The name of this organization shall be Blind Information Technology Specialists, hereinafter referred to as BITS.

BITS is an organization which strives to promote the use of technology such as computer and information technology by blind persons to improve the quality of their personal and professional lives, and to advocate for improved accessibility to devices and technology for all visually impaired persons. To accomplish these goals, BITS shall engage in activities such as the following:

2.1. Endeavor to establish high standards of education and training, and accessibility thereto, for visually impaired persons using computer and information technology.

2.2. Promote greater understanding and improved attitude toward the acceptance and employment of visually impaired persons in occupations involving the use or development of computer and information technology. To further advance this goal, BITS shall establish and support all forms of networking and communications with agencies, educators, employers, and legislators to further accommodate the requirements and aspirations of visually impaired persons in society.

2.3. Encourage and stimulate developers of technology to design adaptive hardware and software which will enable visually impaired persons to more fully participate in all aspects of society.

2.4. Work with entities in the public and private sector to promote the timely availability of technical documentation in accessible formats such as large print, Braille, audio recordings, or digital formats.

2.5. Actively function as an advocate, not only for BITS members, but in behalf of all other visually impaired persons, to promote equal accessibility to all computer and information technology currently available on the market.

2.6. Sponsor conferences, workshops, seminars, and networks to encourage the growth and development of the knowledge base of BITS members by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

2.7. Actively cooperate with other organizations of and for the blind in matters of common interest.

2.8. Publish a periodic newsletter and/or journal, and disseminate such other information that may be of value and interest to the members of this organization.

Membership of this organization shall consist of people who are legally blind, as well as those who are sighted, working together in partnership to attain the goals and objectives described in Article 2 of this constitution. However, the offices of president and vice president must be held by members who are legally blind. A majority of the membership of this affiliate must be legally blind.

3.1. TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP AND Qualifications:

3.1.1. FULL MEMBERSHIP: Full membership is open to any individual who is actively involved with computer and information technology to enhance the quality of their personal and professional life.

3.1.2. STUDENT MEMBERSHIP: Student membership is open to any individual who is enrolled, either part time or full time, in a recognized curriculum in a college or vocational school.

3.1.3. ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP: Individuals officially representing organizations may hold membership in BITS, one delegate per organization, provided that one or more of the following hold for the represented organizations:

3.1.3.1. Is a developer of adaptive hardware or software or of technology for visually impaired persons;

3.1.3.2. Is involved in employment, education, and/or training of visually impaired persons;

3.1.3.3. Is involved in advocacy for visually impaired persons in areas such as employment and the advancement of adaptive technology.

3.2. Application for Membership: Applications for membership shall be submitted to the treasurer. The application shall specify the type of membership sought and whether the applicant is sighted or visually impaired. It shall include a brief statement of qualifications for membership. It must include payment of the appropriate dues as stated in Bylaw Article 1).

3.3. Rights of Members. The rights accompanying each type of membership are as follows:

3.3.1. Full members shall have all privileges including the right to serve in elective office, to attend and participate and vote in all regular and special membership meetings, and to serve as chairs or members of committees.

3.3.2. Student members shall have all the rights of full members except the right to serve as president or vice president.

3.3.3. Organizational member representative shall have the same rights as full members except that they may not serve as elected officers or chairs of committees.

3.4. Dues: Membership dues are specified in Bylaw Article 1.

3.5. Membership in Good Standing: The term, "member in good standing" means that such member has paid dues and BITS registration fees prior to the call to order of the first business session of the annual meeting and is so noted on the treasurer’s membership list.

4.1. Annual Meeting: A meeting of the full membership, referred to as the "annual membership meeting," shall be held each year. At the annual meeting, the status of the organization shall be reviewed, the election of officers and board members at Large shall be held in accordance with Article 5 of this constitution, and plans for the following year's activities shall be established.

4.2. Time and Place of the annual meeting: At each annual business meeting, the time and place of the next annual meeting shall be determined by the membership. The annual meeting is customarily held at the same time and place as meetings of the other special interest groups affiliated with the American Council of the Blind.

4.3. Registration Fees: Registration fees required for participation in the annual meeting, or any other BITS sponsored activity, shall be determined by the board of directors on a case by case basis.

5.1. Elections: Regular elections shall be held every two years on odd numbered years to elect officers, board members at large, and to fill any vacancies that may have occurred during the previous year. Off year elections shall be held to replace board members at large whose 3 year terms have expired, and to fill any vacancies that may have occurred during the previous year.

5.2. Voting: All full members, student members, and organizational member representatives in good standing shall have the right to vote.

