis with the Treasurer to balance the checkbook. In the absence of the Vice President, the Assistant Dean shall be responsible for signing checks.

C. Secretary:

The Secretary is responsible for a variety of administrative duties that keep the SBA running, such as making notice of meetings, recording accurate minutes of meetings, typing up and posting the minutes, and making reservations for the picnic and other SBA sponsored activities.

D. Treasurer:

The Treasurer shall maintain a master ledger, complete with subsidiary ledgers for all SBA recognized and funded organizations. The Treasurer shall present a monthly report of SBA recognized organizations’ balances. The Treasurer shall meet with the Vice President on a weekly basis to balance the checkbook and post and balance the master and subsidiary ledgers against official statements from financial institutions. The Treasurer is responsible for the semesterly disbursements of funds to all recognized organizations that are eligible to receive funding from the SBA. The Treasurer shall arrange for an annual audit as required by the University Board of Trustees. The Treasurer, as chair of the Budget Committee, shall oversee the implementation of a SBA financial policy. This policy shall outline the financial goals and requirements of the SBA and recognized student organizations.

E. Class Representatives:

Class representatives are required to attend SBA meetings held biweekly. Representatives participate in the allocation of funds to student groups; plan speakers, dances, blood drives, and other activities for the benefit of the school; make policy decisions; meet with the Dean on a variety of issues; rework the bylaws and Constitution to keep them up to date; as well as participate in a variety of other activities. Generally each representative shall contribute to two major projects per semester.

F. Parliamentarian/Historian

Two responsibilities: (1) As parliamentarian, they offer advice on the process of motions, amendments, voting,etc. according to Roberts Rules of Order; (2) as historian, it is their job to maintain all records, in conjunction with the secretary's efforts, of all events, activities, and programs, budgets, that the SBA creates and approves. This position is elected at the same time that Fall 1L elections are held, and the term would be for 12 months. This person is an officer and a member of the executive board.

G Representative to the ABA Law School Section:

This person serves as a representative of the University of Maine School of Law to the American Bar Association's Law Student Division. This position is elected in the fall for a 1-year term and is a non-voting member of the Board of Directors.

IV. FINANCIAL RECORDS AND BOOKKEEPING

A. General:

The SBA will maintain an interest bearing checking account at all times at a financial institution located in the greater Portland area.

B. Student Organization Funds:

All funds belonging to, raised by, and allocated to student organizations will be maintained in the general funds of the SBA. Student organizations shall not maintain separate bank accounts.

C. Bookkeeping:

The Treasurer shall have primary responsibility for the finances of the SBA. The Treasurer shall ensure that an adequate balance is maintained, and that accurate records are kept. The Treasurer shall be responsible for balancing the end-of-semester accounting reports against all monies allocated. The Vice President and the Assistant Dean shall have the authority to sign checks for the SBA. The vice President and Treasurer will be responsible for meeting on a weekly basis for the purpose of balancing the checkbook and the master and subsidiary ledgers against official statements from financial institutions. The President and Treasurer shall sign the bank signature card for the purposes of obtaining information only.

V. ALLOCATION OF STUDENT ACTIVITY FUNDS

A. General:

At the beginning of each semester the treasurer shall allocate the funds received for the student activity fees according to the procedure and guidelines set forth below.

B. Use of SBA Funds:

Funds allocated to the SBA Board of Directors, recognized student organizations, and other groups must be used in a manner consistent with and in furtherance of general objectives of the SBA set out in Sec. 2.01 of the SBA Constitution and the introduction to these bylaws. Any proposed event must be open to all law students and should provide primarily a social, educational, or other function in keeping with the SBA’s general objectives.

Examples of uses of SBA funds that are in accordance with Subsection (1) include, but are not limited to, the following:

Purchase of food and drink and other provisions for social events and receptions at the law school or for the law community and invited guests.
Compensation for speakers addressing subjects and issues of interest to the law school community.
Purchase of periodicals of interest to and available to the law school community.
Purchase of photocopies and materials, posters, and other forms of media to be used in connection with activities of interest to the law school community.

SBA funds may not be used for purposes which are principally political, EXCEPT for purposes of enhancing political dialogue within the law school community, and for issues that are rationally related to the law school community. Under the above standard, one example of unacceptable use of SBA funds would be direct contributions to political issues or candidates.

The SBA Board may approve funds for the attendance of students at conferences an the like outside of the law school community, as long as the Board finds that such will benefit the law school in a direct and significant way.

C. Formula for Allocation of Funds:

The SBA, through the board of Directors, shall receive thirty-five percent (35%) of the funds generated by the Student Activity Fee. This money shall be known as the General Fund. The General Fund is to be used in accordance with the objectives of the SBA Constitution. For planning purposes, the Board shall draw up its own semester budget. Any monies allocated to the General Fund and not used during the semester shall remain in the General Fund.

The Board shall reserve ten percent (10%) f the Organizational Pool funds. This amount shall be known as the Contingency Fund. Use of this fund is governed by Section V (E) of these bylaws. Any monies allocated to the Contingency Fund that are not spent during the semester will escheat to the General Fund for use in succeeding semesters.

The Board shall allocate the remaining fifty-five percent (55%) of funds to the recognized student organizations. The money shall be known as the Student Organization Pool. This money shall be allocated to the organizations in accordance with subsection B of this section.

