BY—LAWS

 

MISSISSIPPI STATE COUNCIL

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS[1]

 

ARTICLE I

NAME AND JURISDICTION

 

This organization shall be known as the Mississippi State Council, Knights of Columbus, and its jurisdiction shall be co-extensive with the boundaries of the State of Mississippi.

 

 

ARTICLE II

LEGISLATIVE POWERS

 

The State Council shall have power to enact and enforce all laws necessary and proper for its government and for the government of its subordinate councils, but no such laws shall be valid if the same shall be in conflict with the Constitution and Laws of the Order.

 

 

ARTICLE III

MEETINGS OF THE STATE COUNCIL

 

Section 1: The Mississippi State Council, Knights of Columbus, shall be convened annually between the first day of April, to and including the first day of June in each year. The date of said annual meeting shall be determined by the State Deputy. The regular notice of such annual meeting shall be given to each subordinate council by the State Secretary at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed thereof.

 

Section 2: Place of Holding Annual Meetings: The State Council, in annual Convention assembled, may determine the place of holding the annual meeting, but upon its failure to so act, or upon the subsequent development that the city designated cannot hold the convention, then the State officers shall fix the place of such annual meeting.

 

Section 3: Purpose of Annual Meetings:  The State council, in Convention assembled, shall elect State Officers, delegates and alternates to the Supreme Convention, receive reports of State Officers and Committees, discuss and act upon the affairs of the Order in the State, adopt policies and programs for the good and welfare of the Order, and transact such other business and enact such laws, rules and regulations as may be consistent with the Constitution and Laws of the Order.

Section 4: Membership: The officers and members of the State Council shall be those provided for in the Constitution and Laws of the Order. Anyone not a member of the State Council will not have the privilege of the floor, unless by unanimous consent of the State Council meeting.

 

Section 5: Order of Business: The State Deputy shall call the State Council to order at 6:00 p.m. on the first day of the Convention and the following shall be included in the order of its business:

 

    1.      Call to order.
    2.    Confirming current membership cards.
    3.      Prayer by the Chaplain.
    4.    Reading of the minutes.
    5.    Announcement of personnel of convention committees.
    6.    Submission of Grand Knights’ reports of the activities of their councils.
    7.      Report of committee on credentials.
    8.    Reading of communications.
    9.      Report of State Chaplain.
    10.    Report of State Deputy.
    11.    Report of State Secretary.
    12.    Report of State Treasurer.
    13.    Report of State Advocate.
    14.    Reports of District Deputies.
    15.    Report of Committee on Resolutions.
    16.    Reports of other committees.
    17.    Election of State Officers, delegates and alternates to Supreme Convention.
    18.    Selection of convention city.
    19.    Unfinished business.
    20.    New business.
    21.    Prayer by the Chaplain.
    22.    Adjournment.

 

Section 6: Committees: The State Deputy shall appoint the following convention committees:

 

1.   On Credentials – to consist of at least 3 members of which the State Secretary shall be a member and chairman.

 

2.   On Mileage and Per Diem – to consist of at least 3 members, of which the State Treasurer shall be a member and chairman.

 

3.   On Resolutions – to consist of 5 members, which shall include the State Advocate as a member and chairman, and shall include, when practicable, 2 or more Past State Deputies, one of which shall be the immediate Past State Deputy.

 

4.   On Audit – to audit the accounts of the State Treasurer, to consist of at least 3 members.

 

5.   All other committees of which provisions have been duly and regularly made, or which may be deemed necessary to facilitate the work of the convention.

 

Section 7: State Deputy to Preside: The State Deputy shall preside at all sessions of the State Council, and shall be ex-officio, a member of all committees thereof, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the State Council and the Constitution and Laws of the Order. 

 

Section 8: All sessions of the State Council shall be conducted in the third section.

 

Section 9: All State Officers, District Deputies, Grand Knights, and committees shall prepare their reports in typewritten form for submission to the State Secretary.

 

 

ARTICLE IV

PROCEEDINGS OF STATE COUNCIL

 

Section 1: State Secretary to Furnish Blanks: The State Secretary shall prepare and furnish to the Grand Knights of each subordinate council on or before the first day of March in each year credential blanks for the ensuing annual meeting of the State Council.

