As per Section IX of the Early Life History Section (hereafter Section) Bylaws, the following Rules are established to help in the conduct of Section business. Specifically, these Rules provide protocols and procedures for implementing the Bylaws but may not conflict or supercede the Bylaws, define additional duties of officers and/or charges of Standing Committees, or establish Sessional committees. Rules may be amended by a simple majority of voting members of the Executive Committee or the Section membership participating in an annual business or special meeting, or by mail ballot unless otherwise specified in the Bylaws. Numbers in parentheses correspond to the Section Bylaw to which the Rule applies.

1. Conduct of the Annual Business Meeting

1.1. Without a quorum (10% of the Section's Voting Members must be present), the annual Section business meeting, which is held as part of the Annual Larval Fish Conference, proceeds only for informational purposes (V,B).

1.2. Order of Business
 
1.2.1. Call to order by the President.

1.2.2. Address and announcements by the President.

1.2.3. Determination of a quorum.

1.2.4. Approval of minutes of previous meeting and treasurer's report.

1.2.5. Committee reports.

1.2.6. Other old business.

1.2.7. Installation of new officers in transition years.

1.2.8. New business.

1.2.9. Adjournment.

1.3. The order of business can be changed or suspended for the duration of a business meeting by a simple majority of voting members in attendance.

2.1. New Members

2.1.1. New members (voting and affiliate) accepted between January 1 and August 31 are credited membership for that calendar year and are sent back issues of the Section newsletter (Stages) for that year, whereas new members accepted between September 1 and December 31 are credited membership for the next calendar year unless otherwise requested by the applicant (II).

3.1. Elections

3.1.1. Elections of officers and regional representatives are held by mail ballot biennially in the fall preceding years of officer transition (III,A,1; VI,A,1; VII,C,1,c).

3.1.2. Newly elected officers and regional representatives are introduced and assume their posts at the appropriate annual business meeting immediately prior to new business (III,A,1). Appointed officers assume their posts immediately upon Executive Committee approved appointment by the President.

3.1.3. In the event that elections are delayed beyond the normal transition of officers, the newly elected officers will assume their posts immediately upon written notification to them by the sitting President of election results as reported by the Nominations and Mail Ballot Committee (III,D,4).
 

3.2. Voting by the Executive Committee

3.2.1. For Executive Committee votes to be conducted or completed outside normally scheduled Committee meetings, an adequate attempt must be made by the Chairperson to inform all Executive Committee members of the motion under consideration, give them an opportunity to express their views, inform all Executive Committee members of those views, and allow all voting Executive Committee Members an opportunity to vote on the matter (III,E,4; III,E,5).

3.3. Matters requiring approval by Section Voting Members (matters for vote) include new programs, awards and grants (V,C).

3.4. The Webmaster:
 

3.4.1. is a new officer and non-voting member of the Executive Committee appointed by the President with approval of the Executive Committee.

3.4.2. has an indefinite term of office that ends upon resignation or discharge by the Executive Committee.

3.4.3. maintains the Section's website, including a posting of the latest update of the Section Handbook and Membership Directory.

4.1. General Duties

4.1.1. Section officers and regional representatives should represent the Section and its concerns wherever and whenever appropriate opportunities arise (IV).

4.1.2. Outgoing officers and regional representatives must organize and transfer all non-personal files, references and other material associated with those positions to the corresponding incoming officers or regional representatives within 30 days of transition; outdated materials that are not likely to be useful to the new officers or regional representatives are sent to the Historian for consideration for inclusion in the Section's archives (IV).

4.2. Additional Duties of the President:
 
4.2.1. presents a two-year agenda of new and continuing goals, projects, and activities as the first order of new business during the annual Section business meeting in which he or she assumes office (IV,A).

4.2.2. receives, reviews, and responds to, if necessary, written reports from Ad-hoc, Sessional and Standing Committees, and other official Section reports (IV,A).

4.2.3. maintains a list of current Ad-hoc, Sessional and Standing Committee charges, chairpersons, and membership, and updates the Executive Committee on respective changes (Bylaws section IV,A).

4.2.4. signs and presents certificates of appreciation to the retiring Past President, Secretary, Regional Representatives, and to the Treasurer (if appropriate), after their terms have ended, at the first annual Section business meeting after he or she assumes office (the certificate for the Past President is provided by the American Fisheries Society (hereafter Society) and also is signed by the Society's Executive Director) (IV,A).

