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• Creating Chapter Bylaws

• Chapter Accountability Standards
• Installing Officers

The structure of any association begins with bylaws and/or articles of incorporation. AORN's bylaws include the criteria for membership; definitions regarding dues, officers, and official publications; descriptions of elections, nominations, terms of office, committees, association meetings; and the procedure for amending the bylaws.

Additionally, each AORN chapter approves and is governed by chapter bylaws. Chapter bylaws must be consistent with those of the national organization. Articles II, III, XI, and XII of the National Bylaws cannot be amended and must be adopted by the chapter as stated. All other sections of the bylaws may be amended to meet the individual needs of the chapter. To clarify what is required versus what can be amended for your chapter, you may want to reorganize your chapter bylaws according to the recommended format entitled "2009-2010 Chapter Bylaws Guidelines." This format has two separate sections; part one includes the articles and wording that is consistent with the National bylaws and requirements of chapter standards and part two includes the articles that your chapter can amend.

The chapter bylaws should be supplemented by a "Chapter Policy and Procedure Manual" to provide information on day-to-day operations. To determine whether an item should be a part of the bylaws or written as a policy, think about the process necessary to amend the bylaws. Policy changes can generally be made faster than bylaws changes, which facilitates chapter management functions. As a rule of thumb, detail items that are tempting to include in your bylaws, but are not included in the "2009-2010 Chapter Bylaws Guideline," should be included in the policy book.

Procedure for Chapter Bylaws Review
The chapter Bylaws Committee should review the chapter bylaws to ensure the content is currently being practiced by chapter leaders and make recommendations to bring the chapter into compliance with the bylaws. All bylaw changes must be sent to the membership at least 30 days before the changes will be voted on.

Bylaws should be reviewed annually. Assistance in amending or writing bylaws is available through the Chapter Relations Coordinator at Ext. 222.