Constitution & By-Laws

Amended June 14, 2001

Article I - Name
Article II - Objectives
Article III - Fiscal Year
Article IV - Membership
Article V - Officers of the Association
Article VI - Duties of Officers
Article VII - The Executive Committee
Article VIII - Amendments

Article I - Name

The name of this organization shall be the South Carolina Training Officers' Association (SCTOA).

Article II - Objectives

·    To enhance and promote closer communication and cooperation among all Law Enforcement Training Officers in the State of South Carolina.

·    To advise the Executive Director of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy on proposed or needed legislation, rules, regulations, processes and delivery systems affecting law enforcement training and as the need arises, to further advise him on proposed revisions of those rules/regulations that are currently in force.

·    To encourage the application of the highest ethical standard of our professions and endeavor by the exchange of methods, research, expertise, materials, technical assistance, and innovative ideas to increase efficiency within our respective organizations.

·    To represent the membership in their training concerns and needs before the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.

·    To support and assist various law enforcement agencies in the area of training, realizing the needs of all training units both large and small.

·    To promote closer cooperation between all law enforcement trainers.

Article III - Fiscal Year

The fiscal year provided by these by-laws shall be the period beginning with the first day of July in each year and ending on the 30th day of June of the succeeding year.

Article IV - Membership

The membership of the Association will consist of Active Members and Honorary Members.

·    Active membership criteria:

Any regularly employed person appointed by an Agency or Department Head to be responsible for the training programs at their respective agencies, and are employed by any governmental agency that is responsible for criminal justice activities within the State of South Carolina, or is a retired law enforcement officer of the State of South Carolina representing any agency mentioned above..

For the purpose of these by-laws, a governmental agency is defined as any state, regional, county, or municipal entity.
 

·    Honorary membership criteria:

Any person who in the opinion of the Executive Committee has made outstanding contributions to criminal justice training in South Carolina.
 

·    Voting:

Voting rights will be limited to one (1) vote per agency/department, this representative to be determined by the individual entity.
 

·    Restrictions:

No members, regardless of status, shall use the name of the SCTOA for any personal gain, or in conjunction with any printed material not sponsored by the Association.

Article V - Officers of the Association

The elected officers of the Association shall be President, Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer. All officers shall hold their offices for a term of one year, this term to co coincide with the Association's fiscal year.

A.   No officer shall serve more than two (2) consecutive elected terms in a given office.

B.   No member may hold two elected positions simultaneously.

C.  Nominations for offices shall be made by the nominating committee and/or by active members at the general Association meeting to be scheduled yearly during the month of June, and shall be elected by the vote of a majority of the voting members present at that meeting.

D.   Nominees shall be present or have given prior consent to serve.

E.   Only active members may hold elected offices.

F.   The office of President and Vice-President cannot be from the same agency/department.

Article VI - Duties of Officers

·    President: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association; shall act as chairman of the Executive Committee; shall appoint an active member to fill any vacancies occurring in the Executive Committee or Association Officers, such appointment shall expire at the end of the fiscal year; shall appoint members of all committees; shall have the power to initiate called meetings of the Executive Committee; shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nominating Committee.

·    Vice-President: In case of death, resignation, removal, suspension, inability to serve or absence of the President, the Vice-President shall serve as President for the duration of the unexpired term. If the unexpired term exceeds four (4) months, a general election will be held to fill the office of Vice-President. He shall also serve as a member of the Executive Committee and preside in the absence of the President during any meeting of the Committee.

·    Secretary: The Secretary shall be assigned the duty of maintaining an accurate record of all proceedings of the Association and the Executive Committee. Shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and shall present a copy of old minutes to the President at the regular business meeting. These minutes shall also be presented to the Association at the business meeting for approval. Shall draw all orders of the Association and of the Executive Committee for which he/she shall sign after they have been attested to by the President of the Association, and shall handle all fiscal responsibilities for the Association.

Article VII - The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the following:

A.   The Association's general elected officers.

B.   One (1) representative from each of the seven (7) South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy training districts, this representation being from a county or municipal agency.

C.  One (1) member at large representing local detention centers.

D.   One (1) member at large representing state criminal justice agencies.

E.   Three (3) ex-officio members, these members being the Executive Director of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, the Director of the Division of Training and Staff Development, South Carolina Department of Corrections, and the immediate Past President of the Training Officers' Association.

F.   The selection of Executive Committee members shall be as follows:

1.   Executive Committee members shall be active members of the Association who are present at the general Association meeting scheduled yearly during the month of June, or who have given prior consent to serve, and are duly elected by training caucus.

2.   Executive Committee members who represent state agencies shall be active members of the Association who are present at the general Association meeting scheduled yearly during the month of June, or who have given prior consent to serve, and are duly elected by caucus of state agencies.

3.   Executive Committee members who represent local detention centers shall be active members of the Association who are present at the general Association meeting scheduled yearly during the month of June, or who have given prior consent to serve, and are duly elected by caucus of local detention centers.

4.   Executive Committee members who represent the seven (7) South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy training districts shall be active members of the Association who are present at the general Association meeting scheduled yearly during the month of June, or who have given prior consent to serve, and are duly elected by training caucus.

5.   The Executive Committee will serve for a period of one (1) year and will rotate from office at the same time the Association's general officers are elected.

6.   Duties and responsibilities of the Executive Committee:

a.   Meet quarterly.

b.   Determine the date and place for the Annual Conference.

c.   Develop the proposed budget if any.

d.   Implement the will of the Association as expressed by the members through motions and resolutions at general meetings.

e.   Shall be empowered to appoint standing committees as needed to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Association.

G.  Removal from office:

The recommendation for removal from office shall be by a vote of three-fourths (3/4) of the members of the Executive Committee. Prior to said vote, the officer in question shall have the opportunity to challenge or refute all allegations or may elect to resign from office. The officer must be notified in writing at least ten (10) days prior to consideration of the allegations by the Executive Committee. Said Executive Committee recommendation to be voted on at the next regularly scheduled meeting by the voting members present. A vote of two-thirds (2/3) or more of voting members will result in the removal of said officer.

Article VIII - Amendments

This Constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the voting members present at any regularly scheduled meeting of the Association, provided a copy of the proposed amendment is sent to each voting member of the Association in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to action thereon. Said regularly scheduled meeting to be held within the State of South Carolina.