ARTICLE III - Membership

Section 1. Professional Membership

Only persons skilled in the art of verbatim reporting of proceedings by the use of shorthand symbols, manually or by machine, shall be eligible to apply for professional membership in the Association as hereinafter provided.

(a) Any person who is an official court or legislative reporter;

(b) Any person who is engaged in the active practice of law reporting or general reporting in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and whose application for membership is endorsed by a member of this Association;

(c) Any person who is associated with or employed by a member of this Association as a shorthand reporter whose application is endorsed by the associate or employing reporter;

(d) Any person who successfully passes an examination given by the Committee on Certification of this Association or otherwise qualifies for certification as a Certified Shorthand Reporter as provided elsewhere in these Bylaws.

Section 2. Associate Membership

A hearing stenographer who is or may become subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Laws and is employed by any governmental agency or board, a teacher of shorthand or shorthand reporting or anyone connected in an official capacity with a school or college conducting a shorthand reporting course, transcribers, notereaders, scopists, legal video specialists, any person interested in the preservation, support and advancement of the field of verbatim shorthand reporting but not in any way engaged in the verbatim reporting of proceedings and who is not otherwise eligible for membership, or any person now a member or an associate member of the National Court Reporters Association, upon proof of such membership shall be eligible for associate membership in this Association.

Section 3. Student Membership

Any student who is enrolled in a business school or college conducting a shorthand reporting course, or whose application for student membership is endorsed by a professional or associate member attesting to the fact that said applicant is a student of shorthand reporting, is eligible for student membership in this Association.

Section 4. Honorary-Retired Membership

Any Professional or Associate Member of this Association who has been a member in good standing for fifteen years, upon retiring from the active practice of shorthand reporting, may become, subject to the approval of the Executive Board, an Honorary-Retired Member of this Association.

Section 5. Privileges

Only Professional Members and Honorary-Retired Members who have been shorthand reporters shall be eligible to vote and eligible to hold an elective office. Associate and Student Members of this Association shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of professional membership except the right to vote and hold a Certificate of Registration as a Certified Shorthand Reporter.

Section 6. Acceptance

The Executive Board shall pass upon the eligibility of all applications for membership hereinbefore referred to.

Section 7. Termination

Membership in the Association may be terminated for cause only after the member has had an opportunity to be heard in answer to charges before an Ethics Committee appointed by the President as set forth in the Policies and Procedures Manual. A two-thirds vote of the Executive Board shall be required to terminate membership except for nonpayment of dues.