by VP Don Selle

Due to several factors including the effects of Harvey causing the cancellation of our September meeting and the temporary suspension of publication of The GuideStar, this email and other communications will act as notice to the HAS membership of proposed changes to the bylaws of the organization which will be voted on at our Annual Meeting to be held Friday November 3 2017 and U of H.

A quorum of the HAS BOD has voted unanimously to recommend that the Membership of HAS vote to adopt the following four proposed amendments to the bylaws described below. The full text of the amendments may be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v73yhdt6flbnjzt/By-Laws%20Amendments%20Rev%202.docx?dl=0

1. DUES.  Delegate to the BOD the authority to set the dues provided that the membership is given at least 60 days prior notice of a possible change, and at least 30 days prior notice of the date time of the BOD meeting where a change in dues will be considered by the board.
2. Quorum and Voting. Due to the growth of the membership of HAS, obtaining a quorum at the annual meeting where our officers directors and committee chairpersons are elected and other business of HAS is decided has been very uncertain. The current bylaws require 10% of the members attend the annual meeting in order for any vote of the membership to be valid. The proposed amendment lowers the quorum requirement to 5% of the membership, and establishes the possibility of having the membership vote electronically, provided that the BOD establishes voting procedures that meet minimum requirements
3. Number of Directors. In order to increase the participation of the membership in the running of HAS, the third bylaw amendment, if adopted, will increase the number of Directors to seven (7) from the current five (5), with one of the Directors being a Student Member under 21 years of age. 
4. BOD Meeting Attendance by Electronic Means.  Online meetings have become a well established means of doing business. In order to allow the HAS BOD to conduct valid on line meetings, Texas law require that our bylaws authorize such meetings. The proposed bylaw amendment does that and complies with State Law.

For your reference, the current Bylaws can be found here: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/content/bylaws

All members are encouraged to post questions or comments about the proposed amendments on the HAS website Forums. The topics will be monitored and questions answered. Provided you are first logged into the website, you will be able to access these Forum Topics in the Space Station V (lounge) Forum Area using these links:

1. Dues. https://www.astronomyhouston.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=819
2. Quorum and Voting. https://www.astronomyhouston.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=820
3. Directors. https://www.astronomyhouston.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=821
4. Electronic BOD Meetings. https://www.astronomyhouston.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=822