5.3. Quorum: During any business session, the presence of one third of the members registered at the annual meeting, who have been determined by the credentials committee to be "eligible voting members in good standing," shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business at that session.

6.1. Officers: Four officers shall be elected from among the eligible candidates who must be members in good standing at the call to order of the annual meeting in which they are nominated. The officers are as follows: president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

6.2. Qualifications of Officers:

6.2.1. Candidates for the offices of president and vice president must be full Members and must be legally blind.

6.2.2. Candidates for the offices of secretary and treasurer must be either full or Student Members.

6.3. Terms of office:

6.3.1. All four officers shall be elected for terms of two years.

6.3.2. No member is eligible for election to the same office for more than three consecutive full two year terms. Any period of time less than or equal to one year served in an office, either by election or appointment, to complete an unexpired term resulting from a vacancy shall not be counted toward the three term limitation. 

6.4. Assumption of duties of Officers: All newly elected officers shall assume their official duties immediately following adjournment of the final business session of the annual meeting at which they are elected.

6.5. Duties of officers: Except as may be otherwise specified in Article 9, Committees, or in Bylaw 2, each of the four officers shall have the powers and duties customarily exercised by persons holding such respective offices.

6.6. Vacancies: The term "vacancy" refers to a permanent termination of the term of office of any officer.

6.6.1. President: If the Office of the president becomes vacant at any time, the duties and responsibilities of the president shall be immediately assumed by the vice president. Regardless of whether or not the vacancy occurs during the first or second year of the elected president's term of office, the vice president shall continue to serve as president until the next annual meeting at which a Regular election is to be held. During the period of time that the vice president is functioning as president, the office of vice president shall be considered as a vacancy and treated according to section 6.6.2 below.

6.6.2. If a vacancy occurs at any time during the term of a vice president, secretary, or treasurer, the president, with concurrence of a majority of the board, shall appoint a qualified member to fill that vacancy until the next annual meeting. At that time, if the two year term has not been as yet completed, an election will be held to fill that office for the remaining year.

7.1. Board Members at Large: Three board members at large shall be elected to serve on the Board of Directors.

7.2. Qualifications of Board Members at Large: full members, student members, and organizational member representatives are qualified to serve on the board of directors as board members at large.

7.3. Terms of office of Board Members at Large: Each board member at large shall be elected for a term of three years. One board member at large shall be elected at each annual business meeting to replace the Member who is completing a three year term. No member shall be elected to serve on the board of directors for more than two consecutive full terms. Any time served as a board member at large for a period equal to, or less than one year, to complete an unexpired term caused by a vacancy shall not be counted as part of the two term limitation.

7.4. Assumption of duties of Board Members at Large: Newly elected board members at large shall assume official duties immediately following adjournment of the final business session of the annual meeting at which they are elected.

7.5. Duties of the Board Members at Large: Except as may be otherwise specified in Bylaw 3, the board members at large shall have the duties and responsibilities customarily exercised by persons holding such offices.

7.6. Vacancies: If the three year term of office of any board member at large shall be unexpectedly terminated at any time, the president, with the concurrence of a majority of the remaining members of the board of directors, shall appoint a qualified member to fill the vacated post until the next annual meeting. The vacated post will then be filled by election at the next annual meeting for a period of time sufficient to complete the unexpired 3 year term of office created by the vacancy. If such an interim period of service as a board member at large is less than but not equal to two full years, that period of service shall not count toward the normal two term limitation for Board Members at Large.

8.1. Composition of the Board of Directors: The board of directors, hereinafter referred to as the "Board," shall consist of the four officers (Article 6), the three board Members at Large (Article 7), and the Immediate Past president. The president shall serve as the chairperson at all board meetings.

8.2. Meetings of the Board of Directors: The board of directors shall hold at least two regular meetings each year at the time of the annual membership meeting. One meeting shall be scheduled prior to the call to order of the first business session of the annual meeting. A second meeting shall be scheduled as soon as possible following adjournment of the last business session of the annual meeting. At the discretion of the president, special meetings of the board may be called at any time during the annual meeting. Special meetings may also be called at any time during the annual meeting upon request to the president by any four members of the board. The president may be one of those four. Special meetings may also be held by conference telephone call at any time between annual meetings. Any actions taken by the board during such conference call meetings shall have the same force and effect as those adopted during any other board meeting provided that:

8.2.1. All members of the board are notified of the scheduled conference call at least fifteen days prior to the call, and at least five members of the board indicate their availability.

8.2.2. At least four members of the board actually participate in the conference call. The Coordinator of publications and project officer should also be notified of planned conference call meetings, but their participation should not be counted toward the quorum of four board members.

8.3. Quorum: The presence of any four members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of doing business at any meeting.

