DEPARTMENT BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I - NAME AND JURISDICTION

Section 1. This subdivision and subordinate unit of the Veterans
of Foreign Wars of the United States shall, by virtue of Charter
granted, be known as the Department of Maine, Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States, hereinafter referred to as
"Department”.

Section 2. The jurisdiction of this Department shall include the
entire limits of the State of Maine.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSES

Section 1. Objects: The purposes of the corporation shall be
fraternal, patriotic, historical, charitable, and educational and are;
to preserve and strengthen comradeship among its members; to
assist worthy comrades; to perpetuate the memory and history of
our dead; and to assist their surviving spouses and orphans; to
maintain true allegiance to the government of the United States,
and fidelity to its Constitution and laws; to foster true patriotism;
to maintain and extend the institutions of American Freedom; and
to preserve and defend the United States from all enemies.

Section 2. Authority: The supreme authority over this
Department shall be vested in the National Convention of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. The Department
shall at all times be governed in accordance with the
Congressional Charter and Bylaws adopted by said National
Convention, the mandates of the National Council of
Administration and orders of the Commander-in-Chief.

Section 3. Subject to the above provisions, this Department shall
be governed by its Department Convention, Department Council
of Administration and its lawful orders of the Department
Commander.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Department and its Posts shall be governed
by all applicable provisions of the National Bylaws.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS AND DUTIES

Section 1. The officers of the Department, their eligibility, method
of nomination, election or appointment, installation and terms of
office shall be prescribed by the National Bylaws.

Section 2. The duties of all officers shall be as prescribed by
National and Department Bylaws; mandates of the Department
Convention or Department Council of Administration, or by lawful
orders.

Section 3. Quartermaster:
(a) In addition to the duties imposed and reports required by
National Bylaws, the Department Quartermaster shall render a
report in detail of the finances and membership of the
Department at each meeting of the Council of Administration, and
shall furnish such other information, pertaining to his/her office,
as the Council may require.

(b) All vouchers submitted by the Department Adjutant will be
paid in a timely manner.

Section 4. Adjutant: In addition to the duties imposed by
National Bylaws, the Department Adjutant shall within thirty (30)
days after the date of Department Convention each year, prepare
a roster of all the Posts in the Department, and shall indicate
thereon the time and place of Post meetings, and the name and
mailing address of each Post Commander, Adjutant,
Quartermaster and Service Officer and immediately following
each Department Convention, the Department Adjutant shall
include a complete roster of names and addresses of all
Department Officers and District Commanders. The Department
Adjutant shall furnish copies of the roster to each Post
Commander, each Department Officer and Chairman, each District
Commander, and each Past Department Commander. He/she shall
also notify the above officers of all changes of Department
Officers and their addresses as they occur via the monthly
Department General Orders.

Section 5. Reports: The Department Commander, and members
of the Council of Administration and Committee Chairmen shall
make a report of their official activities orally and written, at each
Council of Administration meeting. In the case of a Council of
Administration member and Chairman are unable to attend the
Council of Administration meeting; they shall forward to the State
Adjutant a copy of their report at least seven (7) days prior to the
meeting for reading at the meeting and inclusion in the CoA
minutes. They shall also submit an annual report in writing at
least thirty (30) days prior to the Department Convention to the
State Adjutant for inclusion in the Annual Officers Report. They
shall also submit a monthly report for inclusion in the monthly
General Orders.

ARTICLE V – DEPARTMENT CONVENTION

Section 1. The Department shall hold its annual convention and
the first Council of Administration on the weekend that contains a
Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the month of June as approved by
the Convention Committee.

Section 2. The Department shall consist of such National,
Department and Post Officers as the National Bylaws may
prescribe, together with the duly elected delegates and alternates
from the several Posts, who shall have been elected in accordance
with provisions of the National Bylaws. Each Post in good
standing shall be entitled to one (1) delegate and one (1)
alternate for each thirty (30) members or fraction thereof in good
standing as of March 31st.

Section 3. Two (2) consecutive days shall constitute the time for
holding a Department Convention.

Section 4. The Department Commander shall designate with the
approval of the Council of Administration a Department
Convention Chairman. The Convention Chairman shall appoint
with the approval of the Department Commander such additional
committee members as may be deemed necessary. Said
Committee shall have charge of administration of each
Department Convention.

Section 5. The following rules and regulations shall govern voting
at Department Convention.

(a) The list of Post Delegates and Post Alternates (Consisting of 1
per 30 members) to be honored must bear signatures of both the
Post Commander and Post Adjutant and be submitted to the
Credentials Committee Chairman.

