Constitution and By-Laws

The name of this organization shall be the New York State Court Clerks Association.

The object and purpose of this organization is to advance the careers of Court Clerks within the courts of New York State.

No member of this organization who is an Officer, Delegate, Trustee, member of a Board of Governors or of an Executive Committee, or of a Standing or Special Committee of any other organization having the same or similar objectives, shall be an Officer, Delegate or member of any committee of this organization. This provision shall not apply to any council with which this organization may now or hereafter be affiliated. Such affiliation or disaffiliation shall be ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at a General Membership Meeting called for that purpose.

Any title within the Court Clerk Series, within the Courts of New York State, is eligible for membership in this organization as provided by the By-Laws.

Applications for membership shall be in writing, in such form as may, from time to time, be prescribed by the Board of Directors.

The management and affairs of this organization shall be under the control of the Board of Directors and subject to a two-thirds (2/3) override vote of the membership present at a meeting called for that purpose; however, collective bargaining agreements shall further be approved by a mail ballot of the general membership, after they receive full disclosure of the terms of the proposed contract at a General Membership meeting called for such purpose—mail ballot to go out within one week of such meeting, unless directed otherwise by the Board of Directors, due to force of circumstance. After a recommendation by the Board of Directors a proposed bargaining agreement shall be voted on by the general membership. A majority vote of the general membership shall be required for ratification.

The officers shall be a President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Recording Secretary.

Each officer shall be provided with a basic annual personal expense account as provided in the By-Laws.

There shall be a Board of Directors composed of the Officers and Delegates as follows: Supreme, Surrogate and County Clerk Units.

Senior Court Clerk: 3-New York, 2-Bronx, 3-Kings, 2-Queens.
Associate Court Clerk: 2-New York, 1-Bronx, 2-Kings/Richmond, 1-Queens.

The above to be elected by their respective titles. Richmond – 1 Delegate for Senior Court Clerks to cover the Supreme, Surrogates and County Clerk Courts.

Richmond -1 Delegate for Senior Court Clerks to cover the Criminal, Family and Civil Courts.

Principal Court Clerks and Trainers (currently line 25) combined – 1 Delegate, IV’s (currently line 28)- 1 Delegate and V’s (currently line 30) – 1 Delegate to be elected by citywide units in their respective titles.

Civil, Criminal and Family Court units to be elected by citywide units in their respective titles.

Civil – 1 Associate Court Clerk.
Criminal – 1 Associate Court Clerk.
Family – 1 Associate Court Clerk.

Senior Court Clerk title to be elected by Court as follows:

N.Y. County – 1 Criminal, 1 Civil, 1 Family.
Kings County – 1 Criminal, 1 Civil, 1 Family.
Queens County – 1 Criminal, 1 Civil, 1 Family.
Bronx County – 1 Criminal, 1 Civil, 1 Family.

Except as provided in Article III, and Article XXXIII any member of the organization may serve as President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, or Recording Secretary.

All Officers shall be elected in June of odd numbered years and they shall assume office on July 1st of that year and hold office for two years.

All Delegates shall be elected in June of even-numbered years and they shall assume office on July 1st of that year and hold office for two years.

The American Arbitration Association (A.A.A.) or another independent ballot association shall conduct the election of Officers, Delegates, and trustees. Ballots shall be tallied at A.A.A. offices or another independent ballot association office. Nominees shall have access to all documents relating to election matters. Nominees shall be entitled to monitor and review all processes related to the election. Request to observe any aspect of the election process shall be made exclusively to the A.A.A. or another independent ballot association office. Interim election of delegates shall be under the supervision of the Board of Directors. The result of any and all elections, including actual vote counts in each election shall be published in the next available newsletter or in another appropriate association mailing and/or on our association website. Every dues-paying member shall be provided an email or mail ballot.

Any member desiring to run for the office of President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, or Recording Secretary must do so by presenting a nominating petition signed by fifty (50) members in good standing, including written acceptance of the candidate, to the Secretary, an Officer, or a Delegate during the month of April of the election year. Each petition shall be for one candidate only. Those signing a petition must include their printed last name, court of employment, and date on which they signed the petition. Petitions may be signed prior to April. The Board of Directors shall select a date in June as the election date and notify all candidates prior to May 11th. A list of all members and their court will be given each candidate upon acceptance of the petition.

Any member desiring to run for office of Delegate or Trustee must do so by filing a statement to that effect with the Secretary during the month of April of the election year. The Board of Directors shall select a date in June as the election date of each contested unit election and notify all candidates prior to May 11th.

If any Delegate’s office shall be vacant through promotion, demotion, resignation or other cause, the Secretary or Secretary’s designee shall notify all members of the affected unit by mail within two (2) weeks. Statements of intent to run for the remainder of the two (2)year term will be accepted in the manner described in Article XV for a period of twenty (20) days from the date of mailing. The election will be held in conformance with Article XIII within thirty (30) days of the end of the filing period. If any Officer’s or Trustee’s office shall be vacant in a similar manner, the President must appoint an Officer or Delegate to serve as an Officer or a member to serve as a Trustee for the remainder of the term within thirty (30) days. If the vacancy occurs after the June election but prior to July 1st, the election results must be implemented. Only an Officer, Delegate or Trustee eligible as of July 1st may be appointed by the President to fill the vacancy. If the office of the President is vacated, the position must be offered to the remaining Officers in the order prescribed in Article VII.

Members of committees shall serve without compensation except that they shall be reimbursed for expenses as provided in the By-Laws.

