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STANDING RULES OF

THE COUNCIL OF UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
RETIREE ASSOCIATIONS

1. There will be two meetings annually of the Council of University of California Retiree Associations (CUCRA), one in the fall and one in the spring, with the hosts alternating between northern and southern associations. Meetings will normally be held in-person, but a meeting may be held in lieu of an in-person meeting by voice and/or video telecommunications when deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee. The meeting dates and locations should be established at the earliest opportunity by CUCRA's Executive Committee in consultation with member associations and the leadership of the Council of University of California Emeriti Associations (CUCEA).

a. The leadership of CUCRA and CUCEA should consult with each other to plan a joint meeting of the two Councils. Appropriate representatives of the President's Office should be invited to attend the joint meeting.

b. The retiree association(s) that hosts each in-person meeting should arrange for appropriate facilities, including voice and/or video telecommunications, lodging, and meals for participants. The host association(s) may, at its discretion, assess a registration fee to assist in covering the necessary expenses.

c. Members shall receive notice of the date and time of fall and spring meetings at least 60 days in advance.

2. The Council Chair may call special meetings, to be held via voice and/or video telecommunications, e-mail, in person, or other appropriate means, to transact business between regular meetings. Members shall receive notice of the date and time of such meetings at least 30 days in advance.

 

 

 

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3. Annual dues for member associations are based on the total number of retirees at each location.

a. The annual membership dues for each member association should be determined by the "tier" into which the association falls. The "tiers" reflect the total number of retirees at each location as of October 31 of the current year, according to information provided to the Council Chair by the UC Office of the President. There are three tiers:

Group 1: 6,000 and above
Group 2: 3,000 - 5,999
Group 3: 1 - 2,999

b. The CUCRA Treasurer will prepare a dues schedule, based on the three tiers in section 3.a., that shows the amount of dues to be paid by each association during the coming calendar year, as part of the annual budget development process. The Treasurer will also prepare a multiple-year dues schedule to facilitate financial planning by member associations. A review of the next year's dues and the multi-year dues schedule will be part of the budget discussion and approval process at CUCRA's fall meeting.

c. In accordance with Article VI, Paragraph A of the Bylaws, the Treasurer will send the President of each member association by January 31 of each year an invoice that indicates the membership dues assessment.

d. A member association that is not able to make its annual dues payment may seek financial relief from CUCRA. In this case, the association should submit to the CUCRA Treasurer by March 1 a request for relief that explains the extenuating circumstances and provides a financial statement for the current year. The Treasurer will review the request, ask the association for clarification if needed, and forward the request with his/her recommendation to the Council Chair. After consulting with the Executive Committee, the Chair will inform the association's President of the Executive Committee's decision.

e. In the event that a member association's dues payment has not been received by CUCRA by March 31, the Treasurer will contact the President and/or the Treasurer of the association to discuss the status of the payment. (Sometimes the processing of a payment takes longer than expected, which in turn delays the receipt of the check by the CUCRA

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    Treasurer.) If it appears that the member association will not make the payment and has not requested relief, the following procedures will be followed:

(1) The Treasurer will inform the Council Chair about the delinquency.

(2) The Council Chair will consult with the Executive Committee, and may also choose to contact the association's President to seek clarification of the situation.

(3) The Council Chair will inform the association's President of any action recommended by the Executive Committee, which might include declaring the association's representative(s) ineligible to vote in Council meetings until payment has been received.

4. CUCRA will seek to maintain a reserve equivalent to two years' worth of operating expenses (Required Reserve Balance) to protect the Association from future downturns in travel program participation, inflationary increases, and unanticipated expenses. The Required Reserve Balance will be adjusted annually. At the end of a fiscal year (December 31), the Treasurer will determine the extent of any remaining surplus funds after the Required Reserve Balance is met and will allocate those funds for the benefit of the CUCRA membership, in the following priority:

a. To mitigate an increase in dues that might be required in the event that there are increased operational expenses and a projected deficit in the coming year;

b. To cover the meeting expenses of the Fall and Spring Joint CUCRA/CUCEA Meetings and the Fall and Spring CUCRA and CUCEA Meetings (including registration fees but not elective costs such as any networking dinner/reception); and,

c. To distribute any remainder after a. and b. have been covered to the member associations using the following formula: 50% will be distributed on an equal share to all member associations and the remaining 50% will be distributed on a pro rata share basis to member associations whose members and guests utilized the travel program during the past fiscal year.

Should the Required Reserve Balance fall below the two years' target, there shall be no distributions until the target is achieved.

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5. A copy of CUCRA's current Bylaws and Standing Rules will be posted on CUCRA's website (http://cucra.org).

6. CUCRA's Standing Rules may be amended by two-thirds vote of the Council's voting members.1

7. The Chair of the Joint Benefits Committee may be reimbursed for one-half of the expenses he/she incurred for meals, lodging, and transportation in attending meetings of the Council, provided that the Chair is not a Representative or Alternate of a member association. Reimbursement will be in accordance with the current University of California travel regulations. It is understood that CUCEA, in accordance with its Bylaws, will reimburse the J.B.C. Chair for the other half of his/her expenses.

8. To ensure an orderly and inclusive nominating process, the Council Vice-Chair, in his/her role as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, should forward the nominees for Council officers to the Information Officer for distribution by September 15.

9. Consistent with Article IV of the CUCRA Bylaws, Council Officers will be elected as follows:

a. Elections for officers whose terms are expiring will be held at the Council's in-person fall meeting or, for meetings held solely by voice and/or video telecommunications, prior to the fall meeting. When a fall meeting is not held in person, ballots with voting instructions shall be mailed to each Association by the Information Officer. Such ballots are to be returned to the Nominations and Elections Committee for tabulation by at least two members of the Committee. The Vice Chair or other member of the Committee shall announce the results of the election at the fall meeting. Newly elected officers will begin their terms of office on January 1 of the following year.

b. Elections for offices becoming vacant before the end of the term will be held either at the next scheduled meeting of the Council or at a special meeting called by the Chair. The Nomination and Elections Committee will recommend a nominee(s) in consultation with the Chair and then bring the recommendation to the Council for approval of a majority of

 

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1 If CUCRA had 21 members, 14 would have to vote in favor of a proposed Standing Rule amendment in order to meet the two-thirds requirement.

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the Council's voting members. The elected officer(s) will complete the term of the vacated office(s).

10. The travel program will be coordinated by a volunteer. The person will not receive any compensation for services performed. Reimbursable expenses will include printing (e.g. travel brochures), postage and mailing, subscribing to contact management applications, and attending fall and spring CUCRA meetings.

 

The Council of University of California Retiree Associations hereby amends these Standing Rules, which were originally adopted on April 17, 2008, and subsequently amended on October 21, 2012, April 30, 2015, October 25, 2017, October 25, 2019, and October 27, 2022.

 

Date: October 27, 2022

 

___________________________
Patti Owen, Secretary