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 2001 revision of the AVMA Constitution and Bylaws is in the 2002 AVMA Directory and Resource Manual, pages 25-37. Members are encouraged to review the AVMA Executive Board's actions and recommendations regarding proposed amendments in the June 1, 2002 JAVMA.

Amendments 1 and 2 are amendments to the Constitution being introduced to the House of Delegates during its 2002 session. The House of Delegates will take final action on the amendments in 2003.

Constitution Article V—Executive Board, Section 4—Board of Governors, to change the term chairman to chair. (Introduction)

Section 4—Board of Governors
    The Board of Governors shall be composed of the president, president-elect, and the chairman of the Executive Board. It shall act for the Executive Board between its regular meetings and shall hold meetings at such times and places as the chairman of the Executive Board may direct. In case of a vacancy on the Board of Governors, the Executive Board shall designate one of its members to fill the remainder of the term resulting from the vacancy.

Constitution Article IX—Annual Sessions, to indicate that the annual session is the official annual business meeting of the House of Delegates. (Introduction)

Article IX—Annual Sessions
    The words "annual session" mean the official annual business meeting of the House of Delegates of the Association convened and conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Bylaws and the Manual of the House of Delegates.

Amendments 3 through 7 are amendments to the Constitution that were introduced to the House of Delegates during its 2001 session. These amendments are presented for final action during the 2002 session of the House of Delegates.

Constitution Article IV—Officers, Section 2—Qualifications, to change the membership requirements for vice presidents. (Final Action).

Section 2—Qualification
    The president, and president-elect, and vice president must be active members of the Association for at least ten years immediately prior to their election. The vice president must be an active member of the Association for at least five years immediately prior to his or her election. All other officers must be active members of the Association immediately prior to their election.

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. (Final Action)

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, begin immediately in the case of a president who succeeds automatically to such office,. and Positions shall terminate at the end of the following start of the first regular meeting of the Executive Board following the close of the 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 start of the first regular meeting of the Executive Board following the close 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.

Constitution Article IV—Officers, Section 4—Death, Resignation, or Removal of the President, to allow the president-elect who succeeds to the office of president to fill the unexpired term of the preceding president to continue through a full term as president. (Final Action)

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 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 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 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.

Constitution Article IV—Officers, Section 5—Death, Resignation, Removal, or Succession of the President-Elect, to indicate that if the office of president-elect is vacated, the vice president will assume the duties and responsibilities of the office of president-elect. (Final Action)

Section 5—Death, Resignation, Removal, or Succession of the President-Elect
    If the president-elect dies, resigns, becomes president pursuant to Section 4, or is otherwise removed from office, the vice president immediately and automatically shall succeed to the office of and become will assume the duties and responsibilities, but not the title, of the president-elect and shall serve as president-elect only for the remainder of the president-elect's term as set forth in Section 3. Such officer shall not automatically succeed to the office of president thereafter.

Constitution Article VI—House of Delegates, Section 1—Duties, subsection (c), to remove AVMA councils from the list of entities that may submit a resolution to the House of Delegates for consideration. (Final Action)

Section 1—Duties
    c) Resolutions may be received from the AVMA Executive Board, AVMA Councils, organizations represented in the House of Delegates, the House Advisory Committee, or from individual members when accompanied by signatures of fifty active members of the Association.
    No resolution proposed for the consideration of the House of Delegates shall be considered at an annual session unless it shall have been delivered to the executive vice president no later than May 1 of the year of the annual session at which it is proposed for consideration. Resolutions so received will be mailed to the delegates no less than sixty days prior to the annual session. This provision shall not affect other articles of this Constitution and Bylaws as they pertain to amendments. Any notice of proposed matters published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association no less than sixty days prior to the annual session shall satisfy this provision. The provisions of this section governing the delivery and mailing or publishing of resolutions may be waived by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the delegates registered and voting at the session.

Amendments 8 through 22 are amendments to the Bylaws that will be voted on by the House of Delegates during its 2002 session.

Bylaws Article I—Members, Section 6—Dues, subsection (b), to provide reduced dues for all graduating senior students who have been members in good standing of the Student AVMA (ie, student chapter members, student affiliates, and student associates).