The revenue of the organization shall be derived from membership dues and such other sources as may be approved by the Board of Directors. An increase to membership dues shall be considered, and voted upon every five (5) years by the general membership. The proposed amount to be considered shall be agreed upon by the Board of Directors no later than July 1st of the year the amount is to be voted upon. The proposed amount shall be furnished to the membership no later than thirty (30) days prior to the general membership meeting held in October of the same year. The increased amount to be considered, and voted upon, shall be no less than one ($1.00) dollar per bi-weekly pay period; subject to all remaining terms and conditions of voting stated herein the Constitution.

Membership dues shall be collected by check-off, payroll deduction, or direct payment, in such amount as may be recommended by the Board of Directors, and approved by two-thirds of the members present at a general or special membership meeting. Thereafter, such increase shall be voted on by general membership. A majority vote of the general membership shall be required for the new dues amount to be implemented.

Expenditures shall be made under the control of the Board of Directors to advance the purposes of the organization, and all checks shall be signed by two Officers. An annual financial report shall be mailed to all of its members within five months after the end of its fiscal year as required by 12 NYCRR 550 and in accordance with the standards set forth in the applicable statutes and regulations.

The Annual General Membership Meeting shall be held in October. In years where there is an election for Officers of this association, an additional General Membership Meeting shall be held in May. The agenda shall allocate time for candidates to address the membership and answer questions.

The President or a majority of the Board of Directors shall call a Special Membership Meeting whenever necessary.

A Special Membership Meeting shall be called upon a petition signed by seventy-five members of the Association and presented to any member of the Board of Directors. The petition shall set forth the agenda of the Special Meeting. Upon receipt of the petition, the Board shall verify the signatures thereon and shall have thirty days from its receipt to call a Special Membership Meeting. The agenda of the meeting shall be restricted to that set forth in the petition, or that portion found to be constitutional by the Board. Any ruling by the Board that the petition is rejected for lack of seventy-five legal signatures or that part or all of the proposed agenda is unconstitutional shall be reported to the member who presented the petition on the work day following the Board Meeting, by a member of the Board chosen by the President.

At any Membership Meeting, 75 members present shall constitute a quorum.

The Secretary shall cause notice of any Membership Meeting to be given, in writing, at least ten days prior thereto.

There shall be such committees appointed by the President and approved by the Board of Directors as may be required in the conduct of business, except as provided in Section 12 of the By-Laws.

Any Officer, Delegate or Trustee of this organization may be the subject of impeachment proceedings by the bringing of charges. An Officer or Trustee may be brought up on charges by petition signed by one hundred (100) members of this association. A Delegate may be brought up on charges by a petition signed by fifty (50) members of their election unit or by one half the members of their election unit, whichever is the lesser.

The charges must be specific and confined to those charges for which impeachment proceedings may be brought under this Article. In addition, the petition shall set forth the names of three (3) members who appear before the Board and prosecute the charges.

The charges for which impeachment proceedings may be brought are as follows:

1. Any action which seeks to divert individual members or groups of members from the organization.
2. Misappropriation or embezzlement of funds of the organization.
3. Malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office.
4. Such other grounds as set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order, revised.

The Board hearing shall take place within thirty (30) days of receipt of the charges. The general membership shall be notified, in writing, at least ten (10)days prior to the Board Hearing.

A vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board of Directors shall be required to support a charge. Upon the support of a charge by the Board of Directors, it shall present the charge to the general membership at a Special Meeting called for that purpose. The general membership may then vote the Officer, Trustee or Delegate out of office by a two-thirds (2/3)vote of those present and voting yea or nay.

The Constitution may be amended by a two-step process.

First: The amendment must have a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting members present at the Annual Membership Meeting or at a meeting called as provided by the By-Laws, on notice which shall set forth the proposed amendments.

Second: Any amendment passing the first step shall be put forth to the general membership. A majority vote of the general membership voting by mail shall be required for this Constitution to be amended.

All proposed amendments to this Constitution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the association no later than July 1st to be addressed at the Annual General Membership Meeting in October.

Members are to be given notice fifteen (15) days prior to proposed additions, amendments and changes to the By-Laws. Such notice must specify exactly what is to be presented to the Board of Directors for the vote. A two-thirds (2/3) vote by the Board of Directors present is needed to pass and results of preceding, if any, take effect immediately thereafter.

The Board of Directors or Trustees shall not vote to increase their basic annual personal expense allowance per session during the current term. If the Board of Directors or Trustees vote to increase their personal expense allowance per session for their next term, any increase shall not take effect without the approval by a majority vote of the general membership present at a General or Special Membership Meeting called for that purpose. The membership shall be given thirty (30) days written notice of such meeting with a copy of the proposal.

There shall be a Board of Welfare Trustees (Trustees) comprised of nine (9) members, seven (7) elected for a term of two (2) years (effective June 2013).

Elections shall be held in the month of June and each Trustee shall take office on July 1st. The President and First Vice-President shall be Trustees with the President acting as Chairman of the Board.

The Board of Welfare Trustees (Trustees) shall report to the Board of Directors not less than once every three (3) months and to the general membership not less than once every six (6) months. Under no circumstances shall any other Officer or Delegate serve in any capacity as a member of the Board of Welfare Trustees (Trustees).

No member may hold more than one of the following positions: Officer, Delegate or Trustee except as provided in Article XXXII.

No member may simultaneously run for more than one of the following positions: Officer, Delegate or Trustee. This, however, does not bar a member holding such a position from running singularly for another position.

The President, the Treasurer or a majority of the Board of Directors may demand an independent audit of the Security Benefit Fund at any time.