By-laws of the Staff Senate
George Mason University

ARTICLE I
DUTIES OF OFFICERS, SENATORS, AND NON-VOTING MEMBERS

• The Chair Shall:
• Preside at all regular and special meetings.
• Enforce all regulations and policies.
• Preside over the Executive Committee.
• Prepare the organizational chart of the Staff Senate.
• Submit the budget for approval to the Staff Senate at the July regular meeting each year.
• Call special meetings.
• Prepare an agenda for the Staff Senate Secretary to distribute to the Staff Senators and Non-voting Members of the Staff Senate seven days prior to the next regular meeting.
• Authorize disbursement of funds with the recommendation of the Treasurer.
• Designate chairs of the Standing Committees as appropriate.
• Establish ad hoc committees as approved by the Staff Senate, appoint members and designate chairs of these committees as appropriate.
• Perform other such duties as associated with this office.
• Supervise the delegate to recording secretary as needed.

• The Vice Chair shall:
• Preside in the absence of the Chair.
• Serve as the principle assistant to the Chair.
• Serve as the legislative liaison on the University and State levels to the Chair.
• Fulfill any term vacated by the Chair.
• Perform other such duties as associated with this office.

• The Treasurer shall:
• Make authorized disbursements of funds with approval of the Chair.
• Both the Chair and the Treasurer shall sign all checks.
• Perform other such duties as required by this office.

• The Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the Chair and will advise the Chair on parliamentary procedures, in accordance with policies and procedures stated in the By-laws and Constitution.

• The Staff Senators shall:
• Uphold the mission of the Staff Senate.
• Sign and abide by the Confidentiality Agreement.
• Vote on matters brought before the Staff Senate.
• Serve on University Committees, when appointed.
• Be full-time, permanent part-time classified, or non-student wage employee.
• Represent classified and non-student wage employees from their respective locations.
• Seek opinions of those in various departments on pertinent matters concerning the Staff Senate.
• Be accountable to the Staff Senate, constituents, and others with whom the Senate works.
• Establish lines of communication with staff in their respective location in the most suitable manner as decided by the Senators.
• Attend monthly Staff Senate general meetings, standing committee meetings, university committee meetings, and ad hoc committee meetings when assigned.
• Notify the Chair of a pending absence from any Staff Senate meeting, stating the reason.  (Example:  out of office, workload, supervisor disapproval, no longer interested, etc.)
• At the discretion of the Staff Senate Executive Committee, receive notice of violation when any of the above assigned duties have consistently not been met.  With unresolved violations, the Staff Senator will be asked to resign.

ARTICLE II
ELECTIONS

• Nominations:
• The Policies and Elections Committee, in preparation for a General Election, will request nominations for new Staff Senators at all campuses by the last business day of February of each year.
• The Policies and Elections Committee, in preparation for a Special Election, will request nominations for new Staff Senators by the last business day of September of each year in which a Special Election is required.
• Only classified and non-student wage employees of George Mason University who are scheduled to complete a one-year probationary period before the conclusion of the nomination period for a given Senate election shall be eligible to submit and/or receive nominations for that election.
  3a. For a classified employee, the probationary period shall be satisfied upon the employee’s successful completion of the University’s standard one-year probationary period.
  3b. For a non-student wage employee in good standing, the one-year period shall be satisfied upon the employee’s 365th calendar day of employment at the University.
  
• Should a non-student wage employee with one year of service at Mason change their employment status from non-student wage to classified, the one year probationary period as a classified staff member shall be waived for the purposes of Staff Senate election rules (i.e. this employee will be eligible to nominate a candidate or run for a Staff Senate seat themselves even though they are in a one year probationary period as a new classified employee.)
  
• Each nominee's employment status and length of employment as either a classified or non-student wage employee will be verified by the Staff Senate in consultation with Human Resources/Payroll.

