California State University Monterey Bay Staff Council
Constitution
Article I | Name
The name of the organization shall be the Staff Council of California State University, Monterey Bay.
Article II | Purpose
Section 1: The Staff Council is an organization constituted to provide for staff participation in shared governance in an advisory role in the University's affairs, and to permit consultation among administration and the various segments of the University on matters that affect the general welfare of the staff and University community toward achieving the mission of the University, and are not within the scope of union representation as defined by California Government Code Section 3562.
Section 2: The Staff Council reports directly to the President or designee.
Section 3: The Staff Council shall encourage and provide opportunities for a free exchange of ideas among staff, faculty, students, and administration of the University.
Section 4: The Staff Council shall designate representative(s) to attend University conferences, serve on University committees, and/or participate in any other related activities when appropriate or requested by the President.
Section 5: The Staff Council may review policies, procedures, and practices which affect staff and are not within the scope of union representation as defined by California Government Code Section 3562 (r). As an advisory body, the Staff Council may recommend appropriate changes or adoption of new policies and/or procedures to the President or designee.
Article III | Membership
The Staff Council shall consist of twelve eligible staff members and an Executive Committee of five officers (see Article III of the Bylaws) for a total of seventeen staff members. The Division of Academic Affairs shall have four representatives; the Division of Administration & Finance shall have four representatives; the Division of Student Affairs shall have two representatives; University Advancement and the President’s Office shall have one representative; and the University Corporation shall have one representative.
Article IV | Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following officers: A Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian who shall all serve a term of two years.
Article V | Meetings
Regular and special meetings of the Staff Council shall be held as defined in Article IV the Bylaws.
Article VI | Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution shall be made only at regular meetings of the Staff Council by a two-thirds vote of the staff, as defined in Article 1, Section 1 of the Bylaws.
CSU Monterey Bay Staff Council
Bylaws
Article I | Membership
Section 1: A staff member who has successfully completed the probationary period (if applicable) of a permanent appointment (part time or full time) is eligible to serve on staff council. Faculty, members of Management Personnel Plan (MPP), student assistants, and hourly intermittent appointments are not eligible for membership.
Section 2: The Staff Council shall consist of staff members, as defined in Bylaws Article I, Section 1, who have been nominated and elected by their peers from the divisions/areas identified in Article III of the Constitution.
Section 3: Staff elected to staff council shall serve a two-year term of office, beginning August 1 and ending July 31. Staff members may serve up to two consecutive terms, after which they must step down for at least one term. There is no limitation on the total number of terms a staff member may serve.
Section 4: Elected members of the staff council may run for Executive Committee positions after completing at least one term as a council member. Executive members shall serve a two year term. Executive members may serve up to two consecutive terms, after which they must step down for at least one term.
Section 5: The Staff Council member shall be allocated two hours of reassigned time per month and Executive Council members shall be allocated four hours of reassigned time per month to permit and facilitate performance of their Staff Council duties, outside of the regularly scheduled monthly meetings.
Section 6: If a Staff Council member is absent without excuse from three regular meetings/events in any single year of a term (see Article VI, Section I), the member shall be considered for removal at the next meeting of the Staff Council. Removal requires a formal vote of the Staff Council.
If a Staff Council Member has prior knowledge that they will be absent for more than three months, the Staff Council shall appoint the candidate from the most recent election who received the next highest amount of votes to serve in an interim capacity. If the absence continues beyond the original timeframe, they may be appointed by the Staff Council to serve out the remainder of the term. Alternatively, the Staff Council may choose to leave the position vacant until the end of the term year, or elections can take place as defined in Bylaws, Article VI, Section 5.
Section 7: If a Staff Council Member permanently vacates their position on Staff Council, the remaining Staff Council members may appoint the divisional candidate from the most recent election who received the next highest amount of votes, choose to have an election, or leave the position vacant until the end of the term.
Section 8: If an Executive Committee Member vacates their position, the order of succession is defined in Article III, Sections 1, 2, and 3. If all Executive Committee Members vacate their positions, the remaining Staff Council Members shall call a special meeting to determine new Executive Committee placements from the existing Council Members.
Section 9: Staff Council Members are expected to attend all Staff Council-sponsored events for the purpose of executing all logistics before, during, and after an event if applicable.
Article II | Executive Committee
Section 1: The Executive Committee shall be nominated from a pool comprised of any previous or current Staff Council Members and elected by staff members in accordance with Article VI, Section III of the Bylaws.
Section 2: Voting for Executive Committee shall be by confidential, electronic ballot.
Article III | Duties of Executive Committee
Section 1: The Chair shall:
- Create and disseminate staff council meeting agendas and facilitate the meetings
- Act as official representative of the Staff Council Members at all functions of the University
- Render an annual report of the activities of the Staff Council Members at the June meeting
- Install the newly elected officers
- Perform other duties deemed necessary or assigned by the Staff Council Members
Section 2: The Vice Chair shall:
- Update the lists of names and numbers of staff in the divisions/areas eligible to vote. This shall be on an as needed basis and with the assistance of Human Resources and/or University Corporation HR.
- Administer the election and voting processes with assistance of the Secretary. In cases where the Vice Chair is also a candidate, the Vice Chair shall recuse themselves and an alternate Staff Council Member will stand in.
- Perform other duties deemed necessary by the Staff Council Members
- Assume the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair
Section 3: The Treasurer shall:
- Maintain and track the annual budget for the Staff Council Members
- Report the status of the budget on a monthly basis
- Provide a year-end report on all Staff Council Members funds at the final meeting of the fiscal year
- Work with event leads to ensure the appropriate use of funds.