(b) At time of voting, the comrade casting the vote will have to
announce his/her name for the purpose of checking authenticity.
This check shall be made by the Credentials Committee during
roll-call vote.

(c) The Post Commander must be present and registered in order
for his/her vote to be cast. In the absence of the Commander, the
Senior Vice Commander may register in his/her place. In the
absence of both the Commander and Senior Vice, the Junior Vice
Commander may register.

(d) The Chief Teller will submit to the Department Adjutant one
certified report, signed by the tellers, of the vote tallied following
each roll-call taken and said tallies (report) will be retained as a
part of the Convention Records.

(e) Registration of Post Delegates and Alternates will close at
10:00 am on the day of the election of Department Officers to
allow the Credentials Committee time to make official tabulations.
(f) A roll-call of a Post vote as cast by authorized Post delegates
may be challenged at the call of any three officers or delegates
representing three different Posts or any one member of the
Credentials Committee.

(g) All monies owed to the Department, Trustee Report, Post
Inspections, Copy of Bonding must be in the hands of the State
Quartermaster prior to being eligible to vote. All Posts and
Districts are also required to be incorporated.

ARTICLE VI - COUNCIL OF ADMINISTRATION

Section 1. The Council of Administration shall consist of such
officers as the National Bylaws prescribe.

Section 2.

(a) The Council of Administration shall convene in regular session
in the months of October, January and April. The June CoA
meeting shall be convened immediately on Sunday following the
Department Convention. In case that the dates are not feasible,
the Commander shall submit a convention meeting date to be
approved by the Council of Administration.

(b) Under an extenuating circumstance, the Council of
Administration will vote to approve any change of months

(c) Special meetings of the Council may be called by the
Department Commander at his/her discretion. A special meeting
of the Council shall be called upon written request or by e-mail of
a majority of Council members. In case of an emergency voting
requested by the Department Commander, the vote may be
requested via e-mail and the results of the action taken will be
reported by the Commander at the next Council of Administration
(CoA) meeting.

(d) Each Council Member shall be notified in writing of the time
and place of each Council meeting at least ten (10) days prior to
the date of such meeting.

Section 3. A majority of the Council Members present shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, provided
however, that there shall be at least a majority of members
present.

Section 4. The Council of Administration shall keep a full and
detailed record of its proceedings.

Section 5. The duties of the Council of Administration shall be to
administer the affairs of the Department in the interim between
annual conventions, in accordance with National and Department
Bylaws and the mandates of the Department Convention.

ARTICLE VII – DISTRICT FORMATION AND CHARTERING

Section 1. The Department shall be divided into the number of
Districts as voted on by the Department Convention, each of
which shall be under the supervision of a District Commander.

Section 2. Assignment of Posts, Districts and geographical
boundaries thereof shall be established by vote of the Department
Convention. New Posts that are instituted between Department
Conventions shall be temporarily assigned by the Department
Commander to the District whose Commander signs the
application for charter.

Section 3. Department Districts shall function within the
jurisdiction and subject to the authority of the Department
Convention and shall be governed by National and Department
Bylaws and lawful orders.

Section 4. Elected Officers of each District shall be the
Commander, Senior Vice Commander, Junior Vice Commander,
Quartermaster, Chaplain, Judge Advocate, Surgeon and three (3)
Trustees as voted on by the District members.

Section 5. Appointed officers in each District shall be an Adjutant,
Chief of Staff, Service Officer and Inspector and such additional
appointed officers as the District Commander deems necessary
for the proper functioning of the District.

Section 6. The District Commander shall prepare and furnish to
each Post in his/her jurisdiction and the Department Adjutant a
schedule of proposed District Meetings for the current year. Each
schedule to indicate date, time and place of meetings. The
schedule is to be furnished not later than fifteen (15) days after
the District Convention to the Department Adjutant. Notice of
changes in schedule that may become necessary must be
forwarded to the Department Adjutant at least ten (10) days prior
to the scheduled meeting. In case of an emergency (i.e., weather,
etc.), the Department Adjutant will be notified via email or
telephone call and will notify the Department Representative of
said cancellation of the meeting.

Section 7. Each District Adjutant in the Department shall submit
a copy of each District meeting minutes to the Department
Adjutant not later than seven (7) days following each District
Meeting via USPS and/or email.

Section 8. Each District Commander shall hold one meeting for
the purpose of promoting schools of instruction for Post officers.
Section 9. Each District shall hold meetings IAW Section 403 of
the National Bylaws.

