 clinton county republican bylaws clinton county republican bylaws section 1 ndash name this organization shall be known as the clinton county republican party and shall consist of the executive committee the county committee and the general membership section 2 ndash purpose the purpose of this organization shall be to perform all duties provided by law and state party rules and such duties not prohibited by law as will benefit the general welfare of the republicans of clinton county and to conduct the political affairs and business of the clinton county republican party through the executive committee and or the county committee article ii ndash the executive committee section 1 ndash establishment there shall be an executive committee of the republican party of clinton county which shall be established as provided by law and state party rules the executive committee shall select the original members of the county committee the chairperson vice chairperson secretary and treasurer of the executive and county committees and shall fill any vacancies occurring in these offices a deputy treasurer selected by the treasurer must be approved by the executive committee section 2 ndash duties the duties of the executive committee shall be to establish general policy for and conduct the affairs of the clinton county republican party and to perform such additional duties as may be required by law and state party rules of by the county committee in addition the executive committee shall encourage recognize and aid in the establishment of those organizations within clinton county that will enhance the activities of the republican party section 3 ndash membership the membership of the executive committee shall consist of delegateelected members nominee members and exofficio members in even numbered years the fall county convention shall convene at the call of the county chairperson within twenty 20 days following the november election the precinct delegates shall select a number of persons equal to the number of county offices and state legislative offices for which candidates were nominated at the last two 2 preceding fall primary elections who together with the persons most recently nominated by the party for each of those offices to constitute the executive committee a delegate ndash elected members the precinct delegates to the fall county convention may caucus and shall select the delegateelected members to the executive committee all delegateelected members must be registered voters who reside in clinton county and members in good standing of the clinton county republican party if a vacancy occurs in the position of delegateelected member of the executive committee the remaining delegateelected members shall fill the vacancy b nominee members the nominee members shall be those persons nominated by the republican party for county offices and state legislative offices in clinton county at the last preceding primary election when a new nomination is made for such an office the new member shall replace the former nominee member as a member of the executive committee if a vacancy occurs in the position of a nominee member of the executive committee the vacancy may only be filled by the person who is the new nominee for the office in question c exofficio members exofficio members of the executive committee shall be members of the republican state committee state party officers republican congressman federal congressional district chairpersons and any atlarge appointees exofficio members shall have a voice but not a vote at large exofficio members shall be residents of clinton county section 4 ndash selection of officers term and vacancies within thirty 30 days following the convening of the fall county convention the executive committee shall meet and select a temporary chairperson and temporary secretary the temporary officers shall serve only during the selection of officers of the executive committee the officers shall be chairperson vicechairperson who shall be of the opposite sex of the chairperson a secretary and a treasurer deputy treasurer and other such officers as may be established the officers of the executive committee and the county committee shall be the same persons whose term in office shall be for two 2 years commencing january 1 of the oddnumbered years if an officer shall resign or become ineligible to hold office there shall be a vacancy in that office if a vacancy occurs in the office of chairperson the powers and duties of the chairperson shall be assumed immediately and automatically by the vice chairperson until a new chairperson is elected in the event a vacancy occurs in the office of treasurer the powers and duties of the treasurer shall be assumed immediately and automatically by the deputy treasurer until a new treasurer is elected all vacancies in offices shall be filled by elections by the executive committee for the remainder of the term such elections shall be held not less than fifteen 15 nor more than fortyfive 45 days after the vacancy occurs article iii ndash the county committee section 1 ndash establishment there may be established a county committee of the clinton county republican party the members of which shall be selected by the executive committee as provided herein after the officers of the executive committee have taken office the executive committee shall select the members of the county committee within fortyfive 45 days after january 1 of each oddnumbered year section 2 ndash membership and term a the executive committee shall select a county committee for the party which committee shall consist of not less than two 2 members from each township and two 2 members from each ward of each city in the county or shall consist of at least two 2 members from each election precinct in the county as the executive committee may determine b in addition the following persons shall serve as members of the county committee by virtue of the office they hold during their tenure of office and as long as they are residents of clinton elected county and executive committee officers and other persons whom the executive committee may appoint c the term of service of a county committee shall continue for two 2 years and until the selection of its successor section 3 ndash vacancies vacancies in the membership of the county committee shall be filled by the executive committee section 4 ndash selection of officers terms and vacancies a see article ii section 4 b the executive committee shall have the right to appoint other officers of the county committee who in its judgment are proper to carry out the purpose of the county committee including the filling of vacancies in county committee officer positions article iv ndash general membership section 1 ndash establishment the clinton county republican party recognizes its general membership to be those individuals who reside within the county pay their annual dues to the clinton county republican party and support the general welfare of the party assisting in its political and business affairs the success of the party depends upon the generosity of its membership through financial support and inkind involvement section 2 ndash dues dues for general membership shall be established from time to time as may be determined by the executive committee annual dues shall coincide with each calendar year section 3 ndash selection of officers term and vacancies officers of the general membership