The Constitution of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans
Article I: Name The name of this organization shall be the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, hereafter referred to as the MFCRs.
Article II: Preamble
We, the Members of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, in order to make known and promote the principles of the Republican Party, to aid in the election of conservative candidates at all levels of government, to further expand and develop a conservative political philosophy, to promote good relations between the College Republicans and the community, to build a network that will benefit all College Republicans and the Republican Party by helping everyone achieve their goals, to develop political skills and leadership abilities among Republican students as preparation for future service, hereby ratify this Constitution, which shall maintain jurisdiction as the governing document of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans.
Article III: Membership
Section 1: Active College Chapters Active college chapters of the MFCR shall be those that have been given official charter by the MFCR. Membership in MFCR, for a Chapter, shall be limited to any college or university within the state of Michigan.
Section 2: Eligibility of a Charter for a new Chapter A proposed chapter must have a constitution and at minimum (4) members. To apply for a charter, the proposed chapter must submit their constitution, names of the 4 members (minimum), and email addresses to the MFCR Chairman.
Section 3: Individual Membership Student membership in the MFCR shall be limited to students enrolled in a chapter at any college or university within the state of Michigan. Active student membership shall be given to students of chapters who have attended at least 2 meetings or events hosted by that chapter. Members of any College Republican Chapter must be enrolled in a Michigan college or university.
Section 4: At Large Membership At Large membership may be granted to individuals by the MFCR Executive Board if no college chapter exists at their college. They shall be considered only as members of the MFCRs and will have the power of one delegate for convention purposes.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1: Officers The elected officers of this organization shall be as follows: Chairman, CoChairman, Vice Chairman, Public Relations Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary.
Section 2: Terms of Officers The term of office for each officer shall be one year from the time the officer assumes office until he is reelected or a successor is elected. An officer must be enrolled in a Michigan college or university for the duration of the regular academic year which corresponds to his term of office, or must reasonably expect to do so at the time he is elected
Section 3: Membership Requirements for Officers An officer must be active within the state and his college and must meet all other chapter membership qualifications.
Section 4: Leaving College If an officer leaves college for any reason and is no longer enrolled in a Michigan college or university their term ends and the vacancy will be filled following the procedures outlined in Article VIII.
Section 5: Election All officers are elected by a simple majority of the delegates present at a state MFCR convention.
Section 6: Declaration Candidates for the MFCR Executive Board to be elected at the MFCR Convention must declare before March 1st. Declaring, as used in this article, means sending notice of their candidacy for the position to the chairman and secretary.
Article V: Duties of Officers
Section 1: Duties of the Chairman
● To act as a liaison with Republican officials
● To act as a spokesman for the MFCR
● To preside at all state conventions of the MFCR unless he himself is a candidate for an officer position at that convention. If he is a candidate, the convention of delegates will decide who the temporary chairman is, with a simple majority being necessary to confirm.
● To act as Chairman of the Executive Board
● To appoint all committees and recommend Chairman of those committees to the Executive Board
● To appoint a Sergeant at Arms for all conventions or when necessary at an executive board.
● To veto any action of the Executive Board or General Assembly that he deems unconstitutional
○ Article VI; Section 6 outlines overriding procedures
Section 2: Duties of the CoChairman
● To act as liaison with Republican officials in absence of the Chairman.
● To act as a spokesman for the MFCRs in the absence of the Chairman.
● To execute all other duties of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman
● To complete assignments, within reason, given by the Chairman.
Section 3: Duties of the ViceChairman
● To execute the duties of the CoChairman in the CoChairman's absence
● To complete assignments, within reason, given by the Chairman.
● To oversee the work of all committees.
● To develop and execute a recruitment plan of action to gain and retain members of chapters within MFCRs. He would do this in part by creating a standing recruitment committee.
● To act as parliamentarian at all meetings of the executive board or convention of MFCRs. If he is a candidate for election for an officer position at convention, the convention of delegates will decide who the temporary parliamentarian is, with a simple majority being necessary to confirm.
Section 4: Duties of the Public Relations Chairman
● To act as publicity chair of the MFCR's
● To complete assignments, within reason, given by the Chairman
● To act as publicity chair of the MFCR's, in part by maintaining social media accounts
Section 5: Duties of the Treasurer
● To maintain accounts of the MFCRs
● To furnish the Executive Board with periodic statements showing the treasury balance and any transactions.
● To act as Chairman of the fundraising committee
Section 6: Duties of the Secretary
● To keep accurate records of the proceedings of the MFCR meetings.
● To publish the minutes of each of these meetings at each subsequent meeting.
● To maintain copies of all MFCR records.
● To provide correspondence between the MFCRs and other Republican party affiliates along with other necessary correspondence. To act as Chairman of the Newsletter Committee.
Article VI: The Executive Board
Section 1: Purpose The Executive Board shall conduct the affairs of the MFCRs between meetings of the MFCR conventions
Section 2: Composition The Executive Board shall consist of the six elected officers of the MFCRs as well as the chairmen of each recognized college chapter.
