ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGCOMM

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on DATA COMMUNICATION (SIGCOMM) of the Association for Computing Machinery

Adopted: March 28, 1989
Amended: December 2003

Article 1. Name and Scope

This organization will be called the Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. (ACM). It will be referred to herein as "the SIG".
The scope of the SIG's specialty is data communications and computer communication networks.

Article 2. Purpose

The SIG is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational, research, scientific, and technical purposes in its specialty. Its services will include:

Collecting and disseminating information in the specialty, through a variety of communications media, including a newsletter and other publications approved by the Publications Board of the ACM;
Organizing sessions at conferences of the ACM;
Sponsoring conferences, symposia and workshops;
Organizing working groups for education, research and development;
Serving as a source of technical information for the Council and subunits of the ACM;
Serving as an external technical representative of the ACM when authorized by the Council or the Executive Committee of the ACM; and
Working with subunits of the ACM on technical activities such as lectureships or professional development seminars.

Article 3. Charter

The SIG will exist until dissolved by the Council of the ACM as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.

Article 4. SIGCOMM Officers and SIGCOMM Executive Committee

The SIG's Officers are the Chair, the Vice-Chair, and the Treasurer.
The SIGCOMM Executive Committee comprises the Officers, the Past Chair and the Editor of the SIG's newsletter. With the exception of the position of Editor (which may be filled by an Officer or the Past Chair), no one may hold two positions on the Executive Committee.
1. The general duties of the Executive Committee are to advise the Chair on all matters of interest to the SIG. All the major policy decisions of the SIG must be approved by the Executive Committee.
2. All members of, or candidates for, the Executive Committee must be voting members of ACM and of the SIG.
Officers are elected for two-year terms beginning July 1 of odd-numbered years. Terms may be extended for an additional two-year term with the concurrence of the SIG Governing Board and the SIG's officers.
Duties of the Officers
1. The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading the SIG and managing its activities. The duties of the Chair are:
  1. Calling and presiding at the SIG's Executive Committee, Board and Business meetings;
  2. Conducting the SIG's activities in accordance with the policies of the ACM; and
  3. Making all appointments and filling vacancies as authorized herein.
2. The duties of the Vice-Chair are:
  1. Assisting the Chair in leading and managing the SIG; and
  2. Presiding at meetings when the Chair is absent.
3. The duties of the Treasurer are:
  1. Maintaining the records and correspondence of the SIG;
  2. Keeping and distributing the minutes of business and Executive Committee meetings of the SIG; and
  3. Managing the SIG's finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring the SIG's disbursements for adherence to the annual budget, and preparing financial reports as required.

Article 5. The Board and Technical Advisory Committee

The Board comprises the members of the SIGCOMM Executive Committee, the chair of the SIGCOMM Technical Advisory Committee, the ACM Program Director and the SIGCOMM Directors.
1. All members of the Board except the ACM Program Director must be voting members of the SIG.
2. The general duties of the Board are to advise the Executive Committee on matters of interest to the SIG.
The Directors are volunteer leaders of particular SIG programs or initiatives. There are at least four directors and no more than eight directors. Directors are appointed by the SIGCOMM Chair and each director is responsible for a particular activity of the SIG. (There are no at-large director positions).
The Technical Advisory Committee comprises the Technical Advisory Committee chair and between three and eight members appointed by the SIG Chair.
1. Members of the Technical Advisory Committee serve two year terms beginning 1 January of even-numbered years.
2. The general duties of the Technical Advisory Committee are to advise the SIG Chair and other SIG Officers and Directors, on issues pertaining to the technical quality of the SIG publications, conferences and other technical activities.
3. The Technical Advisory Committee consists of between three and eight members, one of whom is the Chair. The members of the Technical Advisory Committee are appointed by the SIG Chair.