- Assume the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair
Section 4: The Secretary shall:
- Record, keep and distribute minutes of all regular and special meetings
- Assist the Vice-Chair in administration of the election and voting process. In cases where the Secretary is also a candidate, they shall recuse themselves and appoint and alternate.
- Maintain Staff Council files
- Perform other duties assigned by the Chair
- Assume the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair, Vice- Chair, and Treasurer
- Compose and distribute any miscellaneous correspondence
- Maintain Staff Council website and the email list serve
Section 5: The Parliamentarian shall:
- Serve as the parliamentarian during meetings of the Staff Council Members
- Respond to parliamentary inquiries and points of order
- Provide advice on conducting the meeting according to parliamentary rules
- Assume the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary
Article IV | Meetings
Section 1: Staff Council Member meetings are held for Members of the Staff Council and invited guests once per month on the first Wednesday. There shall be at least ten Staff Council Member meetings per year.
Section 2: Staff Member meetings shall consist of one monthly meeting on the third Wednesday and are to be open to all in the University community. There shall be at least ten Staff Member meetings per year.
Section 3: A special meeting of the Staff Council Members and/or Staff Members may be called by the Chair or Vice-Chair, with majority approval of the Executive Committee. In the event that the Executive Committee is vacant, any Staff Council Member may call a special meeting.
Section 4: Suggestions and/or requests for agenda items can be submitted to staffcouncil@csumb.edu. It is recommended that requests by submitted fourteen days in advance of the meeting for consideration. The Chair, or designee, will reply to email suggestions and/or requests for agenda items either 1) indicating the meeting date for which the suggestion will appear on the agenda, or, 2) offering an explanation for why it will not appear on the agenda.
Article V | Quorum
Section 1: A simple majority (51%) of the voting membership of the Staff Council shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.
Section 2: A majority of any committee of the Staff Council shall constitute a quorum.
Article VI | Nominations and Elections
Section 1: All eligible staff may be elected to Staff Council for a two-year term of office beginning on August 1st and ending on July 31st.
Section 2: The Nomination period shall be announced to all staff members by March 15th and will close by April 15. A candidate may self-nominate and/or be nominated by a staff member. Candidates must accept their nomination in writing certifying a willingness to serve, if elected.
Section 3: Voting shall be by confidential, electronic ballot. All eligible staff shall have one vote for representatives in their area, per Article III of the Constitution. The election shall take place between May 1 and May 31.
Section 4: Candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If there is a tie vote, a run-off election shall be held within five business days of the general election. Election results shall be announced by June 15. If there are elected positions without any candidates, the newly elected Staff Council shall appoint eligible staff members to the vacant positions.
Section 5: A vacancy in an unexpired term of more than three months on the Staff Council may be filled by election or by appointment of the Staff Council.
Section 6: Disputed results following an election regarding election procedures shall be submitted in writing to the Staff Council Elections Committee within five days from the announcement of the election results. Disputes shall be addressed in a special meeting of the Staff Council. The Staff Council shall review and respond appropriately.
Article VII | Committees
Section 1: The Staff Council will have ongoing, standing committees in order to conduct business.
- Election Committee: The Election Committee shall be comprised of no less than three staff members, one of whom is the Vice-Chair. The Election Committee responsibilities include:
- Conducting the process for regular term elections of new staff council members, including Executive Committee, as well as tabulating and announcing results.
- Conducting special elections for in-term staff council replacements (see Article I Section 6 and Article VI Section 5), as necessary.
Section 2: The Staff Council may have ad-hoc or temporary committees, as needed.
Section 3: The Staff Council will also endeavor to have staff representation on university-wide committees in the interest of shared governance of the University. The Staff Council reserves the rights to determine appropriate representation of staff for University committees, with priority given to current Staff Council Representatives.
Article VIII | Funding
Disposition of funds shall be voted upon by the Staff Council. Those funds shall be dispersed at the discretion of Staff Council.
Article IX | Procedural Review
Any Staff Member who wishes a review of any action by the Staff Council or its Committees shall submit a written request to the Staff Council. The request must state the reasons for asking for the review. The Staff Council Members shall review all written requests within 30 days of receipt of the request and will respond appropriately within two weeks of the Staff Council Member review.
Article X | Amendments
Any Staff Member may suggest a bylaws amendment in writing to their divisional representative(s). The Staff Council Members shall consider the proposed amendment and determine whether to proceed as suggested, to proceed with revised language, or to decline the proposed amendment; the decision requires a majority vote of the Staff Council Members.
Amendments to the Bylaws shall be proposed at meetings of the Staff Council. Proposed amendments shall be available to all staff for a minimum of two weeks prior to voting. Revisions to the Bylaws require a 2/3 vote of approval of all votes cast and received by the deadline.
Article XI | Authority
Parliamentary Authority shall be Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.
Article XII | Definitions
Staff Member refers to staff that meet the requirements of Article I, Section I of the Bylaws.
Probationary Staff refers to staff that have not yet met the requirements of Article I, Section I of the Bylaws.
Staff Council Member refers to the staff who hold representative positions as identified in Article III of the Constitution.
Executive Committee refers to the five staff members who the roles identified in Article IV of the Constitution.
Invited Guests refers to any person who is invited to attend a Staff Council Member and/or Staff Member meeting.
Revised: March 13, 2024
Approved: February 14, 2023