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BY-LAWS OF THE FRAMINGHAM DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
(As Revised on April 7, 2024)

BY-LAWS OF THE
FRAMINGHAM DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
(As Last Revised on April 7, 2024)

PREAMBLE
We, the duly elected members of the Framingham Democratic Committee, as organized
under Chapter 52, Section 2 of the Massachusetts General Laws following the structure
of a Democratic Town Committee, inasmuch as the City of Framingham is not
organized into Wards, which are required in order to have the structure of a Democratic
City Committee (which consists of Ward Committees), hereinafter “the Committee,”
hereby associate ourselves for the purposes of furthering the principles of the
Democratic Party and the Charter of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, supporting only registered Democratic Candidates in national, state,
and local elections, and for all other purposes allowed under law.

ARTICLE 1: PURPOSE
The Committee shall encourage Democratic Party voters and newly–registered voters,
through a program of education and information, to join the Democratic Party’s political
activities, the aim of which is to strengthen and further the cause of sound government.
The Committee shall call on all Democratic Party voters and invite unenrolled voters to
vote in the Democratic Party primaries.
The Committee may support and endorse enrolled Democratic candidates for elected
office in partisan and nonpartisan primaries, preliminaries and elections. The Committee
may endorse a candidate at a regular or special meeting of the Committee, provided a
two-thirds (2/3) majority, but no fewer than 24, of those voting approves the proposed
endorsement.

ARTICLE 2: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: General Membership
The Committee shall consist of 35 members elected at the Presidential Primary for a
period of four (4) years, pursuant to the General Laws of the Commonwealth. Vacancies
in the Committee shall be filled as set forth in the General Laws of the Commonwealth
by nomination and election by the Committee. After a Committee member has served
the Committee for twenty (20) years, they shall become Life Members and shall have
the same privileges as members but shall not be included in the count of elected
Committee members. Elected Committee members are expected to understand that
there are certain participatory obligations in the Massachusetts State Democratic Party
Charter, which should be met.
Any member who changes his or her domicile from Framingham shall cease to be a
member of the Committee.
Section 2: Associate Membership
All registered Democrats and pre-registered Democrats between the ages of 16 and 18,
in the City of Framingham, are eligible for associate membership on the Committee. To
obtain membership, such persons must attend a meeting of the Committee, state their
wish to join, state their agreement to abide by the by-laws, and pay such annual dues
as are set forth under Article 6 of these by-laws. Associate members whose dues are
current shall be provided with notice of all Committee meetings, be able to participate in
debate and deliberations of the Committee and be able to serve as voting members of
subcommittees.
Associate members shall not have the right to vote on formal actions of the Committee.
However, Associate Members shall be eligible to vote on all matters before a
subcommittee of which they are a duly appointed member.

ARTICLE 3: OFFICERS
Section 1: Officers of the Committee
The Officers of the Committee shall be Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and
Affirmative Action & Outreach Advisor and shall be elected in sequence at the annual
meeting for a term of two (2) years or as necessary to fill a vacancy for the remainder of
said term by signed ballot or roll call vote. A majority of the votes cast shall be required
to elect at the annual meeting, or as necessary to fill a vacancy, except as set forth in
Section 2 of this article.
Any position filled by two officers acting as co-officers, shall be filled by members not of
the same gender.
Section 2: Chair
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Committee. The Chair shall:
• Call the meeting to order at the scheduled time;
• Announce the business before the Committee in the order in which it is to be
acted upon;
• Recognize members entitled to the floor;
• State and put to vote all questions that are regularly moved;
• Assist in expediting business in every way compatible with the rights of the
members;
• Enforce on all occasions the observance of order and decorum among the
members;
• Authenticate by signature, when necessary, all acts, orders and proceedings of
the Committee.

The Chair shall conduct the meetings in general compliance with Robert’s Rules of
Order as set forth under Section 5 of Article 4. The Chair shall appoint members to
subcommittees and call special meetings as necessary.
Section 3: Vice-Chair
In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair shall assume the duties of the Chair. In the
event of permanent or temporary absence or resignation of the Chair, the Vice-Chair
shall act as Chair for the balance of the term. The Vice-Chair shall also serve as the
convener of the Programming Subcommittee. If there is one Vice-Chair elected, that
person shall not be of the same gender as the Chair.
Section 4: Secretary
The Secretary shall perform all the usual duties of a secretary, including but not limited
to:
• Make and file an accurate record of all official meetings of the Committee;
• Maintain an accurate list of the members;
• Provide notice of all meetings, elections, and votes to be taken;
• Prepare at the direction of the Chair the agenda of all meetings;
• File with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Secretary of the Democratic State
Committee, the Office of Campaign and Political Finance and the City Clerk a list
of the officers and members of the Committee.
Section 5: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining an accurate accounting of all
financial transactions of the Committee. In addition, the Treasurer shall handle all petty
cash, maintain and reconcile bank account(s), and handle all correspondence of a
financial nature, including the filing of City Committee financial reports with the Office of
Campaign and Political Finance. Expenditure of funds by the Treasurer shall only be
made by a vote of the Committee, except for regular expenses of the Committee.
Section 6: Affirmative Action & Outreach Advisor
The Affirmative Action & Outreach Advisor shall follow State Committee rules and
encourage in the Committee the participation of individuals from affirmative action target
groups.
Section 7. Executive Committee
There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of each of the elected officers as
enumerated in Sections 2 through 6 of this Article.
All proceedings of the Executive Committee shall adhere to the practices and
procedures enumerated in the current Robert’s Rules of Order.