D. Allocation of Funds to Student Organizations:

1. General: Each student organization that is currently recognized by the SBA is entitled to receive funding from the Board. Recognition procedures are outlined in Section VI.

2. Budget Proposals: Each student organization requesting funding from the Board shall submit a written budget proposal by a date determined by the board. This proposal shall include the name of the organization, officers of the organization, a brief statement of purpose, and not less than two (2) events to be cosponsored with other student organizations.

3. Appearance before the Board: In addition to submitting a budget proposal, each organization requesting funds may be required to send a representative to the Board’s budget committee to answer questions of the committee.

4. Board Budget Meeting: The board of Directors shall hold one meeting near the beginning of each semester that will be devoted entirely to discussion, approval, or disapproval of student organization budget proposals. The Treasurer of the SBA shall notify the groups of the results of these meetings.

5. Approval of Budgets: In order for a recognized student organization to receive monies from the student organization pool, the Board of Directors may approve the group’s budget proposal. Approval shall be by a simple majority. Board members who are officers of student groups shall not vote when that group’s budget is being considered. A budget may be approved although the amount requested exceeds the amount available. Money may be allocated to an organization even if some items in its budget are not approved.

6. Disbursement of Funds: After an approval of budgets has occurred, the treasurer shall allocate funds to those student organizations according to the procedure set out below. All funds shall be retained by the SBA in an account until such time that they are needed by the organizations.

a. The amount to be distributed to student organizations shall be divided evenly by the number of student organizations whose budget proposals have been approved.

b. If any organizations have requested less than their allotted amount, the excess shall be divided evenly among the remaining organizations. This process shall be repeated until all of the funds that are allocated for disbursement are distributed.

c. In the event that money from the student organization pool is left over after the requests of all recognized groups have been met, any excess funds shall become part of the General Fund.

7. End of the Semester accounting: At the end of each semester, each student organization that received SBA funding may be required to submit an accounting to the Board of the organizational financial activity during the semester. The accounting shall list the money on hand at the beginning of the semester, the amount of any monies raised through fundraising and donations, the semester’s events/activities and their costs, and the amount of money remaining at the end of the semester. The Board may not approve a budget proposal or disburse funds for the following semester to an organization in question until the accounting is received.

8. Funds Remaining at the End of the Semester/Escheat Provision: It is the intention of the Board that all funds allocated to an organization shall be spent during the semester allocated, however, organizations may build into their budgets a small amount of money to be left over for the next semester’s “start-up” costs. A written request for “start-up” funds must be received and approved by the SBA Board prior to the end of the semester. Any other funds remaining at the end of the semester will be forfeited in escheat to the General Fund for reallocation the following semester.

E. Allocation of Funds to Students and Groups of Students:

Individual students or groups of students who are not recognized by the SBA as student organizations may nonetheless request funding from the SBA. Funding for these requests shall come from the General Fund, not the Student Organization Pool. Any person or group requesting funds under this section must follow the procedures for requesting funds set out in Section V (D) of these bylaws, to Wit: submitting a written proposal to the Board and appearing before the Board to answer questions. Approval of these requests will be by simple majority.

VI. RECOGNITION OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

A. General:

Students wishing to form an organization may seek financial support and recognition from the SBA Board of Directors. The board shall consider applications for recognition at any time during the school year. The Board shall consider applications for organization funding only at designated times in the semester under Section V (D) (5) of these bylaws.

B. Procedure for Obtaining Recognition:

Each group seeking recognition shall submit a written proposal to the Board outlining in detail the group’s purpose, goals, method or operation, potential membership, and an explanation of why the group’s needs are not met by any of the existing student organizations. After consideration of the totality of the circumstances, including but not limited to items detailed in the proposal, the Board shall then transmit its recommendation to the Dean of the Law School for final approval. Decision of the Board of Directors are not appealable. Any proposal that is rejected may be resubmitted, but a period of one semester must elapse before resubmission. Proposals may be resubmitted limitless times, but only once per semester.

C. Periodic Review of Recognition:

The Board, under direction of the Vice President, shall periodically review its granting of recognition to student organizations. This review will occur no more than one every two years. Criteria for continued recognition include, but are not limited to, active membership, productive use of SBA funds, and general benefits afforded the law school by the existence of the organization.

VII. STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

A. General:

There shall be a Student Bar Association Distinguished Service Award. This award shall be presented annually to no more than 2 members of the graduating class.

B. Criteria

The recipient(s) of this award shall be recognized for distinguished service to fellow students and to the Maine Law community.

C. Nomination Procedure

The recipient(s) of the award shall be nominated by a member(s) of the graduating class. All nominations must include a written statement describing the nominee's relevant accomplishments and the name of the nominator. The Board of the Student Bar Association shall select the recipient at a meeting of the Board during the semester preceding the graduation ceremony. If no nominations are offered, then the Board shall nominate and select the recipient. In order to ensure fairness, the Board of the Student Bar Association shall keep the nomination and selection process confidential.

D. Description of the Award

The award shall consist of a plaque and a cash gift. The recipient's name(s) shall be added to the perpetual trophy located in the lobby of the law school.

E. Presentation of the Award

The President of the Board of the Student Bar Association shall present the award to the recipient during the graduation ceremony. If the President is unable to perform his/her duties, then the Vice-President shall fulfill the duties. If the Vice-President is unable to perform his/her duties, then the President shall appoint someone to fulfill those duties.

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