RULES OF THE SOUTHERN LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS *

I.          Name -- The name of this organization shall be the Southern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments.  It comprises the jurisdictions of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma,  South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, hereinafter referred to as "member states."

II.        Purposes and Objectives -- The purposes and objectives of the Conference shall be to foster and encourage intergovernmental cooperation in the South through joint consideration of common problems and timely subjects, interchange of information, sharing of knowledge and experience and, where desirable, development of joint programs, to the end that our member states may continue to be a strong and effective part of the American federal system.

III.       Membership -- Membership in this Conference shall consist of those legislators appointed to the Executive Committee and those legislators and legislative staff appointed to the standing committees by each member states’ respective House and Senate appointing authorities.

IV.       Participation in Conference Activities -- All elected and appointed officials of the member states shall be eligible to participate in meetings and may be invited to participate in other activities of the Conference.

V.        Executive Committee -- There shall be a Southern Legislative Conference Executive Committee which shall consist of the Chairman, Chairman Elect, First Vice Chairman and, when deemed appropriate, a Second Vice Chairman, officers who currently hold the position of Chairman Elect, First Vice Chairman and Second Vice Chairman of the Conference, so long as they remain a member of the legislative body of their respective state, all past Chairmen of the Conference, so long as they remain a member of the legislative body of their respective state, and two legislators from each member state who shall be named in such manner and for such term as the state's House and Senate appointing authorities shall determine. The Conference Executive Committee membership shall also include the presiding officers of the House and Senate in each member state. 

A state’s appointing authoritymay name an alternate legislator for each legislator appointed.  In addition, the chairman of each standing committee established by the Conference shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the Chairman, and shall have general responsibility for the management of the Conference and its interim activities.  It may establish needed committees during the interim between Annual Meetings.  It shall select the date and place of the Annual Meeting and, with advice of the Host State and the assistance of the Conference staff, shall make, implement, and supervise plans and arrangements for the Annual Meeting and such other meetings of the Conference as may be held.

Vacancies occurring on the Executive Committee shall be filled by each member state in the manner indicated in the first paragraph of this Rule.

As may be specified by the Articles of Organization and the Bylaws of The Council of State Governments (CSG), the Chairman of the Conference shall make the necessary appointments to CSG on an annual basis.

There shall be a Southern Legislative Conference Management Committee appointed each year by the Conference Chairman.  Members of the Management Committee are to be the Conference Chairman and Chairman Elect in addition to three past Conference Chairmen designated by the sitting Chairman. The Management Committee shall have oversight of all personnel and assets of the Southern Legislative Conference.

VI.       Officers -- The officers of the Conference shall be a Chairman, a Chairman Elect, First Vice Chairman and, when deemed appropriate, a Second Vice Chairman, with consideration given to balancing party affiliation, all of whom shall be legislators, who shall be elected at each Annual Meeting and shall serve until the close of the next succeeding Annual Meeting and until their successors are chosen.  They shall be selected from among the Conference’s legislator membership.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and of the Conference, and shall perform the usual duties pertaining to the office.  Except as otherwise provided, the Chairman shall appoint such committees as may be established.

The Chairman Elect and the First Vice Chairman shall perform such duties as may be assigned to them by the Chairman of the Executive Committee.  Whenever the Chairman is unable to serve, the Chairman Elect shall exercise the authority and perform the duties of the office of the Chairman.  In the interim between Annual Meetings, a vacancy in the office of Chairman Elect shall be filled by the First Vice Chairman.

VII.     Meetings -- The Conference shall hold an Annual Meeting and such other meetings as the Executive Committee shall determine.  Opportunity shall be provided at a plenary session of the Annual Meeting for conducting Conference business.

VIII.    Nominating and Policy Positions Committees -- On the opening day of each Annual Meeting, the Chairman shall appoint a Nominating Committee and a Policy Positions Committee, which shall be drawn from Conference legislator members present from the member states.  All said states represented by members at an Annual Meeting shall be represented on one or both of these committees.  These two committees shall report at a plenary session for conducting Conference business on the concluding day of the Annual Meeting.  It shall be the duty of the Nominating Committee to bring in nominations for the offices of Chairman, Chairman Elect, First Vice Chairman and, when deemed appropriate, Second Vice Chairman.  All proposed Policy Positions shall be submitted to the Policy Positions Committee in the following manner. 

