Section 1. To foster a unified effort among state and local government entities to integrate and disseminate their respective research and design efforts in the area of automated information sciences.

Section 2. To promote standard information systems which can be shared and/or transferred among all participants.

Section 3. Through cooperation, share systems applications and information to further cost effectiveness in members’ organizations.

Section 4. To present a unified voice as a cooperative organization to all suppliers of hardware, software and related data processing services.

Section 5. To provide a group of qualified professional data processing persons capable of advising, lending credence or assisting state representatives or other governmental agencies.

Section 6. To work for the common good of all governmental agencies and their data processing professionals and be representative of them should the need exist.

Section 1. The membership shall be comprised of any governmental department or agency of state or local level and state certified educational institutions within the State of Georgia. Members that have interest in participating in GA-GMIS and in the mutual benefits of sharing systems, ideas, and data processing applications and techniques. Members are organizations.

Section 2. Membership shall be on a governmental agency or department basis, and not on an individual basis.

Each Agency Member, where more than one employee is active in GA-GMIS, shall designate an "Agency Representative" who shall represent and vote on behalf of the agency on National GMIS matters. Any other participating individual employee of an agency shall be known as an Associate Member, and shall enjoy all the privileges and benefits of members, excluding voting. GA-GMIS memberships will generally, but not exclusively, be assigned to the following typical agencies.

1. Towns/Cities (and all units, boards, commissions subordinate to the legislative body) including the Boards of Education.

2. Other local authorities, subject to application review by the Executive Committees.

3. Commissioner - directed State Agencies.

4. The State Legislative Branch.

5. The State Judicial Branch

6. All other State Boards, Commissions, Individuals.

7. The State Universities.

8. State of Georgia Health Organization.

9. State of Georgia Higher Education Organization.

10. The State Community Colleges (Collectively).

11. Regional Agencies (individually).

Membership applications from governmental bodies or employees thereof, other than those listed above will be reviewed and classified as "Members" by vote of the GA-GMIS Executive Committee.

Section 3. Membership shall be granted to vendor organizations who can provide services and products concerning information processing to Agency Members. These vendors shall herin be designated as Partner Members. All applications for Partner Memberships will be subject to review and approval of the Georgia GMIS Executive Committee.

Any participating individual employee of a Partner Membership shall be known as a Partner Member. Partner Members shall enjoy all the privileges and benefits of Agency Members, excluding the right to vote, hold local chapter office, and belong to International GMIS.

Section 4. Membership application procedure shall be as follows:

b. Any member, affiliate or partner member, suspended for non-payment of the annual fee may be reinstated at any time prior to the close of that membership year upon payment of the full current year’s fee.

Section 7. Termination of Membership:

a. Membership in GA-GMIS may be terminated for cause by either Executive Board. Sufficient cause for such termination shall be violation of these By-Laws, the National GMIS By-Laws, code of ethics, agreements, rules and practices properly adopted by the organization(s). Termination shall be only by unanimous vote of either Executive Board.

b. All members who are under suspension for non-payment of the annual fee at the close of a membership year shall be terminated automatically.

Section 8. Member Emeritus

a. Membership bestowed upon an individual who has distinguished himself/herself through service to GMIS and retired from a member organization.

b. Recommendation for this membership may be received from a representative of any member organization.

c. Nominations for Member Emeritus will be approved by the Executive Board.

d. A Member Emeritus has honorary status only and will be invited to attend conferences.

Section 1. Membership Fee:

a. An Agency Member, as defined in Article IV, Section 3, shall pay an annual fee based on the schedule of annual fees established by GMIS International. Current fees are based on the following: Budgets under $250,000-fee of $50.00; Budgets of $250,000 - $1,000,000 - fee of $100.00; Budgets over $1,000,000 - fee of $200.00.

b. A Partner Member, as defined in Article IV, Section 3, shall pay an annual fee equal to that which is established by GMIS International for Budgets over $1,000,000 - fee of $200.00. This fee is paid directly to the Treasurer of the Georgia Chapter and not to GMIS International.

Section 2. Meeting Fees:

a. Registration fees will be established prior to each GA-GMIS meeting by the hosting organization and will be required of all attendees.

