Constitution and By-Laws

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I
Title and Location

The Association shall be known as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Mutual Association. Operating as an exempt association, its office shall be located and maintained in the City of Austin, Travis County, Texas.

ARTICLE II
Object

The object of the Association is to provide death benefits for beneficiaries of deceased members upon the assessment plan as authorized by statute and by the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association.

ARTICLE III
Officers

The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer who together with 4 elected members shall constitute the Board of Directors. Each Officer and Board Member shall hold office for a term of four (4) years or until his successor has been elected or appointed.

ARTICLE IV
Meetings and Voting

An annual meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Mutual Association shall be held in the State of Texas at a time, date, and location designated by the President of the Association with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.

The President shall be empowered to call any special meeting with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.

Notice of the meetings shall be in writing to the membership not less than ten (10) days in advance of the meeting date.

Business of the Association may be conducted and action taken on the majority vote of the members present in person or voting by proxy. Proxy voting shall be allowed at all regular or special meetings provided that proxy shall be in writing or by email and verified by the Secretary prior to such meetings. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the membership present in person or voting by proxy.

ARTICLE V
Duties of Officers

PRESIDENT: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Association. The President shall appoint three (3) members of the Association to act as an Auditing Committee, to make a report of their findings at the annual meeting. The President shall submit to each annual meeting a written report of his official acts during his or her term of office. The President shall send to members a notice of assessment, to include an obituary, in the event of a death of a member. The President shall sign all checks or money orders after concurrence with the Treasurer for withdrawal of funds of the Association. The President is responsible for the submission of any and all required reports to the Internal Revenue Service, the State Board of Insurance, the Attorney General's Office, and any other regulatory agencies that have oversight of the Association, and shall perform such other duties as the Association may require of the President.

VICE PRESIDENT: In the absence of the President, the Vice President will preside at all meetings of the Association and perform the general duties of the President. The Vice President shall have signature authority for all checks and money orders and withdrawals of funds of the Association after concurrence with the Treasurer.

SECRETARY: The Secretary shall keep proper records of all proceedings at any meetings of the Association and record same in a book kept for that purpose. The Secretary shall be the custodian of all records and valuable papers pertaining to the Association. The Secretary shall provide notifications of member status, maintain change of beneficiary information, and other administrative member notices.

TREASURER: The Treasurer shall be accountable for all monies collected and make deposits when required in a bank in Austin, Texas. The bank shall be a bank designated by the Board of Directors. The bank shall be used for withdrawals only in case of a death benefit and for the costs related to the administration of the Association. The Treasurer shall keep a proper record of all receipts and disbursements. The Treasurer shall render an annual report on the financial condition of the Association at the annual meeting or at any time upon request by the President.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors shall have general supervision over all matters pertaining to the Association and shall attend to all matters, the transactions of which usually devolves upon a body of this kind. The Board of Directors shall have the power to fill vacancies caused by resignations, deaths, or other causes. However, no appointment shall exceed the term of the vacancy to be filled.

All Officers and Board Members shall serve as non-salaried positions, but may be compensated for administrative expenses at the discretion of the President with concurrence of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI
Eligibility

All employees of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and their spouses are eligible to become members of the Association. However, the Board of Directors may require evidence of insurability for eligible members if it elects to do so.

Membership in the Association shall continue as long as assessments are paid in full.

No payment will be made to the beneficiary in the event the member dies from suicide unless the employee or spouse has been a member of the Association for at least two (2) years.

ARTICLE VII
Benefits and Assessments

The death benefit shall be an amount set by the Board of Directors. It shall be the maximum allowable amount the Association can sustain and maintain the benefit program. An annual evaluation of the benefit amount and assessments will be reviewed by the Board of Directors in concurrence with the Treasurer and changes, if any, will be made at that time.

All death benefits shall be guaranteed within thirty (30) days from the date of death of a member. Every effort will be made to provide the benefit within 48 hours by hand delivery upon notice of death to the surviving beneficiary.

To be vested in the TPW Mutual Association, a member must be in good standing with no delinquent assessments for a period of no less than two (2) years.

A Membership Fee of $40.00 will be required to activate a membership. Upon the death of a member, the members will be notified in writing via an Assessment Call and will submit for payment an assessment payable to the TPW Mutual Association. The assessment for each death of a member will be $20.00 or an amount set by the Board of Directors

From each assessment, $1.00 will be used to cover the administrative costs of the Association.

Members shall stand suspended and be without benefits unless assessments are paid within thirty (30) days of a delinquent account. After ninety (90) days of no action the member will be dropped from the Association and the $40.00 Membership Application fee will be required to re-activate the membership. Members who voluntarily leave the Association for any reason may be re-instated by paying the required Membership Application Fee of $40.00. For returning members, if they have satisfied the two (2) year minimum time to be vested in the Association, they may return with the two (2) years being reinstated. If a member has left without completing a full two (2) years, no partial credit to the new membership will be allowed.

ARTICLE VIII
Certificates

Each member will receive a Certificate designating their membership in the Association. Each certificate issued shall bear the signature of the President and signed by the Secretary of the Association.

ARTICLE IX
Liquidation

In the event of liquidation of the Association, any and all remaining funds shall be equitably divided among the participating members in proportion to the net amount paid by them as assessments of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Mutual Association.

ARTICLE X
Liability of Members

No member of the Association shall be liable in any way for obligation of the Association other than dues and assessments as herein described. No Officer or Board Member of the Association shall be individually liable for any claim against the Association nor shall any Officer or Board Member be personally liable for death claims or administrative expenses of the Association. The Officers shall be liable for all funds coming into their hands belonging to the Association.

ARTICLE XI
Amendments

The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by the majority vote of the quorum attending and/or voting at any annual or special meeting.

A prerequisite to such amendment is that a copy of a proposed amendment and statement of its purpose covering substantially the subject matter of the amendment which is finally adopted shall be included in the notice of the meeting.

ARTICLE XII
Leave and Suspension

No payment will be made to the beneficiary of an employee if the member employee is on Leave Without Pay and payments to the Association have ceased by cause at the time of his death.

A member employee may be reinstated without penalty after the last day of the Leave Without Pay for disciplinary reasons provided assessments made on the membership during the absence have not been interrupted.

Member employees on military leave without pay shall be with benefits for the duration of such leave as long as payments are not interrupted. Members who have dropped from the Association because of military leave may be re-instated without penalty and with no requirement to pay a Membership Application Fee if the returning employee reinstates themselves within thirty (30) days of re-employment. It is the employee's responsibility to contact the Association to make arrangements for other payment options while on leave.

Member employees who are in good standing who have exhausted their due amount of sick leave and are dropped from payroll may continue to be a member as long as payments are not interrupted. It is the employee's responsibility to contact the Association to make arrangements for other payment options while on leave.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I
Order of Business

Section 1. The order of business of the Association shall be (1) reading and adoption of minutes; (2) report of officers; (3) report of the Auditing Committee; (4) report of any special committees; (5) unfinished business; (6) any new business; (7) election of Officers and Board Members; (8) adjournment.

Section 2. In the absence of other authority, the deliberation of this Association shall be governed by the Robert's Rules of Order.