Section 6—Dues
    b) A graduating senior student who has been a member in good standing of the Student Chapter of AVMA of the school of graduation will, upon application for active AVMA membership, be granted exemption from the payment of dues until January 1 of the year following graduation, and will be granted reduced dues at $100.00 per annum for a period of two years, starting January 1 of the year following graduation.
    A veterinarian who is within two years from graduation but who has not been a member in good standing of the Student Chapter of the AVMA will, upon application for active AVMA membership, be granted reduced dues, prorated from $100.00 per annum, until December 31 of the year of application, and will be granted reduced dues at $100.00 per annum for a period of one year, starting January 1 following the year of application.

Bylaws Article II—Officers, Section 3—Installation, to make the Bylaws consistent with the Constitution regarding the commencement of terms for the president, immediate past president, president-elect, and vice president.

Section 3—Installation Terms of the president, immediate past president, president-elect, and vice president
    The elected officers of the Association shall take office at the close of the annual convention following the session of the House of Delegates at which they are elected.
    Terms of the president, immediate past president, president-elect, and vice president shall commence at the first regular meeting of the Executive Board following the close of the annual session of the House of Delegates at which elections occurred.

Bylaws Article II—Officers, Section 6, President-Elect, subsection (d), to make the language consistent with the Constitution.

Section 6—President-Elect
    The president-elect shall:

    d) Deliver an address at the opening annual session of the House of Delegates.

Bylaws Article III—Executive Board, Section 6—Meetings, and Section 8—Chairman, to change the term chairman to chair.

Section 6—Meetings
    The Executive Board shall hold five regular meetings during the period between the annual sessions of the 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 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.

Section 8—Chairman
    A chairman of the Executive Board shall be elected as the first item of business at the first regular meeting of the Board following the close of the annual session. The chairman shall hold office until a successor has been duly elected and installed. If the term of office otherwise would have expired at the close of the preceding annual session, the chairman shall continue to preside at the next meeting of the Executive Board only until a successor is elected. During this period, the chairman serves without the right to vote. The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Board, and act as chairman of the Board of Governors. At the same meeting the Executive Board shall designate one of its members to serve as vice chairman. In case of a vacancy in the office of chairman the vice chairman will act as chairman until the next meeting of the Executive Board, at which time a new chairman will be elected and take office. In case of the temporary absence or incapacity of the chairman, the vice chairman will assume the duties of the chair until the return of the chairman.

Bylaws Article III—Executive Board, Section 9—Apportionment, to reflect the current and future stages of the Executive Board redistricting approved by the House of Delegates in 2001.

Section 9—Apportionment
    a) There shall be 11 Executive Board districts which until July 2002 shall be identified and constituted as follows:
DISTRICT I- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
DISTRICT II- Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
DISTRICT III- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
DISTRICT IV- Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
DISTRICT V- Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
DISTRICT VI- Iowa and Minnesota.
DISTRICT VII- Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
DISTRICT VIII- Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
DISTRICT IX- Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
DISTRICT X- Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
DISTRICT XI- Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
    b) Beginning at the close of the annual session in 2002, the 11 districts shall be identified and constituted as follows:
    a) There shall be 11 Executive Board districts. Between the close of the 2002 annual session and the close of the 2006 annual session, the districts shall be identified and constituted as follows:
DISTRICT I- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
DISTRICT II- Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
DISTRICT III- Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
DISTRICT IV- Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico.
DISTRICT V- Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
DISTRICT VI- Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
DISTRICT VII- Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
DISTRICT VIII- Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
DISTRICT IX- Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
DISTRICT X- Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
DISTRICT XI- Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
    c) b) After the close of the 2006 session of the House of Delegates, the 11 districts shall be identified and constituted as follows:
DISTRICT I- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
DISTRICT II- Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
DISTRICT III- Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
DISTRICT IV- Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico.
DISTRICT V- Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
DISTRICT VI- Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
DISTRICT VII- Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
DISTRICT VIII- Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
DISTRICT IX- Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.
DISTRICT X- California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
DISTRICT XI- Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
    d) c) The active members of the Association residing in Cuba, South America, and the West Indies shall be entitled to vote when elections are held in District IV; active members residing in Mexico, Central America, and the Canal Zone shall vote in District VIII; and active members residing in all other possessions, territories, and foreign countries shall vote in District XI.

Bylaws Article IV—Board of Governors, Section 1—Composition, and Section 3—Meetings, to change the term chairman to chair.

Section 1—Composition
    The Board of Governors shall be composed of the president, president-elect, and the chairman of the Executive Board.

Section 3—Meetings
    The Board of Governors shall hold meetings at such times and places as the chairman shall direct, keep regular minutes of its proceedings, and report at each meeting of the Executive Board on all actions taken since the previous meeting of the Executive Board.