• The Election Process:
• Beginning mid-March, ballots will be distributed via e-mail to all staff and campus mail to departments that have staff who do not have access to e-mail.
• Completed ballots will be returned to the Chair of the Policies and Elections Committee by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of March.  If the Chair of the Policies and Elections Committee is up for re-election, then the ballots will be returned to another member of the Committee as designated by the Chair of the Staff Senate.
• A special meeting will be held by the Policies and Elections Committee on the first day immediately following the close of the election in order to determine the outcome of the election.  If a member of the Policies and Elections Committee is on the ballot, then he/she may not participate in the counting of ballots.
• The Policies and Elections Committee will notify the new senators by phone or e-mail immediately following the ballot count.  An announcement will be sent via the Staff Senate listserv and Mason e-files once all new Senators have been notified.  This shall occur no later than April 1st.
• All newly elected senators will assume their senate responsibilities beginning July 1st.
• In the event of a tie, a special election between the candidates in question will be held immediately following the regular election.

• Special Elections:
• Special elections will be held as needed every October to fill vacancies.
• If there is a tie between candidates during the annual election, then the Policies and Elections Committee will hold a special election.
• Special Elections will follow the procedures of the regular elections except as otherwise stated in the By-laws and Constitution of the Staff Senate.

• Orientation for New Senators:
• Each year, orientation will be held for new Senators before their official term begins on July 1st.  Orientation will be coordinated by the Communications and Outreach Committee.
• Orientation will be facilitated by the Chair.
• Required areas for discussions include Constitution, By-laws, Senator responsibilities, signature of Confidentiality Agreement, Senate mission and assignment to a Standing Committee.

• Elections for Officers:
• During the April general meeting, active Senators will be asked to submit nominations for Chair, Vice Chair, and Treasurer.  Only Senators who have served at least one year are eligible to run for election.
• The nominations will be submitted by e-mail or in writing to the Chair of the Policies and Elections Committee before the May meeting.
• The Policies and Elections Committee will prepare the ballots for distribution to Senators who are eligible to vote during the May meeting.  The election will be held either at the May meeting or by e-mail if there are not enough Senators to attend the May meeting.  The results will be tallied during the May meeting or tallied before the May meeting if the vote is put to e-mail.
• Those elected will not assume their position until July 1st.

ARTICLE III
COMMITTEES

• Executive Committee:
• Screens proposals from staff for Staff Senate consideration.
• Acts on behalf of the Staff Senate between regular meetings.  All such actions shall be reported for confirmation at the next Staff Senate meeting.
• Approves by majority vote, initial composition, changes and additions to the membership of Standing Committees as recommended by the Chair.
• Implements the rules and regulations of the Staff Senate.
• Assists in interpreting the intent of the Staff Senate Constitution and By-laws.
• Determines if a Senator's absence from a regular meeting is excused.
• Assists the Chair in preparing the budget.
• Meets at least once a month prior to the regular Staff Senate meeting.
• Designates the chair of the By-law Review Committee each even-numbered year by December 31st.
• Members of Executive Committee shall be Staff Senate Officers, all Standing Committee chairs and co-chairs.

• Standing Committees:
• General Guidelines:
• Members of Standing Committees shall be appointed by the Chair and approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.  The Chair will also designate a chair for each Standing Committee.
• Unless requested by the Senator, membership on a Standing Committee shall not change for the Senator's term of office.
• Each member of the Staff Senate shall serve on at least one Standing Committee.
• Minutes shall be kept for each Standing Committee meeting.  Each Standing Committee will also submit an annual report of its activities and any pending matters to the Executive Committee at the June Executive Committee meeting.
• The scope of the responsibilities of the Standing Committees shall be established.
• Standing Committees shall establish goals, objectives, and priorities.  They have authority to investigate, carry out activities necessary to perform their charges, prepare reports, offer recommendations, and make parliamentary motions to the Staff Senate and University community.
• Standing Committee may establish subcommittees to address specific issues as needed.  Membership of subcommittees shall consist of members of the respective Standing Committee.  Chairs of subcommittees shall be appointed by the chair of the respective Standing Committee.
• Standing Committee chairs shall convene their committees no less frequently than once a month unless approved by the Executive Committee.
• At the end of each term, each Committee chair shall provide to the respective incoming chair appropriate information to facilitate continuity (e.g., responsibilities, goals, unfinished business, and past and pending parliamentary motions).
• Each Committee chair shall appoint a co-chair.

