Portland Association of Health Underwriters
BYLAWS
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Adopted August 16, 1989
and
Amended July 15, 1992, May 15, 1996, April 21, 2000, August 20, 2003
and February 5th, 2009
by
Portland Association of Health Underwriters
These Bylaws supersede all previous Bylaws of this Association
Portland Association of Health Underwriters
Bylaws
(Adopted August 18, 1989)
Article I Name and Territorial Limits
Section 1 The name of this corporation, as stated in the Article of
Incorporation is: “Portland Association of Health Underwriters” an
Oregon non-profit corporation, hereinafter called the “Association”
or “PAHU”.
Section 2 The territorial limits of this Association, as approved by Board of
Directors, are confined to and shall include the counties of
Washington, Multnomah, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook in Oregon.
Article II Office and Registered Agents
Section 1 The principal office of the Association in the state of Oregon shall
be located in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah. The Association may have such other offices, either within or without the state of Oregon, as the Board of Directors may determine or as the affairs of the Association may require from time to time.
Section 2 The Association shall have and continuously maintain in the state
Oregon registered agent, whose office is identical with such registered office,
as required by the Oregon Non-Profit Corporation Law. The registered office
may be, but need not be, identical with the principal office in the state of
Oregon, and the address of the registered office may be changed from time to
time by the Board of Directors.
Article III Purpose and Objectives
Section 1 The objectives and purpose of the Association shall be:
To place the sale and service of disability and/or health insurance upon the highest possible plane.
To advance public knowledge for the need and benefit of disability and/or health insurance.
To provide and promote a program of continuing education and self-improvement for its members.
To promote the code of ethics of the organization, hereby made a part of these Bylaws.
To assist, where appropriate and legally permissible, in upholding all state and federal laws affecting disability and/or health insurance and to promote legislation that is in the best interest of the disability and/or health insurance, the insuring public and the providers of this insurance.
Association to provide civic and community service and form enduring friendships.
Article IV Organization
Section 1 The Association shall consist of members and a Board of Directors elected by
the members, to manage, supervise, direct and control the business, funds,
assets and property of PAHU.
Section 2 The Association will assist the Oregon Association of Health Underwriters in its
attempt to organize other Associations.
Section 3 The Association will maintain a registered agent and keep records, names and
addresses of its members as directed by the Board of Directors.
Section 4 The fiscal year of PAHU shall begin January 1, and end December 31.
ARTICLE V Classes of Membership
Section 1 Membership shall consist primarily of the active membership as defined in
Section 2, and there may only be three other classes of membership;
Associate, Honorary and Disabled.
Section 2 Active membership of this Association shall consist of men and women
engaged in the health insurance industry including but not limited to the
following classes:
Agents or brokers
Health insurance company employees
Health services providers and their employees
Other agents, brokers, health insurance company employees, and providers not otherwise described previously
Section 3 Honorary Membership shall consist of those individuals or companies who are
not eligible for Active Membership, but who have performed some distinguished
public service in the field of health insurance in this community. These persons
or companies may be elected for Honorary Membership for a period of one
year.
Section 4 Associate Membership. Any man or woman affiliated with the health insurance
industry, but not otherwise eligible as an Active Member, may be elected to
Associate Membership of the Association. An Associate Member shall be
entitled to all privileges of this Association except those of voting and holding
office.
Section 5 Disabled Membership. Any man or woman who has been an Active Member of
this Association for at least ten (10) years and whose disability has been and
remains documented to the satisfaction of the Board of Directors and approved
by a majority vote of the Board of Directors may be elected as a Disabled
Member. Monies payable to this Association may be waived during disability
except for optional subscriptions and fees established or levied by the Board of
Directors.
Section 6 Membership shall be attained by completing in writing the NAHU approved
application for membership and paying the required dues.
Section 7 The Association shall have the power to set its own schedule of dues subject to
approval by the Oregon Association of Health Underwriters.
ARTICLE VI Officers
Section 1 The officers of the Association shall be a President, President-Elect, an
Immediate Past President a Secretary and a Treasurer.
Section 2 Each officer shall be an Active Member in good standing. The President shall
have served one year as a PAHU Board member prior to his election.
Section 3 All officers shall take office on the first day of July of each year following their
elections and shall serve a term of two years, or until their successors shall be
duly elected and qualified. However, President and President-Elect shall
serve a term of one year respectively.