4.2.5. signs and presents certificates of appreciation to the retiring Newsletter Editor and Historian after their terms have ended (IV,A).

4.2.6. arranges with the local host committee for times and places for Section Executive Committee meetings at the corresponding year annual Society meeting (IV,A).

4.2.7. submits reports on Section activities to the Society's annual business meetings, when appropriate, as well as to the Society's Bulletin, "Fisheries", for publication under Section news (IV,A,3).
 

4.3. Additional Duties of the President-Elect:

4.3.1. plans an agenda of new or continuing goals, projects, and activities for Executive Committee and Membership consideration and action when he or she assumes the office of President, and otherwise prepares himself or herself for that office (IV,B).

4.4. Additional Duties of the Secretary:

4.4.1.  for the entire business meeting during years of officer transition, the Secretary of record is the newly-elected (incoming) Secretary at the Section annual business meeting (IV,C; IV,D). The incoming Secretary was elected two years earlier as Secretary-Elect.

4.4.2. provides, with or through the Section Treasurer and Society Membership Services, current Section membership and Society Executive Committee membership mailing labels, or files for preparation of the same, to the Newsletter Editor and other Section members for official business and correspondence (IV,C).

4.4.3. maintains, distributes, and displays, or provides for display of, Section promotional and membership materials at Section and Society meetings, and opportunistically at other appropriate Society sub-unit and outside organization events (IV,C).

4.4.4. prepares annual affiliate membership renewal forms and assures that they are printed in or distributed with summer or early fall issues of the Section newsletter Stages, or mailed directly to affiliate members (IV,C).

4.4.5. prepares certificates of appreciation for signing and presentation by the President to retiring officers and regional representatives (IV,C).

4.5. Additional Duties of the Secretary-Elect:

4.5.1. updates (at least quarterly), and provides to the Webmaster, the Section Handbook and Membership Directory as a computer word processing file with at least (IV, D, 2):

4.5.1.1. the current Section Bylaws and Rules.

4.5.1.2. a list of current Section officers and regional representatives.

4.5.1.3. a list of current Section Standing and Sessional committees, a brief statement of their purpose, and their current members and chairpersons.

4.5.1.4. a brief history of the Section with a complete list of past officers and regional representatives and their dates of service.

4.5.1.5. a list of Section sponsored or associated conferences, symposia, and workshops, including the Annual Larval Fish Conference, with location, dates, and chairpersons of the local host committee.

4.5.1.6. a list of Section and Annual Larval Fish Conference -related publications with cost and source information if still available.

4.5.1.7. a list of current members including addresses, telephone numbers, voting or affiliate status, and resident regions as defined by Society Divisions (e.g., NE, NC, S, or W).

4.6. Additional Duties of the Treasurer:

4.6.1. with assistance from the Secretary, maintains and continually updates current membership records (IV,E).

4.6.2. maintains and invests funds for the Sally L. Richardson Award and provides checks for presentation of the Award by the Section President at the Annual Larval Fish Conference (IV,E).

4.6.3. maintains and sells the Section's inventory of salable publications, back issues of the Section newsletter, and other items (IV,E).

4.6.4. sends to new members, within 30 days of receipt of their dues, a packet of materials including (IV,E):

4.6.4.1. a letter of welcome to new members of the Section including acknowledgment of the receipt of initial dues and the membership year to which they were applied.

4.6.4.2. the latest printed copy of the Section Handbook and Membership Directory.

4.6.4.3. notices about upcoming meetings or conferences that were mailed to Section members.

4.6.4.4. back issues of the Section newsletter Stages for the year joined.
 

4.7. Additional Duties of the Newsletter Editor:

4.7.1. provides an extra copy of each Section newsletter Stages to the Section Historian for inclusion in the Archives, and an adequate supply to the Treasurer for new members and for sale as back issues (IV,F).

4.7.2. mails the Section newsletter Stages by a bulk mailing permit in the United States, an appropriate class for literature in Canada and Mexico, and air mail elsewhere. The latter air mail provision is essentially a Section subsidy to its overseas members, but can be considered a good-will gesture and obviates the annual separate submission of funds by overseas members (IV,F).

5.1. Annual Conferences are formally named "The XXth Annual Larval Fish Conference" in recognition of their origin and history (XX is the appropriate sequential Arabic numeral numbered from the first conference which was held in 1977 as the First Symposium on Freshwater Larval Fish) (V,D,2).