• Policies and Elections Committee - Primary Responsibilities:
• Serves as a link between the Staff Senate and the Human Resources Department, University Administration, Faculty/Student Senates, and the Commonwealth of Virginia on staff-related matters.
• Serves as a resource to staff in obtaining information on matters of staff concern.
• Drafts, implements, and monitors Standard Operating Procedures.
• Coordinates the Staff Senate election process.  This Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Staff Senate Constitution and By-laws are followed when electing Staff Senate members and officers.
• Composes a list of nominations for Staff Senate officers, as needed.
• Monitors elections of Senators by location and oversees voting on proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-laws of the Staff Senate.

• Communication and Outreach Committee - Primary Responsibilities:
• Disseminates information about the Staff Senate to the University community in print and/or electronic form to include staff newsletter, Staff Senate website, and staff listserv.
• Plans and coordinates outreach activities
• Fulfills communication needs of the Staff Senate as requested by the Chair or Executive Committee.
• Plans and coordinates all information session activities.  This includes preparing agenda, distributing and tabulating evaluations, and reporting back to the Staff Senate on information sessions held each semester for each location.
• Ensures that each location has a coordinator to facilitate information sessions and reports back to the committee.
• Communicates with other Standing Committees to ensure that information distributed at information and orientation sessions is correct and approved by the Staff Senate.

ARTICLE IV
MEETINGS

• Regular meetings of the Staff Senate shall be held on the third Thursday of each month.  Occasional changes to this schedule shall be addressed by the Executive Committee.
• The Staff Senate shall invite the President of the University to meet with the Staff Senate at least once each academic year.
• A quorum at all Staff Senate meetings shall be a majority of the total eligible voting Staff Senate membership.
• All meetings shall be opened to the public unless the Staff Senate approves a motion to enter into executive session.  A person who is not a Staff Senate member may not participate in discussion unless recognized by the Chair of the Staff Senate.

ARTICLE V
PROCEDURES
Staff employees may submit items to any Senator for inclusion in the agenda of the next regular Staff Senate meeting.  A Senator wishing to have an item(s) included on the agenda of a regular meeting may submit the item(s) to the Chair of the Staff Senate.  Items need to be submitted to the Chair two weeks prior to the regular meeting.  The Chair shall then decide whether items should be included on the next regular meeting agenda or passed to the appropriate Standing Committee.

ARTICLE VI
ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
The By-laws of the Staff Senate may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Staff Senators at any regular or special meeting, provided that the proposed amendments are conveyed to the members of the Executive Committee at least ten days in advance of the meeting in which they are to be acted upon.  An amendment must have the Chair's signature to become adopted.

ARTICLE VII
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

As a Staff Senator, I agree:

To respect the privacy of all staff members and business matters held by the Staff Senate that are deemed confidential.

To respect the privacy of all organizations and officials who are directly involved in situations that are deemed confidential by the Staff Senate.

To excuse myself from any business matters conducted by the Staff Senate that are conflicts of interest.

Breach of Agreement Due Process:

If a complaint of a breach of confidentiality is presented to the Staff Senate, then the following process will be followed:

• The Executive Committee will interview the Senator(s) involved.
• The Senator(s) in question, as well as all parties affected by the breach, will have the right and opportunity to respond to the complaint.
• The Executive Committee will convene to respond and recommend a course of action.  Recommendations may include dismissal from the Senate by a majority vote of the Senate.
• The Chair will write a letter containing recommendations for action to the involved Senator(s) before they are presented to the full Senate.
• This process will be considered confidential business of the Staff Senate.

I, ____________________________________,
have read and understand this agreement.

____________________________________
Signature

_______________________
Date

APPENDIX TO BY-LAWS

THEMATIC APPROACH
MISSION STATEMENT
(June 16, 2005)

• Thematic Approach is a strategy for coalescing the resources of the Staff Senate in order to address an issue which specifically benefits classified and non-student wage staff, but which may impact the Mason community as a whole.
• It is a strategy for highlighting the effectiveness of the Staff Senate.
• This approach does not prohibit the Staff Senate from addressing other issues.
• This approach will be an advocacy tool, as well as an outreach opportunity.

• July: Discussion among all Staff Senator about possible themes/issues.

• August: Executive Committee meets with senior administrators to learn about overlapping issues.

• September: EC presents one or more possible themes to full Staff Senate for vote.

• October: Senators given specific tasks to handle aspects/areas of theme.

• January: Market this month’s meeting as a town hall gathering for all staff to attend for update on theme.
• April: Attempt resolution and finalization of theme.