 

Section 2: Roll of Convention: The State Secretary shall prepare a roll containing the names of all delegates and alternates from the credential blanks presented to and filed with him, which said roll shall be compiled and delivered to the State Deputy prior to the first session of the State Council, and said roll shall constitute the roll of the State Council until the report of the credentials committee has been submitted and the permanent roll determined by the action of the State Council.

 

Section 3: Delinquent Assessments: Subordinate Councils failing to pay any assessments levied by the State Council or Supreme Council shall not be entitled to representation in the State Council until all such arrears are paid.

 

Section 4: The roll shall not be called to vote on any question other than an election, except upon the request of at least 1/3 of the delegates eligible to vote at the session, expressed by standing vote.

 

Section 5: Expenses of Delegates: The expenses of the State Officers, delegates, District Deputies, and Past State Deputies to the State Council meeting shall be determined by resolution at each State Council meeting for the ensuing annual meeting. Mileage figures, if applicable, will be based on figures furnished by the Mississippi State Highway Department.

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE V

POWERS AND DUTIES OF STATE OFFICERS

 

Section 1: State Deputy:  The State Deputy shall preside at all sessions of the State Council and shall appoint all of its committees, except as otherwise herein provided. He shall be the chief executive of the Order in the State and possess all the powers and perform all the duties prescribed by the laws and rules of the Order and by these by-laws. He shall countersign all checks drawn against the funds of the State Council, in the hands of the State Treasurer, and none of the moneys or funds of the State Council shall be otherwise disbursed. He shall have power to call meetings of State Officers and all Committees provided for by the State Council, the expenses thereof to be charged to the State Council on presentations of itemized statements, as in these by-laws provided, and he shall be ex-officio a member of all committees of the State Council.

 

Section 2: State Secretary:  The State Secretary shall keep a true and faithful record of the proceedings of the State Council. He shall issue a notice of all assessments levied by the State Council and do all things necessary and proper to secure due payment thereof to the State Treasurer. He shall report in writing at the annual meeting of the State Council, and shall perform such other and different duties as the State Council or the State Deputy may from time to time lawfully assign him, and shall furnish the Committee on Resolutions with such information as may be required by it pertaining to the laws and affairs of the State Council, as the same may be of record in his office. The State Secretary shall prepare a complete printed report of the proceedings of the annual meeting of the State Council, and a copy of said report shall be furnished to each State Officer, District Deputy, Committee Chairman and Grand Knight of the Mississippi jurisdiction on or about the following July 1st.

 

Section 3: State Treasurer:  The State Treasurer shall receive all moneys of the State Council and promptly deposit the same in the name of the Mississippi State Council, Knights of Columbus, in a depository designated by the State Officers, or a majority of them, and will promptly issue checks, countersigned by the State Deputy, in payment of accounts approved by the State Deputy.

 

Section 4: State Advocate:  The State Advocate shall be the legal advisor to the State Council on all matters involving questions of the law. It shall be the duty of the State Advocate, upon request, to advise the State Officers on all matters pertaining to the Constitution and Laws of the Order, and upon the constitutionality of any proposed law or resolution of the State Council.

 

Section 5: State Chaplain:  The State Chaplain shall conduct all religious exercises of the State Council and shall advise the State Council and the officers thereof on matters of religion and Catholic practice, and proposed resolutions or laws of the State Council involving such matters that shall be referred to him by the Resolutions Committee for his advice and counsel before same shall be referred to the convention. He shall make an annual report in writing to the State Council.

 

Section 6: State Warden:  The State Warden shall act as Warden of the State Council at all of its meetings and perform such further duties as may be lawfully required of him by the State Deputy and the State Council.

 

 

ARTICLE VI

STATE COUNCIL FINANCES

 

Section 1: Manner of Payment:  All checks, drafts, money orders, or other commercial paper or obligations of any kind or character owing to the State Council shall be made payable to the Mississippi State Council, Knights of Columbus, and all withdrawals of its funds from the authorized depository shall be in the name of Mississippi State Council, Knights of Columbus, by written check signed by the State Treasurer and countersigned by the State Deputy.

