By-Laws
CMHF BYLAWS
INDEX OF BYLAWS
1. Suspension of Membership
2. Dues
3. Officers and their duties
4. Committees
5. Meetings
6. Use of CMHF funds
7. Expenses of Executive Officers
8. Outgoing Officers
9. Protests and Appeals
10. Elections
11. Amendments to the Bylaws
12. Audit of Accounts
13. Miscellaneous
(a) Books and records
(b) Contracts, deeds
In these Bylaws and Regulations, the following terms and definitions shall apply:
Board of Directors – of the Society shall be considered the Executive. The executive shall be the officers holding the positions of President, Past President, Senior Vice – President, Vice President of Midget, Vice President of Bantam, Vice President of PeeWee, Vice President of Atom, Vice President of Novice, Vice President of Female, Secretary, Treasurer, and Referee-in-Chief (one from Dartmouth and one from Halifax zone).
CMHF- the membership of the Central Minor Hockey Federation
Executive Officers – the elected officers of the Central Minor Hockey Federation
Federation – the member Associations of the Central Minor Hockey Federation
In writing shall include e-mail and faxes and all references to “in writing” mean written/mailed/faxed/e-mailed/electronic means of communication.
BY-LAW 1: SUSPENSION OF MEMBERSHIP
1. Any member may be suspended by a majority vote of the members for failing to comply with the Articles, By-Laws, and Regulations of the Central Minor Hockey Federation. Subsequent to the suspension of a member Association, the Federation may determine a method of permitting the suspended member teams to continue to play.
2. If a member is suspended or expelled from Hockey Nova Scotia, the member shall automatically be suspended or expelled from Central Minor Hockey Federation.
3. It was moved by motion at the March 2004 meeting that – Any team registered in CMHF Hockey League is required to play regular season and playoffs schedule unless in direct conflict with Provincial or Atlantic Championship Tournaments. Such exception only applicable once the team has qualified for said Championship. Failure to do so will result in all games being awarded to their opponents for full season and the Association will be suspended from CMHF participation for the following hockey season and must apply to the Executive of CMHF to be re-instated.
BY-LAW 2: DUES
1. 1 each member association shall remit membership fees to the Central Minor Hockey Federation annually by December 01. The yearly fees shall be determined by the executive officers and approved by the membership.
2. Each new member association must submit a performance bond or other such security in the amount of $100.00. This bond will be retained by the Central Minor Hockey Federation until such time as a member association ceases to be a member of the Central Minor Hockey Federation.
BY-LAW 3: OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES
1. The executive of the Central Minor Hockey Federation shall consist of the following:
(a) President
(b) Past President**
(c) Senior Vice President
(d) Vice President of Midget
(e) Vice President of Bantam
(f) Vice President of Pee-Wee
(g) Vice President of Atom
(h) Vice President of Novice
(i) Vice President of Female
(j) Secretary**
(k) Treasurer**
(l) Referee-in-Chief**
** denotes an appointed and/or non voting position
2. Vacancies that may occur in the executive may be filled by appointment of the executive officers and shall be valid until the next annual general meeting of the Central Minor Hockey Federation. These appointments are to be ratified at the next Central Minor Hockey Federation meeting.
3. The executive officers may appoint assistants as required. Notice of such appointments must be given to the membership in writing or at the next Central Minor Hockey Federation meeting.
4. CMHF may by special resolution, remove any officer before the expiration period of the office and appoint another person in his stead. The person so appointed shall hold office during such time only as the officer in whose place he is appointed would have held office if he had not been removed.
PRESIDENT’S DUTIES
· shall be elected at the Annual general Meeting for a term of two years.
· shall preside over all meetings
· shall sign, along with the treasurer, all cheques in payment of accounts and bills authorized by the Executive officers
· shall submit a report of CMHF activities to the annual general meeting and keep the regional Directors informed of such activities periodically
· shall be the liaison between CMHF and other governing bodies in Nova Scotia
· may vote only in the event of a tie vote
· shall ensure the wishes of the Annual and Regular meetings and /or Executive officers are carried out to the best of his/her ability
SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT
· shall assist the president in his/her duties and perform the duties of the president in the absence of the President
· shall be elected at the Annual general Meeting for a term of one year
· during the second year of the Presidents term, the Senior vice-president at that time shall be considered the President elect.
