| Part 12 – By Laws |
| 12.01 Upon being admitted to membership in the Society, a new member is entitled to and may receive from the Branch where his membership is granted a copy of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society, the cost of providing such to be borne by that Branch.
12.02 These Bylaws may not be altered or added to except by special resolution passed by a 75 percent majority vote of members voting on the special resolution at a General Meeting of the Society. 12.03 A special resolution for amending by any means any part of these Bylaws may be presented by a member in good standing using the following procedure. (a) Signed notice in writing shall be given to the Society President of the intent to present a special resolution for that purpose, stating the exact wording of the proposed amendment. (b) The President shall inform all Branches of this intent in writing, provide a copy of the proposed amendment for advance consideration by members, and stating the date, place and time of the General Meeting at which this resolution will be presented. (c) At the above noted General Meeting the special resolution will be presented by the initiator of the resolution in the usual manner, debated and put to vote. The amendment(s) proposed in that special resolution shall then stand only if it received the support of 75 percent or more of the ballots cast in that vote; otherwise it will be defeated and the Bylaws will not be altered. 12.04 The intended purpose of these Bylaws is to facilitate, rather than restrict Officers of the Society in managing the affairs and conducting meetings of the Society. All points of order and procedure not prescribed in these Bylaws should be decided by a Directors’ resolution supported by majority vote of Directors present at the Meeting, and in the absence of such resolution Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply. 12.05 Each Branch duly approved and constituted by the Society shall have, and is encouraged to utilize, the right to adopt its own By Laws for the management of the affairs of that Branch, provided that no By Law of any Branch may over-ride or in any way conflict with any By Law of the Society. 12.06 Branches exercising the right granted through By Law 12.05 must, before submitting its proposed By Laws to their membership for adoption, seek approval of the proposed By Laws, and any subsequent amendments proposed, from the Provincial Directors. 12.07 Each duly established Branch may place a surcharge on the annual dues payable by each member to the Society, the amount to be determined by and retained within the Branch, and the Provincial Society shall have no control or jurisdiction over these or any other funds constitutionally retained by the Branch.
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