Council Preview

The ACS Council will have a light agenda when it meets later this month in Boston. One noncontroversial petition is slated for action, and councilors will be invited to discuss society policy development and advocacy efforts. The council will also hear reports from society officers and committee chairs.

Councilors will also elect six people from a field of 12 nominees to serve on the Committee on Committees; five people from a field of 10 to serve on the Council Policy Committee; and five from a field of 10 to serve on the Committee on Nominations & Elections.

Following are the text and associated reports of the petition scheduled for action at the ACS Council meeting in Boston. The meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 22, beginning at 8 AM in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Boston Hotel. It is open to all meeting attendees who wish to observe.

Bylaw III Sec. 3, d, (1), (d)Bylaw VII Sec. 13 aPetition

We, the undersigned councilors of the American Chemical Society, hereby petition to amend the Constitution and Bylaws as follows (additions underlined; deletions struck through):

BYLAW III Sec. 3. Committees of the Councild. Committee on Local Section Activities

(xi) acting for the Council, in collaboration with the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws, in approving the affiliation of Local Sections with other technical organizations.

BYLAW VII Sec. 13. Local Sections

a. A Local Section may be affiliated with a local technical organization operating within the territory of the Local Section, provided that:

(1) The affiliation meets the requirements for affiliation with other technical organizations as specified elsewhere in these Bylaws. (10/4/99)

(2) The affiliation has been approved by the Committee on Local Section Activities.

b. Any Local Section affiliation shall terminate after five years unless reauthorized by the governing body of the Local Section. The term of each subsequent reauthorization shall not exceed five years. (10/4/99)

Explanation

Society bylaws provide opportunities for both local sections and divisions to form affiliations with other technical organizations. According to the bylaws (Bylaw X, Sec. 3), such affiliations require approval by the governing body of the local section or division and the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws (C&B). Elsewhere in the bylaws, the Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC) is also charged with approving affiliations between divisions and other technical organizations. However, no such provision exists for the Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) to approve affiliations with local sections and other technical organizations.

At the spring 2006 national meeting in Atlanta, representatives from C&B brought this omission to the attention of LSAC. The two committees agreed to investigate this matter further, and at the fall 2006 meeting in San Francisco, LSAC agreed that it should adopt an oversight role in approving local section affiliations. This oversight role will allow LSAC to assist local sections in identifying benefits, as well as the potential implications of forming affiliations with other organizations. Therefore, a bylaw amendment is sought to give LSAC a formal role in the approval process for local section affiliations.

The proposed bylaw amendment mirrors existing Bylaw language that gives DAC a role in the affiliation approval process.

Signed: Victoria Finkenstadt, Kathleen Gibboney, Charlene A. Hayden, Martha G. Hollomon, Wayne E. Jones Jr., Carol B. Libby, Will E. Lynch, Les McQuire, Kimberly Pacheco, James Reynolds, Maurice Ray Smith

This petition has been referred to the Committee on Local Section Activities (committee having primary substantive responsibility), the Divisional Activities Committee, the Council Policy Committee, the Society Committee on Budget & Finance, and the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws.

Final Statement Of Financial Impact

The Society Committee on Budget & Finance has examined this petition and concludes that it will have no impact on the finances of the society.

Final Report Of The Committee On Constitution & Bylaws

The Committee on Constitution & Bylaws has reviewed the petition and finds it to be legal and consistent with other provisions of the society's documents. The petition addresses a difference in current society bylaws regarding the responsibilities of the Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) and the Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC) in oversight of the establishment of affiliations by local sections and divisions, respectively. The petition grants responsibilities for LSAC parallel to those currently established in Bylaw III, Sec. 3, d, (1), (c), (vii) for DAC.

A correction to the location of the proposed change to Bylaw III should be noted: the portion of Bylaw III to be modified by addition of proposed subsection (xi) is Bylaw III, Sec. 3, d, (1), (d), not Bylaw III, Sec. 3, (d).

Comments and suggestions from committees, petitioners, and other interested members on the substance of the petition should be directed to the Committee on Local Section Activities, which has primary substantive responsibility for the petition. Other comments and suggestions may be directed to the Committee on Constitution & Bylaws.—RAY A. DICKIE, CHAIR