VICE-PRESIDENTS (6) DUTIES
· each vice-president shall coordinate and control the activities of the division in which he/she is responsible
· shall serve on such committees as appointed by the president
· shall be responsible for the presentation of trophies and awards in his/her division
· shall prepare divisional schedules
· shall be elected at the Annual general meeting for a term of one year
PAST PRESIDENT DUTIES
· shall advise the President of accepted or corrected procedures
· shall perform other such duties as assigned by the president
TREASURER DUTIES
· shall be appointed by the President and approved by the executive
· shall keep a financial account of the CMHF
· shall receive and deposit all funds coming to the CMHF and deposit same in a recognized financial institution
· shall make disbursements on the authority of the executive officer
· shall present a financial statement, which shall be audited by an independent person/persons as appointed by the Annual General Meeting.
SECRETARY DUTIES
· shall be appointed by the executive
· shall keep all minutes of the CMHF and distribute them as follows:
o minutes of the Executive meetings to the executive within 10 days following the meeting
o minutes of the General meetings to all members within 14 days following the general meeting
· shall notify members of meetings within the required time
· shall distribute all materials to the membership deemed necessary by the Executive
· custody of the books and custody of the minutes of all meetings of CMHF and the minutes of the Executive shall be the responsibility of the secretary
· the seal of the society shall be in the custody of the secretary and may be affixed to any document upon resolution of the Executive of CMHF.
· shall file with The Registry of Joint Stocks of Companies with its Annual Statement a list of its directors with their civic addresses, occupations, and dates of appointment or election, and within fourteen days a change of directors, notify the Register of Joint Stocks of the change.
· shall file with The Registry of Joint Stocks of Companies a copy in duplicate of every Special Resolution passed within 30 days of its taking effect.
REFEREES-IN-CHIEF
· Shall be appointed by the Executive, one for each zone within CMHF
· Shall be responsible to maintain a high and uniform standard of officiating for all CMHF games.
· Shall serve on the playing rules committee
· Shall serve on the protest and discipline committees.
BY-LAW 4: COMMITTEES
1. The Executive Officers may form such committees as they deem necessary.
2. PROTEST COMMITTEE
A protest committee shall be comprised of:
1. the CMHF President or senior Vice-President as chairperson
2. three neutral V.P.’s of CMHF (not to be members of the Executive of the Associations involved)
DUTIES OF PROTEST COMMITTEE
· shall act as first level on protest or appeal
· shall make every effort to meet within 48 hours after a protest or appeal is received by the CMHF
· shall submit a decision in accordance with By-Law 9, paragraph 4
· shall have the authority to call witnesses as it deems necessary
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE
A Discipline Committee shall be comprised of:
· the CMHF President or senior Vice-President as chairperson
· three neutral V.P.’s of CMHF (not to be members of the Executive of the Associations involved)
DUTIES OF DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE
· shall meet on suspensions that require more than the automatic minimum as laid down by Regulation 8
· shall meet and issue disciplinary action that is not laid down elsewhere
· shall meet and decide on disciplinary matters as required by the executive
The Chairman does not have a vote on the protest or discipline committees. He/she shall advise the committee members of their powers and their area of jurisdiction. The Chairperson is also responsible to issue the decision of the applicable committee to those concerned.
BY-LAW 5: MEETINGS
1. The annual general Meeting of the CMHF shall be held on a date, time, and place as determined by the executive. The meeting shall be held prior to the last day of April each year and notice of that meeting shall be circulated in writing at least 14 days in advance of the meeting.
2. Special meetings shall be held at the discretion of the president or at the written request of two member Associations. Notice of such meeting will be circulated in writing at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.
3. Regular meetings shall be held monthly, normally on the third Sunday of each month.
4. A quorum at any meeting shall comprise of 50% of the elected Executive and 60% of the member associations. Voting at all meetings shall be by the duly designated delegates or their approved alternates as well as the elected executive, except the president, who must maintain impartiality. Voting by proxy is PROHIBITED.
BY-LAW 6: USE OF CMHF FUNDS
All monies received by the CMHF from any source shall be used for the CMHF by the Executive officers
BY-LAW 7: EXPENSES OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Each Executive Officer, whether elected or appointed, shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses as approved by the executive.