8.4. Attendance of other persons at Board Meetings: 

8.4.1. Any BITS member in good standing is entitled to attend any regular or special meeting of the board of directors, but is not entitled to participate in the business of the meeting unless permission of the presiding officer is first obtained.

8.4.2. The chairpersons of the Publications and the Projects committees referred to in Article 9 shall be entitled to attend and participate in all regular or special meetings of the board of directors but they shall not be entitled to vote.

8.4.3. Executive sessions: In the event an executive session of the board of directors is called, all visitors, together with the Coordinator of Publications and the project officer, shall be requested to leave the meeting and remain absent until the executive Session is concluded.

8.5. Duties of the Board of Directors: Except as may be otherwise or additionally specified in Bylaw 4, the board of directors shall perform the duties customarily exercised by the members of such administrative bodies. The board shall function as the governing body of BITS between annual business meetings provided it takes no official action that may be in conflict with any established policy or decision of the membership.

8.6. Vacancies:

8.6.1. Officers: Any vacancy created by the unexpected termination of the term of office by any one of the four officers is treated in Article 6.6.

8.6.2. Board Members: Any vacancy created by the unexpected termination of any board member at large is treated in Article 7.6 (BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE).

8.6.3. Past President: If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors because the participation of the Immediate past president is terminated, that board position will remain vacant until the current president is replaced.

9.1. Appointment of Committees: Except where specifically provided otherwise, the president shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all committees. The president shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees. The other officers, the board members at large, and the Immediate past president are eligible for committee appointment along with other qualified members of the organization.

9.2. Regular committees: The following regular committees shall be established to function as needed:

9.2.1. Membership Committee: The president shall appoint a membership chair and two other persons to manage the dissemination of membership information, recruitment of new members, and in the oversight and stimulation of membership services.

9.2.2. Publications Committee: Subject to confirmation by the board of directors, the president shall appoint a full member to serve as chairperson of the publications committee. The chairperson of the publications committee may also be referred to as the "coordinator of publications." The president shall also appoint at least two other persons from among the voting members to serve with the chairperson of the publications committee. The publications committee will be responsible for the preparation and distribution of all BITS publications.

9.2.3. Program Committee: The vice president shall serve as chairperson of the program committee. The president shall appoint at least two other members to serve on the program committee. The program committee shall plan and present the program sessions for each annual BITS convention.

9.2.4. Projects Committee: Subject to concurrence of a majority of the board of directors, the president shall appoint a full member to serve as chairperson of the projects committee. The chairperson of the projects committee may also be referred to as the "projects officer." The president shall also appoint two persons from among the other voting members to serve on the projects committee. The projects committee shall be responsible for the detailed planning and implementation of such specific projects and activities as may be directed by action of the membership or of the board of directors.

9.2.5. Fund Raising Committee: The president shall appoint a member other than the treasurer to serve as chairperson of the fund raising committee. The treasurer and at least one other member appointed by the president shall also serve on the fund raising committee. The fund raising committee shall develop and implement fund raising projects in behalf of the organization.

9.2.6. Constitution and Bylaws Committee: In addition to two other persons, the president shall appoint a full member to serve as chairperson of the constitution and bylaws committee. The parliamentarian shall serve as an ex officio member of the committee. Any motion or resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution or bylaws shall be referred to the constitution and bylaws committee for its evaluation before the issue is placed on the floor for open debate. The recommendations of the committee are to be considered as advisory, and are not binding on the membership during its deliberation.

9.2.7. Credentials Committee: The treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the credentials committee. At least two weeks prior to the annual meeting, the president shall appoint two other full members to serve on the credentials committee with the treasurer. Before the call to order of the first business session of the annual meeting, the credentials committee, with the assistance of the treasurer, shall have prepared a list of all eligible voting members in good standing who are registered at the meeting. The information shall be kept available at all business sessions for the purpose of validating the casting of votes and to verify the presence of a quorum.

9.2.8. Nominating Committee: As the first order of business at the pre-convention meeting of the board of Directors, the president shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the Board, a Chairperson and two other full members to serve on the nominating committee. The nominating committee shall prepare and present a slate of qualified candidates for each office to be voted on at the annual business meeting. Before any member's name may be included on the slate, the committee must obtain the candidate's consent and an indication of that candidate's willingness to serve. The slate of candidates may not include any member of the nominating committee. However, any member of the nominating committee may be nominated from the floor during an election.

9.2.9. Auditing Committee: Subject to confirmation by the board of directors, the president shall appoint a full member to serve as chairperson of the auditing committee. The president shall appoint two other persons from among the voting members to serve with the chairperson of the Auditing committee. No member of the board of directors may serve on the auditing committee. The auditing committee shall meet with the treasurer immediately prior to the annual meeting to conduct an audit of the organization's financial records. The auditing committee shall report its findings to the membership immediately following presentation of the treasurer's report.

