Amended:  April 20, 2007

BYLAWS OF THE HANCOCK COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE

ARTICLE I: NAME
 
The name of this committee shall be the Hancock County Republican Committee.
 
ARTICLE II: PURPOSES
 
The Hancock County Republican Committee shall be responsible for the welfare of the Republican Party in the County of Hancock and shall take whatever steps are necessary to strengthen the party and especially to encourage all persons to register and enroll in the Republican Party, and to vote in all countywide elections, to support all Republican candidates, to issue such publicity and arrange such rallies and other meetings as may seem wise to the committee, to give proper information to the public, to cooperate with the state and community committees, and to do such other acts as may be necessary in the furtherance of the foregoing purposes.
 
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
 
Section 1:  The word “municipality” as used herein shall include a plantation, town or city.
 
Section 2:  The Hancock County Republican Committee hereafter called “the county committee” shall be composed of voting members elected at the biennial meeting of the Maine Republican State Convention from persons nominated by the respective municipal Republican committees.  All registered Republicans residing in Hancock County may participate in all the activities of the county committee except that voting privileges are restricted to voting members.
 
Section 3:  Each municipal Republican committee shall be entitled to nominate one person for membership on the county committee for every five hundred, or portion thereof, residents of the municipality based upon the last available decennial census.
 
Section 4:  In addition to the members of the county committee elected pursuant to Section 3, above, the chairman of each Republican municipal committee shall also be a member of the county committee with power of vote.
 
Section 5:  In addition to the members of the county committee elected pursuant to Sections 3 and 4 above, anyone elected to the Executive Committee as described in Article IV below becomes an ex officio member of the county committee with power of vote.
 
Section 6: Members shall sign the attendance record for each meeting they attend.
 
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS
 
Section 1:  The officers of the county committee shall be Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Finance Chairman.
 
Section 2:  These offices shall be elected biennially by the membership of the county committee at the first meeting of said county committee following the November general election.  Officers must be registered Republicans and residents of Hancock County .
 
Section 3:  The Chairman of the county committee shall preside over all meetings of the committee.
 
Section 4:  The Vice Chairman of the county committee shall preside over all meetings of the committee should the Chairman be unable to do so.  In the event of death, removal or resignation of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman shall succeed to the office of the Chairman.
 
Section 5:  The Secretary of the county committee shall be the keeper of all official minutes of the committee, shall maintain a permanent record of all meetings of the committee and shall conduct such correspondence as appropriate for the conduct of the business committee.
 
Section 6:  The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds of the committee and shall be responsible for keeping accurate accounts and records of the same.  The Treasurer shall report to the committee at its meeting and to the executive committee upon request.
 
Section 7:  The Finance Chairman shall be responsible for the coordination of fund-raising efforts of the committee.
 
Section 8:  An officer may be removed from office upon a petition of at least ten members of the committee calling for a meeting of the committee in accordance with Article VII, Section 2.  The petition shall state the grounds upon which such removal is sought.  The officer whose removal has been sought shall be sent a copy of such petition together with notice of the meeting at which the petition will be presented to the committee for its consideration.  Notice shall be sent to the officer by certified mail.  A vote of two-thirds of the members present at such meeting shall be required for the removal of an officer.
 
ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
 
Section 1:  There shall be an executive committee consisting of the officers of the county committee and members of the State Committee from this county.
 
Section 2:  It shall be the duty of the executive committee to disperse all funds of the county committee for political purposes, and the Treasurer shall pay no bill nor disperse any money except as such disbursement shall have been approved by at least three members of the executive committee as attested by the chairman, or in his absence or inability to act, by the vice-chairman of the committee.  The said executive committee may have discretion to act in furtherance of the foregoing purposes set forth in Article II but shall be bound to follow instructions given it by the county committee at any properly convened meeting at which a quorum is present.  At any meeting of the executive committee a majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.  Meetings of the executive committee shall be called by the chairman, or in his absence or inability to act, by the vice-chairman, and all members of the committee shall have actual personal notice of such meeting or written notice of the meeting shall be mailed at least forty-eight hours before such meeting.  Such notice may be signed by the chairman, vice-chairman or secretary.
 
