With revisions and additions as adopted by the Membership on March 13, 2008

ARTICLE I - NAME

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the "Western Society of Weed Science," hereinafter called the "Society". The Society area shall include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Society shall be:

Section 1. To foster cooperation among state, federal, provincial, and private agencies in matters of weed science in the Society area.

Section 2. To support the Weed Science Society of America and foster state and regional organizations of persons and agencies interested in weed control and management.

Section 3. To aid and support commercial, private, and public agencies in the prevention, identification and solution of weed problems.

Section 4. To foster and encourage education and research in weed science.

Section 5. To support legislation governing weed control and management programs and weed research and education programs.

Section 6. To assist in the development of uniform weed control and management and eradication legislation and weed seed quarantine legislation and regulations.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership shall be open to anyone interested in the objectives of the Society. Three types of membership are provided: (a) active, (b) honorary, and (c) sustaining.

Section 2. Active members are individuals who are interested in weeds or their control and management, and who have paid their annual dues to the treasurer. Active members may attend all Society meetings, vote on Society matters, hold office, and receive official notices of all meetings.

Section 3. Honorary members are selected individuals whose activities have been largely from outside the Western Society of Weed Science who have significantly contributed to the field of weed science, and who are elected by two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors. Honorary members shall receive all publications and announcements of the Society but will not be eligible to vote or hold office.

Section 4. Sustaining members are public or private individuals or organizations interested in the objectives of the Society, who wish to participate in the activities of the Society and who have remitted their annual sustaining membership dues.

ARTICLE IV- OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The officers of the Society shall be:
(1) President
(2) President-Elect who serves as Program Chairperson
(3) Secretary

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall be composed of:

(1) President
(2) President-Elect
(3) Secretary
(4) Immediate Past-President
(5) Representative to WSSA
(6) Chairperson of the Research Section
(7) Chairperson of the Education and Regulatory Section
(8) Member-at-Large – public sector
(9) Member-at-Large – private sector

Non-voting Board members:

(10) Chairperson-Elect of the Research Section
(11) Chairperson-Elect of the Education and Regulatory Section
(12) Representative to CAST
(13) Treasurer/Business Manager
(14) Representative for Constitution and Operating Procedures
(15) Student liaison chairperson
(16) Student liaison chair-elect
(17) Website Editor

Section 3. The President, President-Elect, and Secretary shall begin their duties at the close of the regular business meeting at which they are installed and shall remain in office until the close of the next regular Society business meeting at the end of their respective terms. Other members of the Board of Directors shall begin their term at the close of the meeting at which they are installed, except the Representatives to WSSA and CAST whose term is described in ARTICLE IV, Section 5 and 7 of the Constitution.

Section 4. The Chairperson of the Research Section and Chairperson of the Education and Regulatory Section shall serve a one-year term beginning at the close of the business meeting at which they become chairpersons.

Section 5. The President, with the consent of the Board of Directors, shall appoint a Society Representative to the Weed Science Society of America who shall serve a three-year term beginning at the Weed Science Society of America Business meeting in the year following appointment.

Section 6. The Board of Directors shall appoint a Treasurer-Business Manager to serve as they may direct.

Section 7. The President, with the consent of the Board of Directors, shall appoint a Society Representative to the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) to serve as they direct. The Representative to CAST shall serve three (3) years, beginning after the CAST fall meeting.

Section 8. The Chairperson-Elect of the Research Section and Chairperson-Elect of the Education and Regulatory Section shall serve a one-year, non-voting, term beginning at the close of the business meeting at which they become chairpersons-elect.

Section 9. The President, with the consent of the Board of Directors shall appoint a person to serve as a Representative of Constitution and Operating Procedures to a term of five years. This person shall be parliamentarian on behalf of the President and shall serve as a non-voting member of the Board of Directors provided that (s)he is not concurrently serving as a duly elected member of that body.

Section 10. The President-Elect will appoint a Member-at-Large who will take office at the same time as the President-Elect and will serve on the Board for two (2) years. The person selected by the President-Elect should be from the private or public sector, whichever area is not already represented on the Board of Directors by the other Member-at-Large.

