Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region VII By-Laws TABLE OF CONTENT ARTICLE I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX CONTENT Name Purpose Region VII Student Council Region VII Representation Region VII Officers Oath of Office Committees Advisor Discipline Adopted: May 27, 2011
Section1. Name ARTICLE I: NAME The name of this student body organization shall be Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region VII, hereafter referred to as Region VII Student Council. ARTICLE II: PURPOSE These Bylaws contain the operating procedures and rules of the Region VII Student Council. Their purpose shall be: A. To serve as the procedures and regulations for all members of Region VII, which include Executive Officers and Delegates. Section 1.Constituency ARTICLE III: REGION VII STUDENT COUNCIL All Region VII community college students shall be represented by Region VII Student Council and shall have the right to participate in all Region VII Student Council meetings except in the process of voting. Section 1.Representatives ARTICLE IV: REGION VII REPRESENTATION Region VII Student Council shall recognize only one (1) voting member per community college listed in Article III, Section 2a of the Region VII Constitution. Section 2.Eligibility A. Region VII Student Council Representatives shall be enrolled in the community college at the time of election, and throughout his or her term, with a minimum of five semester units, or its equivalent as stated in California Education Code 76061. B. The Region VII Student Council Representative shall meet and maintain the minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Section 3.Selection and Term Please refer to the Region VII Constitution. Section 4.Vacancies A. In the event of a vacancy of a Region VII voting delegate, the respective college shall be notified of the vacancy.
Section 5.Meetings A. Region VII Student Council shall set a schedule of no less than twelve (12) meetings per academic year ten (10) meetings shall be held within the Region at participating colleges ad one (1) shall be had at each of the SSCCC General Assemblies. 1. All Region VII regular scheduled Council meetings shall be agreed upon by a majority vote of colleges in attendance at first meeting of the new term. 2. These meetings shall be open to all members of the public who wish to attend in accordance with the Brown Act (Government Code 54950 et seq.). B. Special meetings of Region VII may be called by the Region VII President or by a majority of the active Region college delegates. Special meetings of the Region called by the delegates shall be in consultation with members of the Executive Board. 1. All special meetings of Region VII shall be governed by the Brown Act 2. Minutes of special meetings shall be made available by the next regular meeting of the region. Section 6.Voting A. All Region VII Student Council delegates shall have an individual vote. B. The Chair may vote in case of a tie. Section 7.Duties and Privileges A. Region VII Student Council Representatives shall participate in and attend all meetings. B. Shall maintain and uphold the Region VII Constitution, Bylaws and all other governing documents. C. All Region VII Student Council Representatives may be excused from no more than two (2) Regional meeting per term. i. An absence can be excused with at least a 24-hour prior notification to the chair and with a stipulation that the delegate sends a replacement. ii. Any delegate who is absent for two consecutive meetings unexcused may be immediately removed from the Region VII Student Council. A notice will be sent to the removed delegates respective campus for replacement. D. All Region VII Student Council Representatives can request for items to be placed on the following agenda prior to the agenda being posted. Section 1.List of Officers ARTICLE V: REGION VII OFFICERS
The Region VII Student Council shall consist of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, up to 2 (two) Communication Officer(s), Parliamentarian, and three (3) Regional Senators. Section 2.Elections A. Nominations i. A delegate can nominate themselves or nominate any eligible student of Region VII for an officer position. B. Campaigning i. After nominations have closed, each nominee will be allowed to give a three (3) minute speech to the Region. ii. Up to five (5) questions may be asked of candidates after their speech, and each has up to one (1) minute to respond to each question. C. Voting i. Following the campaigning, the Region delegates shall immediately vote and shall vote for only one candidate per position. ii. For the position of communications officer and regional senator individual elections shall be held for each position. iii. In the event of a tie, the Region shall repeat the voting process with only the nominees in the tie being considered for the position. D. Timeline Region VII elections shall be held by the last meeting in the month of May. Section 3.Order of Succession A. The Order of Succession shall be President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. B. In the event that the President must step down, the Vice President will assume office. If the Vice President is unable to fulfill the President s position, then the Secretary will assume the role of President. If the Secretary is unable to fulfill President s position, then the Treasurer will assume the role of President. C. The charge of the order of succession is to take effect immediately after a vacancy in the Region VII officer positions. D. In the event the event that the Treasurer is unable to fulfill the position of President, a special election shall be held. Section 4.Duties of Officers A. President i. Shall facilitate and act as chair over all Region VII meetings. ii. Shall serve as the official spokesperson of Region VII iii. Shall have the authority to call for special meetings as deemed necessary in accordance with The Brown Act.
iv. Shall have authority to appoint Region VII students to sit on Regional Committees upon confirmation through majority vote of the Region v. Shall sign all request for disbursement of approved funding. B. Vice-President i. Shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President in his/her absence or vacancy. ii. Shall inform Region VII Student Council of all resignations and leaves of absence by regional Executive Officers at the next regular region meeting. iii. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President. C. Secretary i. Shall record all minutes of Region VII meetings. ii. Shall provide the Region VII Student Council with draft minutes at least seven (7) days prior to the next regularly scheduled Region meeting. iii. Shall keep accurate records of attendance during Region VII meetings. iv. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President. D. Treasurer i. Shall keep accurate records of financial transactions of Region VII ii. Shall serve as Chair of the Budget Advisory Committee iii. Shall work to secure funding for Region VII iv. Shall conduct an annual audit prior to the Spring SSCCC General Assembly on all financial transactions v. Shall sign all request for disbursement of approved funding. vi. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President. E. Communications Officer(s) i. Shall be responsible for working with the Chair to communicate the correspondence of Region VII. ii. Shall maintain the Region VII website iii. Shall maintain an update directory of Region VII membership and contact information. iv. Shall perform other duties as delegated by the President. F. Parliamentarian i. Shall be appointed by the chair to advise the Region VII Council on Parliamentary Procedure, the Brown Act, California Education Code, and SSCCC region and state Constitution and Bylaws.
