Bylaws Change Proposed for ASPA

The National Council has approved a proposed change to the ASPA Bylaws. Members will also vote on a proposed Bylaws change related to the Code of Ethics and the establishment of a new standing committee on ethics and implementation of the Code of Ethics. 

Online voting will open Nov. 1. Ballots will be delivered electronically. To confirm your address with ASPA, please contact the Membership Department at 202-585-4310 or log in to your profile on the ASPA website (www.aspanet.org).

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BYLAWS CHANGE

The National Council approved and is recommending a change to the ASPA Bylaws. The proposed change is to Article II, Section 5; Article III, Section 9 and the addition of Section 14 and 15. Below is the current language followed by the proposed change.

CURRENT LANGUAGE

Section 5: Termination or Denial of Membership

Membership shall terminate automatically without the necessity of any action by the Council whenever any member fails to pay dues when said dues are due and payable or when in its sole and absolute discretion the Council determines that any member appears to have acted in violation of the Society’s Code of Ethics as published from time to time.

Section 9: Committees

A. Establishment: There shall be two (2) types of committees: standing and ad hoc.

1. Standing committees shall be established through the bylaws and are deemed to be permanent, subject only to subsequent amendments to the bylaws. There are five (5) standing committees: Executive Committee, Nominating Committee, Publications, Finance Committee and Audit Committees.

2. Ad hoc committees may be established by the Council or by the President. Ad hoc committees established by the Council are considered to be ongoing until disestablishment by the Council. Committees established by the President expire with the term of the President. In establishing committees that will require substantial Society resources, the Council and the President shall seek the advice of the appropriate body regarding their consistency with and contributions toward the Society’s goals and purposes and with the Finance Committee on the availability of staff and other financial resources to support the proposed committees.

B. Appointment of Members: The President shall appoint the chairperson and members of each committee to serve during the President’s term of office. Each committee shall have two (2) or more Council members, and a majority of the membership of each committee shall be Council members; provided, however, that the Nominating Committee may be composed entirely of persons who are not Council members. All committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the Council.

C. Disestablishment of Committees: Standing committees may be disestablished only by a vote of the Council according to the procedure for amendments to the bylaws. Ad hoc committees may only be disestablished by the Council except for committees established by the President. The President may disestablish a committee he/she established. All ad hoc committees shall be reviewed periodically as to their performance and may be disestablished under procedures established by the Council when the committees no longer meet their intended purpose or have completed their assignment.

PROPOSED CHANGE

Article II: Membership

Section 5: Termination or Denial of Membership

1. Membership shall terminate automatically without the necessity of any action by the Council whenever any member fails to pay dues when said dues are due.
2. The Council may terminate membership or impose other sanctions on members after investigation and recommendation by the Ethics and Standards Implementation Committee for a serious violation of the Society’s Code of Ethics as published from time to time. 

Article III: National Council

Section 9: Committees

A. Establishment: There shall be two (2) types of committees: standing and ad hoc.

1. Standing committees shall be established through the bylaws and are deemed to be permanent, subject only to subsequent amendments to the bylaws. There are six (6) standing committees: Executive Committee, Nominating Committee, Publications, Finance Committee, Audit Committee, and the Ethics and Standards Implementation Committee.

B. Appointment of Members: The President shall appoint the chairperson and members of each committee to serve during the President’s term of office. Each committee shall have two (2) or more Council members, and a majority of the membership of each committee shall be Council members; provided, however, that the Nominating Committee and the Ethics and Standards Implementation Committee may be composed entirely of persons who are not Council members. All committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the Council.

Section 14: Ethics and Standards Implementation Committee

There shall be an Ethics and Standards Implementation Committee, with the chairperson appointed by the President. Each President will appoint two members for a three-year term with the advice and consent of the Council. The ASPA executive director shall be an ex-officio member of the committee without vote. The purposes of the Committee are to advance awareness and commitment to ethical principles and practices in ASPA and to promote the importance of ethics in public service through educational activities, provide advice and assistance to members in handling ethical problems, review and seek to resolve ethics complaints, advise the Council of appropriate action to be taken when an ASPA member is found to have violated the Code, investigate at the request of the Executive Committee matters relating to possible unethical practices within the work of ASPA, and speak for ASPA in cases involving the serious challenges to ethical administration.

Section 15: Other Bodies

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