Bylaws Article V—Councils, Special Committees, and Trusts, Section 4—Council on Research, subsection (a), to reassign two positions on the Council on Research to deans or associate deans/directors of research at AVMA accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine.

Section 4—The Council on Research
    a) The Council on Research shall consist of ten active or honor roll members elected by the House of Delegates for terms of six years. Members shall represent the following areas of veterinary medical activity:
    i) Veterinary medical research (eight six members who are predominantly engaged in active research at the time of election).
    ii) Private clinical practice, not further specified (two members who are predominantly engaged in private clinical practice).
    iii) Veterinary medical colleges (two members who serve as dean or associate dean/director of research at an AVMA accredited school or college of veterinary medicine).

Bylaws Article V—Councils, Special Committees, and Trusts, Section 6—The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, subsections (a)iii-v, to designate that the positions on the council that pertain to private practice predominantly equine, food animal, and small animal be limited to members in private clinical practice.

Section 6—The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents
    a) The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents shall consist of ten active or honor roll members elected by the House of Delegates for terms of six years. Members shall represent the following areas of veterinary medical activity:
        i) Microbiology (two members)
        ii) Pharmacology (two members)
        iii) Private clinical practice, predominantly small animal (one member)
        iv) Private clinical practice, predominantly food animal (one member)
        v) Private clinical practice, predominantly equine (one member)
        vi) At large (three members)

Bylaws Article V—Councils, Special Committees, or Trusts, Section 6—The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, subsection (a), to increase the number of members on the council and add to the list of representative medical activities for its members.

Section 6—The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents
    a) The Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents shall consist of ten twelve active or honor roll members elected by the House of Delegates for terms of six years. Members shall represent the following areas of veterinary medical activity:
        i) Microbiology (two one members)
        ii) Immunology (one member)
        ii) iii) Pharmacology (two one members)
        iv) Clinical pharmacology (one member)
        iii) v) Private clinical practice, predominantly small animal (one member)
        iv) vi) Private clinical practice, predominantly food animal (one member)
        v) vii) Private clinical practice, predominantly equine (one member)
        viii) Epidemiology (one member)
        ix) Industry, exclusive (one member)
        vi) x) At large (three members)

Bylaws Article V—Councils, Special Committees, and Trusts, Section 11—Special Committees,and Section 13—Organization, to change the term chairman to chair.

Section 11—Special Committees
    The Executive Board may designate special committees to consider matters of interest to the Association. The number of members, including the designation of the chairman and secretary, manner of appointment, term, and duties of the members of such special committees shall be determined by the Board. For the purpose of category designation, the word "predominantly" means that 50% or more of the candidate's professional activity is in the category specified, and "exclusively" means that 90% or more of the candidate's professional activity is in the category specified.

Section 13—Organization
    The councils shall elect their own chairman and secretary, provided, however, that the executive vice president or the executive vice president's designee shall be the secretary for the Judicial Council. Each council and special committee may make its own rules to govern its actions so long as these rules do not conflict with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association or the rules and resolutions of the House of Delegates. Trusts are free standing entities governed by the terms of the trust governing documents.
    Each council and special committee shall have the authority to appoint subcommittees. The principal office of the Association shall be the headquarters of all of the councils and special committees.

Bylaws Article VI—House of Delegates, Section 4—Voting Power, to simplify how the number of votes is assigned in the House of Delegates.

Section 4—Voting Power
    Each delegate representing the principal veterinary organization of a state, territory, or possession of the United States shall have voting power according to the number of active AVMA members who reside in that state, territory, or possession. The following table indicates the voting power allotted:
50 active AVMA members or less 2 votes
51-150 active AVMA members 3 votes
151-300 active AVMA members 4 votes
301-450 active AVMA members 5 votes
451-600 active AVMA members 6 votes
601-750 active AVMA members 7 votes
751-900 active AVMA members 8 votes
901-1050 active AVMA members 9 votes
1051-1200 active AVMA members 10 votes
1201-1350 active AVMA members 11 votes
1351-1500 active AVMA members 12 votes
1501-1650 active AVMA members 13 votes
1651-1800 active AVMA members 14 votes
1801-1950 active AVMA members 15 votes
1951-2100 active AVMA members 16 votes
2101-2250 active AVMA members 17 votes
2251-2400 active AVMA members 18 votes
2401-2550 active AVMA members 19 votes
2551-2700 active AVMA members 20 votes
2701-2850 active AVMA members 21 votes
2851-3000 active AVMA members 22 votes
3001-3150 active AVMA members 23 votes
3151-3300 active AVMA members 24 votes

