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Bylaws
of the
Society for Universal Immortalism
(ratified on 2004-08-18)
Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the "Society for Universal Immortalism", abbreviated as the "Society".
Article II: Object
Section 1
The Object of the Society shall be Universal Immortalism.
Section 2
The principles of Universal Immortalism are described in a
separate document, "The Beliefs of the Society for Universal
Immortalism ," abbreviated as the "Beliefs." The Beliefs may
be amended annually by the Voters of the Society by a two-thirds vote. Voters are expected to endorse the Beliefs as
working hypotheses; complete agreement with the Beliefs is
not required for Voter status.
Section 3
The Society declares and affirms its special responsibility
to promote the full participation of persons in all of its
activities and in the full range of human endeavor without
regard to sex, gender, affectional or sexual orientation,
race, color, national origin, disability, or age.
Article III: Voters
Section 1
Voting privilege or Voter status in the Society shall be
limited to persons with a bona fide interest in promoting
the Object of the Society. There shall be no fees required
for Voter status. The names of Voters of the Society shall
be public.
Section 2
A person may apply for Voter status in the Society by making
a request to the Secretary. Approval by a two-thirds vote of
the current Voters is required for an applicant to become a
Voter. An applicant must be a suspension member at the time
of the vote. An applicant may be disqualified before or
during the vote if any Board member objects on the grounds
that the suspension membership of the applicant cannot be
verified. Voter status is considered to terminate if at any
time the Voter's suspension membership has lapsed and been
inactive or could not be verified for more than thirty days,
except that the Board, by a two-thirds vote, may override
this provision and extend the Voter status in a specified
manner. The Board also reserves the right to revoke a Voter
status by a two-thirds vote if, in its view, the continuance
of the Voter status would constitute an unacceptable threat
to the organization.
Section 3
Any Voter desiring to resign his/her Voter status in the
Society may do so at any time for any reason. A Voter may
resign from Voter status by notifying the Secretary.
Article IV: Associates
Section 1
Associate status in the Society shall be limited to persons
with a bona fide interest in promoting the Object of the
Society. There shall be no fees required for Associate
status. The names of Associates of the Society shall be made
public.
Section 2
Associates will be able to partake in all Society activities
and services except for those explicitly prohibited by the
Bylaws. Associates are not eligible to cast votes in
measures brought before the Society, nor are they eligible
to serve as Board members or Officers of the Society.
Section 3
A person may apply for Associate status in the Society by
making a request to the Secretary. Approval by a two-thirds
vote of the current Voters is required for an applicant to
become an Associate. An applicant who is not a suspension
member, or whose suspension membership cannot be verified,
must sign and return the "Declaration of Intent to be
Cryopreserved" to the Secretary. The Board reserves the
right to revoke an Associate's status by a two-thirds vote
if, in its view, the continuance of the Associate's status
would constitute an unacceptable threat to the organization.
Section 4
Any Associate desiring to resign his/her Associate status in
the Society may do so at any time for any reason. An
Associate may resign from Associate status by notifying the
Secretary.
Article V: Officers
Section 1
Only Voters may serve as Officers. The Officers of the
Society shall be a President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these
Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the
Society.
Section 2
Nominations for the regular elections will be accepted by
the Secretary in November. Any Voter may nominate candidates
for office. Regular elections will be held during December.
Special elections may be held at any time to fill office
vacancies. A regular term of office coincides with the
calendar year.
Article VI: Celebrants
Section 1
Celebrants will have the responsibility and duty to perform
ritualistic ceremonies on behalf of the Society's members
(Voters), associates, and others who may desire them. These ceremonies
will include, but not be limited to, births, weddings/unions,
cryonic suspensions, funerals/memorials, and eventual reanimations.
A celebrant will also serve as a knowledgeable and informed
ambassador of the Beliefs of the Society.
Section 2
To serve in the position of Celebrant, an applicant must be
a Voter of the Society for at least one year prior to applying, and
must submit a request to the Secretary. An applicant must also
have read a list of required reading, as specified by the Society, and
must write a public essay demonstrating both knowledge of the Society's
Beliefs and other qualifications for becoming a Celebrant. Approval
by a two-thirds vote of the current Voters is required for an
applicant to become a Celebrant.
Section 3
Celebrants will serve in their position for a term of life.
There is no limit to the number of Celebrants that may serve at any
one time. Celebrants may resign their position at any time by
submitting a request to the Secretary. Such resignation need not affect
their status as Voters in the Society. However, if a Celebrant
loses the status of Voter, the status of Celebrant is also terminated.
Article VII: Voting
Section 1
The Society is organized as a direct democracy of its
Voters.
Section 2
The announcements mailing list polling mechanism shall be
used to vote. A question before the Society shall be open
for voting until all of the Voters have voted or explicitly
abstained or until two weeks have passed. No minimum quorum
will be required as long as the minimum polling period of
two weeks has elapsed.
Section 3
The Secretary shall verify the credentials of the Voters and
announce the results of a vote. The vote of a Voter on a
question shall be public.
Section 4
The approval voting method shall be used for all questions
with three or more choices including elections. In all
elections, "none of the above" shall be listed as an
alternative to the listed candidates.
Article VIII: Board of Directors
Section 1
The Officers of the Society shall constitute the Board of
Directors.
Section 2
The Board of Directors shall have general supervision of the
affairs of the Society, make recommendations to the Society,
and shall perform such other duties as are specified in
these Bylaws. The Board shall be subject to the orders of
the Society, and none of its acts shall conflict with action
taken by the Society.
Section 3
The Board of Directors may meet at any time and may conduct
business by any mode of communication.
Article IX: Committees
Section 1
When feasible, a Finance Committee composed of the Treasurer
and four other Voters shall be appointed by the President
promptly after regular elections. It shall be the duty of
this committee to prepare a budget and to submit it to the
Society. The Finance Committee may from time to time submit
amendments to the budget, which may be adopted by a majority
vote.
Section 2
When feasible, a Program Committee of five Voters shall be
appointed by the President promptly after regular elections,
whose duty it shall be to plan the annual program of the
Society. This committee's report shall be submitted to the
Society for its approval.
Section 3
When feasible, an Auditing Committee of three Voters shall
be appointed by the President at the end of the fiscal year,
whose duty it shall be to audit the accounts of the
Treasurer at the close of the fiscal year and to report to
the Society.
Section 4
Such other committees, standing or special, shall be
appointed by the President as the Society or the Board of
Directors shall from time to time deem necessary to carry on
the work of the Society. The President shall be ex officio a
member of all committees.
Article X: Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules
of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases
to which they are applicable and in which they are not
inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of
order the Society may adopt.
Article XI: Amendment of Bylaws
These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote.
Article XII: Assets
Section 1
The disbursement of Society assets shall require a two-
thirds vote.
Section 2
Voters shall publicize related actual or potential conflicts
of interest prior to a vote on the disbursement of Society
assets.
Section 3
The Society shall not compensate Voters for their services
to the Society.
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