Proposed Bylaws Change

Over the years, our bylaws have been tweaked a number of times in an attempt to keep them relevant. Unfortunately, many changes that should have been made years ago were never brought forward for a vote.

For several years now, our board of directors and staff have kept notes on items that are simply out-of-date as well as those that need to be reworked to avoid legal issues in the future.

After consulting with attorneys and other state associations and a significant amount of internal deliberation, the board determined last year that our current growth trajectory and desire to professionalize the organization warranted a rock-solid legal foundation that includes a re-writing of our bylaws.

The board tasked our Bylaws Chair, Speaker Pro-Tem of the Kansas House of Representatives Blake Carpenter, with drafting the new bylaws.

Rep. Carpenter has significant parliamentary experience and enlisted the assistance of attorneys, former legislative Rules Committee chairmen, and others with bylaws experience in compiling new bylaws.

The re-written bylaws were then presented to the board and have gone through months of review, debate, and fine-tuning.

The next step in the process is for the membership to take a vote on the proposed bylaws at the upcoming annual meeting.

While the changes are significant, all are aimed at increasing the accountability of the board and staff to membership, making responsibilities crystal clear, increasing overall transparency, and placing processes in the bylaws that will ensure that our organization is on a path for future growth.

While completely overhauling the bylaws may seem like a drastic measure, a casual reading of the existing bylaws shows that it is long-overdue. The board urges a YES vote.

If approved by a vote at the Annual Meeting, the bylaws would be amended to read as they do in the linked document. (available only to logged-in members)