    Each delegate representing the principal veterinary organization of a state, territory, or possession with more than 3300 450 active AVMA members shall have one additional vote for each 150-members in excess of 3300 450.
    The number of active AVMA members residing in each state, territory, or possession represented in the House of Delegates shall be determined from the records of the Association as of July 1 of each year and shall be certified by the executive vice president of AVMA before the annual session of the House of Delegates.
    The delegate representing the veterinarians of the Uniformed Services of the United States, and the delegate representing veterinary students who are members of the Student AVMA, and shall have two votes each.
    Eeach delegate representing an allied organization of veterinarians granted representation shall have two votes.
    An alternate delegate shall vote only in the absence of the delegate or when the delegate so designates.

Bylaws Article VII—Committees of the House of Delegates—Section 1—House Advisory Committee, subsections (d) and (e)iv, and Section 2—House Reference Committees, subsection (b), to change the term chairman to chair.

Section 1—House Advisory Committee

    d) Each year the Committee shall elect a chairman from its membership. The chairman shall act in a liaison capacity between the House of Delegates and the Executive Board and attend the meetings of the Board without having, however, the right to vote.
    e) Duties:—The Committee shall:
        iv) Act, through its chairman, as the voice of the House of Delegates in presenting resolutions from the delegates to the Executive Board.

Section 2—House Reference Committees

    b) Membership—At least 30 days before the beginning of the annual session of the House of Delegates, the president-elect shall appoint the members of the House reference committees, giving appropriate notice to all such members. Each such committee shall be composed of not less than five members, each of whom shall be a delegate or alternate delegate, and one of whom shall be a member of the House Advisory Committee and shall act as chairman of the committee.
    When the number of members of the House Advisory Committee present at the annual session is less than the number of reference committees, the chairman of the House Advisory Committee shall appoint additional acting chairmens from among the delegates and alternate delegates.
    Members of each of the House reference committees shall serve until the close of the annual session of the House of Delegates for which they were appointed.

Bylaws Article XI—Student Organization, Section 1—Student Chapters, subsection (a), and Section 2—Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) subsection (a), to change the term chairman to chair.

Section 1—Student Chapters
    a) An organization of students in a college of veterinary medicine accredited or approved by the Council on Education of the Association may be affiliated with the Association as a student chapter if it has the endorsement of the dean of the college and has at least 60% of the eligible students of veterinary medicine as members. Eligible students shall include all full-time students of veterinary medicine who are enrolled in a program of study leading to a professional veterinary degree to be granted by that college. Affiliation shall be recognized by an official charter signed by the President, the Executive Vice President, and the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Association.

Section 2—Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA)
    a) The Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA), a national organization of students of veterinary medicine who are also members of the chartered student chapters of AVMA at their respective colleges, may be affiliated with the Association as a student organization. Affiliation shall be recognized by an official charter signed by the President, the Executive Vice President, and the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Association.

Bylaws Article XI—Student Organization, Section 1—Student Chapters, subsection (d), to enable student chapter faculty advisors to be selected from faculty members who have joined the AVMA as active, associate, or affiliate members.

Section 1—Student Chapters
    d) Each student chapter shall elect two faculty advisors from the faculty of the college where the student chapter is organized. Advisors shall be elected to four-year terms. Chapters 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 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 in the United States shall be active or affiliate members in good standing of the American Veterinary Medical Association,; except that faculty advisors to the Canadian student chapters may be active, associate, or affiliate members.
    It is the duty of the faculty advisors to assist the student 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.

Bylaws Article XII—Indemnification, to remove mention of specific dollar limits.

Article XII—Indemnification
    The Association will defend and indemnify any qualified person against any threatened, pending, or completed legal action resulting from actions taken in good faith on behalf of AVMA. Qualified persons shall be present and former officers, employees, and officially elected or appointed members of boards, councils, committees, and other components of the Association.
    Indemnification will not be provided to any person who shall be adjudged in a legal action to be liable for negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of duty, or when such person did not reasonably believe that the action was within the law and in the best interests of AVMA.
    Indemnification will cover cost of defense and any judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by a qualified person, up to a limit of one million dollars in any single case except in circumstances expressly prohibiting such limitation under Illinois law. Such indemnification shall be in accordance with the established policy of the Association.