are one and the same as the executive and county committee re terms and vacancies refer to article ii section 4 article v ndash meetings section 1 ndash meetings of the executive committee a re regular meetings ndash the executive committee shall hold regular meetings at least six 6 times per year to carry out its duties the county chairperson shall determine the time and place within clinton county for such meetings b re special meetings ndash special meetings of the executive committee may be called by the county chairperson when he she shall deem it advisable and shall be called when requested in writing by five 5 members of the executive committee or ten 10 members of the county committee or when provided for by action of the county committee c re quorum ndash a quorum for all meetings of the executive committee shall be members of the executive committee or onefourth of the membership d re proxy ndash any member of the executive committee may designate in writing a person to represent him her at any meeting of the executive committee except that no proxy designate shall hold more than one vote nor shall any person hold a proxy unless that person is a registered voter and resides in clinton county e re attendance ndash any delegateelected member who shall fail to be present without prior notice to the county chairperson either in person or in ldquo proxy rdquo at three 3 consecutive regular meetings of the executive committee shall be considered to have resigned from the executive committee his her position of the executive committee shall be filled as provided in article ii section 3 a section 2 ndash meetings of the county committee a meetings of the county committee may be held at least twice each calendar year at a time and place within clinton county to be determined by the county chairperson the first meeting of the county committee shall be held no later than march 15 in the year of its election b re quorum ndash a quorum for all meetings of the county committee shall be five 5 members of the county committee or onefourth of the membership which ever is smaller c re proxy ndash no county committee vote may be cast by proxy section 3 ndash meetings of the general membership the general membership shall meet at the call of the chair the county chairperson shall determine the time and place within clinton county for such meetings section 4 ndash notice of executive county and general membership meetings notice of each respective meetings of the executive committee county committee and general membership shall be forwarded by the secretary to each member of the committee with notice of the time and place of the meeting not less than ten 10 calendar days prior to each meeting five 5 days notice shall be given of special meetings unless such notice is prevented by emergency article vi ndash officers section 1 ndash executive committee see article ii section 4 section 2 ndash county committee see article iii section 4 section 3 ndash general membership see article iv section 3 article vii ndash duties of officers section 1 ndash chairperson the duties of the chairperson shall be those provided by law and also such other duties not prohibited by law as may be required by action of the executive committee county committee and general membership including but not limited to the following the chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the executive committee county committee and general membership and shall be exofficio member of all standing committees the chairperson shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all committees and with the exception of the budget review committee may remove them all subject to the approval of the executive committee the chairperson shall be responsible for directing the administration of the headquarters and staff shall be responsible for managing the daytoday affairs of the party shall coordinate the activities of the republican party organizations within the county shall submit a proposed annual budget by october 1st for review and approval by the budget review committee the chairperson serves as spokesperson for the county party and shall submit reports to the executive committee county committee and general membership as may be required by action of the committees shall keep the committees informed of republican party programs and activities and may assign to other officers and committees such duties as may be necessary section 2 ndash vice chairperson the vicechairperson shall preside at meetings of the executive committee county committee and general membership in the absence of or at the request or the chairperson and shall perform such other duties as directed by the chairperson and or the executive committee county committee and or general membership in the event the chairperson is unable to act the powers and duties of the chairperson shall be assumed by the vicechairperson until such inability is removed or until the chairperson shall again take up the duties of the office if the vicechairperson is unavailable or unable to act the officers as designated shall perform the duties of the vicechairperson section 3 ndash secretary the secretary shall perform all duties normally incident to the office of secretary and in particular shall keep a permanent record of the minutes and attendance at all meetings of the executive committee county committee and general membership shall make these records available for inspection and copying by a member of the committees who request the minutes of the most recent meetings to any member of the committees who requests the same and shall see that all notices are duly given as required by law by these bylaws section 4 ndash treasurer the treasurer shall have the care and custody of all monies paid to the party and shall deposit the same in the names of the clinton county republican party in a bank designated by the executive committee and shall pay all duly authorized bills the treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the budget review committee and shall be responsible for the property and timely filing of all financial reports required by law the treasurer shall keep an account in permanent records of all financial transactions of the clinton county republican party a statement of financial conditions revenues expenditures outstanding obligations and cash balance will be made at each regular meeting of the executive committee county committee and general membership upon reasonable request all records shall be open to inspection at the close of each calendar year the treasurer with the assistance of internal auditing committee shall prepare an annual accurate statement as of december 31 of each year setting forth the financial condition of the clinton county party the treasurer shall forward this report to the officers by the first day of march of the year following and shall present a copy of the report to the executive committee at its next regular meeting upon leaving office the treasurer all furnish to his her successor all funds accounts and other property pertaining to the affairs of the treasurer section 5 ndash deputy treasurer the deputy treasurer shall assume the powers and duties of the treasurer as defined in section 4 of this article during the absence of inability of the treasurer article viii ndash committees committees shall be formed as deemed necessary article ix ndash resolutions section 1 ndash notice all proposed