Constitution Of  The Oklahoma Bondsman Association, Inc.
(an Oklahoma Not-For-Profit Corporation)

ARTICLE I – Name:

The name of this organization shall be “The Oklahoma Bondsman Association,  Inc.,” a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Oklahoma.

ARTICLE II  – Objectives and Purposes:

1. For purposes of this Constitution, the terms “Bondsman” or “Bondsmen” and “Bail Agent” shall be synonymous and interchangeable. These terms also refers to both male and female.

2. To safeguard the interests of the general public, and of bondsmen in particular.

3. To promote and maintain high standards of integrity and competence among bondsmen as an important part of the criminal justice system, and to encourage and enhance cooperation between bondsmen for the benefit of all.

4. To assist in improving, upholding and enforcing laws and proposed laws of the State of Oklahoma, and of the United States, effecting the bail bond industry.

5. To organize, promote and conduct meetings, seminars, classes or conferences regarding information and education of licensing applicants, and continuing education of licensed bondsmen as required by the laws of the State of Oklahoma; and to maintain liaison and good relations with the Bail Bond Section, Oklahoma Department of Insurance, and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

6. To correct injurious, discriminatory, unfair or illegal business methods practices by or against bondsmen.

7. To enlighten leadership and the general public in areas in which the bail bond industry is involved.

8. To produce and distribute information to assist in fulfillment of these purposes.

9. To participate in and promote mutual assistance programs fostering stability and professionalism among bondsman, especially with other trade, professional and service organizations.

10. To create and maintain cooperation with appropriate regulatory officials, and conformity with their lawful rules and regulations.

ARTICLE III – Membership:

1. Regular members:

Regular membership in the association shall be limited to bondsmen licensed to do business in the State of Oklahoma, in good standing with the Oklahoma Department of Insurance.  Regular membership is extended to individual bondsmen, each of whom are entitled to one (1) vote in matters affecting the association and brought before the membership at the annual meeting or any special membership meeting called by the President or the Board of Directors.  Such votes must be cast in person by each individual member at the meeting at which such vote is taken.

2. Affiliate members:

Business entities or individuals providing goods or services to the bail bond industry, such as (but not limited to) surety companies, computer hardware and software firms or their agents, may, upon application, approval by the board of directors and payment of required fees and/or dues, become Affiliate Members of this association.  Affiliate members shall have no vote in the affairs of the association.

3. Resignation:

Members of either category listed above may resign upon written notice to the Board of Directors; such resignation shall not relieve members of any obligations to pay dues, fees, assessments or other charges previously accrued and unpaid, including fees for schools, seminars and similar programs.

4. Suspension or expulsion:

Membership and voting privileges of any regular member shall be suspended if that member’s license is suspended or revoked by the Oklahoma Department of Insurance, and shall remain in suspension until such time as the bondsman’s license is reinstated by the Department.  Membership may also be suspended by the Board of Directors if actions of a member or members are clearly contrary to provisions of Article II of this Constitution, or if a member has failed to pay dues, fees, charges or other obligations to the Association.

5. Membership not transferrable:

Membership in the Association shall not be transferrable nor constitute property, and shall cease upon the death, resignation or adjudicated disability of a member.

ARTICLE IV – Meetings:

1. AN ANNUAL MEETING shall be held annually at a time and place determined by the Board of Directors, for the transaction of such business as may properly come before such meeting.

SPECIAL MEETINGS of the regular membership may be called by the President, or the Board of Directors, or by no fewer than fifty one per cent (51%) of the membership, to deal with problems of sufficient urgency that they should not be put off until the next annual meeting. Special meetings shall be arranged by the Board at an appropriate place, date and time.

3. NOTICE of special meetings, stating the place, date and time, shall be delivered either personally, by regular mail, or electronic means to each regular member not less than thirty (30) days before the date of such special meeting; except that a meeting may be called on forty-eight (48) hours notice by the Board of Directors to deal with a situation certified as an emergency by the Board. Notice of such certified emergency may be circulated by telephone, fax or other electronic means available.  Written notice of any business meeting other than the Annual Meeting shall set forth the purpose(s) of such meeting.  It is the responsibility of each bondsman to keep the Association informed of the bondsman’s contact information.

4. A QUORUM shall be those regular members present at any annual or properly called special membership meeting, and a simple majority of those present may take action on any matter.

5. VOTING shall be in person by each individual regular member in good standing at the time of the meeting. Proxy voting or absentee voting shall not be allowed.

ARTICLE V – Officers:

Officers of the Association shall be:

President,

Vice President,

Secretary, and

Treasurer

These officers shall be elected every other year as follows:  the offices of President and Secretary shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, with the elections to be held in odd-numbered years; the offices of Vice-President and Treasurer shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, with the elections to be conducted in even-numbered years.

Only members in good standing may be permitted to hold a position as an officer, which means that such member must:  1) be current on his or her Association dues; and 2) have been in good standing with the Oklahoma Insurance Department for a period of at least twelve (12) months, unless he or she is a new member.   In addition, any candidate for the Office of the President of the Association must have previously served at least one (1) year as a member of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI – Board of Directors:

Affairs of the Association, including but not limited to hiring of an executive director, contracting for goods and services; and setting of dues and fees, shall be managed by a Board of Directors, which shall consist of nine (9) regular members including officers, elected by those regular members in good standing present and voting at the annual continuing education class(es).  Various day-to-day duties and responsibilities may be delegated by the Board to the Executive Director.

The President of the association shall preside and be responsible for the orderly conduct of all regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors.  In event of absence of the President from a meeting, the Vice President shall preside.