Section 3: Executive Director The Executive Director shall be an exofficio member of the Executive Board and shall serve at the pleasure of the Chairman. This person must adhere to the membership policies proceeding in Article 3 Section 3.
Section 4: Meeting Executive board meetings may be called by the Chairman, and shall, when practical, be held monthly. Special executive board meetings may be called by a twothirds vote of the voting members of the organization. There must be at least 48 hours notice of any meeting to all voting members of the organization. The meetings are open to any College Republican members not on the executive board. The executive board can close the meetings by a majority vote. The chairman can approve any nonCollege Republicans to participate on the call.
Section 5: Committee Chairmen The Chairman will recommend chairmen of committees and these people must be approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board.
Section 6: Overriding a Veto At Large members of the Executive Board can override the Chairman’s veto with a 2/3 majority vote. The Chairman does not have the power to vote in the case of overriding the veto.
Section 7: Voting on a Proposal Voting on a proposal by the Executive Board must take place at minimum one week after the proposal is made.
Article VII: Conventions
Section 1: Election Convention The general assembly of the MFCRs must meet as a whole convention at least once a year in April for the purpose of elections. Section 2: Notice A convention must be called a simple majority of the Executive Board. Three weeks notice must be given to each individual chapter and At Large delegate(s) of the date of convention. Section 3: Formation of Credentialing Committee and Allocation of Delegates A credentialing committee shall be formed in September of the current school year before convention and activated at least three weeks before convention.
a: The committee chairman will be nominated by the Chair and confirmed by simple majority of the executive board, with this member requiring active membership in MFCRs, ahrent to Article III Section III.
b:Each active chapter in MFCRs will nominate one member elected by their chapter, with this member requiring active membership in MFCRs, ahrent to Article III Section III.
c: Each chapter will be allocated one delegate for each seven active members appointed by their college chapter.
d: The committee shall use the following process of auditing individual chapters; they will send a contract to the chairman of each chapter in which the chairman shall then have each active member sign and date saying that they are an active member within the MFCRs, ahrent to Article III Section III.
e: The committee shall send this contract out to all chapter chairmen no later than three weeks before convention and chapter chairmen shall return all contracts back to the committee no later than one week before convention.
f: The committee shall review all contracts and accept all contracts, unless two thirds of the committee vote to not accept a chapter’s contract(s). It is up to the discretion of the committee on how to verify the disputed chapter’s contract(s).
Section 4: At Large Delegates All six MFCR officers are At Large Delegates to any convention.
Section 5: Unit Rule Any college chapter that votes by unit rule (this must be present in their Constitution) must notify the MFCR Chairman of this at least two weeks before the convention or unit rule cannot be used.
Section 6: Quorum Quorum at any convention is needed in order to conduct voting of the convention. Quorum is defined as a simple majority of the chapters being present at convention with at least one delegate.
Section 7: Governing Document The Constitution has supremacy over any other rules and regulations set by the Executive Board or any committees created within MFCRs. All rules must adhere to the Constitution.
Article VIII: Vacant Offices
Section 1: Chairman If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chairman, the CoChairman shall assume the office of Chairman until a successor is elected in convention assembled.
Section 2: CoChairman If a vacancy occurs in the office of CoChairman, then the ViceChairman shall act as the Co Chairman until a successor is elected in convention assembled.
Section 3: ViceChairman If a vacancy occurs in the office of ViceChairman, the Public Relations Chairman shall act as the ViceChairman until a successor is elected in convention assembled.
Section 4: Other Vacancies Should a vacancy occur in any other office, the Executive Board shall elect someone to complete the term of office by simple majority vote.
Section 5: Impeachment The MFCRs shall have the power to remove any officer as provided in this section. The following procedure shall be followed in all proceedings leading to impeachment. This procedure shall not exceed thirty days in length.
• A resolution encouraging the impeachment of an officer can be introduced at any official meeting of the
Executive Board.
• The resolution must be submitted in writing to the Secretary. At the next regular meeting, or special meeting called for that purpose, the resolution shall be considered.
• Passage of the resolution shall be by a yes vote of three fourths of the Executive Board.
Article IX: Enforcement of the Constitution
Section 1: Enforcement The Executive Board, specifically the Chairman, is the primary enforcer of this Constitution. It is the duty of the Executive Board to see that this Constitution is enforced.
Article X: Parliamentary Authority
Section 1: Rules Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern all proceedings of the MFCRs. In the event of a conflict between this Constitution and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, this Constitution shall have precedence over Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Article XI: Amendments to the Constitution
Section 1: Process This Constitution may be amended by a two thirds vote of the MFCRs at any Executive Board meeting or in convention assembled.
Section 2: Meeting
Any amendment must be presented at any previous meeting or convention and voted upon at an officially declared Executive Board meeting or convention of the MFCRs.
Section 3: Effect Amendments shall take immediate effect upon their passage unless otherwise noted in the amendment.
Article XII: Ratification
Section 1: Ratification This Constitution shall take immediate effect.