Constitution

NASTD

Technology Professionals Serving State Government

Constitution

ARTICLE I

SECTION 1 - NAME

This organization shall be known as NASTD - National Association of State Technology Directors - hereinafter referred to as "the Association."

SECTION 2 - PURPOSE AND GOALS

The Association is a member-driven organization whose purpose is to advance and promote the effective use of information technology and services to improve the operation of state government.

The goals of the Association are to:

• provide a forum for the sharing of ideas, concepts and practices pertaining to the provision and management of technology facilities and services for state government;
• engage in programs for the training, education and development of technology professionals from all areas of state government;
• identify and examine common operational, policy, management, regulatory and technology issues that impact state networks and systems;
• work cooperatively with other public and private sector entities to improve the health, education, public safety and economic development functions of state government through the application of information technology;
• enhance the exchange of information with the vendor community and promote the development of public/private partnerships to streamline government service delivery; and
• present, where possible and practicable, a unified position on matters of national technology policy, which affect or could affect the individual states, to include regulatory and legislative matters.
  

SECTION 3 - MEMBERSHIP

a. State Membership

The membership shall be comprised of the departments or agencies in each of the United States, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories having primary responsibility for the planning, design, provisioning and/or management of the enterprise information technology fabric within its jurisdiction.  This entity shall appoint one delegate to vote and officially act on behalf of the states in business meetings and in other official business of the Association.

Participation in the Association shall be granted to any regular, full-time employee from this entity.

b. Associate Membership

Associate membership may be granted to any governmental department, agency, board or public institution with responsibility for, or an interest in, technology for their department, agency, board or public institution that does not meet the qualification of membership in Article I, Section 3, Paragraph A, and with the concurrence of the State member as defined by Paragraph A above.

In the event Associate membership is requested by a qualifying entity from an inactive state, the Executive Board is authorized to grant Associate membership.

Participation in the Association shall be granted to any regular, full-time employee from this entity.  These individuals shall not be eligible to vote or hold office as defined by Article II.

c. Corporate Affiliate Membership

Corporate affiliate membership may be granted to any private sector corporation in the business of offering/providing information technology, hardware, software, facilities and/or services to state government.

Participation in the Association shall be granted to any employee from this entity.  These individuals shall not be eligible to vote or hold office.

d. Life Membership

Life membership may be granted by the full membership of the Association to deserving individuals.  Life memberships may be conferred upon any current or former member who has given meritorious service to the Association.  Life members not meeting all qualifications as contained in Article I, Section 3, Paragraph A, shall not be eligible to vote or hold office.

SECTION 4 - REGIONS

The Association is comprised of four regions, which shall be constituted as follows:

The boundaries of the four regions may be changed to better accommodate the membership.  Each region may hold conferences or engage in cooperative activities as determined by the states in the region.

Any state wishing to change regional affiliation is requested to petition the Executive Board at least sixty (60) days prior to the annual business meeting.

ARTICLE II

OFFICERS

SECTION 1 - GENERAL

The Association shall have a Board of Officers who are elected from the membership by members in attendance at the annual business meeting.  Officers to be as follows:

President - Vice President - Treasurer

SECTION 2 - ORDER OF ASCENSION

In the event of any vacancy in the elected officers, the vacancy shall be filled according to ascension.  The order of ascension shall be as listed in Article II, Section 1.  Any remaining officer vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the President, with the concurrence of the Executive Board.  The appointment shall be for the duration of the current term, subject to new election at the next annual business meeting.

Should any member of the board be reassigned to another position within their state during their term of office, they shall be allowed to complete their term and ascension to the presidency, provided that they meet the following requirements.

• They remain employed by the state that their current membership was held in and remain in a management position with the state information technology sector.
• They meet the membership requirements for Associate membership.
• They obtain a letter of support from the state delegate as defined in Article I, Section 3, Paragraph A (State Membership) and their immediate supervisor.
• Their ascension is confirmed by the membership at the next annual business meeting.

The stipulation from Article I, Section 3, Paragraph B prohibiting the eligibility to vote or hold office shall be waived.

SECTION 3 - ELECTION

The election of Officers shall take place during the annual business meeting of the Association.  Election shall take place at a regularly scheduled business session, and shall be determined by a simple majority of ballots cast.  In the event of two or more candidates for the same office, a secret ballot will be used.  In the event of more than two candidates for a particular office, should a simple majority not be determined, a run-off between the two candidates who received the greatest number of votes will be conducted.  After election of the full Board, offices will be filled by order of ascension as indicated in Article II, Section 2 with a new Secretary/Treasurer elected annually by the membership at the annual business meeting.

SECTION 4 - TERMS OF OFFICE

The President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer shall serve for one year, shall be installed at the annual conference and shall serve through the next annual conference.

SECTION 5 - EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board of the Association shall be constituted from the Officers established under Article II, Section 1, a representative from each region and the Immediate Past President.  The duties and responsibilities of the members of the Executive Board are described in the Association's Policies and Procedures.

The Executive Board is responsible for managing and directing the operation of the Association and performing such duties as may be required during the year for the benefit of the entire membership.  These duties include, but are not limited to, forming committees, establishing cooperative agreements with other organizations and contracting on behalf of the Association.  The Executive Board is also responsible for developing an annual budget and fee schedule to be presented to the membership at the annual business meeting.

The Executive Board shall implement and maintain a set of operational Policies and Procedures for the purpose of management control of the various activities of the Association.  These policies and procedures shall provide guidance to the Executive Board and to the membership on various Association programs and services.

ARTICLE III

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SECTION 1 - PLACE AND DATE

The annual conference shall be held in a place and date as determined by the President in consultation with the Executive Board.  No meeting of the association shall be held with less than a thirty (30) day advance notice to the entire membership.

SECTION 2 - QUORUM OF THE MEMBERSHIP

A quorum of the membership shall be defined as the membership present at the annual conference.

SECTION 3 - CONFERENCE ORDER

The President shall preside over the annual conference. In his absence, the next ranking officer shall preside.  The meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

SECTION 4 - VOTING

All voting shall be conducted on a basis of one vote per state, present at the annual business meeting.  A majority shall prevail.

ARTICLE IV

AMENDMENTS

SECTION 1 - PROCEDURE

The constitution and/or Bylaws of this Association may be amended only by a majority vote of an annual conference quorum as defined in Article III, Section 2.