Section 3:  The executive committee may appoint such officers or subcommittees other than those enumerated in this Article, in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II of these bylaws.  Appointed officers or subcommittee members who are not voting members of the county committee as described in Article III are not ex officio voting members of the county.
 
ARTICLE VI: VOTING
 
Section 1:  Each member of the county committee shall be entitled to one vote on all questions at any regular or special meeting if present in person.
 
Section 2:  A member unable to attend any particular meeting of the county committee may be represented by a proxy from the respective municipality who shall furnish the Secretary with written authority signed by the absent member at the beginning of the meeting.
 
ARTICLE VII: CALLING OF MEETING
 
Section 1:  A meeting of the county committee may be held at any time upon the call of chairman, or in his absence or inability to act by the vice-chairman.  Upon written petition of t least ten members of said committee delivered to any member of the executive committee, such member of said executive committee shall instruct the secretary to call such a meeting, and if the secretary fails to do so, such member of the executive committee shall be empowered to call such a meeting.
 
Section 2:  Notice of any meeting of the county committee shall be given in writing, e-mailed or faxed, by one of the officers of said committee and mailed, e-mailed or faxed, at least one week before such meeting is to be held, to the last known place of abode, e-mail address or fax number, of the duly elected member of the county committee.  Said notice shall contain the time and place of such meeting, and so far as possible the purpose or purposes of such meeting.
 
ARTICLE VIII: QUORUM
 
Twelve members of the county committee shall constitute a quorum.
 
ARTICLE IX: VACANCIES
 
Section 1:  The county committee may fill any vacancies in the committee membership.  The county caucus may fill any vacancies in the list of nominees for election by the State Convention to the county committee arising out of the failure of any municipality to make such nomination at its municipal caucus or forward the same to the State Convention.
 
Section 2:  In filling a vacancy the county committee or county caucus shall select a person resident in the municipality where the vacancy arose upon recommendation of the municipal committee, if any.
 
Section 3:  Election to fill vacancies shall be by majority vote of the county committee members present, or by the county caucus, as the case may be.
 
ARTICLE X: RULES
 
The rules of the House of Representatives of the State of Maine shall be the rules of this committee so far as they are applicable and not inconsistent to the rules herein set forth.
 
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
 
Section 1:  The executive committee shall appoint a sub-committee on bylaws consisting of three (3) members of the County Committee .
 
Section 2:  Proposed amendments of the bylaws shall be considered and voted upon by the County Committee as follows:
 
1.  By recommendation of the Executive Committee; or
 
2.  By petition signed by one member from at least four (4) different municipalities.
 
Section 3:  Said proposal shall be submitted to a member of the sub-committee on bylaws which committee shall within fourteen (14) days of receipt review the proposed bylaws amendment, and, if found to comply with this article, forward to secretary to be placed upon the agenda of the next regular county committee meeting.
 
Section 4:  A copy of the proposed amendment shall be distributed at the monthly meeting (first meeting) to the members or their proxy then present.  Discussion of the proposal may be had at that meeting at the discretion of the Chairman.  A copy of the proposed amendment shall then be sent to all members by mail, email or facsimile not less than 14 days before the next regular monthly meeting (second meeting) of the County Committee.  The proposed amendment shall be fully considered at the second meeting by the membership and voted upon at that time unless otherwise postponed to a future date in accordance with these bylaws or rules of the Committee. These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at such meeting.
 
ARTICLE XII: TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
 
The membership and officers of the county committee, as of the date of adoption of these bylaws, shall continue until their successors are elected in accordance with the provisions herein.
 
These bylaws shall be effective upon adoption.
 
Adopted:  April 27, 1990
Amended:  September 23, 1990 (Article III, Section 4 added)
Amended:  December 17, 2004 (Article III, Section 5 added)
Amended:  October 21, 2005 (Article XI amended)
Amended:  April 20, 2007 (Article III, Section 6 added; Article VII, Section 3 amended; Article XI, Section 2 amended; Section 4 amended)