OSA Constitutional Amendments

Effective July 1, 2004:

The proposed amendments are written in bold faces. Rationale behind each amendment is also outlined. A copy of the constitution, bylaws, and amendment can be found in the OSA web page at http://www.orissasociety.org for comparison purposes.

 

Article V: OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

Section 2

 

The Office bearers of OSA shall be an elected President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The executive committee of OSA shall consist of the following:

 

  1. President (Chairperson of the committee)
  2. Vice President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Editor of OSA (Non-Voting)
  6. ….

 

Section 3:

 

The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years. These four executive officials must be life members or patrons or benefactors of OSA in good standing and must be 21 years of age or over. The Vice President shall be a running mate of the President. A vote for the President shall mean a vote for his/her running mate. The Secretary and Treasurer will be separately elected, but will work as a team with the President for smooth operation of the OSA. The President shall appoint the Editor of the OSA Newsletter.

 

Section 4: Powers and functions of the President

 

3. The President shall appoint members to the following standing committees: Advisory/Planning, Orissa Development, Education, Cultural, and others to conduct various functions …

 

Section 5 Powers and Functions of Vice President

 

The Vice President shall derive his/her duties from the President and succeed him/her in case of his/her incapacity, resignation, or death. He/she will function in the following capacities.

 

1. He/she will serve as the Co-Convener of the Annual OSA conventions and work with the host chapter President/Convener for making detailed arrangements. He/she will act as the official representative of the OSA President/Governing Board to the annual conventions.

2. He/she will manage the nomination of OSA awards; appoint judges, and distribution of awards in consultation with the OSA President.

3. He/she may act in any other capacity, as delegated by the OSA President.

4. In case of his/her resignation or death, the President shall nominate a successor to the Vice President whose appointment will be approved by the Executive Board with a simple majority vote, for the remainder of the term.

 

Section 6: Powers and Functions of the Secretary

 

a.      The Secretary shall assume office along with the President and Vice President, and shall serve as the Secretary of the OSA Board of Governors.

b.      The Secretary shall record the minutes and be the custodian of the minutes of the executive Board and the General Body. He/She shall maintain permanent records of these meetings in good order and will hand over them to the next Secretary after his/her term expires.

c.        The Secretary together with the Treasurer shall be responsible for fund raising, membership drive, and for compilation of a list of paid members. This list of new members shall be published in the first issue (July-September) of the Newsletter for every fiscal year.

d.      He/she will coordinate various development activities in Orissa by the OSA members, provide administrative help through public and privately established non-profit organizations such as, but not limited to, the NRO Cell/Center, established by the Government of Orissa.

e.      The Secretary shall be removed by the same way as the President. However, a no confidence motion in this case shall be presented to the President for further action.

f.        In case of the removal of the Secretary by a no confidence motion or in his/her resignation or death, the President shall nominate a successor whose appointment will be approved by the Executive Board with a simple majority vote, for the remainder of the term.

 

Section 7: Powers and functions of the Treasurer

(Same as current section 6 for Secretary-Treasurer except for the changes below)

 

  1. The Treasurer shall assume office ….
  2. The operating budget of OSA shall be within limits of available revenue during the year, and must be prepared in consultation with the President. The revenue will include annual membership fees, OSA fees collected at the convention, fees collected from converting life members to patrons and benefactors, and funds raised by other means. The fees for life membership cannot be included in the annual budget. This money must be invested for long-term benefit of OSA (such as fixed deposit), as decided by the finance committee, explained below.
  3. The Treasurer will serve as the Chairman of the OSA Finance committee, which will plan and operate all the OSA investments. The committee will consist of the Treasurer and two other life members/patrons/benefactors, appointed by the President. These two committee members must not be members of the current OSA Board of Governors. Any long-term investment or fixed deposit will be held in the name of OSA and can be operated with signatures from any two of the three members of the finance committee. Any earning from investment/fixed deposit can be included in the operating budget of OSA.
  4. The Treasurer shall supervise annual OSA convention and/or symposium fund collections and expenses, and report them to the General Body in the following year.
  5. The Treasurer will present the complete financial report of the past year in the Annual General Body meeting of the OSA during the convention. The financial records shall be audited at the end of every two financial years ending in an election year. (Modified from item 3 of the present constitution)
  6. The Treasurer along with the Secretary shall be responsible for fund-raising, membership recruitment, … (Same as current item 4)
  7. The office bearers .. travel expenses. Any one item of expenditure beyond $300 (instead of current $200) must be approved by the President. Any amount over $500 (instead of current $400) on a single non-budgeted item must be approved by a majority of the Governing Board. The approval from the Governing Board will be sought through e-mail. In case of no response within two weeks from a Board member, it will be assumed that the particular member has approved the request. The same rule will apply for donations by various OSA members to charitable/educational/developmental organizations in Orissa. Such collections and expenditures must be reflected as regular income/expenditure items in OSA account. Any OSA operational expenditure over $10,000 shall require an approval from the General Body.
  8. Same as current item 6
  9. Same as current item 7

 

ARTICLE VIII: LOCAL CHAPTERS

 

Sections 1 and 2 – Same as before

Section 3: The President of a chapter or an elected representative shall become a member of the OSA Executive committee for a term of two years. A notification to that effect shall be submitted to the Secretary of OSA on or before the June 30th of the OSA election year. The chapter President or his representative to OSA Executive committee must be a member of OSA in good standing. The President/Coordinator of a Chapter is eligible .. (sentence inserted as per amendment effective July 1992).

Sections 4 and 5: Same as before

Section 6: Local chapters raising funds in the name of OSA and using OSA IRS number shall follow the OSA rules and be accountable for the IRS audit. A copy of the annual financial report shall be submitted to the Treasurer of OSA at the end of each fiscal year. Failure to report such financial transactions violates the IRS rules and regulations, and is subject to IRS action.

 

By-Laws

 

By-LAW I - MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 2: Membership in the OSA shall be of the following types:

 

e. PATRON: A person who contributes $600 or more to OSA

g. SUPPORTING MEMBER: Persons, families or organizations by contributing at least $100 a year

 

BY-LAW II: ANNUAL CONVENTION

 

Section 2:

The convention shall not be viewed as a fund raising method on the part of the local chapter. The Treasurer shall supervise annual OSA convention and/or symposium fund collections and expenses, and report them to the General Body in the following year. The accounts of the convention shall be prepared by the President or his/her representative of the host chapter and will be handed over to the OSA Treasurer for reporting to the General Body. If the host chapter for a Convention does not meet its obligations to provide financial statements, a list of new members and all monies due to the national organization within six months of the end of the Convention, said chapter shall not be permitted to host another Convention for a period of 10 years from such date that the host chapter meets the foregoing obligations. 

Section 3:

The OSA Vice President shall function as Co-convener of the convention and shall coordinate all the OSA activities including planning, convention opening ceremony, invitation of the OSA guests, and OSA award distributions in consultation with the OSA President and the convention organizers.

Section 4:

The Convener will ensure printing and distribution of copies of the OSA souvenir and directory to all the attending OSA members and to those life members/patrons/benefactors, who did not attend the convention.