GOP Women Matter By-Laws

Adopted and Approved on April 17, 2007.

Article I
Name

A. The name of the organization shall be GOP Women Matter (herein referred to as the "Caucus").

Article II
Purpose

A. The Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting and electing Republican woman to the Michigan Legislature, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General.

Article III
Membership

A. There shall be two categories of membership: Elected and Regular.
1. Elected members are Republican women currently serving as a Michigan legislator, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State or Attorney General.
2. Regular members are: Republican women who have previously served in the Michigan Legislature, executive or judicial branches and individual Republican women within the state of Michigan.

3. Member dues shall be collected annually by the caucus in the amount of $100 for Elected members and $25 for Regular members.

4. Member dues shall be collected by July 1 of each year and payable to GOP Women Matter.


Article IV
Officers

A. Elected and regular paid members are eligible to serve as Officers of the Caucus.

B. The elected Officers of the Caucus shall consist of the following:
1. A Senate Co-chair
2. A House of Representatives Co-chair
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer

C. The election of Officers shall be conducted as follows:
1. Only paid elected or regular members of the Caucus elected to the term for which the election is being held shall be eligible to vote.
2. All elections shall be made by a majority vote of Caucus members present at the end of a two-year term of a legislative session.
3. Only the vote of eligible members of the Caucus who are present at the time and place of the election shall be counted. Proxy votes shall not be accepted or counted.
4. In the event there are more than two candidates for the same position, the candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be eliminated from the contest and a new vote taken. The process shall continue until there are only two candidates or until one candidate has received the necessary majority for election, whichever is sooner.
5. Votes shall be by secret ballot. A temporarily appointed clerk shall count the ballots. When the winner is declared, all ballots shall be destroyed.

D. Nominations may be made by a candidate on her own behalf or by another member of the Caucus eligible to vote in the election of Officers. No seconding of nominations shall be required and no seconding speeches shall be permitted. Nominating speeches shall not exceed five minutes.

E. The term of service for each Officer shall be one two-year term. A co-chair is limited to serving two two-year terms.

F. The terms of service for Officers shall coincide with the beginning and ending of the legislative session.

G. Any Officer may be dismissed for misconduct or malfeasance upon thirty days written notice to the Officer and a majority vote of all members of the Board. Any Officer vacancy may be filled by a majority vote of regular members of the Caucus.

H. Officers shall perform such duties as are prescribed in these Bylaws.
1. The Co-chairs shall serve as the primary spokespersons for the caucus, preside at meetings on a rotational basis and ensure the administration of all provisions of these Bylaws.
2. The Secretary shall record minutes at each meeting and distribute those minutes to the membership at the next scheduled meeting.
3. The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all caucus funds, shall propose annual and quarterly budgets, shall safeguard the financial resources of the caucus and shall make such periodic reports of finances as the Executive Board may require.

Further duties of the Treasurer are as follows:
A. The Treasurer shall collect all dues from the membership.
B. The Treasurer shall serve as Director of the Finance and Fundraising Committee.
C. The Treasurer shall submit all reports on time to the Secretary of State as required by law. Failure to submit timely reports will result in replacement of the Treasurer, and any resulting fines shall be paid with the Treasurer's personal funds.
D. The remaining Officers shall appoint a new Treasurer within 60 days of notification from the Secretary of State that a report has been missed. These penalties can be waived at the discretion of the remaining Officers in the event unforeseen circumstances prevented timely submission of the report.
E. The Treasurer is appointed to serve as Treasurer of the Political Action Committee formed by the Caucus.
F. The Treasurer and or Secretary may sign checks for payment on behalf of the organization.

Article V
Amendments

A. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of members.

B. Amendments shall go into effect immediately, unless otherwise stated in the proposed Amendment.

Article VI
Candidate Endorsements

A. Any candidate endorsement by the Caucus shall comply with the following:
1. The endorsement of a candidate for state office may be proposed by the nominating committee which is created by the present officers. No proposal for endorsement shall be official or made public until it has been confirmed in writing by a majority vote of the officers.

2. Endorsements for primary elections shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and shall only be granted in elections where there is no Republican opposition. Any woman seeking an endorsement in a primary election must be a member in good standing of both the Michigan Republican Party and the county Republican Party serving the community in which she resides. Prior to receiving the endorsement of the Caucus, a candidate in a primary election must complete a screening interview to determine her electability.

3. Endorsements shall only be made to Republican women seeking office in the elections for Michigan Legislature, Governor, Lt Governor, Secretary of State, or Attorney General.

4. Preference shall be granted to any Republican woman candidate seeking re-election to state office.

5. Endorsements may be withdrawn for good and sufficient reasons upon thirty days written notice to the endorsee and a majority vote of all members of the Board.


Article VII
Political Action Committee

A. The Caucus shall establish a political action committee, hereinafter "PAC", under the applicable state statutes, for the purpose of contributing to Republican women seeking election to public office in Michigan's legislative or executive branch.

B. The PAC shall only contribute to candidates who have received a public endorsement by the Caucus in compliance with the applicable rules.

C. The PAC shall only contribute to Republican women candidates seeking state office.
1. The PAC shall not contribute to any candidate seeking election to a federal office.
2. The PAC may contribute to a Republican woman running for local office if the following criteria are achieved: The local candidate must be a member in good standing of both the Michigan Republican Party and the local Republican Party serving the community in which they reside. The caucus shall only disburse funds to a local candidate with approval by a 2/3 vote of the regular membership.
3. All PAC donations and contributions, as well as all contact information obtained by the PAC, shall be disclosed promptly to the Caucus and Caucus PAC.


Article VIII
Committees

1.) The Caucus may create committees to work on specific projects and issues related to the promotion of Republican women.

2.) Each committee shall have three members.

3.) The Caucus shall have one committee, appointed by the present officers, designated to nominating Republican women for endorsement and contributions from the PAC. This committee shall consist of one member each from the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representative and a regular member of the caucus.


Article IX
Disbursements of funds

A. Any disbursement of funds by the Caucus or PAC requires approval of the Board. Requests must be received in writing at least 30 days prior to the payment or contribution and shall be made payable to a candidate committee.

B. All disbursements shall require two signatures on check.


Article X
Meetings of Caucus

A. There shall be a minimum of two meetings of the Caucus per year. The meetings shall be chaired by each co-chair in rotation.

B. A quorum for meetings shall be a majority of the regular membership.