Section 4 The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, and shall preside over all meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors. He/she shall be an ex-officio member of all standing and special committees. He /she shall perform such other duties as usually pertain to the office of president.
President-Elect, in the absence of the President, shall preside at all meetings and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President or the Board of Directors.
The Secretary shall keep the records of attendance and minutes of the Board of Directors. He/she shall submit to the proper official and committees, or to the Association, all communications received from NAHU and OAHU. The Secretary of the Association will certify the election to the Board of Directors, the names and addresses of the election association officers.
The Treasurer shall receive all funds paid to the Association, shall deposit such funds in the Association’s official depository and shall disburse such funds on the order of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall submit a financial statement for report and the Annual Meeting and at such times as requested by the Board of Directors. The accounts and books shall at all times be open to inspection by the President, the Board of Directors and any authorized accountant.
President-Elect shall serve as liaison between the local and state boards, complete annual review and update of By-Laws for Board approval as necessary and manage special projects on request.
ARTICLE VII Board of Directors
Section 1 The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers and five members to serve
as committee chair persons as follows:
Membership
Public & Media Relations
Legislation
Education
Programs
Health Forum
Awards
Section 2 Each Director shall be an Active Member in good standing.
Section 3 Each Director shall take office on the first day of July each year following their
election, and shall serve for a term of two years or until their successors shall
be duly elected and qualified.
Section 4 The Board of Directors shall determine policies and activities of the
Association, elect and discipline members, approve the budget, approve all
expenditures and authorize all disbursements, take counsel with committees,
and have general management of the Association and its affairs. All
disbursements to be made by check and signed by any two (2) of four (4)
authorized signatories as approved by the Board of Directors.
Section 5 The Board of Directors shall meet each month and at the call of the President.
A quorum shall consist of six (6) Board Members.
Section 6 Resignation of a Board Member or Officer may be requested by the Board for
non-performance of duties or for failure to attend Board meetings on a regular
basis. Absence at two consecutive board meetings, unexcused, may be cause
for removal from the Board.
Section 7 Each Board of Directors shall be insured for Directors and Officers Liability Insurance.
ARTICLE VIII Nomination and Elections
Section 1 The election of Directors shall be held at the Annual Meeting of the Association.
Those nominees receiving the greatest number of votes shall be deemed elected. In the event that candidates are unopposed the election of directors shall occur with motions made and a majority vote from the floor.
Section 2 At least two (2) months prior to the date of the Annual Meeting, the President
shall appoint a committee on nominations and election. The duties of this
committee shall be to solicit, receive and prepare nominations and to have
general charge of the election, including the preparation, distribution, collection
and counting of ballots.
Section 3 The committee on nominations and elections shall cause a ballot to be
prepared containing the names of all nominees for the use of the member
during the election. Nominees selected by the committee shall be published in
the Association newsletter or in a special bulletin to be circulated to the
members at least one (1) month prior to the election. The committee shall also
receive written nominations, which are submitted 30 days prior to the election
and endorsed by two members in good standing in the Association. These
nominees will be included in the publications on nominees if time permits, or
introduced at the annual meeting to the election.
Section 4 Voting shall be by secret ballot unless candidates are unopposed. Only Active Members in good standing in the Association, present at the Annual Meeting may vote. There is no voting by
proxy. Officers and Committee Chairs are specifically elected by the membership.
Section 5 No President of this Association who has served a full term as President shall
be eligible to succeed himself/herself. No officer of the Board of Directors may
continue in the same office for more than two (2) consecutive terms (four [4]
years).
Section 6 In the case of a vacancy in the office of President, the President-Elect shall
succeed to the office. In the case of a vacancy of the Board of Directors, the
President shall appoint a member to fill the unexpired term, subject to approval
of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IX Duties of the Board of Directors
Section 1 The committee on membership shall study and recommend to the Board of
Directors, ways and means of maintaining current members and to increase
membership.
Section 2 The committee on public relations shall be responsible for communicating the
general activities of the Association to the membership, and where possible, to the general public.
Section 3 The committee on legislation shall examine laws and regulations, existing or
proposed affecting the health insurance business and those engaging therein
and submit its recommendations concerning such laws and regulations to the
Board of Directors. The greatest extent possible, the committee shall assist in the implementation of the legislative programs that are I the best interest of the Association and the public.
Section 4 The committee on education shall aid in the promotion, development and
extension of education and training facilities in the practice of health insurance
for the use and benefit of the members of this Association and the insuring
public. This committee shall also establish programs of education leading to
and the encouragement of obtaining the professional RHU and REBC
designations.
