CHANGES TO THE INA BYLAWS AS AGREED IN 2021
Amendments to the INA byelaws as proposed by council in order to facilitate registration of the Association as a charity in the UK. The amendments were put to the membership via electronic ballot and were aprroved by 67 votes in favour vs 1 against.
Section 1.2 Place of registration
This has been changed to Hertfordshire, UK. As is commonly the case with small societies such as ours, the place of registration is the home address of the Treasurer.
Previous version
The registered office shall be in the City of Seward Nebraska.
New version
The registered office shall be in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Article 7 Board of Trustees
This replaces the previous board of directors section and establishes a set of trustees with legal responsibility for the charity
Article 8 Officers of the Association - opening part
This article is significantly emended
previous version
Section 8.1 The officers of this Association include the following: President, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Mmebership Secretary, Director of the INA Foundation, two Council Members At Large, and the Editors of the Journal of Nannoplankton Research. Additional officers may be appointed to perform specific roles, subject to approval by the council and confirmation at the earliest possible Business Meeting. A listing of all current officers will be maintained on the website and published in the Journal of Nannoplankton Research.
New version
Section 8.1 The day to day running of the Association shall be vested in the following officers (herein called 'Council') consisting of a maximum of sixteen (16) Members. Council membership shall include the President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Director of the INA Foundation, two Council Members At Large, the Editor of the Journal of Nannoplankton Research, and up to eight (8) other officers. The actual composition of the Council shall be proposed at each General Meeting for the period until the next General Meeting, and will be displayed on the Association's website and within the Journal of Nannoplankton Research.
Section 8.2 Council shall have general control and management of the affairs and funds of this Association. Duties shall include, but not be limited to: designation of time and place of the General Meeting of the Association, following a vote of the Members in attendance at the previous meeting; supervision of election of officers and filling of vacancies; administering funds for the objectives of the Association; establishing appropriate fiscal policies; and performing any other administrative duties required to accomplish the aims and objective of this Association.
Section 8.3 Council shall meet at the General Meeting, and at other times and places designated by Council, and at the call of the President. A simple majority of Council members shall constitute a quorum. No proxy votes shall be allowed and no alternates may be appointed for absent members. Council may act on Association matters by mail, fax, or e-mail vote when needed.
Article 8 Officers of the Association - main part
The text here is essentialy unchanged but the pragraphs are renumbered and some details changed:
8.2 -> 8.4 (terms of office);
8.3 -> 8.5 (president);
8.4 -> 8.6 (secretary);
8.5 -> 8.7 (treasurer);
8.6 -> 8.8 (membership secretary);
8.7 -> 8.9 (editor).
8.8 Director of INA Foundation - the Foundation is now a separately registered charity, in the USA and so this section is deleted.
8.9 -> 8.10 (council members at large)
8.10 -> 8.11 (conference convenor)
8.11 -> 8.12 (quorum)
8.13 -> 8.14 (President term of office) - this section is emended to allow for exceptional circumstances delaying INA meetings.
8.14 -> 8.15 (President elect) - emended to specify new President should be elected at least 6 months before the INA meeting at which they take office.
8.15 - 8.16 (terms of office for key officers of the association)
8.16 - 8.17 (vacancies)
8.17 - 8.18 (advisors)
Article 10 Business procedures
Section 10.1 (procedures manual) has been deleted, since this is not something which is needed under uk charity law, and it had not been implemented effectively.
The other psections are remubered.
Article 16 Exempt Activities
This section has been deleted, since is not needed under UK charity law