ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGMOBILE

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on MOBILITY OF SYSTEMS, USERS, DATA and COMPUTING of the Association for Computing Machinery

  • Adopted: June 13, 1996

  • Amended: July 22, 2009

Article 1. Name and Scope

  1. This organization will be called the Special Interest Group on Mobility of Systems, Users, Data and Computing ("SIGMOBILE") of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. ("the ACM").
  2. SIGMOBILE's specialty is mobility. Its scope includes all aspects of mobile computing and communications, such as mobile systems and applications, wireless networking protocols and algorithms, and mobile information access and management.

Article 2. Purpose

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

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

Article 3. Charter

SIGMOBILE is a Special Interest Group (SIG) as defined under Bylaw 6 of the ACM. SIGMOBILE will exist until dissolved by the Council of ACM as provided in that ACM bylaw.

Article 4. Officers

  1. SIGMOBILE's officers are the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Secretary and the Treasurer. The officers are elected for two-year terms beginning July 1 of odd-numbered years.
  2. The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading SIGMOBILE and managing its activities. The duties of the Chair are:
    1. Calling and presiding at SIGMOBILE's Executive Committee and business meetings;
    2. Conducting SIGMOBILE's activities in accordance with the policies of the ACM; and
    3. Making all appointments and filling vacancies as authorized herein.
  3. The duties of the Vice-Chair are:
    1. Assisting the Chair in leading and managing SIGMOBILE; and
    2. Presiding at meetings when the Chair is absent.
  4. The duties of the Secretary are:
    1. Maintaining the records and correspondence of SIGMOBILE;
    2. Keeping and distributing the minutes of business and Executive Committee meetings of SIGMOBILE.
  5. The duties of the Treasurer are:
    1. Managing SIGMOBILE's finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring disbursements for adherence to the annual budget, and preparing financial reports as required.

Article 5. The Executive Committee

  1. The SIGMOBILE Executive Committee comprises the officers, the Past Chair and the Editor-in-Chief of the SIGMOBILE newsletter. No person may hold two positions on the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee.
  2. The general duties of the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee will be to advise the Chair on all matters of interest to the SIG. Specific duties or responsibilities may be specified in these Bylaws or assigned by the Chair. All the major management policy decisions of the SIG must be approved by the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee.
  3. All members of, or candidates for, the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee must be voting Members of ACM and of SIGMOBILE.

Article 6. Vacancies and Appointments

  1. Should the Chair leave office before his or her term expires, the Vice-Chair will assume the duties of Chair. Should any other office or the position on the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee reserved for the Past Chair become vacant, the Chair of the SIG Governing Board may, on nomination of the SIGMOBILE Chair, fill the vacancy. Vacancies in positions appointed by the SIGMOBILE Chair may be filled according to the procedures for making the original appointments as provided herein.
  2. Should a vacancy be unfilled, either because of inadequacy of these bylaws or because of a dispute or for any other reason, the SIG Board Chair may fill it, as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.
  3. All appointments 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.

Article 7. The Newsletter

  1. SIGMOBILE will publish a newsletter at regular intervals as determined by yhe SIGMOBILE Executive Committee. The newsletter will be distributed to all SIGMOBILE members. Newsletter subscriptions may be sold to non-members.
  2. With the advice of the other officers, the Chair will appoint the Editor of the newsletter, who will become a member of the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee.

Article 8. Membership, Dues, and Voting Privileges

  1. A person becomes a member of SIGMOBILE only after enrolling and paying the required dues. The dues for SIGMOBILE are determined by the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee with the approval of the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.
  2. All members of SIGMOBILE may vote in any ballot conducted with SIGMOBILE. On any ballot, the votes cast by non-ACM members of SIGMOBILE will, if necessary, be prorated downward so that their effective total cannot exceed 50% of the eligible vote.

Article 9. Reports and Records

The SIGMOBILE Chair is responsible for filing reports about SIGMOBILE as required by the SIG Governing Board. These include:

  1. An annual report, due as specified by the SIG Governing Board, on the activities of SIGMOBILE during the previous year;
  2. All reports required by the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM; and
  3. Closing reports on conferences and symposia (co)sponsored by SIGMOBILE as required by the ACM.

The membership records of SIGMOBILE will be maintained by ACM Headquarters.

Article 10. Elections

  1. By September 30 of each even-numbered year, if the SIG Governing Board has not exercised its option to extend the term of the SIG's current officers for an additional two years, the SIGMOBILE Chair will appoint a nominating committee which will propose at least two consenting candidates for each elective office of SIGMOBILE. The slate of candidates selected by the nominating committee must be presented to all the SIGMOBILE members by the following January 31.
  2. A petition from 1% of the voting members of SIGMOBILE will place other consenting candidates on the ballot. Petitions must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer of SIGMOBILE no later than March 15 of the election year.
  3. 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

  1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the ACM Executive Committee, or by a vote of the SIGMOBILE members as provided below. With the approval of the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee and of the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all members of the SIG Board may amend Article 1 of these bylaws without a referendum of the members.
  2. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the SIGMOBILE Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board, or a petition from 1% of the voting members of SIGMOBILE. All proposed amendments must be approved, prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership, by the Chair of the SIG Governing Board and by the Constitution & Bylaws Committee of ACM, after the Executive Director of ACM has provided advice.
  3. 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 Secretary-Treasurer will send a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of the ACM and to the Chair of the SIG Board.

Article 12. Dissolution

Should SIGMOBILE be dissolved, its assets will be supervised by the SIG Governing Board.

Article 13. Meetings

SIGMOBILE will conduct at least one open business meeting each year, normally in conjunction with a conference sponsored or cosponsored by SIGMOBILE. All meetings sponsored by SIGMOBILE must be open to all members of the ACM. SIGMOBILE 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 Board take precedence over any conflicting provisions of these bylaws or internal policies of SIGMOBILE.