Standing Rules

 Society of American Archivists
Congressional Papers Section

 STANDING RULES 

I. PURPOSE 

The Congressional Papers Section of the Society of American Archivists is composed of members of the Society and others who work with or have an interest in the papers of members of Congress and the records of Congress. The section provides a forum for news, for discussion of issues and developments, and for setting standards and advocating action in the preservation and management of congressional papers and records.

II. GOVERNANCE

These standing rules of the Congressional Papers Section shall serve as a supplement to the SAA Section Bylaws, which govern all SAA sections. Please refer to Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual for information on membership, section election procedures, reporting requirements, and more. 

III. STEERING COMMITTEE

The Steering Committee is composed of 10 members: the officers (chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair); four member representatives (two elected per year for two-year terms); and one representative each from the Office of History and Preservation of the House of Representatives, the Senate Historical Office, and the Center for Legislative Archives of the National Archives. The newsletter editor and the web editor serve as ex officio members (unless they also hold elected positions).

The Steering Committee directs and coordinates activities of the section and approves appointments made by the chair if vacancies occur. Committee members help set agenda for the year, appoint a newsletter editor as necessary and contribute to the newsletter and to other activities, plan the annual program and SAA program sessions sponsored by the section. Steering Committee members are expected to attend the annual meeting.

IV. OFFICERS

The chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair serve as officers of the section. Only individual members of SAA and the Congressional Papers Section may hold these positions. The chair directs and reports the activities of the section, organizes and conducts the annual meeting of the section, chairs the steering committee, acts as liaison for the section to other bodies, appoints roundtable committees as needed, chairs the Program Committee, and handles administrative matters.

The vice-chair/chair-elect serves as acting chair in the absence of the chair and participates as a member of the steering committee in all its activities. The vice-chair also serves as chair of the Electronic Records Committee.

The immediate past chair serves as a member of the steering committee and as chair of the Nominating Committee.

The officers make a commitment for three years to serve one year each as vice-chair/chair-elect, chair, and immediate past chair. Each is expected to attend the annual meeting.

V. NEWSLETTER EDITOR(S)

One or two newsletter editors shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated term. Terms are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The newsletter editors serve as ex officio members of the Steering Committee, unless they also hold elected membership. In the latter case, the newsletter editors shall have all decision privileges of committee members. Members serving as newsletter editors should not serve concurrently as chair of the section. The newsletter editors are responsible for editing, publishing, and distributing two newsletters per year and any other special issues or mailing as determined by the Steering Committee. They maintain the section mailing list and negotiate all newsletter matters with the SAA office as appropriate. By agreement between them, one of the newsletter editors will serve as secretary at the annual section meeting and take minutes that subsequently will be published in the newsletter.

VI. PROGRAM COMMITTEE

The Program Committee is composed of the chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and Steering Committee members who are not members of the Nominating Committee. The chair shall appoint certain Program Committee members to coordinate, write, and submit Steering Committee-approved session proposals on behalf of the section to the SAA Program Committee. The Program Committee develops proposals for both the section program and SAA sessions for the following year's annual meeting. The Steering Committee reviews and selects proposals.

VII. WEB EDITOR

The web editor shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated term. Terms are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The web editor serves as an ex officio member of the Steering Committee, unless he or she also holds an elected position. In the latter case, he or she shall have all decision privileges of committee members. The web editor should not serve concurrently as chair of the section. The web editor is responsible for maintaining and updating the CPS website as needed and for negotiating all website matters with the SAA office as appropriate.

VIII. HISTORIAN

The historian shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated term. Terms are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The historian serves as an ex officio member of the Steering Committee, unless he or she also holds an elected position. In the latter case, he or she shall have all decision privileges of committee members. The historian should not serve concurrently as chair of the roundtable.  The historian is responsible for coordinating the roundtable’s record retention with the roundtable web editor.

IX. NOMINATING COMMITTEE AND ELECTION

The Nominating Committee is composed of the immediate past chair, who serves as chair of the committee, and two first year members of the Steering Committee. If any of these cannot serve, the section chair shall appoint members from the Steering Committee as needed. The Nominating Committee solicits candidates for the next year's leadership, using a notice in the newsletter and on the section’s listserv (if any) and receiving the names of volunteers of persons recommended, and prepares an appropriate slate for the elected section positions from those nominees agreeing to place their names in nomination. The committee ensures that there is at least one nominee and no more than two nominees for vice-chair/chair-elect and that the number of nominees for Steering Committee is not less than the number of positions to be filled. All candidates for election must be individual members of SAA and the section. The committee submits the slate of candidates to the newsletter editor no later than June 1 for publication in the newsletter issued preceding the annual meeting. The committee also submits the ballot to the Society of American Archivists no later than six weeks prior to the SAA annual meeting.

Elections shall be conducted online with the assistance of the SAA staff and in accordance with guidelines for section elections as specified in Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual. Availability of the online ballot and deadline for voting shall be announced by the Chair to all section members via the section’s official email discussion list and website.

Only members of the roundtable may vote. Any member of the roundtable who is unable to vote using the on-line ballot may request an absentee ballot from the committee chair; absentee ballots must be returned to the committee chair prior to the annual meeting. Voting shall be by secret ballot if there are more candidates than can be elected for any position. Candidates with the highest number of votes shall be elected. New leadership assumes office at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the section.

If for any reason the vice-chair is unable to succeed to the office of chair, a new chair shall be elected following the same procedures as election for a vice-chair. The Steering Committee shall appoint any other vacancies to fulfill unexpired terms of elected positions, after which a normal election shall occur.

X. ELECTRONIC RECORDS COMMITTEE

The Electronic Records Committee is composed of the vice chair of the Section, who serves as the co-chair of the committee, two or more members appointed by the Steering Committee, and an ex officio member designated from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration. The members of the Electronic Records Committee will also select a co-chair for the committee by majority vote. The co-chair shall have served at least two years of an appointed term on the Electronic Records Committee. Terms for appointed members are encouraged to range from not less than two years to not more than three years. The Electronic Records Committee is responsible for conducting an annual review of all resources posted on the CPS website related to electronic records management in congressional collections, making updates and revisions when necessary. The committee may also create new resources on the subject when advisable.

XI. AMENDMENTS

To ensure alignment with SAA’s governance documents, any amendments to the section’s standing rules should be reviewed by the executive director (or her/his designee) and the section’s Council liaison by May 1, before they are put forward in a referendum for vote by the section membership. Proposed amendments to the section’s standing rules will appear on the section’s annual election ballot for a final approval by a simple majority of the section’s membership. Any adopted amendments should be posted promptly to the section’s official microsite and be noted in the section’s next annual report to the Council. Any revisions to the section’s name or mission/description must be submitted to the Council for final approval. For more information on amendment procedures, see Section IX. Sections of the SAA Governance Manual.

Proposed amendments to the standing rules must be published in the newsletter issued preceding the annual meeting vote by the membership on the amendment. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Steering Committee and must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the total votes cast by section members. 

 XII. ENACTMENT

These bylaws were first approved and enacted by a majority vote of the membership in August 1996.

A copy of the standing rules shall be available to any member through the section’s website and upon request to the chair.

Updated per the member affinity group transition approved by the Council, August 2016. Revisions approved by the section membership, July 2018.