Article 6. Vacancies and Appointments

Should the Chair leave office before the Chair's term expires, the Vice-Chair will assume the duties of Chair. Should any other elected office or the position on the Executive Committee reserved for the Past Chair of the SIG become vacant, the Board may, by a majority vote, fill the vacancy.
The Editor of the SIG newsletter is appointed by the Officers and Past Chair, on nomination by the Chair of the SIG. The Editor may removed from office only by majority vote of the Officers and Past Chair.
The Chair may fill vacancies in Directors and other positions that are appointed by the Chair according to the procedures for making the original appointments as provided herein. All persons appointed to positions appointed by the Chair may be removed from office at the discretion of the Chair, except as noted.
Should a vacancy be unfilled, either because of inadequacy of these bylaws or because of a dispute or for any other reason, the SIG Governing Board may fill it (as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM).
Except for the membership of the Technical Advisory Committee(whose terms specified above), all appointments (including Editor)expire automatically when the Chair's term of office expires. Appointees, however, will continue to serve until a successor is appointed by the new Chair.

The SIG will publish a newsletter at regular intervals as determined by the Executive Committee. The newsletter will be distributed in paper or electronic form (or both) to all the SIG's members. Newsletter subscriptions may be sold to non-members.
The Editor of the SIG newsletter may appoint Associate Editors to assist with the editorial functions of the newsletter. Associate Editors may be appointed or dismissed at any time by the Editor.

Article 8. Membership, Dues, and Voting Privileges

SIGCOMM is an open SIG as defined in Section 6 of Bylaw 6. Anyone may join the SIG.
A person becomes a member only after enrolling and paying the required dues. The dues for the SIG are determined by the SIG's Executive Committee with the approval of the Chair of the SIG Governing Board. Dues for SIG members who are also members of ACM must be less than or equal to the dues for SIG members who are not members of ACM. All fees for SIG activities and services charged to members of either ACM or the SIG must be less than or equal to fees charged to non-members (excepting that for conferences co-sponsored with other organizations, members of the co-sponsoring organizations may have the same fee as SIG or ACM members).
All members of the SIG may vote in any ballot conducted with the SIG. On any ballot, the votes cast by non-ACM members of the SIG will, if necessary, be prorated downward so that their effective total cannot exceed 50% of the eligible votes. When it applies, the proration factor will be specified on the ballot.

Article 9. Reports and Records

The Chair is responsible for filing reports about the SIG as required by the SIG Governing Board.
The membership records of the SIG will be maintained by ACM Headquarters.

Article 10. Elections

By September 30 of each even-numbered year, the Chair will appoint a nominating committee which will propose at least two consenting candidates for each elective office of the SIG. The slate of candidates elected by the nominating committee must be presented to all the SIG's members by the following January 31.
A petition from 1% of the voting members of the SIG will place other consenting candidates on the ballot. Petitions must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer of the SIG no later than March 15.
The election will be conducted among eligible voters by ACM Headquarters by June 1, following the election procedures of the ACM, unless different procedures have been approved by the SIG Governing Board. Of all the ballots returned in an election, the candidates receiving the largest numbers of effective votes win. The SIG Governing Board will resolve ties.

Article 11. Amendments

These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the ACM Council, or by a vote of the SIG's members as provided below. With the approval of the SIG's Executive Committee and of the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all the members of the SIG Governing Board may amend Article 1 of these bylaws without a referendum of the members.
Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the SIG's Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board, or a petition from 1% of the voting members of the SIG. All proposed amendments must be approved, prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership, by the Chairmen of both the SIG Governing Board and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of ACM after the Executive Director of ACM has provided advice.
The ballot on the proposed amendment(s) will be conducted among the eligible voters by ACM Headquarters following the procedures of the ACM for voting bylaw amendments, unless a different procedure has been approved by the SIG Governing Board. The proposal is adopted only if at least 2/3 of the effective votes of returned ballots approve it, and only if at least 10% of the ballots are returned. The Treasurer will send a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of ACM and to the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.

Article 12. Dissolution

Should the SIG be dissolved, control of its assets will revert to the ACM.

Article 13. Meetings

The SIG will conduct at least one business meeting each year, normally in conjunction with one of the conferences of the SIG. All meetings sponsored by the SIG must be open to all members of the ACM. The SIG may hold meetings only in places that are open to all classes of members of the ACM.

Article 14. Consistency

The Constitution, Bylaws, and policies of the ACM and of the SIG Governing Board take precedence over any conflicting provisions of these bylaws or internal policies of the SIG.