5.2. Annual Conferences are intended to be fully self-supporting and financially managed by the volunteering local host committee (which is chaired by a Section member), but "up-front funds" from the Section may be authorized by the Section Executive Committee. Monies generated by an Annual Larval Fish Conference beyond expenses, including repayment of "up-front funds", are contributed to the Section (V,D,1).

5.3. The Annual Conference Committee is responsible for updating the Section Guide for Meeting Preparation after completion of an Annual Larval Fish Conference, then forwarding the updated Guide within 3 months to the Chair (local host) of the forthcoming Larval Fish Conference.

6.1. Mail ballots for the election of regional representatives must specify that the electorate are to vote only for the regional representative candidates that are to represent their region (VI,A,1).

7.1. All committees comprise a chairperson and at least two other members (VII).

7.2. Additional Duties and Charges of Standing Committees.

7.2.1. The Nominations and Mail Ballot Committee:

7.2.1.1. prepares the biennial election ballots with at least two candidates per office, biennially in the fall preceding officer transition years (VII,C,1).

7.2.1.2. includes incumbent and past officers among candidates on election ballots if willing to serve another term (VII,C,1).

7.2.1.3. prepares or collects background material on the issues or candidates and submits it to the Newsletter Editor for publication, or distributes it with mail ballots (VII,C,1).

7.2.1.4. not only sends a report of ballot results to the Section Executive Committee, but in the case of an election, send copies of that report immediately to each candidate with the instruction that those elected must provide written acknowledgment of receipt of the report to the Executive Committee (VII,C,1,c).

7.3. No candidate for office who is serving on the Nominations and Mail Ballot Committee may tally election ballots (VII,C,1,c).


7.4. Sessional Committees and Their Charges

7.4.1. The Sally L. Richardson Award Committee:
 
7.4.1.1. maintains and updates procedures and guidelines for this annual conference "Best Student Paper" award.

7.4.1.2. is represented by its chairperson on the Annual Conference Committee (VII,D).

7.4.1.3. arranges for, and supervises judging for, selection of the "Best Student Paper" for the Award presented at the Annual Larval Fish Conference (VII,D).

7.4.1.4. prepares award certificates and award histories, obtains the award check from the Treasurer, and provides all to the President for presentation during the Annual Larval Fish Conference (VII,D).

7.4.2. The Student Travel Grants Committee:

7.4.2.1. awards Student Travel Grants to Section members that are students in an undergraduate or graduate degree program and planning to present a paper at the Annual Larval Fish Conference; availability of awards are contingent upon agreement by the Section's Executive Committee pending sufficient Section funds (VII,D).

7.4.2.2. prepares announcements of availability, requirements and deadline due date for Student Travel Grant applications to accompany the call for papers for the Annual Larval Fish Conference in the Section's newsletter Stages. Each application must include by deadline: a letter of request from the student; a copy of the abstract of the paper to be given by the student at the Annual Larval Fish Conference; and, a letter of recommendation from the student's major professor or faculty advisor indicating that the student is in good standing and in need of support in order to attend the Annual Larval Fish Conference (VII,D).

7.4.2.3. compiles and reviews qualifying applications, verifies that the student is a member of the Section, and selects by Committee decision, and notifies recipients of the Student Travel Grants, and arranges with the Treasurer for issuance of the grants (VII,D).
 

7.4.3. The Conference and Symposium Publications Editorial Committee:

7.4.3.1. consists of a Publications Editor who serves as committee chairperson and a complement of associate editors selected by the Publications Editor (VII,D).

7.4.3.2. reviews publication plans for compliance with the Section's editorial policy and coordinates and arranges, or helps arrange, as appropriate and needed, peer review and publication of Section publications, including those emanating from Section conferences and symposia; if desired by publication planners and if the committee is logistically able, the Publications Editor (chairman), or the committee as a whole, can serve as a specific publication's editor.

7.4.3.3. maintains, updates, and distributes as necessary a document entitled "AFS Early Life History Section Editorial Policy and Guidelines" and assures that pertinent Section policy is consistent with that of the Society (VII,D).

8.1. annual dues are $10 per member (VIII,A).

8.2. voting members pay their dues through the Society, usually the preceding fall along with annual Society dues (VIII,A).

8.3. affiliate members pay their dues to the Section's Treasurer, usually the preceding fall with affiliate membership renewal forms distributed annually by the Secretary-Elect via the Section's newsletter Stages or by mail (VIII,A).