 

Section 2: Levying of Assessments:  The per capita assessment by the State Council shall operate upon the membership as of January 1st and July 1st of each year. On the January 1st assessment, the Councils shall be billed by the following February 1st and on the July 1st assessment, the Councils will be billed by the following August 1st and said assessments shall be based upon the membership figures furnished by the Supreme Council as of record on January 1st and July 1st of each year and shall be due and payable by February 28 and August 31. All other assessments levied by the State Council shall be due and payable sixty days after the date of levy, unless otherwise duly provided.

 

Section 3: State Council Expenses:  The State Treasurer is authorized to pay out of the general fund of the State Council all sums necessary to pay the appropriations authorized and made by the State Council, the expenses of the State Council meeting, the authorized expenses of officers and committees, and all other expenses duly authorized by the State Officers, but no such payment shall be made of any item of expense unless and until a properly itemized statement thereof shall be filed with the State Deputy.

 

Section 4: Per Capita Tax:  The per capita tax of the Mississippi State Council shall be the amount per member per year approved a the last State Council meeting on which a Per Capita Tax Resolution was adopted, payable one-half on August 1 each year based upon the membership figures of July 1 and the other one-half payable on February 1 each year based upon the membership figures of January 1 in accord with Section 118(c) and (d) of the Supreme Council by-laws, provided.  Inactive insurance members as described in Section 69(b) of the Charter Constitution and Laws of the Knights of Columbus will be assessed and credited State Per Capita Tax using the same procedure as does the Supreme Council with their per capita assessments and credits.  However, the Per Capita Tax may be changed by two thirds (2/3) vote of the State Council Meeting or as otherwise provided in these By-Laws.

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII

ELECTIONS

 

Section 1: Rules:  The election of the State Officers and delegates and alternates to the Supreme Convention shall be held in a manner to comply in all respects with the Constitution and Laws of the Order.

 

Section 2: Nominations:  All nominations of officers, delegates, and alternates shall be made from the floor. No nominating speech shall exceed 5 minutes unless a different rule be established by majority vote of the meeting. Second shall be limited to stating their name and council.

 

Section 3: Tellers:  Three tellers shall be appointed by the presiding officer to assist with the balloting. The counting of ballots shall be open to all duly qualified third degree members of the Mississippi jurisdiction.

 

Section 4: Unanimous Ballot:  When only one candidate is nominated for any office, the State Council may, upon proper motion, direct the State Secretary to cast a unanimous ballot for such candidate, without balloting.

 

Section 5: Order of Election:  The order of election shall be as follows:  State Deputy, State    Secretary, State Treasurer, State Advocate, State Warden, Delegates to the Supreme Convention, Alternates to said delegates.

 

Section 6: Manner of Conducting:  When the nominations shall have been closed for each state office, the names of the candidates for that office shall be written in large letters on the blackboard so as to be plainly legible to all delegates, and plain sheets of paper shall be distributed to each delegate with instructions to write thereon just one name, the choice of that delegate for that particular office. When the nominations for the delegates to the Supreme Convention shall have been closed, the names of all those so nominated shall be plainly written on the blackboard, and the delegates shall write on their ballot the exact number of names for the position to be filled, and shall cast the same in one ballot. The same procedure shall be followed in the election of alternates, who shall be designated in the order of their preference, according to the vote electing them, provided that only insurance alternates shall fill vacancies for insurance representatives.  Those candidates who receive the highest number of votes for the available insurance or associate delegate positions shall be elected to those respective positions, and those candidates achieving the next higher number of votes for those prime delegate positions shall be the alternate delegates.  In case of a tie vote, the State Deputy shall designate which one shall serve. In the selection of the convention city, the names of the cities that have invited the convention shall be written on the blackboard, and each delegate shall write on his plain ballot the name of one of these cities as his choice.

 

Section 7: Balloting:  Where a contest exists for any position to be filled, the voting shall in all cases be done by secret, written ballot. The balloting shall be done in the following manner. The State Secretary shall call, from the permanent roll of the State Council meeting, the names of those persons entitled to vote, and as each name is called, such member will deposit his ballot in the receptacle provided therefore.