BY-LAW 8: OUTGOING OFFICERS
Any Executive officer who retires, resigns, or whose term has expired and does not re-offer or is not re-elected is required to turn over all records to the CMHF within 30 days following his/her termination of office.
BY-LAW 9: PROTESTS AND APPEALS
1. All protests and appeals are to be submitted in writing, accompanied by a fee of $100.00. If the protest is successful, the fee shall be returned, otherwise the fee is forfeited.
2. Appeals and/or protests may be made only in regards to the rules of competition or on misuse or misinterpretation of the articles, By-laws and regulations of the CMHF. Protests on referees’ judgement will not be entertained (includes any official).
3. All protests or appeals must be submitted to and in the hands of any CMHF Executive Officer within 48 hours of the member being aware of the decision being protested or appealed.
4. When appeals or protests are made, a written decision shall be forwarded to the association involved in such appeals or protests. The correspondence will include the reason for the decision and be forwarded by the secretary on the direction of the committee chairperson after the hearing of such appeals or protests.
5. The procedure/level of appeals shall be as follows:
(a) First Level - to Protest Committee
(b) Second Level – to executive as a whole
6. The sequence of events that shall take place should there be a protest or appeal filed is as follows:
(a) initial protest or appeal – to first level
(b) if the initial decision came from the protest committee, then the appeal shall be made to the executive as a whole (second level)
7. Only after the above levels have been exhausted, each member in good standing of the federation shall have the right to appeal any decision or ruling of the executive as a whole to the next higher authority (HNSMC). No such appeal shall be in itself, grounds for censure, suspension, or expulsion of the member initiating the appeal.
8. If a member does not receive a decision on an appeal or protest within 72 hours after the hearing was held, then it may automatically, if it so desires, proceed to the next higher authority in accordance with this By-law.
BY-LAW 10: ELECTIONS
1. The election of officers of the CMHF shall take place at the Annual General meeting. They shall be scheduled by proper notice at the time and place specified in the official notice of the meeting. The elections shall be by secret ballot. Where there is only one person standing for any office, the election shall be by acclamation and will require a single vote from any member.
2. The election procedure shall be as follows:
(a) The elections chairperson must have the authority to act. This authority is given by the membership at a previous meeting. The elections Chairperson must submit the proposed format to the members because the members may approve or reject that format.
(b) The nominating Committee shall be appointed by the members in February of each year.
3. Prior to the elections, the elections Chairperson will select tellers for counting ballots.
4. The names of all the candidates brought in by the nominating committee or nominated from the floor shall be conspicuously listed. The elections chairperson will call for additional nominations from the floor advising the membership that he will do so 3 times and at that time the nominations will close.
5. In the event of a tie vote, the elections chairperson shall not vote but instead will call for another ballot. There is not a limit to the number of ballots that may be required to break the tie. Between ballots it is permissible to have both candidates speak to the members to gain their support.
6. To stand for office a person must be in attendance or express their willingness to serve, in writing, to the meeting.
BY-LAW 11: AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS
Amendments to By-laws of the CMHF may be made at the Annual or a special meeting by a 75% majority of those in attendance and voting. Proposed amendments must be circulated to all members 15 days in advance of such meeting.
BY-LAW 12: AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS
The fiscal year of the CMHF shall be the period from May 1st in any year to April 30th in the year next following.
CMHF shall make a written report to the members as to the financial position of CMHF and the report shall contain a balance sheet ands operating account. The auditors shall make a written report to the members upon the balance sheet and operating account, and in every such report, shall state whether, in his opinion, the balance sheet is a full and fair balance sheet containing the particulars required by CMHF and properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and correct view of CMHF’s affairs, and such report shall be read at the annual meeting. A copy of the balance sheet showing the general particulars of its liabilities and assets and a statement of its income and expenditure in the preceding year, audited by the auditor, shall be filed with the Registrar of Joint Stocks within 14 days after the annual meeting in each year as required by law.
BY-LAW 13: MISCELLANEOUS
1. The books and records of CMHF may be inspected by any member at any reasonable time within two days prior to the annual general meeting at the registered office of CMHF or another agreed upon place by the member(s) wishing to inspect the books and the president or the vice president and the secretary.
2. Contracts, deeds, bills of exchange and other instruments and documents may be executed on behalf of the CMHF by the president or the Senior Vice-President and the Secretary, or otherwise as prescribed by the resolution of the Executive.