Section 3. Purpose of Funds Collected:

a. To cover costs of collecting and disseminating information contributed and desired by members.

b. To cover extraordinary expenses of the members of the Executive Board carrying out the mandates of the membership.

c. To cover costs of publishing and distributing the GMIS Newsletter, GA-GMIS Newsletter, and other correspondence as required in the conduct of the organization.

Section 1. The governing body of GA-GMIS shall be an Executive Board comprised of:

a. President

b. First Vice-President and President Elect

c. Second Vice-President

d. Third Vice-President

e. Secretary Treasurer

f. Immediate Past President

Section 2. The officers shall serve for a period of one year or until their duly qualified successors are appointed or elected (July 1st thru June 30th).

Section 3. In the event of a vacancy in the Executive Board, the remaining members of the Executive Board shall assume the responsibility or appoint someone for the balance of the unexpected term.

Section 4. Election of Officers:

a. Election of Officers shall be conducted at the regular May meeting, and will hold office for 1 year.

b. Officers elected will be: President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, and Third Vice-President. The Secretary and Treasurer will be appointed by the President Elect.

Section 5. Duties of Officers:

a. Responsibilities of the President shall be, but not limited to:

1). Schedule, organize and conduct all meetings.

2). Serve as spokesperson for GA-GMIS.

3). Appoint special committees as required.

b. Responsibilities of the First Vice-President (President-Elect) shall be, but not limited to:

1). Assume the responsibilities of the President in his absence.

2). Serve as the chairperson of the Meetings, Programs and Funding Committee, including the annual chapter budget.

3). Act as the chairperson of the Publications and Public Relations Committee.

4). Perform such functions as are assigned by the President.

c. Responsibilities of the Second Vice-President (By-Laws, Membership and Goals) shall be, but not limited to:

1). Assume the responsibilities of the President in the absence of the First Vice-President.

2). Serve as chairperson of the By-Laws Committee.

3). Serve as chairperson of the Membership and Goals Committee.

4). Perform such functions as assigned by the President.

d. Responsibilities of the Third Vice-President (Interagency Relations) shall be, but not limited to:

1). Assume the responsibilities of the President in the absence of the First Vice-President and Second Vice-President.

2). Fostering interagency communication and sharing of hardware and software capabilities within Georgia and other Federal, State and Local jurisdictions.

3). Serve as Vice-Chairperson of the Meetings, Programs and Funding Committee.

4). Perform such functions as are assigned by the President.

e. Responsibilities of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be, but not limited to:

1). Corresponding Secretary.

2). Recording Secretary.

3). Treasurer.

4). Keep and maintain membership records.

5). Receive and distribute contributed materials.

f. Responsibilities of the immediate Past President shall be to act as a member of the Executive Board, and to generally provide to the membership the expertise developed by virtue of their ex-officio status.

Section 1. Meetings, Programs and Funding Committee:

a. Responsibilities of this committee shall be:

1). To plan and promote meaningful programs for all meetings and to make the necessary arrangements for each meeting.

2). To carry on a continuing program of research on sources of funding for the organization and prepare an annual budget for Executive Committee approval, such budget to reflect but not to exceed revenue expectations for the ensuing fiscal year.

3). To receive and to audit financial reports of all GA-GMIS functions and insure that excess funds are turned over to theChapter Secretary-Treasurer.

Section 2. Publications and Public Relations Committee:

a. Responsibilities of this committee shall be:

1). To encourage members to carry on a continuing program of public relation for the organizations and its goals.

2). To encourage the publication of a newsletter to maintain and promote the interest in the organization among its members and prospective members.

3). To develop and maintain an index of users and user systems applications to promote and to encourage the development of standard systems which can be shared and/or transferred among participants.

4). To promote cost effectiveness within member installations by encouraging not only the sharing of systems applications and information, but also discouraging the development of systems which "Re-invent the wheel".

Section 3. By-Laws Committee:

a. Responsibilities of the Committee shall be:

1). To promote a viable membership through By-Laws which maintain and insure significance and responsiveness of the organization to the needs of members and prospective members.

Section 4. Membership Committee:

a. Responsibilities of this Committee shall be:

1). To seek and encourage the membership of all eligible government entities which are in accord with the goals of the organization.

Section 5. Audit Committee:

a. Responsibilities of the Committee shall be:

1). To conduct an annual audit of the accounting records of this organization at the close of each fiscal year, and to present a report thereon to the incoming Executive Board.