 

Section 8: Majority:  In all cases of election to any State Office, a majority of all votes cast shall be necessary to elect. In the event there are more than two candidates for a single office, and a ballot fails to produce a majority for any candidate, written balloting shall continue with the candidate receiving the smallest vote on the preceding ballot being dropped from the following ballot until a candidate shall have received a majority of all votes cast.

 

Section 9: Who Shall Nominate:  Any member entitled to the floor at the State Council meeting may nominate a candidate for any office to be filled.

 

 

ARTICLE VIII

EMERGENCY PROVISION IN THE EVENT THE

STATE COUNCIL MEETING CANNOT BE HELD

 

In the event, by reason of law, government edict, war, or other proper cause, no annual meeting of the State Council is held in any year or succession of years, the following regulations shall apply to the functioning of the State Council until the next State Council meeting shall be held:

 

Section 1: All State Officers shall continue in office as if re-elected until their successors have been duly elected and qualified. Vacancies arising in State Offices shall be filled by a majority vote of the State Officers in meeting assembled, the person so elected to hold office for the balance of the term of the office he succeeds, and until his successor is elected and qualified.

 

Section 2: The state per capita tax set at the last State meeting shall remain in effect until the next State meeting is held, except as hereinafter provided.

 

Section 3: All annual appropriations provided for at the last State meeting shall be deemed renewed from year to year, except as hereinafter provided.

 

Section 4: All resolutions of the last State meeting directing the carrying on of any activity, or vesting an authority in a particular person or committee, shall be deemed renewed from year to year, except as hereinafter provided.

 

Section 5: To provide for conditions not anticipated at the last previous annual meeting, the State Officers are vested with the following powers affecting the forgoing provisions:

 

a.   They may adjust the state per capita tax from year to year, but may not exceed the tax set at the last annual meeting.

 

b.   They may reduce or eliminate the appropriations made for any committee or purpose, in accordance with changing conditions.

c.   They may create new committees needed to meet a need not anticipated at the last annual meeting.

 

Section 6: State Officers and Committee Chairmen shall continue to make their annual reports in writing, which shall be printed and a copy sent to each Council about July 1 of each year.

 

 

ARTICLE IX

 

Section 1: In the event authorization is needed to carry on the functions of the State Council which goes beyond the authority herein vested, the State Deputy shall submit a resolution covering the authority needed to all the Councils in the state. The adoption of such resolution by a majority of the Councils in the state shall have the same force and effect as if said resolution was adopted at a meeting of the State Council.

 

 

ARTICLE X

AMENDMENTS AND RULES OF ORDER

 

Section 1: Amendments: These by-laws or any part thereof, may be amended or repealed at any regular meeting of the State Council by a two-thirds vote of the persons qualified to vote at said meeting. Provided, however, that where notice of a proposed amendment to these by-laws shall have been given, by mail, to the Grand Knight of each subordinate Council in the Mississippi jurisdiction, at least 60 days prior to the date set for the opening of the annual meeting, the amendment covered by such notice may be adopted by a majority vote of the members qualified to vote at such meeting.

 

Section 2: Void By-laws: Severability: Any by-law, or portion thereof officially determined to be in conflict with the Constitution and Laws of our Order, shall be forthwith null and void. All provisions hereof not affected by such determination shall remain in full force and effect.

 

Section 3: Suspension of By-laws: Any of these by-laws may be suspended at any session of the State Council by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at the session in which the motion for suspension is made.

 

Section 4: Majority Vote: A majority of the members of the State Council shall constitute a quorum. Except where otherwise provided in these by-laws or by the Constitution and Laws of our Order, a majority vote of the members present at any annual meeting of the State Council shall prevail on any question.

 

Section 5: Robert’s Rules of Order: Except as otherwise provided herein and in the absence of a standing rule, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of the State Council.

 

Section 6: All previous by-laws and amendments are hereby repealed and revoked as of date of ratification of these by-laws by the State Council meeting.


[1] This is a re-codification of the original Mississippi State Council By-Laws dated April 1983 containing changes adopted by the State Council since that time, and submitted to and approved by Supreme.