9.2.10. Budget Committee: The budget committee shall consist of the president, the treasurer, and the chairperson of the fund raising committee. The president shall serve as chairperson of the budget committee. Prior to the beginning of each annual meeting, the budget committee shall prepare a budget for the organization for the following year. The proposed budget shall be presented to the board at its pre-convention meeting for its consideration. The proposed budget shall be considered advisory and shall not be binding on the board.

9.3. Special Ad Hoc Committees: The president shall appoint such special committees as may be required from time to time to carry out specific projects.

9.4. Terms of office of committee members: The chairpersons and members of all committees shall be appointed by the president for terms of one year. There is no limit to the number of successive terms that any person may serve as a chairperson or committee member. However, upon adjournment of the final business session of each annual meeting, all committee positions shall be considered vacant. Following adjournment of the annual meeting, the president has the freedom to either reinstate the previous committee appointments or make new ones.

BITS shall be an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind Inc. and comply with all requirements associated with such affiliation. One delegate and one alternate delegate shall be appointed or elected at the beginning of each annual meeting to represent BITS during the business sessions of the American Council of the Blind convention.

11.1. Amendments to the Constitution: Any proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be distributed to the membership in media accessible to both sighted and visually impaired members at least sixty days prior to its introduction for action at the annual meeting. An affirmative vote of two thirds of the qualified members present and voting shall be required for adoption of any proposed amendment to the Constitution.

11.2. Amendments to the Bylaws: A written copy of any proposed amendment to the bylaws must be provided to the secretary and presented to the membership by the sponsor of the amendment together with a brief explanation of its purpose. No discussion or debate will be permitted at that time. The proposed amendment will be placed on the agenda of the first business session to be scheduled on the day following introduction of the amendment. An affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified members present and voting at that business session shall be required for adoption of the proposed amendment.

11.3. Limitation of scope of secondary amendments: Secondary amendments whose purpose is to clarify the intent of a proposed amendment to either the Constitution or the bylaws should be entertained for debate and decision. Any secondary amendment to a proposed amendment to the Constitution or bylaws that would extend the original scope of the changes beyond that clearly contemplated by the sponsors of the proposed amendment should be ruled out of order by the president. Secondary amendments to any proposed amendment to the Constitution or bylaws which tend to reduce the scope of the proposed amendment should be entertained and placed on the floor for debate.

11.4. Effective Date of Amendments: Any amendment to the Constitution or bylaws shall go into effect immediately following adjournment of the final business session at the annual meeting at which such amendment is adopted.

Except as may be specifically provided otherwise by amendment of this article, all business meetings of the membership, the board of directors, and committees shall be conducted in accordance with the most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order Revised. The president or any committee chairperson may appoint a parliamentarian to assist in interpretation of the constitution and rules of procedure during any business meeting.

Notwithstanding the terms set forth in any other article or articles of this BITS Constitution, or in the Bylaws attached thereto, the following provisions shall hold true:

13.1. BITS shall not engage in any activities prohibited by federal laws: (1) section 501(C)(3), of the Internal Revenue Code for corporations exempt from federal income tax, or (2) Section 170(C)(2), or any corresponding future provisions of the Internal Revenue code, for corporations to which contributions are tax deductible.

13.2. None of the principal activities of BITS shall include the dissemination of political propaganda or otherwise be intended to influence legislation.

13.3. BITS shall not participate in, or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

13.4. Except for the payment of reasonable compensation for services rendered or in the furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article 2 of this Constitution, no part of the net income received by BITS shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to any of its members, officers, or to any other private person or persons.

Upon the dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Trustees shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of all of the assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such manner or to such organizations or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under Section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or any corresponding provision of future United States Internal Revenue law) as the Board of Trustees shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of will be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

1.1. Dues: annual membership dues shall be assessed as follows:

1.1.1. Full voting members: $20; Life members $15.

1.1.2. Student members: $10

1.1.3. Organizational members: $25

1.2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year shall run from July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

2.1. President: In addition to the full range of duties normally performed in the office, the president shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all committees (Article 9). Such shall be subject to approval by a majority vote of the board only in those cases where such confirmation is specifically required. The president shall also serve as an ex officio member of all committees. 2.2. Unless otherwise specifically indicated in these Bylaws, all officers are eligible for appointment to serve as chairpersons or as members of any committee.

All Board Members at Large are eligible to serve as chairpersons or as members of any committee.

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