resolutions with the exception of resolutions honoring an individual for special service to the party or community shall be submitted to the county chairperson at least five 5 days prior to the mailing of the notice of the meeting at which they are proposed to be introduced section 2 ndash mailing of proposed resolutions the county chairperson shall cause a copy of each proposed resolution to be mailed with the notice of the meeting to each member of the executive or county committee or the general membership section 3 ndash policy it shall be the policy of the executive county and general membership committees not to endorse support or disavow individual candidates in contested republican primary elections except as provided in section 4 it shall be the policy to allow announced candidates for public office or a member of their immediate family to speak at meetings or party sponsored events such speaking time may be limited by the chairperson to a reasonable time section 4 ndash endorsement disavowmentcontested republican primary in the exceptional circumstance when it is in the best interest of the republican party in clinton county the executive committee may endorse support or disavow a particular candidate in a contested republican primary election provided that such resolution be adopted by twothirds of the executive committee present and voting when an endorsement is proposed the consent of the candidate is necessary the officers of the committees in their official capacity shall not endorse candidates in a contested primary election except when the candidate has received executive committee endorsement section 5 ndash financial support by the clinton county republican committee of candidates running for elective office candidate recruitment and support candidate recruitment and support are critical components in selecting and electing qualified individuals to office who will represent the ideals goals and interests of the republican party of clinton county often times these individuals seek higher office because of that it is imperative we determine the qualifications of candidates early in their political careers even though the ccrp will seek to identify and recruit potential candidates for office they will not endorse candidates in primary elections based upon article ix section 3 of the ccrp bylaws once nominees have been determined in the even year august primaries consideration for support will be given to nominees in contested races and to those who have shown an interest in the county party and its activities it is assumed the nominee seeks to support the county party and it rsquo s efforts based on the contributions of the nominee to the party in the current twoyear election cycle those funds may be reimbursed to the candidate at 50 of their contribution based on the calculation formula a criteria for support levels will be based on the following i allowable maximum candidate contributions according to state law expenditure limits for a county political party committee or a congressional district political party committee also referred to as ldquo contribution limits rdquo these amounts are applicable at the time of the distribution and are subject to change as state law is amended and will be reflected in an updating of these bylaws governor not receiving public funds 34000 governor receiving public funds 30000 lt governor 34000 local candidate or judicial candidate in district or jurisdiction with population over 250000 34000 state senator 10000 local candidate or judicial candidate in district or jurisdiction with population of 85001 to 250000 10000 state representative 5000 local candidate or judicial candidate in district or jurisdiction with population up to 85000 5000 any other state elective office 34000 includes secretary of state attorney general supreme court justice state board of education university of michigan regent michigan state university trustee and wayne state university governor ii candidate political committee fund balances and projected campaign expenditures iii funds received for the current election cycle from supporters iv monetary support of the county party club sponsorship event attendance etc v candidate participation at monthly meetings events and other functions b candidate support calculation considerations sample i candidate rsquo s projected campaign requirements 500000 ii current election cycle campaign subtractions less current political fund balance prior election cycle 300000 current campaign need projections 200000 iii potential current election cycle campaign additions current election cycle donations excludes self 75000 plus 50 of candidates county party contributions 30000 15000 plus a 5000 credit per monthly meeting and or scheduled events not including conventions with a maximum of 10 5000 each meeting event 50000 total potential donations 140000 140000 balance needed 60000 c the total support per contested nominee to be donated by the ccrp will be suggested to be not greater than 50 the maximum allowed as defined by state law or to the limits as defined in the following table i nominee campaign contribution maximums village 50000 city 50000 township 50000 county commissioner 250000 countywide elected 250000 other races see state maximums d contributions to nominee campaigns will be determined by the nominee support committee after they have met with the individual nominee seeking support the contribution amount will be determined based upon the interview with the nominee and the amount of the funds that are being requested by the nominee by factoring in the criteria previously outlined in section 5 e final approval of the support allocation as recommended by the candidate support committee will be made a majority vote of the county executive committee f the funds to be disbursed to the nominee should be used for the current election cycle campaign and are not intended to provide continuing support of the nominee subsequent to the general election date or to pay down debt from previous election cycles article x ndash procedure robert rsquo s rules of order newly revised shall govern the executive county and general membership committees in all cases when said rules are not in conflict with these bylaws article xi ndash adoption these bylaws shall be adopted by a majority of the total membership of the executive committee present and voting at the meeting when they are presented for adoption and shall take immediate effect article xii ndash amendments to the bylaws these bylaws may be amended by a majority of the total membership of the executive committee present and voting and shall take immediate effect a minimum of thirty 30 days must lapse from the time the proposed amended language is disbursed and until a vote is taken notice of any proposed amendment vote shall be included with the next meeting notice to each member of the executive committee historical account of bylaws development the text of the bylaws for the clinton county republican party were developed by a special appointed committee committee members included jon newman charles sherman dan skorich the committee submitted the proposed bylaws to the party chairman in january 1998 the proposal was discussed at subsequent meeting these bylaws were approved at the regular meeting on may 21 1998 by a vote of 12 yeas and 3 nays they had immediate effect robert g craig chairman karla garcia secretary revised may 2014 article ix  