Section 1.1 - This Charter is granted by the Board of District 6, Institute of Transportation Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the District, as authorized by and consistent with the charter and bylaws of the District, as authorized by the Constitution of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the Institute.

Section 1.2 - This Charter supersedes any previous charter or constitution of a Section enrolling members of the designated geographical area, and shall take precedence and/or annul any by-laws of such a Section which may be in conflict with this Charter.

The function of this Section shall be the furtherance of the goals of the Institute, the fostering of closer association of Institute members in Washington State, the encouragement of members to prepare or discuss papers, to confer and suggest as to matters of policy, to study transportation engineering problems in the area or locality, to cooperate with other professional groups in the area or locality on matters of common interest, and to encourage and support transportation engineering education in technical colleges within the state.

Section 4.1 - The membership of the Section shall consist of Fellows, Members, Associate Members, Student Members, Honorary members, and Affiliate Members of the Institute, along with local Section Affiliates (members that do not hold Institute member privileges).  Membership in the Section shall be open only to residents of the State of Washington, except the Executive Board may allow non-residents to have membership on an exception basis.

Section 4.2 - All Section members and affiliates shall share equally in the privileges and obligations of membership, with the following exceptions:  Student Members may not vote nor hold elective office in the Section; and, Section Affiliates may vote, but may not hold elective office in the Section.

Section 4.3 - Membership in the section shall be granted upon application in writing to the Section Secretary and payment of dues.  Annual dues for the Section shall be established by a majority vote of the Sections’ membership eligible to vote as defined in Section 4.2 of this Charter.

Section 5.1 - Elective officers of this Section shall consist of the President, Vice President/Treasurer, and Secretary.  The President will serve as Section chairman.  The order of command from the President will be through the Vice President/Treasurer and then to the Secretary.

Section 5.2 - The terms of the elective officers and the method of election shall be as specified in the Bylaws.

Section 6.1 - The government of the Section shall be vested in the Executive Board, consisting of the President, Vice President/Treasurer, Secretary, and the immediate Past President.

Section 6.2 - The Executive Board shall meet upon call of the President and at such times as may be necessary.

A report of the activities of the Section will be prepared and submitted annually to the Institute, District President, or other official designate.

Section 8.1 - Proposals to amend this Charter or the Section Bylaws may be made by either a unanimous vote of the Executive Board, or by written petition signed by at least twenty members.

Section 8.2 - This Charter or the Section Bylaws shall be amended only after the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing to the Executive Board of the Section at least thirty days in advance of the meeting at which action is proposed.  All members must be notified of a proposed amendment prior to the meeting.  Upon majority approval of the voting membership present at the announced meeting, the proposed amendment shall be placed on a written ballot, with a ballot mailed to eligible voting members as soon thereafter as practical.  Such amendment shall be considered favored by the Section only upon affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the members returning ballots within 21-days of the date when the ballots were initially mailed.

Section 8.3 - All Charter amendments must be filed with and approved by the Executive Board of the District before becoming effective.  All Bylaw amendments must be filed with and reviewed and found to have no exceptions taken by the Executive Board of the District before becoming effective.

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Section 1.1 - These Bylaws supersede any previous bylaws established by the Washington State Section, Institute of Transportation Engineers, hereinafter referred to as the Section, and shall become effective upon filing with the Executive Board of District 6, Institute of Transportation Engineers (hereinafter referred to as the District, and the Institute respectively).

Section 2.1 - Membership in the Section shall be granted upon application in writing to the Section Secretary along with payment of annual dues.  Membership in the Section shall be open only to residents of the State of Washington except the Executive Board may allow non-residents to have membership on an exception basis.

Section 2.2 - The fiscal year of the Section shall be from January 1 to December 31.  Membership dues for each fiscal year shall be due and payable on January 1 of that year.  Any person admitted to membership during the last quarter of the year will not be subject to Section dues for that fiscal year.

Section 2.3 - Annual membership dues to the Section will be waived for Student Members who are a member of a student chapter of the Institute.  Student Members of the Section who are enrolled for a minimum of five credits of college level course work per quarter towards a transportation related degree will receive a 50% discount for meeting costs (including meals) as well as a 50% discount in registration fees for short courses offered by the Section.

Section 3.1 - The terms of the elective officers shall be approximately one year beginning on July 1, or immediately following the Section’s annual meeting.

Section 3.2 - Approximately ninety days prior to the annual meeting of the Section a nominating committee of two Section members (preferably past presidents) who are not current officers shall be appointed by the immediate Past President, who shall also serve as the committee chair.  The nominating committee shall select candidates for each office.  No nominee shall be included in the official list of candidates unless the nominating committee has obtained their written or verbal consent to run for the office for which they have been nominated.  Approximately five weeks prior to the Section’s annual meeting the official list of candidates will be presented to the membership.  Additional nominations by petition signed by at least twenty Section voting Members may be accepted if received at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting.  No more than three candidates per office will be placed on the ballot.

Section 3.3 - At or before the annual meeting, ballots returned by eligible voters to the immediate Past President shall be canvassed by three tellers appointed by the president, and the member receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared elected.  In case of a tie vote, a flip of the coin shall determine the winner.

Section 3.4 - Should any elective office become vacant before expiration of its term, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Executive Board.

Section 4.1 - No less than four meetings of the general membership shall be held in any fiscal year.  Only one annual meeting of the Section shall be held in any fiscal year, at a time and place approved by the Executive Board, and in general the annual meeting will be the last meeting of the Section prior to the District meeting of the Institute.

Section 4.2 - A report of the financial condition of the Section, and reports of the officers and committees shall be presented at each annual meeting.

Section 5.1 - The President may authorize committees charged with the consideration of such topics as the Executive Board may assign.  The President shall designate the chairperson and members of the committee who shall hold office until discharged, or their successors appointed.  The President of the Section shall be ex-officio, a member of all committees.

Section 5.2 - The President shall appoint a chairperson to fill the duties of Standing Committees and special committees as may be desirable.

Section 6.1 - The President shall preside at all meetings of the Section, shall appoint chairpersons for each committee, and shall perform all other duties ordinarily required of a President.

Section 6.2 - The Vice President/Treasurer shall, in the absence or incapability of the President, perform the duties of that office.  The Vice President/Treasurer shall be Program Chairman, responsible for the program for Section meetings.  He/She shall assist the President in coordinating activities of the Section and shall accept such duties as the president designates.  The Vice President/Treasurer shall collect and by custodian of all funds of the Section, shall pay out funds when properly approved by the President and shall keep an itemized account of receipts and expenditures and shall perform all other duties ordinarily required of a Vice President and a Treasurer.

Section 6.3 - The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Section meetings, shall keep a complete role of membership, shall handle necessary correspondence, shall submit to the Editor of Western ITE each month a summary of meetings, technical sessions, and Section and member activities, and shall perform all other duties ordinarily required of a Secretary.

Section 6.4 - The immediate Past President shall provide guidance to the other Executive Board members, shall serve as the Chairperson of both the nominating committee and the awards committee, and shall accept other duties as the President designates.

Section 6.5 - The Executive Board shall develop, routinely update, and officially adopt an expanded list of the duties and responsibilities of all officers and of all standing committees and their chairpersons.