Section 10. District Inspector/Deputy Inspector will ensure that
all Posts in the District are inspected but shall not inspect his/her
own Post. The District Commander shall assign another member
in good standing to complete the inspection.

Section 11. District Commanders shall visit each Post within their
jurisdiction at least once a year and shall prepare a formal report
of their visit to the State Commander and State Adjutant.

ARTICLE VIII - CONTROL OF FUNDS

No officer, group of officers, committee or individual member
shall expend or commit Department funds, or in any way obligate
the Department without prior authority and then only, in cases of
expenditure of Department funds, the Department Adjutant will
draw a voucher and present it to the Department 6
Quartermaster, who will then make out a check signed by
him/her. All expenditures will be signed by the State Commander
to prove reviewing of the expenditures.

ARTICLE IX - RESOLUTIONS

All resolutions shall be typewritten and forwarded as to reach the
Department Adjutant at least sixty (60) days prior to the
convening date of the Department Convention for review by the
Department Bylaws Committee and published in the General
Orders for all Posts to review. Any resolution of any emergency
nature may be presented from the floor of the Department
Convention.

ARTICLE X - MISCELLANEOUS

Section 1. Department Headquarters shall be located at the same
address of the incumbent Department Adjutant.

Section 2. The books of the Department Quartermaster and those
of any Department Assistant Quartermaster who have control of
any Department funds, shall be audited once each quarter by the
Department Auditing Committee and a report of the same
submitted to the next meeting of the Council of Administration.

Section 3. Reserve Fund: That a minimum of five hundred
dollars ($500.00) be set aside each year and placed in a reserve
fund! This fund to be drawn upon only in an emergency by two-thirds
(2/3) affirmative vote of the members of the Council of
Administration! This fund is not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the
current year’s total budget!

Section 4. Travel Allowance: Amount to be spent on travel
allowance shall be established by the Budget Committee with the
approval of the Council of Administration.

Section 5. National Convention: The travel allowance for the
Department Commander while attending the National Convention
shall be as follows: Transportation: Commercial jet coach, round
trip fare from nearest airport to Commander’s home to site of
convention. Hotel Room: will be for the length of the National
Convention plus one day. Rates will be for double occupancy rates
prevailing at the hotel that is assigned to Maine at the Convention.
Per Diem: Will be at the prevailing rate as established by the IRS
for the particular year and area. Number of days of Per Diem will
be the length of time of the National Convention plus two (2)
days.

(a) The Senior Vice Commander’s travel allowance while
attending the National Convention shall be 90% of the total
allowed for the Department Commander.

(b) The Junior Vice Commander’s travel allowance while
attending the National Convention shall be 80% of the total
allowed for the Department Commander.

(c) The Immediate Past State Commander’s travel allowance
while attending the National Convention shall be 80% of the total
allowed for the Department Commander.

Section 6. Per Capita Tax: Per capita tax shall be established at
$.50 per National Dues increase. With a precedence set on 1
January 2013 at $9.50; 6.5% of every dollar shall be earmarked
for Rehabilitation and Service Account for our VSO.

(a) If the National organization, through their National
Convention, changes their Bylaws to allow an increase in per-

capita dues, then the Department of Maine will automatically
raise their dues by $.50 per 7 each National total per-capita dues
increase, hence forth. 6.5% of every dollar collected for the State
per capita shall be earmarked for the Rehabilitation and Service
Account VSO.

Section 7. Quartermaster Bonds: The Department
Quartermaster shall be authorized to make necessary
negotiations with a commercial bonding agency to provide bonds
for all Posts, Districts, and Department. Each Post and District is
liable to purchase the proper amount of bond either from the
State Quartermaster or a Bonding Company of their choosing.
They must also provide a copy of proof of bonding to the State
Quartermaster by 31 December of each year.

Section 8.

(a) Any and all canteens or bars located so as to be part of any
Veterans of Foreign Wars facility and/or premises owned or
rented by the Veterans of Foreign Wars shall close and remain
closed during any Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, District or
Department meeting or formal installation. Unless there is a
separate door to enter and exit.

(b) Posts and Districts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States shall be incorporated within the State where they
are located as prescribed in the Manual of Procedure.

(c) No unit charted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United
States and no activities, clubrooms, holding companies or units
sponsored or conducted or operated by, for or on behalf of any
such charted unit, shall separately from the Post, incorporate
under the laws of the state for any purposes whatsoever unless
the Articles of incorporation of such charted unit and any
incorporated activity, clubrooms, holding companies or units
sponsored, conducted or operated by, for or on its behalf shall
include those provisions specified in the Manual of Procedure.
Chartered units failing to comply with provisions of this section
or failing to cause compliance by activities, clubrooms, holding
companies or units sponsored, conducted or operated by, for or
on behalf of such chartered units shall be subject to suspension or
revocation of charter.

