Proposed Amendments to the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws

n compliance with Constitution Article X and Bylaws Article XIII, the following amendments are submitted. Type that has a continuous line through it is proposed for deletion. Proposed new wording is underlined. The 1999 revision of the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws is in the 2000 AVMA Directory and Resource Manual, pages 24-35. Members are encouraged to review the AVMA Executive Board's actions and recommendations regarding proposed amendments in the June 1, 2000 JAVMA.

Amend Constitution Article IV—Officers, Section 3—President, President-Elect and Vice President–Election Term, and Succession and Section 4—Death, Resignation, or Removal of the President, to synchronize the beginning of the officers' terms with the first Executive Board meeting of the new association year. (Introduction)

Present and Proposed Wording
Section 3—President, President-Elect and Vice President–Election Term, and Succession.–A vice president and a president-elect shall be elected at each annual session of the House of Delegates. Except as otherwise provided in Sections 4 or 5, the terms of the president, president-elect, and vice president shall commence at the end of the annual convention following the annual session at which they are elected first regular meeting of the Executive Board following the close of the annual session of the House of Delegates at which they were elected or, in the case of a president who succeeds automatically to such office, and shall terminate at the end of the following annual convention session of the House of Delegates. Except as otherwise provided in Section 4 or 5, the president-elect shall immediately and automatically succeed to the office of and become president at the end of the term as president-elect.

Section 4—Death, Resignation, or Removal of the President.–If the president dies, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office, the president-elect immediately and automatically shall succeed to the office of and become president and shall serve as president for the remainder of the president's term as set forth in Section 3; provided that, if the remainder of the president's term is less than six months and if such officer was elected president-elect at the immediately preceding annual session (rather than having succeeded automatically to such office pursuant to Section 5), such officer shall continue to serve as president until the end of the second annual convention session following succession to the office of president. If the remainder of the president's term is six months or more or, regardless of the length of time of the remainder of the president's term, if the president-elect succeeds to such office pursuant to Section 5 (rather than having been elected thereto at the immediately preceding annual session), a president (in addition to a president-elect and vice president) shall be elected at the annual session following the time at which the president-elect succeeds to the office of president. If the president dies, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office and there is no president-elect then in office, the Executive Board shall elect a person to fill the office of president for the remainder of the president's term and a new president (in addition to a president-elect and a vice president) shall be elected at the annual session following the time the Executive Board elects such person to the office of president.

Amend Constitution Article VI—House of Delegates, Section 1—Duties, subsection b, to update the version of Robert's Rules of Order used in conducting sessions of the House of Delegates. (Final Action)

Present and Proposed Wording
   Section 1—Duties
   b) Sessions of the House of Delegates shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Bylaws and conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. No matter shall be acted upon finally by the House unless that matter has been considered and reported upon by either the Executive Board or the House Advisory Committee. Any matter referred to said Board or Committee for such consideration must be reported upon by said Board or Committee either at the annual session during which the matter is so referred or at the next following annual session.

Amend Bylaws Article I—Members, Section 6—Dues, subsection fii, to delete reference to maximum earning limit established by the U. S. Government.

Present and Proposed Wording
   Section 6—Dues
   f)  The Executive Board may excuse the following members from payment of dues:
   i)  A member for whom the payment of dues would be a financial hardship by reason of physical disability or illness.
   ii)  A member or an affiliate member who has completed 35 years as a member of the Association, and has retired; or a member who has reached 65 years of age, has retired, and has been a member of the Association continuously since graduation from veterinary college; and who requests exemption from payment of dues. For this purpose, a retired member is one who has ceased all regular employment. and whose annual earnings from occasional professional activity or other employment do not exceed the maximum earning limit established by the U.S. Government to remain qualified for social security retirement benefits.
   iii)  A member whom the Executive Board determines should be granted dues-exempt status because of extenuating circumstances.

Amend Bylaws Article III—Executive Board, Section 6—Meetings, to identify the time of the fifth Executive Board meeting more precisely.

Present and Proposed Wording
   Section 6—Meetings—The Executive Board shall hold five regular meetings during the period between the annual sessions of the Association AVMA House of Delegates. The first meeting shall be held during the annual convention of the Association following the final session of the House of Delegates; the second shall be held in the fall of the same year; the third shall be held in the spring of the following year; the fourth shall be held between the spring meeting and the fifth meeting, the latter of which is held just prior to the next annual convention session of the House of Delegates. Special meetings may be called at any time by the chairman, or by any five members of the Board, on five days' written notice to each member of the Executive Board. Eight members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Amend Bylaws Article III—Executive Board, Section – 7, Duties, to add an additional duty related to vision planning and coordination.

Present and Proposed Wording
   Section 7—Duties—The Executive Board shall:
   a) Be responsible for organizational vision planning and coordination.
   a) b) Be responsible for the business of the Association to the benefit of the entire United States veterinary profession without bias toward regional or individual interests. It shall interpret broad policy established by the House of Delegates and formulate specific policy for implementation by staff.
   b) c) Perform all acts, transact all business for and on behalf of the Association, and do all such lawful acts and things as the Constitution and these Bylaws may permit.
   c) d) Maintain a written record of Association policy and current interpretations thereof in a form available to individual AVMA members.
   d) e) Elect an executive vice president, assistant executive vice president, treasurer, and such other officers as these Bylaws may specify.
   e) f) Have the accounts of the Association audited annually or at such other times as it shall direct.
   f) g) Set the time and duration of the annual convention of the Association.
   g) h) Recommend items of policy for approval by the House of Delegates.
   h) i) Present a report of its actions at each annual session of the House of Delegates.
   i) j) Act for and in behalf of the House of Delegates in the interim between sessions of the House.
   j) k) Appoint such special committees as are, in its opinion, necessary for the conduct of the Association's business, and review and present to the House of Delegates a slate of one or more nominees for each vacancy in the councils.
   k) l) Elect the recipients of those awards for which it bears the authority.
   l) m) Maintain liaison with organizations represented in the House of Delegates.
   m) n) Receive applications of principal and allied veterinary organizations seeking recognition, including representation in the House of Delegates, and make recommendations for or against approval prior to final action by the House at an annual session.
   o) Establish such trust entities that are deemed necessary, appoint members, approve trust agreements, and receive periodic reports.

Amend Bylaws Article VIII—Annual Convention, Section 3—Convention Program, subsection d—Ownership of Papers, to remove language pertaining to ownership of papers presented at the AVMA Annual Convention from the Bylaws.

Present and Proposed Wording
   d) Ownership of Papers.-All papers and reports of any nature presented to the Association, or to any section, shall become the property of the Association if approved for publication in one of the Association publications. Publication of any such paper or report, or official abstracts thereof, in any other publication shall not be made except with the consent of the Executive Board.

Amend Bylaws Article XI—Student Organization, Section 1—Student Chapters, subsection d, to stipulate that each student chapter elect two faculty advisors.

Present and Proposed Wording
   d) Each student chapter shall elect at least one but not more than two faculty advisors from the faculty of the college where the student chapter is organized. Advisors shall be elected to four-year terms. Chapters with two coadvisors should provide for continuity by electing one advisor every two years. Advisors may be reelected for any number of successive terms, or may be replaced before completion of their terms by a majority vote of the chapter. When any a faculty advisor resigns, or becomes unable to serve, or otherwise leaves office, a new advisor shall be elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

All faculty members designated as faculty advisors to student chapters shall be active members in good standing of the Association American Veterinary Medical Association, except that faculty advisors to the Canadian student chapters may be associate members. of the Association.

It is the duty of the faculty advisors to assist the student or chapter and its officers in promoting understanding of the veterinary medical profession and its relationship to the general public; to assist the student chapter in its deliberations; and to provide information on the programs and policies of the Association.