APMA News - April 2013 - (Page 18)

T The Nuts and Bolts of Your House he 2013 APMA House of Delegates (HOD) meeting took place March 15–18 in Washington, DC. For a full report on the meeting and its outcomes, watch for your May issue of APMA News. In this month’s issue, we give you a look at the inner workings of the HOD and explain how this legislative and governing body is designed to represent the will of podiatrists nationwide. Delegates The HOD is composed of certified delegates and alternates from each state component society. The number of delegates is determined by the number of members in good standing in each component society (one delegate for every 100 members in good standing or fraction thereof). Each state may have an unlimited number of alternates. States elect delegates based on their own processes and procedures. Each delegate has one vote. Some states require their entire delegation to vote the same way on a given resolution, while others allow delegates to cast differing votes. Delegates and alternates serve a term of one year, extending from one regular meeting of the HOD to the next. In the event that a special meeting of the HOD is called prior to the next regular meeting, the credentialed delegates of the previous year’s HOD would serve as the official voting body for the special meeting. Resolutions Preparations for the content of the HOD begin long before the meeting itself. APMA solicits bylaws propositions and proposed changes to bylaws, as well as proposed changes to the Code of Ethics, almost immediately after the close of the current HOD because they must be submitted by the first day of the fifth month prior to the regular meeting of the HOD. After the submission deadline, the Bylaws and Procedures Committee reviews all submitted changes to the bylaws to ensure they are in order prior to publication. The propositions are then published on the website at least 60 days prior to the start of the meeting. Members also may seek modifications to APMA’s governing policies through proposed modifications to the Administrative Procedures, the companion document to the bylaws. These changes are submitted in the form of a resolution and must be received at least 45 days prior to the start of the HOD regular meeting. Other types of resolutions have staggered submission deadlines depending on their projected financial impact. Any member, component society or association, the Board of Trustees, the Council on Podiatric Medical Education, or an official committee of APMA may submit a resolution to be considered by the HOD. There are two types of resolutions: policy-related or directives-oriented. Policy-related resolutions ask the HOD to ratify a position statement or philosophy proposed by the sponsor. A directive-oriented resolution calls for a specific assignment or activity to be carried out. 18 APMA News April 2013 Resolutions Review Process As resolutions are received, the Resolutions Review Subcommittee begins to review them to ensure they are made available to the membership as soon as possible. The purpose of the subcommittee is to ensure that the sponsor has prepared the resolution correctly in order to avoid having the resolution ruled out of order; to ensure proper format; to ensure sufficient background and supporting materials and appropriate financial impact statements; to coordinate the consolidation of similar resolutions; and to ensure the resolution’s intent is clearly defined and understandable. Years ago, prior to the establishment of this review procedure, the HOD considered many, many resolutions that were not in order as submitted and first had to consider the resolution’s structure before debating its merits. The process was timeconsuming and laborious. The subcommittee greatly facilitates the processing of resolutions and allows the Resolutions Committee and the HOD to focus its attention on the intent of each resolution. All information being brought before the HOD is made available via the APMA website (www.apma.org/hod) as soon as possible. Usually, information is available on the site well before it is mailed out to meeting attendees. The day before the HOD meeting begins, the Resolutions Committee convenes to review all resolutions. The Resolutions Committee may transmit a resolution to the HOD with any of the following recommendations: do pass, do not pass, withdrawal, out of order, or no recommendation. The committee is authorized to request that sponsors redraft resolutions that are deemed unclear. Ultimately, the committee seeks to bring clearly articulated resolutions before the HOD. Not only does this review process facilitate the work of the HOD, but it also ensures the language adopted by the HOD can be clearly interpreted in perpetuity. Resolutions adopted by the HOD are maintained in a document called the Resolutions Policy Manual. To ensure this document’s continued relevance, resolutions adopted 10 years previously are reviewed to determine the need for continued retention. The Resolutions Policy Manual is available on the website under House of Delegates and Legislative Conference. At the Meeting The HOD meets for two full-day sessions. In certain circumstances, a reserve session of the HOD is needed to complete the business before it. Such a need is determined during the first day’s session, as the reserve session would be held that evening. Once the HOD is called into session, the decision-making process begins. Guest speakers and committee chairs offer reports interspersed with the work of the HOD. These reports are intended to educate the delegates with relevant and timely information not only critical to their understanding of what the association is doing for them, but also to facilitate the process of debating resolutions. Awards recognizing national-level accomplishments are presented during the HOD, lending prestige to each award. APMA awards pre- http://www.apma.org/hod

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - April 2013

APMA News - April 2013
President’s Message
Contents
Beat Bunion Blues: APMA’s Spring PR Campaign
Matthew G. Garoufalis, DPM: Presidential Inaugural Speech to the APMA House of Delegates
Nuts and Bolts of the House of Delegates and Resoultions Outcomes
State Advocacy in Focus: Building Relationships
Medicare Advantage: Answering Questions about Coverage
2012 Podiatric Practice Survey: Corporation Type
Podiatric Medical Assistants’ Program at The National Promotes Team Learning
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Registration Forms
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Sponsors
Team APMA 5K Run/Walk
Seeking Award Nominations
Reimbursement
Federal Advocacy Forum
APMAPAC Chair Report
IT Consultant
Inside APMA’s Social Media
Website Wisdom
On the Road with APMA
Small Business 101
CPME Update
In Short
Worthy of Note
Insurance Advisor
New Members
Death Notices
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Classifi ed Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions
Your APMA

APMA News - April 2013