(d) Any employee hired by a Post or District is their sole
responsibility and falls under the Bylaws of that Post or District;
the only mandate by the organization is all employees will be
bonded that handle funds. No Post or District may hire an
employee on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, only on
behalf of their Post or District. All State and Federal Laws must be
adhered to by the Post or District hiring said employee. The
Department of Maine and National Veterans of Foreign Wars do
not hire nor control employees of a Post or District. The hiring
and removal or laying off of employees in a Post or District is the
sole responsibility of that Post or District that hired them.

(e) Any Canteen, Club, or Gaming operated by a Post or District
are the sole responsibility of that said Post or District, and proper
licenses, insurances and operations of said benefits to their
members must fall under all State and Federal Laws and
guidelines along with their Post Bylaws.

(f) Any Post or District owning and/or operating directly or by
reason of holding company or other entity substantially
controlled by the Post or District or its members, a canteen,
clubroom or other facility available to members or guests must
maintain general liability insurance, including, if necessary or
appropriate, liquor liability insurance. Such insurance must be of
a type and amount sufficient to protect the Post or District, and
must also name, as additional insured, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars of the United States and the Department of Maine Veterans
of Foreign Wars.

(g) The Department of Maine VFW does not lend money or extend
credit to any chartered unit. It is in no manner responsible for the
debts or any other liability incurred by any chartered unit or any
clubroom, canteen, facility or other fund-raising activity operated
by it. As unincorporated associations or corporations, they are
responsible for their own debts and liabilities. To the extent that
the Department of Maine VFW is threatened with or sustains
damage arising from a debt or liability incurred by a chartered
unit, the Department of Maine VFW will recover such damages
and any costs and expenses incurred from such chartered unit or
persons responsible for such debt or liability.

Section 9. Consolidation of two or more Posts: Two or more
Posts in the Department of Maine may consolidate as provided for
in Section 209 of the National Bylaws and Manual of Procedure.

Section 10. Notification in Writing: Notwithstanding the
provisions herein, written notification can include the use of any
carrier including the use of emails with return receipt
notification.

Section 11. Maine Veterans Coordinating Committee (MVCC):
As a member of the MVCC, the committee will consist of five (5)
delegates (Commander, Sr. Vice Commander, Jr. Vice Commander,
Judge Advocate and Veterans Service Office Representative and
(5) alternates as appointed by the State Commander.) Only items
supporting the welfare and betterment of our members and
veterans in general are supported. The members will not assist or
volunteer in any way, shape or form information or support of
any topics that are against what we stand for. Inputs for the MVCC
meeting will be emailed to all Council members and Past State
Commanders upon receipt for their information. The Department
of Maine will also pay its annual dues for membership as
prescribed by the MVCC Committee.

Section 12. Chairman appointed to the following committees
(Homeless Veterans, all Maine Veterans Cemeteries, Togus Beal
House, Togus Advisory and Maine Veterans Coordinating
Committees) will provide a copy of their respective meeting
minutes to the State Adjutant for file immediately upon receipt
and forwarding to all Council members and Past State
Commanders for their information.

Section 13: Procurement: The State Quartermaster is
responsible for all procurement and is authorized to assign others
for the purpose of procuring.

Section 14: Department Representative to District Meetings:
The Department Representative and/or Designated Department
Representative will upon completion of the District meeting
complete the Department Representative Report of his/her visit.

ARTICLE XI – AUXILIARY

The Department President shall, within thirty (30) days after
induction into office, submit to the Department Commander an
itemized report of the financial and membership status of the
Department Auxiliary for information and for submission by the
Department Commander to the Department Council of
Administration.

Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended by the Department
Convention by two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the delegates
present and voting; provided however that the amendments shall
not be considered unless a copy of same shall have been
forwarded through channels to all Post Commanders and all
Council members at least ten (10) days prior to convening date of
the Department Convention as outlined in Article V, Section 1,
above.

Section 2. Amendments to these Bylaws shall become effective
only upon review of the Commander-in-Chief. Whenever these
Bylaws or subsequent amendments may be found to be in conflict
with the present or any future National Bylaws, the latter shall
prevail and be binding upon this Department as though written
herein.
PASSED BY:
Department Convention 6-11-2022
SENT FOR REVIEW
FOR THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
REVIEWED
FOR THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF