Article IV: Affiliated Bar Associations

Section 4.1 Other Associations

All bar associations in the Sacramento County that qualify under this Article are eligible to apply for affiliate status. The Board may accept, reject or terminate an affiliate, in its discretion, in accordance with this Article and the Policies and Procedures of the Association. Each year the Board shall designate which Affiliated Bar Associations shall be entitled to vote on the Board (“Voting Affiliates”) in accordance with 4.3 and 4.4.

Section 4.2. Affiliate Voting Status Qualifications

A bar association that meets the following qualifications shall be eligible to be an Affiliated Bar Association:

1. It has at least 25 lawyer members.
2. It is geographically based in the County of Sacramento.
3. It is interested in legal matters generally, without limitation to a particular branch or subdivision of the law, provided, however, that the, Board, for good cause shown, may waive this requirement. This subsection shall not be construed to limit the affiliation of Sacramento Consumer Attorneys.
4. It shall not discriminate on the basis of any protected status as set forth in the Constitution and laws of California.

Section 4.3. Qualifications

Each year the Board shall determine the voting status of each Affiliated Bar Association for the following calendar year in the manner described below.

1. On or before the first business day of July of each calendar year, the Association will request from each Affiliated Bar Association a list of their paid members for that year to be submitted to the Association on or before the first business day in August.
2. On or before the first business day of August of each calendar year, each Affiliated Bar Association shall submit to the Association a list of their members for that year.
3. Each Affiliated Bar Association meeting the following requirements shall be a Voting Affiliate for the following calendar year.
   1. Fifty percent (50%) of its members are active members of the Association.
   2. If it has fewer than 42 members, it has at least 20 members who are active members of the Association.
4. In the event the Affiliated Bar Association does not meet the requirements of Section 4.3(3), on or before the last business day of August, the Association will mail to the Affiliated Bar Association notice of the deficiency, specifying the number of additional Association memberships necessary for voting status eligibility. The notice shall also advise the Affiliated Bar Association that it may submit an updated membership list on or before the last business day of October, and if the Affiliated Bar Association then meets the requirements of Section 4.3(3) it shall be a Voting Affiliate for the following calendar year.

Section 4.4. Voting Affiliate Status Limitations

Notwithstanding Section 4.3, no more than eight Affiliated Bar Associations shall be designated as Voting Affiliates for each calendar year. In the event more than 8 Affiliated Bar Associations qualify as Voting Affiliates under this Article, the Voting Affiliates shall be determined in the following manner:

1. In the event there are fewer than 8 Affiliated Bar Associations with at least 100 Association members, but more than 8 who meet the qualifications under Section 4.3, any Affiliated Bar Association with at least 100 Association members shall be given voting status for the following year. The Board shall then randomly select, from those remaining Affiliated Bar Associations meeting the requirements of Section 4.3 who were granted voting status for the current calendar year, as many as necessary to reduce the total Voting Affiliates for the following year to 8, and remove them from Voting Status for the following year. If there are still more than 8 Voting Affiliates for the following year, the Board shall randomly select, from any remaining Affiliated Bar Associations meeting the requirements of Section 4.3 (other than those with 100 or more Association members), as many as necessary to reduce the total Voting Affiliates to 8, and remove them voting status for the following year.
2. In the event there are more than 8 Affiliated Bar Associations with at least 100 Association members who meet the requirements of Section 4.3(3) for the following year, the Board shall either
   1. propose an amendment to these bylaws, to be submitted to the membership for approval, increasing the maximum number of Voting Affiliates and if necessary the total number of board members, OR
   2. randomly select, from those Affiliated Bar Associations who meet the qualifications of Section 4.3(3) and have more than 100 Association members the 8 who will be designated as Voting Affiliates.

Section 4.5. Termination of Affiliate Voting Status

If the designated representative from any voting affiliate is removed from the Board pursuant to Section 3.8.A.4, the affiliate bar association will lose its voting status for the remainder of the calendar year.