CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COORDINATORS

Originally adopted 12/16/1992
First Amended 3/17/1999
Second Amended 11/7/2002
Third Amended 6/4/2007
Fourth Amended 12/09/2009
Fifth Amended 3/31/2015
Sixth Amended 4/6/2017
Seventh Amended 9/27/2017

Preamble
I – Title
II- Object
III – Membership
IV – Board of Directors
V – Officers
VI -Duties
VII -Elections
VIII – Meetings
IX – Dues
X – Amendments


PREAMBLE
It being a well-established fact that a number of individuals laboring for the accomplishment of the same purpose are more likely to obtain the objects desired by combining their efforts rather than by separate action; and

That forming themselves into an organized body will better protect their individual rights, promote their welfare and forward their interest, as well as extend their sphere of usefulness;

We do, therefore, form ourselves into an association comprised of County/Municipal Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators whose goal is to cooperatively share ideas and problems to better serve the general public of the State of New Jersey in regards to management of household hazardous waste and small quantity generator waste. Under the name Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators, we do adopt the following Constitution and By-Laws for its rules and guidance.

ARTICLE I – TITLE

This Association shall be known as the Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators.

ARTICLE II – MISSION STATEMENT

The Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators is a scientific educational organization within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code with the following limited purpose and activities:

Section 1.  This Association is formed exclusively for the mutual aid protection, welfare and advancement of its members; to seek all legitimate aid and assistance for the purpose of promoting, advancing, and professionalizing the welfare, conditions and interests of Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators; and to advance socially members’ interest and general welfare; to create a better understanding for the common interests of household hazardous waste personnel in New Jersey; and for the betterment and improvement of all members in their line of duty for the various counties of this State.

Section 2.  This Association shall be entirely divorced from partisan politics and shall not participate, directly in the political advancement of any person or organization.

Section 3.  The Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators may be dissolved by a 2/3 vote of the voting members present at a meeting in which the topic of dissolution was included in writing in the meeting notice. In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining assets and property of the Association shall, after payment of all necessary expenses thereof, be distributed to organizations that qualify under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  Four fields of membership exist according to which type of organization is represented.  Please refer to Article IX for the corresponding dues.  The determination as to whether a voice vote is needed on a policy or non-policy matter will be by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. These are:

a. Full Membership – one person from each implementing agency recognized as the County / Municipal Household Hazardous Waste Coordinator.  Only full members will be allowed one vote on both policy and non-policy matters.  In the absence of the full member, an associate member will have full voting rights.

b. Associate County/Municipal Membership – Unlimited additional members of county/municipal agencies. Associate member will have one vote on all non-policy matters and can serve as alternate to full member in their absence.

c. Commercial Membership – Vendors and consultants associated with household hazardous waste equipment and operations. Commercial members have one vote per company on non-policy matters.

d. Individual Membership – This field of membership is open to non-affiliated individuals, interested in household hazardous waste programs.  Individual members have one vote on non-policy matters.

Section 2. All applications for membership shall be accompanied by the appropriate dues payment and sent to the treasurer. The treasurer shall consult with the Board of Directors if there is any question as to the proper membership category. Once dues are paid, the person becomes a member for that calendar year. Any member wishing to challenge another member’s right to sit, or an application for membership, must make his or her challenge in writing to Board of Directors, which shall investigate all of the facts relating to the challenge and, thereafter, make known its findings and recommendations to the full membership for a vote at the next regular meeting. A majority vote of those attending shall prevail for action supporting or rejecting the challenge.

Section 3. The association may expel a member for violation of its rules and regulations upon written notice and after a hearing, and thereupon the said member ceases to be a member of the state association.

ARTICLE IV – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The governing body of the Association shall be a Board of Directors consisting of:

a. President
b. Vice President
c. Treasurer
d. Secretary
e. Past President

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall be responsible to the membership for the management of the affairs of the Association and for the promotion of the Association’s purposes. It shall have the power to enact, by a majority vote of those attending such rules, regulations and resolutions as are necessary for governing the Association.

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS
Section 1.  The officers of the Association shall be full members in good standing of the Association, elected as provided in Article VII, Sections 1 and 2, (or appointed by the Board of Directors as provided herein) and shall consist of:

a. President
b. Vice President
c. Treasurer
d. Secretary
e. Past President

Section 2.  All terms will be for one year with the exception of the Treasurer, which has no term limit.

ARTICLE VI – DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS

Section 1. The President shall act as Chairman of the Board of Directors and shall preside at meetings of the members, except as otherwise ordered by the Board. He/she shall appoint such standing or special committees as he/she shall consider necessary or as instructed by the Board of Directors and shall be, ex-officio, a member of such committees. He/she shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for the functioning of those committees. He/she shall sign, on behalf of the Association, all deeds, contracts and other formal instruments and shall with formal approval of the Board of Directors perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The Vice President shall have and exercise all of the powers and duties of the President in the event of his/her absence or inability to act and shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her by the Board of Directors and shall arrange for meeting schedules and establish locations.

