CONSTITUTION OF THE ACL SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ON <TOPIC>
 

I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purpose of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) Special Interest Group on <TOPIC> (the SIG)
shall be to promote interest in <TOPIC>; to provide members of the ACL with a special interest in <TOPIC> with a
means of exchanging news of recent research developments and other matters of interest in <TOPIC>; and to
sponsor meetings and workshops in <TOPIC> that appear to be timely and worthwile, operating within the framework
of the ACL's general guidelines for SIGs.

<This, naturally, may be different for different SIGs but it should be what is published in the Finite String as
the statement of purpose.>
 

II. ELECTED OFFICERS

The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a President, a Secretary and <any such other officers as the
organizers of the group may deem advisable to carry out the duties of the organization. fill in specifics here>.
The President and Secretary shall be members in good standing of the ACL.

The term of all elected officers of the SIG shall be <fill in term here, but not more than 2 years, dating from
specific time>.

The duties of the President shall be:
(1) To have primary executive authority over actions and activities of the SIG.
(2) To prepare a written report on the activities of the SIG for the Executive Committee of the ACL, for
presentation to the ACL at its Annual Business Meeting.
(3) To designate a Liaison Representative for the SIG, who shall be primarily responsible for communication with
members of the SIG, answering inquiries about the SIG, and communication with the Executive Committee of the
ACL.

The duties of the Secretary shall be:
(1) To maintain a membership roster of the SIG.
(2) To be responsible for any moneys awarded to the SIG by the ACL; to collect and manage any dues that may be
required by the organization; and to present a written annual report on the SIG finances to the Executive
Committee of the ACL.
(3) To act as a Liaison Representative, who shall be primarily responsible for communication with members of the
SIG, answering inquiries about the SIG, and communication with the Executive Committee of the ACL.

<Each SIG must have an LR as point of contact for communication with the SIG. While one of the officers may fill
this duty, to allow for flexibility the President can appoint the LR: however the person must be designated so
people know who to communicate with.>
 

III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

All officers of the SIG shall be elected by a vote of the membership. The vote shall take place at least <time
period> before the expiration of the terms of the officers to be elected, with at least 4 weeks' notice of
nominations to SIG members.

<Each SIG can establish procedures for conducting elections, subject to approval by the executive committee.
SIGGEN conducts elections via electronic mail. The main idea is to come up with something definite that is fair,
reaches all the members, and is reasonably easy to administer, and to write it down here.>
 

IV. DUES

<Not all SIGs may want to charge dues. However, if it is desired that the SIG produce mailings, a newsletter,
etc. it may be necessary to charge some amount to defray expenses.>

Subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the ACL, the SIG may levy annual membership dues, where
the rate is determined by <state the means here: small SIGs may make this a matter for their President and
Secretary, others may want to put it to a vote; there is flexibility here>.
 

<Some guidelines for SIGs appear in the guidelines.