ARTICLE V - SOCIETY SECTIONS

Section 1. In promoting a full exchange of ideas and information on weed science and to facilitate programming of meetings, there shall be two general sections as follows:
(1) The Research Section
(2) The Education and Regulatory Section

Section 2. These two sections may have sectional programs, project meetings and informal discussions of research reports and other pertinent information. Such meetings shall be at the regular meeting at a time designated by the Program Committee.

Section 3. The Chairperson of each of these sections shall be a member of the Society Board of Directors and shall be elected as stated in Article VI, Section 3.

ARTICLE VI - ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors. They shall present their nominations for each office to be filled to the Board of Directors for approval before presenting the nominees to the membership for election by ballot. No member's name shall be placed on the ballot without the member's consent. All candidates for office shall be selected from the Society membership and shall be elected by the majority of the members voting. In case of a tie vote, the winner shall be determined by flip of a coin in the presence of both nominees or their representatives at a meeting of the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The terms of office shall be as follows: The officer moving through the office of President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past-President shall be a member of the Board of Directors for a three-year term; the Secretary shall serve a two-year term.

Section 3. The Chairperson-Elect of the Research and the Education and Regulatory sections shall be elected by the Society and serve a one-year term. Following this, they shall succeed as Chairperson of their section for an additional one-year term. The Chairperson-Elect shall serve as Chairperson if the Chairperson is unable to serve his/her term.

Section 4. If an elected officer cannot serve the full term, the vacancy shall be filled for the interim by appointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors, unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution. The President-Elect shall serve as President if the President becomes unable to serve. This service shall not constitute his/her term as President. In case both the President and President-Elect are unable to serve, the most Immediate Past-President who is willing to serve shall serve as interim President until the members elect new officers.

ARTICLE VII - STANDING COMMITTEES

Section 1. There shall be fifteen Standing Committees: Program, Finance, Publications, Local Arrangements, Nominating, Public Relations, Nominations of Fellows and Honorary Members, Site Selection, Awards, Poster, Student Paper Judging, Necrology, Sustaining Membership, Legislative, and Herbicide Resistant Plants appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The Program Committee shall consist of the President-Elect as Chairperson, the two Section Chairpersons, and such other members appointed by the Program Committee Chairperson as required to give all phases of weed science adequate representation.

Section 3. The Finance Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two members. Terms of office of this committee shall be three years, established to expire alternately so that at least two members continue over each year. The member serving his/her second year of the term shall serve as Chairperson.

Section 4. The Publications Committee shall consist of the President-Elect (Chairperson), Proceedings Editor, Research Reports Editor, Newsletter Editor, and Website Editor.

Section 5. The Local Arrangements Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and others as needed.

Section 6. The Nominating Committee shall consist of Chairperson, Immediate Past-President, and two rotating members. Terms of office of this committee, excluding the Immediate Past-President, shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 7. The Public Relations Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 8. The Committee for Nominations of Fellows and Honorary Members shall consist of three Fellows of the Society and the Immediate Past-President. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 9. The Site Selection Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 10. The Awards Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 11. The Poster Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 12. The Student Paper Judging Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 13. The Necrology Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 14. The Sustaining Membership Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above.

Section 15. The Legislative Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be as in Section 3 above. Members shall be eligible for re-appointment to serve a second 3-year term.

Section 16. The Herbicide Resistant Plants Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and five additional members. Terms of office of this committee shall be: Chairperson appointed to a three-year term and five other members appointed to three-year terms, established to expire alternately so that at least four members continue over each year.

ARTICLE VIII - DUES

Section 1. The amount of dues and the method of collecting such dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. In the event of the dissolution of the Western Society of Weed Science, the physical assets shall be sold and after payment of all debts, money possessed by the Society shall be given prorated on a membership basis without let or hindrance to agricultural education institutes in the states and provinces listed in Article I, Section 1, by the Board of Directors holding office at the time of dissolution

ARTICLE IX - MEETINGS

Section 1. Meetings shall be held at such time and places as may be determined by the President in consultation with the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE X - BY-LAWS

Section 1. The Society may adopt By-Laws.

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS

Section 1. The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by majority vote of the members present at any regular meeting.