Section 5 The committee on programs shall arrange a program for every meeting of the
Association as far in advance as possible, cooperating with the Board of Directors and other committees of the Association to ensure programs are coordinated with the Association’s other activities. This committee shall be responsible for promoting attendance at meetings and arranging necessary physical facilities.
ARTICLE X Meetings
Section 1 This Association shall hold a monthly meeting on such date and at such time
and place as determined by the Board of Directors. It may hold such other
meetings as the Board of Directors or membership may desire.
Section 2 The Annual Meeting of the Association shall be held in connection with the
Annual Spring Forum meeting in April or May of each year. The membership
shall be given at least thirty days notice of the date and place of the Annual
Meeting.
Section 3 The number of members required for a quorum shall be those paid members in
good standing that are in attendance at any given meeting, provided adequate
notice has been sent to all members 30 days prior to the date of the meeting.
A majority vote of two-thirds of those members in attendance shall be required
to affect any changes in the conduct of the Association’s business.
ARTICLE XI Revenue
Section 1 Each member of the Association (other than Disabled Members) shall pay
annual dues. The Board of Directors shall recommend any dues changes to
the membership at the Annual Meeting or at any other meeting as deemed
necessary by the Board, by publishing notice to the members 30 days prior to
the meeting in which the vote shall take place. In the event the Board of
Directors do not publish notice for a special vote or do not propose any change
at the Annual Meeting, there shall be no change in the dues.
ARTICLE XII Finance
Section 1 The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on the first day of January of each
year.
Section 2 Not later than the fifteenth day of January of each year a budget of estimated
income and expenditures for the fiscal year shall be adopted by the Board of
Directors.
Section 3. The Association books of account shall be reviewed by an outside accountant
at least once a year. The auditors shall be named by the Board of Directors.
Section 4 The Board of Directors shall determine the official depository or depositories for
Association funds and shall designate one or more persons, in addition to the
Treasurer, to sign or countersign checks or other documents for the
disbursement of such funds.
ARTICLE XIII Approval of By-Laws and Amendments
Section 1 Any amendment to these By-Laws may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the
Members present at any meeting of the Association, provided that written
notice of the meeting and of the proposed amendment shall have been given to
members at last one (1) month in prior to the meeting and providing that a
quorum is present.
Section 2 Previous By-Laws as dated August 19, 1989, are hereby replaced.
Section 3 These By-Laws shall be effective July 1, 1992 as approved by the membership,
July 15, 1992.
Section 4 Previous By-Laws dated July 1, 1992 are hereby replaced.
Section 5 These By-Laws shall be effective July 1, 1996 as approved by the membership,
May 15, 1996.
Section 6 Previous By-Laws dated July 1, 1996 are hereby replaced.
Section 7 These By-Laws shall be effective July 1, 2000 as approved by the membership
April 21, 2000.
Section 8 Previous By-Laws dated July 1, 2000 are hereby replaced.
Section 9 These By-Laws shall be effective July 1, 2003 as approved by the membership August 20, 2003
Section 10 These By-Laws shall be effective February 5th, 2009
APPROVED AT PORTLAND, OREGON
___________________________________ ___________________
PRESIDENT DATE
___________________________________ ___________________
SECRETARY DATE
AMENDMENT- Portland Association of Health Underwriters (PAHU)
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT POLICY
The following is the current Travel Reimbursement Policy for PAHU. The policy will apply to Board of Directors and designated individuals approved for travel on behalf of PAHU.
It is the intent of PAHU to provide full expense reimbursement for necessary association business travel while attending required meetings. It is not the intent for travelers volunteering time on behalf of PAHU to personally pay for association related travel expenses.
PAHU will provide for travel expense reimbursement for:
Registration expenses for conferences and meetings
Reasonable hotel room expenses, including taxes and fees
Round-trip airfare to approved industry events not to exceed regular coach class airfare
Economy airport parking while at business meetings or conferences
Taxi, Shuttle and Transfer expenses to airport and necessary business meetings
Per Diem for miscellaneous expenses at rate of $75 per day
While this policy as outlined above should cover most expected expenses, consideration may be given to reimburse additional reasonable travel expenses if need is demonstrated and approval is given by Board of Directors.
The process for having travel reimbursed is through the use of the PAHU CHECK REQUEST FORM. Travelers should complete the form as instructed and attach all receipts or imaged copies of receipts and submit for signature and check request processing.