2). To conduct special audits of the GA-GMIS accounts as may be required by the Executive Board.

b. The President shall appoint the Audit Committee. Members of the Audit Committee shall not be a representative of any agency represented on the outgoing Executive Board.

Section 6. Nominating Committee:

a. Responsibilities of the Committee shall be:

1). To develop a slate of candidates for each office of the GA-GMIS Executive Board, and to submit its nominations at the business meeting of the last regular meeting of the membership year.

b. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the President and shall consist of three members, preferably past Presidents.

Section 7. Other committees may be appointed by the President to accomplish the general purposes or special projects of the organization.

Section 1. Regular Meeting(s): No less than two regular meetings shall be held each membership year for the entire organization. Normally, a program year will consist of bi-monthly meetings during September, November, January, March and May. A time and place for the next meeting shall be announced to the membership attending a regular meeting whenever possible and shall be included in information mailed to all members to be received by them at least two weeks prior to announced dates.

Section 2. Special Meeting(s): The President, with the approval of the Executive Board, may call special meetings to meet the specific interest of special interest areas, such as law enforcement, legislative inquiry, etc.

Section 3. Quorum: A quorum for the conduct of business meetings shall consist of:

a. National GMIS matters: 5 or more agencies.

b. Local Chapter matters: 5 or more agencies.

Section 4. Voting:

a. Unless otherwise provided in these By-Laws, voting shall be based upon a simple majority of the votes cast.

b. Only agency representatives in good standing shall be eligible to vote as provided herein.

c. No more than one vote will be cast by each eligible voter on all issues, proxy ballots will not be accepted.

d. Secret balloting may be used at the discretion of the President or when requested by a member qualified to vote.

Section 5. Accounting for attendance fees:

a. The Program Chairperson of the host organization shall be responsible for collecting and distributing the fees and for submitting a financial report for audit.

b. Any income collected over and above the amount of the expense shall be returned to GA-GMIS. The Executive Board will approve all registration fees. Deficits will be reimbursed to the host at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Section 6. Nothing in these By-Laws shall prevent the GA-GMIS Executive Board from inviting interested persons or organizations, including vendors consultants or service organizations, who are not members, to participate as observers at meetings, participate in meeting sessions, or in other appropriate capacities as the Executive Board may see fit.

Section 1. The organization shall use its funds only to accomplish the purposes and goals specified in these By-Laws. On dissolution of GA-GMIS, any funds remaining shall be distributed in thefollowing manner and sequence.

a. Outstanding accounts payable shall be paid in whatever sequence designated by the Executive Board.

b. Restricted funds (e.g. Federal funds) shall be disseminated in accordance with procedures and restrictions accepted with the funds.

c. Remaining funds shall be used to pay expenses related to the dissolution of the organization.

d. Any remaining funds shall be equally distributed among all members in good standing for the current fiscal year, up to an amount equal to the annual fee.

e. Any remaining funds shall be equally distributed among all members in good standing for the current and the immediate past fiscal year.

Section 2. Tangible Property: Any tangible properties of the organization shall be dispensed under the supervision of the Executive Board in whatever manner it deems equitable.

Section 3. Before distribution of funds and/or tangible properties, the President shall cause the Audit Committee to conduct a special audit of the accounts and other assets of the organization.

Section 4. The Executive Board shall conduct the dissolution process.

Section 5. The Executive Board shall submit a report of the dissolution process and distribution of funds and tangible properties to all members in good standing in the current and the immediate past fiscal year, to any other agency with legal interest in the funds and properties disposed.

Section 1. Proposals

a. Amendments to these By-Laws may be proposed by:

1). The By-Laws Committee.

2). A request signed by five or more members in good standing.

3). The unanimous mandate of members in good standing in attendance at a regular or special meeting of the organization, provided a quorum is present.

b. Amendments shall be proposed in writing and submitted to the Executive Board.

c. The Executive Board shall authorize the Secretary-Treasurer to submit proposed amendments in writing to the entire membership at least 30 days prior to the date on which the votes are to be cast.

Section 2. Voting:

a. The balloting on a proposed amendment to these By-Laws shall be conducted at the next meeting.

b. An affirmative vote of sixty-six and two thirds (66-2/3%) of the members casting ballots shall be required for the adoption of any amendment to these By-Laws.