ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGBIO

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics (SIGBio) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

  • 4/3/13

Article 1. Name and Scope.

  1. This organization will be called the Special Interest Group on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics (SIGBio) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. (the ACM).
  2. The scope of the SIGBio specialty is bioinformatics, computational biology and biomedical informatics.

Article 2. Purpose.

SIGBio is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational, scientific and technical purposes in its specialty. Its services will include:

  1. Collecting and disseminating information in the specialty through a newsletter and other publications approved by the Publications Board of the ACM;
  2. Organizing sessions at conferences of the ACM;
  3. Sponsoring conferences, symposia and workshops;
  4. Organizing working groups for education, research and development;
  5. Serving as a source of technical information for the Council and subunits of the ACM;
  6. Serving as an external technical representative of the ACM when authorized by the Council or the Executive Committee of the ACM; and
  7. Working with subunits of the ACM on technical activities such as lectureships or professional development seminars.

Article 3. Charter

SIGBio will exist until dissolved by the Council of the ACM as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.

Article 4. Officers

  1. SIGBio's officers are the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Secretary-Treasurer. The officers are elected for three-year terms beginning July 1 of election years.
  2. The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading SIGBio and managing its activities. The duties of the Chair are:
    1. Calling and presiding at SIGBio's Executive Committee and Business meetings;
    2. Conducting SIGBio's activities in accordance with the policies of the ACM; and
    3. Making all appointments and filling vacancies as authorized herein.
  3. The duties of the Vice-Chair are:
    1. Assisting the Chair in leading and managing SIGBio;
    2. Supervising the awards committee; and
    3. Presiding at meetings when the Chair is absent.
  4. The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer are:
    1. Maintaining the records and correspondence of SIGBio;
    2. Keeping and distributing the minutes of business and Executive Committee meetings of SIGBio; and
    3. Managing SIGBio's finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring SIGBio's disbursements for adherence to the annual budget, and preparing financial reports as required.

Article 5. The Executive Committee

  1. The Executive Committee comprises the officers, the Past Chair, the Editor of the Newsletter, and six elected Directors. No person may hold two positions on the Executive Committee.
  2. The general duties of the Executive Committee are to advise the Chair on all matters of interest to SIGBio. Specific duties or responsibilities may be specified in these bylaws or assigned by the Chair. All the major management policy decisions of SIGBio must be approved by the Executive Committee.
  3. All members of, or candidates for, the Executive Committee must be full Members of ACM and of SIGBio.

Article 6. Vacancies and Appointments.

  1. Should the Chair leave office before his/her term expires, the Vice-Chair will assume the duties of Chair. Should any other office or the position on the Executive Committee reserved for the Past Chair of SIGBio become vacant, the Chair of the SIG Governing Board may, on nomination of the Chair of SIGBio, fill the vacancy. The Chair may fill vacancies in appointed offices according to the procedures for making the original appointments as provided herein.
  2. Should a vacancy be unfilled, either because of inadequacy of these bylaws or because of a dispute or for any other reason, the SIG Board may fill it (as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM).
  3. All appointments expire automatically when the Chair's term of office expires. Appointees, however, will continue to serve until a successor is appointed by a new chair.

Article 7. The Newsletter

  1. SIGBio publishes a newsletter (SIGBioinformatics Record) at regular intervals as determined by the Executive Committee. The newsletter will be distributed to all SIGBio members. Newsletter subscriptions may be sold to non-members.
  2. With the advice of the other officers, the Chair will appoint the Editor of the newsletter.

Article 8. The Advisory Board

  1. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to allow members outside of the Executive Committee to participate in setting policy and direction for SIGBio. The Advisory Board will be chaired by the SIG Past Chair and will consist of at least six members appointed by the Chair for three year terms beginning July 1. The Chair will attempt to appoint two members from academia, two from business, and one from government.
  2. If the Chairperson steps-down before the end the term, a new Chair is selected by SIGBio Chair in consultation with the Advisory Board and Executive Committee members.

Article 9. Membership, Dues, and Voting Privileges.

  1. A person becomes a member only after enrolling and paying the required dues. The dues for SIGBio are determined by the SIGBio Executive Committee with the approval of the Chair of the SIG Board.
  2. All members of SIGBio may vote in any ballot conducted with SIGBio. On any ballot, the votes cast by non-ACM members of SIGBio will, if necessary, be prorated downward so that their effective total cannot exceed 50% of the eligible vote.

Article 10. Reports and Records.

The SIGBio Chair is responsible for filing reports about SIGBio as required by the SIG Board. These include:

  1. An annual report, due as specified by the SIG Governing Board, on the activities of SIGBio during the previous year;
  2. All reports required by the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM; and
  3. Closing reports on conferences and symposia (co) sponsored by SIGBio as required by the ACM.

The membership records of SIGBio will be maintained by ACM Headquarters.

Article 11. Elections.

  1. By September 30 of the year preceding each election year, if the SIG Governing Board has not exercised its option to extend the term of the SIG's current officers for an additional three years, the Chair will appoint a nominating committee which will propose at least two consenting candidates for the offices of Chair, vice-Chair and Secretary-Treasurer and at least eight candidates for the six Board of Director positions. The six candidates receiving the most votes will constitute the Board of Directors. The slate of candidates elected by the nominating committee must be presented to all SIGBio members by the following January 31.
  2. A petition from 1% of the voting members of SIGBio will place other consenting candidates on the ballot. Petitions must be received by the Secretary of SIGBio no later than March 15.
  3. The election will be conducted among eligible voters by ACM Headquarters by June 1, following the election procedures of the ACM, unless different procedures have been approved by the SIG Governing Board EC. Of all the ballots returned in an election, the candidates receiving the largest numbers of effective votes wins. The SIG Board will resolve ties.

Article 12. Amendments.

  1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the ACM Executive Committee, or by a vote of SIGBio members as provided below. With the approval of the SIGBio Executive Committee and the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all the members of the SIG Board may amend Article 1 of these Bylaws without a referendum of the members.
  2. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the SIGBio Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board EC, or a petition from 1% of the voting members of SIGBio. All proposed amendments must be approved prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership by the Chairs of both the SIG Governing Board EC and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of ACM after the Executive Director of ACM has provided advice.
  3. The ballot on the proposed amendment(s) will be conducted among the eligible voters by ACM Headquarters following the procedures of the ACM for voting bylaw amendments unless a different procedure has been approved by the SIG Governing Board EC. The proposal is adopted only if at least 2/3 of the effective votes of returned ballots approve it, and only if at least 10% of the ballots are returned. The Secretary-Treasurer will send a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of ACM and to the Chairman of the SIG Governing Board EC.

Article 13. Dissolution.

Should SIGBio be dissolved, control of its assets will revert to the ACM.

Article 14. Meetings.

SIGBio will conduct at least one business meeting each year. All meetings sponsored by the Group must be open to all members of the ACM. SIGBio may hold meetings only in places that are open to all classes of members of the ACM.

Article 15. Consistency.

The Constitution, Bylaws, and policies of the ACM and of the SIG Board take precedence over any conflicting provisions of these bylaws or internal policies of SIGBio.