Feature
Members will be voting this fall on four APA bylaws amendments. During the 2001 legislative year, APA's Council of Representatives approved submission of the following four proposed bylaws amendments. Council also voted not to send a pro/con statement with the proposed amendments.
APA will send ballots to members with the Apportionment Ballot on Nov. 1. Below are the revised bylaws; bracketed text is to be deleted and underlined text is to be added.
Amendment #1:
Modified Wildcard Plan-Article V
The proposed amendment provides that each division and state and provincial psychological association has at least one seat on the Council of Representatives.
BYLAW ARTICLE V, Composition of the Council of Representatives, Section 6
6. The number of [r]Representatives from [a]Divisions [or] and State/Provincial Associations shall be [determined annually as follows:] 162. The 162 Representatives will be divided into 2 pools, one for State/Provincial Associations and one for Divisions. The percentage of the 162 seats for State/Provincial Associations shall correspond to the percentage of total apportionment votes allocated to State/Provincial Associations and the percentage of the 162 seats for Divisions shall correspond to the percentage of total apportionment votes allocated to Divisions.
[A Division or State or Provincial Association shall receive one Council seat for each 1% of the allocated votes, calculated as follows:]
Each Division shall be allocated one seat from the Division Pool and each State/Provincial Association shall be allocated one seat from the State/Provincial Pool. The awarding of additional seats allocated to each Pool shall be based on the percentage of allocated votes received by a Division or State/Provincial Association and calculated as follows:
[Less than 0.5%....................0
0.5% to less than 1.5%............1
1.5% to less than 2.5%............2
2.5% to less than 3.5%............3]
1.5% to less than 2.5%............1 additional seat
2.5% to less than 3.5%............2 additional seats
3.5% to less than 4.5%............3 additional seats etc.
[An Additional 48 seats shall be divided among Divisions and State or Provincial Associations in the following manner. The proportion of the 48 seats to be assigned to Divisions and the proportion to be assigned to State and Provincial Associations shall correspond to the percentage of total votes allocated to each of these two groups each year. Seats thus proportionately assigned shall be awarded to the units within each group which received less than 0.5% of the allocated votes, with one seat being awarded to each such unit, in the order in which they came closest to a 0.5% allocation. If, after all units in a group have been awarded at least one Council seat, there remain seats proportionately assigned to the group which have not been awarded, these remaining seats shall be awarded to other units in that group in the order in which the units came closest to being awarded another seat as a result of the allocated votes.]
Additional seats will be allocated to those units in a Pool entitled to additional seats in the following manner. The unit with the highest percentage in the Pool will receive the first additional seat and an additional seat will be assigned to other units entitled to one or more additional seats in descending order of their percentages. If, after all units in a Pool entitled to one or more additional seats have received one additional seat, there remain units that are entitled to two or more additional seats, and if the seats allocated to the Pool have not been exhausted, the unit in the Pool with the highest percentage will receive a second additional seat and a second additional seat will be assigned to other units entitled to two or more additional seats in descending order of their percentages. This process shall be continued until either all additional seats allocated to the Pool have been assigned or until all units in the Pool entitled to additional seats have been assigned all of the seats to which their percentages of allocated votes entitle them.
If, after all units in a Pool have been assigned the additional seats to which they are entitled by virtue of their percentages, there remain seats allocated to a Pool which have not been assigned, those remaining seats shall be assigned to the units in the Pool in the order in which the units came closest to being awarded another seat as a result of the allocated votes.
If approved by membership, the changes will go into effect with the 2003 Council.
Amendment #2:
Division Petitions-Article VI
The proposed amendment would remove language in the bylaws that limits Council approval of a new division to the mid-winter meeting.
Council voted to forward pro/con statements with these amendments.
BYLAW ARTICLE VI, Bill of Rights for Members, Section 3
3. A Division shall be established whenever one percent or more of the Members of the Association petition for it and Council approves. A two-thirds vote of those present at a [the mid-winter] meeting of Council is required for the establishment of a new Division.
If approved by membership, the changes will go into effect immediately.
Amendment #3:
New membership category-Article II
The proposed amendment would allow for the development of a two-year college teacher affiliate membership category in APA.
BYLAW ARTICLE II, Membership, Section 15
15. There shall be a class of 2-Year College Teacher Affiliates who are not Members of the Association and who shall not represent themselves as such. They shall have such privileges as may be granted by Council, including special rates for subscriptions and publications. 2-Year College Teacher Affiliate status is limited to individuals who are not otherwise eligible for APA membership, although any APA member who teaches in a 2-year college is welcome to participate in 2-Year College Teacher Affiliate activities.
(Note: Current sections 15, 16 and 17 of Article II will be renumbered.)
If approved by membership, the changes will go into effect immediately.
Amendment #4:
Treasurer term change-Article VIII
The proposed amendment will change the term of the APA Treasurer from five years to three years.
BYLAW ARTICLE VIII, Officers, Section 8
8. The Treasurer of the Association shall be a Member of the Association, elected by the immediately previous Council following nominations by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall take office for a term of three [five] years, beginning at the end of the fiscal year during which his/her election is announced, and shall not succeed himself/herself in this office more than once. During the term of office, the Treasurer shall serve as senior financial officer of the Association and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these Bylaws. The Treasurer shall have authority to sign checks and drafts on behalf of the Association for disbursement of funds for duly authorized purposes of the Association as provided by Bylaws or by vote of Council or the Board of Directors. He/she shall deliver an audited report for each fiscal year to the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall chair the Finance Committee and serve ex officio, without vote, on the Publications and Communications Board. In the case of the death or incapacity of the Recording Secretary, the Treasurer is authorized to perform the duties normally assigned to the Recording Secretary.
If approved by membership, the changes will take effect with the start of the next election in 2004.
