BYLAWS! BYLAWS! READ ALL ABOUT THEM!

The practice of having two documents (constitution and bylaws) to define and guide an organization is obsolete. Today there is usually one chief document, the bylaws.

Bylaws are divided into parts, called ARTICLES, usually including Roman numerals and titles.  Articles are the largest divisions of the document and generally outline the structure of organization.   For LWML, use the following as a guideline in this order:

• Name
• Object of the members
• Membership
• Officers
• Pastoral Counselor
• Meetings
• Representation at Conventions
• Executive Committee
• Board of Directors
• Committees
• Finances
• Dissolution
• Parliamentary Authority, such as Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised
• Amendments

When there is more than one statement included in an Article, that Article is divided into SECTIONS, either numbered or lettered.  If any of those sections contains more than one statement, it is further divided and assigned a letter or number.  Organizing the document in this manner allows reference to a particular section of a particular bylaw without confusion.

Bylaws should not contain trivial rules or temporary provisions.  They are meant to provide the most basic regulations, understandable by the membership, and important enough that they will not need to be changed often. 

High-Level Process for Proposed Amendments to Bylaws

The following is a summary of the process.  See the detailed process which includes how many copies need to be sent, etc. by clicking here for a .pdf file or here for a .doc file.

Once you have your proposed amendments to your bylaws, submit the changes to the District Structure Committee Chairman for review and approval.

The District Structure Committee will review your bylaws within a two-month timeframe. If all is well, then approval is given.

After the proposed amendments to your bylaws have been approved, you can present them to your society or zone to vote for adoption.

Links

• LWML WA-AK District Bylaws (.pdf file)

• Sample Society Bylaws (.doc file)

• Sample Zone Bylaws (.doc file)

• Proposed Bylaw Amendment Process (.pdf file)

• Standing Rules Definitions (.pdf file)

• LWML Bylaws

• Guidelines for Structure Committees

• LWML Structure Committee webpage