Elections

Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws

Article VII “Other Committees,” Section 2 “Standing and Other Committees; Purposes,” Subsection a, “Finance and Audit Committee”:

a. Finance and Audit. The Finance and Audit Committee shall include, but not be limited to, the members of the Executive Committee. This committee shall oversee the finances and financial reporting of the Association, including, but not limited to, examining quarterly revenue/expense reports, monitoring investments, reviewing the annual audit, and drawing up a budget in conjunction with the Executive Director for each fiscal year, to be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval before the beginning of the fiscal year.

The ATA Board of Directors recommends approval.

Commentary
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to reflect the current reality of the Treasurer position and the Finance and Audit Committee more accurately, in terms of duties and responsibilities pertaining to overseeing the Association’s finances.

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Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws:

Article VII “Other Committees,” Section 2 “Standing and Other Committees; Purposes,” Subsection c, “Membership”:

c. Membership Development. The Membership Development Committee shall examine applications for Active and Corresponding membership, as set forth in Article III of these Bylaws and in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the Board. Committee recommendations to reject Active membership applications shall be forwarded to the Board of Directors for approval, with notification of such determinations made by Association Headquarters, in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the Board. The Membership Committee shall also actively recommend and pursue policies to recruit attract and retain members, including developing and supporting programming and benefits to serve ATA members’ interests, educating current and prospective members about the Association and membership benefits, providing resources to inform, recruit, and retain ATA members, and collecting information pertinent to membership.

The ATA Board of Directors recommends approval.

Commentary
For over a decade, becoming an Active member has been a process of self-reporting with random audits performed by ATA staff. The wording in the Bylaws is outdated and describes a process that has not been in place for many years.

The purpose of the proposed amendment is to reflect the current reality of the Membership Committee’s duties and responsibilities pertaining to membership retention and growth. This task is of critical importance to ATA to attract and retain members and to ensure sufficient resources to serve our members and fulfill the Association’s mission.

To reflect the committee’s updated charge, the proposed name now includes the membership development focus.

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Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws

Article VII “Other Committees,” Section 2 “Standing and Other Committees; Purposes,” Subsection d, “Nominating and Leadership Development”

3) Further nominations, accompanied by the written acceptance of the nominees, may be entered by petition in writing endorsed by the signature of at least sixty other voting members and shall be received by the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee not later than thirty calendar days after publication by the Board of Directors of the names of the candidates the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee has proposed.

The ATA Board of Directors recommends approval.

Commentary
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to clarify the required number of signatures for nominations by petition for ATA Board of Directors positions. Naturally, a petitioner for nomination supports their own candidacy. The purpose of the signature threshold is to demonstrate sufficient support by 60 additional voting members for that person’s candidacy.

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Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws:

Article III “Membership,” Section 6 “Disciplinary Actions”:

a. Disciplinary actions, including censure, suspension, or expulsion from membership, may be taken for any of the following causes:

1) Conviction of a felony or other crime of moral turpitude under federal or state law in a matter related to the practice of, or qualifications for, professional activity;

2) Gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of professional services, or other unethical or unprofessional conduct based on demonstrable and serious violations of the ATA Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Responsibility; or

3) Fraud or misrepresentation in the application for or maintenance of ATA membership, professional certification, or other professional recognition or credential.

The ATA Board of Directors recommends approval.

Commentary
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to reflect the updated title of the ATA Code of Ethics, which was revised by the Ethics Committee and approved by ATA’s Board of Directors in 2022. As part of the revision, the title was changed from Code of Ethics and Professional Practice to Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. The revised code went into effect on January 1, 2023, under the new title, Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.