All proposed Policy Positions must be sponsored by a legislative member of the Southern Legislative Conference and shall have been received by the Conference’s Executive Director not less than twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to the first day on which the Annual Meeting is convened.  Any such proposed Policy Positions shall then be assigned to one or more of the Conference’s relevant standing committees for review and action at the Annual Meeting.  Once adopted by a Conference committee, such proposed Policy Positions are submitted to thePolicy Positions Committee for consideration.  Unless otherwise stipulated, all Policy Positions of the Southern Legislative Conference shall be sunset one calendar year following adoption by the Conference.

IX.       Other Committees -- There shall be no more than six standing committees of the Conference and an Executive Committee.  Each standing committee shall meet at the Annual Meeting of the Conference.  Any other meeting shall require the approval of the Executive Committee; in an emergency, the Conference Chairman shall be authorized to grant such approval.

The Executive Committee shall continually review the performance of each standing committee.  Each committee shall submit a report to the Executive Committee and the leadership of each House and Senate in the Conference following each committee meeting.

The Executive Committee may establish other committees for study and other purposes and assign to them such duties and responsibilities as may be appropriate.  The Executive Committee shall review annually the work of such committees and the need for their continuation.

The membership of standing committees shall be constituted by direct appointment of the appointing authorities of each House and Senate in the Conference with such appointments invited annually by the Conference Chairman.  Appointing authorities may appoint up to five members, and two legislative staff members to each Conference committee, excepting the Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee for which a maximum of seven members and three legislative staff members may be appointed.  The Conference officers and Executive Committee are empowered to represent the Conference during the interim between Annual Meetings in liaison relationships with all committees.

All standing committees shall select their own officers for the positions of chairman and vice chairman at the Annual Meeting and shall submit reports to the Conference at such time as the Executive Committee may direct.  Committee chairs may serve a maximum of two consecutive one-year terms.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, Policy Positions by Conference committees shall be reported to the Executive Committee for placement on the agenda of the Annual Meeting for action.  Voting in such instances shall be in accord with Rule X.  During the interim between Annual Meetings, when a Conference committee during a regularly called meeting of said committee deems a Policy Position to be of an emergency nature because of pending Federal action or other urgent situation, copy of the Policy Position shall be transmitted promptly by the Conference staff to all of the members of the said Conference committee and to the Executive Committee.  The Chairman may then call a meeting of the Executive Committee or shall call such meeting if so required by one-third of the membership of the Executive Committee.  If no such meeting is called, the Chairman may have the Executive Committee members polled by telephone, mail or otherwise and the Executive Committee may act on such Policy Positions when so polled; provided, however, that such action through the polling of the membership of the Executive Committee shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the total member states of the Conference.

X.        Voting -- All action on Policy Positions, motions, election of officers or other business of the Conference and its committees shall be by voice vote, except when a roll call vote is requested by a member state.  In such case each state shall be entitled to one vote per each House and Senate chamber, to be cast as its members present shall determine, and affirmative action shall require a majority of all of the member states which have Conference members present. Proxy voting shall not be allowed; however, if a state's House or Senate member cannot attend a meeting, the appointing authority may in writing designate a legislator to attend that specific meeting with voting privileges.

XI.       Conference Staff -- The Southern Office of The Council of State Governments shall serve as the Conference staff.  It shall provide such assistance to the officers, Executive Committee, Host State, and committees of the Conference as shall forward the purposes and objectives of the Conference.

XII.     Amendments -- The Rules of the Conference and any amendments thereto may be adopted, altered, amended, added to, or repealed at any Annual Meeting by a majority vote of all member states.  Between Annual Meetings, the Executive Committee is authorized by the Conference to amend the Rules.  Voting in such case shall be according to Rule X.  However, such amendments are interim in nature and must be ratified by the Conference at the next Annual Meeting.