Upon the calling of an Executive Committee meeting, notice of the fact of the meeting
shall be given to the Committee Membership, together with the intended items and
issues to be discussed at that Executive Committee meeting. Attendance at Executive
Committee meetings is to be open to all regular members of the Committee, however
only members of the Executive Committee shall be voting members at such Executive
Committee meetings. Upon a vote of 2/3 of the members of the Executive Committee,
the Executive Committee may discuss and declare an “Executive Session,” which is not
open to the public.Section 8: Recall
Any office may be declared vacant on the vote of two-thirds of the membership in
response to written motions signed by ten members and served by hard copy or
electronically upon all members for receipt at least ten days prior to any regular or
special meeting.

ARTICLE 4: MEETINGS
Section 1: Annual Meeting
(a) The Annual Meeting of the Committee shall be held no later than the regularly
scheduled business meeting for the month of April in non-presidential election
years.
(b) An Organizational Meeting for the purpose of electing officers shall be held every
two years during the Annual Meeting. In presidential election years, the Committee
shall organize at the Annual Meeting within ten days following the thirtieth day after
the presidential primary election.
(c) Each April meeting of the Committee, which is not an Organizational Meeting, shall
be designated as an Annual Meeting for purposes of establishing the calendar year
of the Committee, and dues for the new year shall become due at this meeting.

Section 2: Regular Meetings
There shall be no fewer than six regular meetings per year, to be held on a monthly
basis when possible.

Section 3: Attendance
Committee members shall attend at least half of the scheduled meetings. Failure to
generally adhere to this standard may result in the Committee asking for the member’s
resignation and/or not recommending that the member go forward for reelection, or may
be removed by procedures guaranteeing adequate notice and due process pursuant to
the provisions of Article Two, Section V of the Massachusetts Democratic Party Charter.

Section 4: Meeting Notification
All members and associate members shall receive written notification of meetings,
either by letter or electronic mail, seven days in advance of each regular or annual
meeting, or 48 hours in advance of a special meeting. Notice of special meetings must
contain the standard pertinent information and the purpose or purposes for which such
meeting is called.

Section 5: Proceedings
All proceedings and meetings of the Committee, or any Subcommittee, shall be
conducted under and pursuant to Robert’s Rules of Order, insofar as they are consistent
with these by-laws, except as may be otherwise voted by two-thirds of the membership.

Section 6: Quorum
Nine members of the Committee constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at
any meeting. A majority vote by those members present and voting at any meeting shall
be required by these by-laws.

Section 7: Transparency
All meetings, except drafting committees, at all levels shall be open to the public, unless
an executive session is authorized by a two-thirds vote, and no vote shall be taken by
secret ballot. However, a secret ballot is permitted in local caucuses.
ARTICLE 5: SUBCOMMITTEES
A subcommittee of the Committee may be created or dissolved by the chair or a voting
majority of the Committee. Subcommittee members shall be appointed by the Chair and
may consist of both members and associate members. One subcommittee shall be the
Financial Audit Committee that shall conduct a biennial audit of the financial affairs of
the Committee following the election of the Treasurer.

ARTICLE 6: MEMBERSHIP DUES
The annual dues contribution of members and dues of associate members shall be
determined by the membership at the annual meeting. Annual dues cover the period
from May 1 to April 30. Full annual dues contributions are payable whenever an
individual becomes a new member or dues are payable upon a person becoming an
associate member. Associate Members, who are preregistered Democrats between the
ages of 16 and 18, may be exempted from dues obligations by a decision of the
Treasurer and/or Chair. Dues may be confidentially waived by the Treasurer and/or the
Chair in the event of a financial hardship.

ARTICLE 7: PUBLIC STATEMENTS
The Committee or Executive Committee, with the approval of the Chair, may from time
to time authorize the Chair or any other member to communicate on behalf of the
Committee to the media or other outside bodies. Any person so authorized shall
accurately reflect the Motion passed by a Committee and no written statement on any
substantive issue shall be made unless it is first approved by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE 8: AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
The Bylaws may be amended at a regular or special meeting of the Committee provided
a majority, but no fewer than 18, of those voting approves the proposed amendment(s).
Except for amendments emanating from the Bylaws Subcommittee, no amendment
shall be voted upon that has not been submitted for review to the Bylaw Subcommittee
at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the meeting at which the proposed
amendment is to be voted upon. Notice of the proposed amendment, including its
wording and the names of its sponsor(s), shall be sent to the members by letter or
electronic mail at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the meeting at which the
proposed amendment(s) is to be voted upon.

ARTICLE 9: SEVERABILITY
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions, if any portion of the by-laws is deemed
invalid, the invalid portion shall be deemed stricken and the remaining provisions shall
remain in full force and effect.