A. All Officers, Directors at Large and Associate Directors shall be members in good standing of the Minnesota Fraud Investigator’s Association.

B. Election and Terms of Office: The offices shall be President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer. The President and Vice-President shall be elected by the association membership for a one (1) year term or, in the case of unexpired terms, by a majority of the board members. The Vice-President will automatically move to the President position each year. The outgoing president will automatically become a voting director for one (1) year. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be elected by the association membership for a two (2) year term or, in the case of unexpired terms, by a majority of the board members.

C. Directors at Large: There shall be seven (7) Directors – At- Large elected by and from the association membership; one (1) from Hennepin County, one (1) from Ramsey County, one (1) from the suburban metro area, three (3) from the non-metro area, one (1) from a federal agency. The representative from the Federal agency shall be referred to as “A Federal Liaison Person.” Term of Director – At – Large shall be for a two (2) year term.

D. Associate Directors:

1. Associate directors may be appointed by the president, with the agreement by the involved organization, subject to the approval by a majority of the Directors as follows:
a. One (1) from the Program Integrity Unit, Minnesota Department of Human Services.
b. One (1) from another organization which, in the judgement of the Board of Directors, has an established interest in and is supportive of the purposes and goals of the Association.
2. These positions shall be for a two (2) year term.
3. These positions shall be non-voting positions.

E. Nominating Committee: As set forth in Article VI, the Nominating Committee shall submit in writing to the membership present at the Annual Meeting, a proposed slate of officers for the following year and terms up for the election. Said list shall be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the Board of Directors scheduled election or by registration time of the Spring Conference. Thereafter, any member may nominate other persons for offices open for election. These nominations are to be submitted by the general membership to any member of the nominating committee. Nominations may also be accepted from the floor at the time of the election. A nominee shall provide to the membership biographical information, either verbal of in writing.

F. Duties of the President: The President shall be the chief elected officer of the Association. He/she shall preside at all membership meetings and serve as President of the Board of Directors. The President shall preside over the activities of the Association, present an annual report to the membership at the Association's Annual meeting, appoint the Chairperson of committees as authorized by the Board of Directors, and perform such other duties as are inherent in the Office of the President or authorized by the Board of Directors

G. Duties of the Vice-President: The Vice-President shall, in the absence of the President, perform all duties and assume all responsibilities of the President. He/she will chair special committees and overall chairperson of the Spring Training conference.

H. Duties of the Secretary/Treasurer: The Secretary/Treasurer shall be the historian of the Association. He/she shall keep minutes of the meetings of the Association, the Board of Directors and perform all duties incidental to the office of Secretary. He/she shall supervise the financial affairs of the Association and cause a complete record to be kept of all receipts and disbursements and shall make regular reports to the Board of Directors and an annual report to the Association.

I. Duties of Directors-at-Large: The Directors-At-Large shall, in addition to the duties specified in these By-laws, assist the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, in generally governing the affairs of the Association, including but not limited to, making policy decisions for the Association, establishing rules and procedures for the Board of Directors and the Association, and approving, modifying, or disapproving reports, resolution and/or actions of officers or committees of the Association.

J. Removal of Directors and Officers: Based on a recommendation from the other Board members, an officer may be removed from office the remainder of his/her term, by the majority vote of the regular members, for failing to discharge the duties of his/her office. Should any Officer's or Director's conduct be considered by the Association membership to be detrimental to the best interest of the Association, or a violation of the Association's By-laws, rules and regulations, a recommendation for removal from the other directors is not necessary for removal by the Association's regular membership. Each Director will be allowed three (3) unexcused absences. A Director with more than three (3) unexcused absences shall be removed from office.

K. Vacancies: A vacancy in any office shall be filled by the affirmative votes of the majority of the then members of the Board of Directors.

Note: Above incorporates changes made at the Fall 2004 Conference