The Secretary shall take and preserve written minutes of each regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors; such minutes to include the date, time and place of such meeting, a roster of officers, directors and others present, a resume of items discussed, and actions taken, including results of roll-call votes.  In event the Secretary is absent, the President may appoint an acting Secretary for that meeting only.

The Treasurer shall keep and preserve financial records of the association, reporting the financial condition of the Association at each board meeting, and at the annual meeting.

Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held monthly at a date, time and place designated by the Board, except that for sufficient reasons determined by the President and approved by the Board, postpone the monthly meeting until the date time and place designated for the next meeting.  No fewer than six (6) meetings of the Board of Directors, including those held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting and with continuing education session(s), shall be held during each calendar year.

Notice of regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors shall be made in accordance with Bylaws of the Association.

In the event of a vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors because of death, illness, resignation, retirement or any other reason, such vacancy shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining directors.  Any director so appointed shall serve until the next scheduled election for that office.

Terms of Directors shall be two (2) years.  Terms of Directors representing District 1 and District 3 shall expire in odd-numbered years; terms of Directors representing District 2, District 4 and the Director-at-large shall expire in even-numbered years.

Districts are designated as follows:  District 1 shall be that portion of Oklahoma west of Interstate Highway 35, and north of Interstate Highway 40; District 2 shall be that portion of Oklahoma east of Interstate Highway 35 and North of Interstate Highway 40; District 3 shall be that portion of Oklahoma south of Interstate Highway 40 and east of Interstate Highway 35; District 4 shall be that portion of Oklahoma west of Interstate Highway 35 and south of Interstate Highway 40.

ARTICLE VII – Elections:

Incumbents in the positions of Officers and Directors shall be deemed to be candidates for their respective positions unless they expressly request not to be retained.  All other candidates for these positions shall be nominated on forms to be provided by the Association and distributed upon request to the members.  Any nominations not on the correct form will not qualify for election.  There shall be no nominations from the floor, nor any “write-in” candidates.  All new nominations must be endorsed by at least three (3) members of the Association who are in good standing.  The nominations must be provided to the Association no later than March 1 of the year in which that person is standing for election.  The Association shall publish a list of candidates for any given year in the April issue of the Association newsletter.  There are no term limits for the positions of Officers or Directors.

Election procedures and processes shall be conducted in accordance with the Association’s By-Laws by secret ballot.  Members eligible to vote may cast only one vote per office for the Officers and one vote for the director for their respective districts and one vote for the Director-at-Large.

The results of the voting shall be announced at the conclusion of the last session of the annual education class(es).  Those persons elected shall assume their respective positions at the next meeting of the Board of Directors.

The procedures for the location of the ballot box, the times at which voting will be allowed, and any other measures deemed necessary for the conduct of the election shall be implemented by the Board of Directors through the Association’s by-laws.

All regular members are eligible to vote for all officers and for the director-at-large.  Members may also vote for the director to represent their respective district.  A member’s district is one of the four (4) geographical districts (District 1 Northwest; District 2, Northeast; District 3, southeast; District 4 southwest) and determined by the physical address on file with the Oklahoma Insurance Department at the time of voting.  Ballots including names of candidates for more than one (1) district directorship shall be deemed invalid. 

ARTICLE VIII – Committees:

The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, either standing or ad hoc, to study issues, make recommendations and otherwise provide assistance to the Board.  Each committee shall include at least one Board Member as chairman, and may consist of board members or regular members, as appropriate.

ARTICLE IX – Annuals, financial transactions, books, and records:

The Board of Directors shall keep detailed records of receipts, disbursements, contracts, and other transactions as appropriate for not-for-profit organizations operating under Section 501 (c)(6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, as detailed in bylaws of the Association.

ARTICLE X – Compensation:

Officers and Directors of the association shall not receive salaries or other compensation for their services, except that officers and directors may be reimbursed for mileage and out-of-pocket expenses in connection with participation in meetings and other activities of the association in their official capacities, providing such reimbursement is approved by the Board, as detailed in bylaws of the Association.

ARTICLE XI – Fiscal year:

Fiscal year of the Association shall be from September 1 to August 31 of each year. 

ARTICLE XII – Dues, fees and assessments:

Amount of dues for regular members and affiliate members shall be set annually by the Board of Directors, as detailed in bylaws of the Association.

The Board of Directors may from time to time approve fees and/or assessments for specific needs or activities, as detailed in bylaws of the Association. 

ARTICLE XIII – Administration of assets:

The Board of Directors shall be responsible for management of assets of the Association, including any real estate.  Such responsibility may be delegated to trustees, and through them to contract management, as detailed in bylaws of the Association. 

ARTICLE XIV – Distribution of assets:

In the event of dissolution of the Oklahoma Bondsman Association, Inc., no member, officer or director of the Association shall be entitled to share in distribution of assets of the association.  These assets shall be distributed in any lawful manner as determined by the Board of Directors at their final meeting prior to dissolution.

ARTICLE XV – Amendment:

This Constitution may be amended or repealed by the regular members of the Oklahoma Bondsman Association, Inc. at an annual meeting, or at any special general membership meeting called for that specific purpose in a manner outlined in Article IV, above.  Bylaws of the Association may be amended by two thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Board of Directors, as specified in the Association’s By-Laws.

ATTEST:  Oklahoma Bondsman Association, Inc.

Tracey Halley-Terrell – Secretary

Kenny Boyer – President

APPROVED AT GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING HELD ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2021.