Section 3. The Treasurer shall collect all fees and other moneys due to the Association and shall deposit them in an account or accounts established by the Association. He/she shall annually prepare a budget for the Association and, with the approval of the Board of Directors, have authority to expend the moneys appropriated; shall keep a complete record of all receipts and expenditures which shall be audited annually by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall exercise authority in all financial matters in accordance with such by-laws and resolutions as may be adopted by the Board of Directors; shall furnish such periodic financial statements as may be required by the Board of Directors; shall have custody of all funds, and other documents of the Association and to that end may determine the method of depositing and safekeeping of the funds and securities and shall establish a system of financial record-keeping subject to approval of the Board of Directors.

Section 4. The Secretary shall conduct correspondence; send notice of and keep minutes of all meetings and shall have custody of the minutes. The Secretary shall also be responsible for the distribution of minutes to each Board member within fifteen (15) days of each meeting.

Section 5. The Past President shall act as an adviser to the newly elected board.

ARTICLE VII – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 1. A Nominating Committee shall be established to report the names of a candidate or candidates for each position. The Committee shall make this report to the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The annual election of Officers and Members-at-large shall occur at the annual meeting and shall be by ballot vote, however those members who cannot attend the meeting may vote by sending a ballot via fax, email, or regular mail to the corresponding secretary by a date specified by that officer. Tabulation shall be done under the supervision of the nominating committee which shall certify the election results. The announcement of the results of the balloting shall be made at the annual meeting, except when the annual meeting shall be canceled by reasons of an emergency declared by the Board of Directors. Ballots should contain the names of nominees recommended by the Nominating Committee and shall have blank spaces under each office for the use of members who desire to vote for eligible candidates other than those named in the printed ballot. Ballots shall be mailed to each member at least one (1) week before the annual meeting. The officers elected shall be installed at the annual meeting and shall take office immediately.

Section 3. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the un-expired term shall be filled by the Vice President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice President or any other member of the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors may elect one of the full members to fill the un-expired term. Such election may be conducted by ballot of the Board of Directors.

Section 4. No particular office shall be held by any member for more than three consecutive terms except for the Treasurer, which has no term limit.

ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS

Section 1. An annual meeting of the members of the Association shall be held once a year at a time and place to be determined by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have its annual meeting immediately following the annual meeting of the members.

Section 2. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held on the call of the President or on the request in writing of any three members of the Board. At least five days notice of the time, place and purpose of all meetings shall be given. Such notice may be given by mail or email to the last known address of the person or may be hand-delivered to the person.

Section 3. Special meetings of the Association shall be held on the call of the President or upon the request in writing of any ten (10) members. Special meetings shall be held within thirty (30) days of the receipt of request.

Section 4. A majority of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum thereof. A majority of the full membership shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of members.

Section 5. The Association shall conduct a minimum of one (1) open meeting each year, in addition to the one (1) annual meeting held each year.

Section 6. All meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 7. The officers reserve the right to call a meeting of county representatives.

ARTICLE IX – MEMBERSHIP DUES/MEETING FEES

Section 1. This Association shall have the authority to assess membership dues based on membership categories outlined below.  Meeting fees may also be assessed as deemed by the Board of Directors prior to each meeting.  Annual membership dues is as follows:

  • County/Municipal Representative – $75 per county/municipality which provides for one full member from each of New Jersey’s counties/municipalities.
  • Associate County/Municipal Representative – Serves as an alternate with each additional membership at $25 per person.
  • Commercial Business Membership – $250 per vendor/firm – Vendors and consultants associated with HHW equipment and operations as well as electronics demanufacturers and processors.
  • Individual Membership – $50 per individual who is interested in HHW programs.  No business/government affiliation will be acknowledged with this membership.
  • Non-member meeting fee – the fee determined by the Board of Directors to cover meeting costs.
ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

Section l. This constitution and by-laws may be amended by any of the following procedures.

Section 2. Proposing Amendments.

(a) An amendment may be proposed at any regular meeting or at a special meeting and submitted for adoption in accordance with Section 3 of this Article.
(b) Proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing for distribution to members.
(c) An amendment may be proposed by resolution of the Board of Directors and submitted for adoption in accordance with Section 3 of this Article.

Section 3. An amendment properly proposed in accordance with Section 2 of this Article may be adopted by:

(a) The affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members voting at a meeting where the notice for the meeting shall have included specific notice of the proposed amendment and the exact text of the proposed amendment; or
(b) By submitting the proposed amendment in writing to the membership by letter ballot or by e-mail so that the voting membership may register acceptance or rejection in writing; such proposed amendments will be adopted upon the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the votes cast on the question within thirty (30) days of the mailing of the letter ballot.

  • Originally adopted 12/16/1992
  • First Amended 03/17/1999
  • Second Amended 11/07/2002
  • Third Amended 06/04/2007
  • Fourth Amended 12/09/2009
  • Fifth Amended 3/31/2015
  • Sixth Amended 4/6/2017
  • Seventh Amended 9/27/2017