ii. iii. Shall act as an ex-officio non-voting member of the Region VII Student Council. Shall abide by the rules stated in the current Robert s Rules of Order. G. Regional Senators i. Shall attend and participate in all meetings of Region VII. ii. Shall attend all meetings of the SSCCC Council meetings. iii. Shall disseminate all information gathered at SSCCC Council meetings. iv. Shall be informed on state, local, and college policies that relate to the general welfare of all colleges in Region VII. v. Shall perform other duties as assigned by the SSCCC Constitution, Bylaws and Governing Documents. Section 5.Term and Position Limitations A. No individual may serve more than two (2) terms as an officer or five (5) semesters. B. No individual can hold more than one officer position at a time nor can any individual be both a delegate and an officer simultaneously. Section 1.Oath of Office ARTICLE VI: OATH OF OFFICE A. The oath of office shall be taken by all officers upon confirmation of their elected or appointed position. Section 1.Standing Committees ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES A. To create or remove standing committees requires amending these Bylaws. B. Current Standing Committee(s) are as follows: i. Budget Advisory Committee Section 2.Ad Hoc Committees A. The Region shall have the power to create an Ad Hoc Committee during a regular meeting of the Region. B. All Ad Hoc committees must be formed with the following definitions: i. Name of the committee ii. Objective of the committee iii. Authority of the committee to take action on behalf of the Region under specified circumstances. Section 3.Purpose and Responsibilities:
A. All Standing Committee(s) shall consist of no less than three (3) members of the Region, but no more than fifty percent (50%) of our voting membership. The purpose of Standing Committees shall be to advise the region on courses of action and policies that will best benefit the Region as a whole and fulfill the charge of the committee. B. All Standing Committee(s) shall have regular monthly meetings either in person or by teleconference. C. All Standing Committees shall submit monthly reports to the Region VII Student Council. D. All committees shall elect a Committee Chair, Vice Chair, and Recording Secretary, unless stated otherwise in the bylaws. E. In the event of vacancy of position not being filled by the next regular meeting of the Region, the Region VII President shall fill the vacant position(s) by nomination and election. F. All Standing and Ad Hoc Committees shall adhere to the Brown Act and the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order. Section 4.Committee Membership A. Committee Membership Responsibilities All Committee members, including the chair, may vote. i. Committee Chair a. Shall facilitate their respective Committee meeting b. Shall create and forward to the Region VII Communications officer(s) all Committee agendas to be disseminated to the Region. c. Shall submit written monthly reports to the Region VII Student Council on actions discussed within the Committee. d. Shall ensure that approved minutes have been forwarded to the Region VII Communications Officer(s). ii. Vice Chair a. Shall assume the powers and duties of the Committee Chair when the chair is unable to perform such duties. b. Shall perform other duties assigned by the Committee Chair. iii. Recording Secretary a. Shall record the minutes of the Committee and submit approved minutes to the Region VII Communications Officer(s). b. Shall transcribe accurate minutes and forward them to the Chair at least seven (7) days prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting B. Removal of Chair or Other Officers
i. Committees shall have the authority to remove their Committee Chair, Vice Chair, or Recording Secretary from their position due to not fulfilling position responsibilities. This removal shall be approved by a majority vote. Officers removed in this way shall still be considered to be members of the committee. ii. The Region shall have the authority to remove the Committee Chair, Vice Chair, or Recording Secretary from a committee by a majority vote. Officers removed in this way shall still be considered to be members of the committee. C. Removal of Committee Members i. Committees shall have the authority to remove members from their committees due to accumulating two (2) unexcused absences. This removal shall be approved by a majority vote. All action must be submitted in report form and brought back to the Region at the next regularly scheduled Region VII meeting. ii. The Region shall have the authority to remove a member from a committee by a majority vote due to lack of participation within the committee. ARTICLE VIII: ADVISOR A. Region VII student council shall appoint an advisor and an alternate advisor with a simple majority vote i. Advisor: a. The advisor shall attend all regularly scheduled meetings. b. The advisor shall sign all request for disbursement of approved funding. ii. Alternate Advisor: a. The responsibility of the alternate advisor shall be to sit in on Region VII meetings in the absence of the advisor and to report back to the advisor as to what happened in the meeting. ARTICLE IX: DISCIPLINE A. The region may deem actions by members to be offensive or otherwise disruptive by standard motion, second, and majority approval. B. Any member who commits actions deemed offensive or otherwise disruptive shall be warned. C. Any member warned and continuing to commit an action deemed offensive or otherwise disruptive according to the SSCCC code of conduct may be removed from Region VII membership by region. D. A list of actions deemed offensive or otherwise disruptive must be maintained to be considered current.