Resolutions, Policy Papers, and Position Statements
Resolutions Process
All resolutions, policy papers, and position statements are
submitted for consideration and endorsement by the House of Delegates.
Resolutions may be submitted from the Board of Directors, state
chapters, committees, and subsections of the association.
Before reaching the floor of the House of Delegates, resolutions must follow a review process:
- Resolutions are submitted to the AMDA national office.
- Resolutions are reviewed against previous
policies and actions to ensure consistency and identify potential
conflicts with prior policy.
- Resolutions are sent to appropriate committees
and board members for review and to staff for analysis of the fiscal
impact on the association.
- Resolutions Committee meets by conference call
prior to the annual meeting of the House of Delegates to review the
resolutions and comments.
- Resolutions Committee makes edits and suggestions for format compliance and clarity.
- Suggested changes are sent back to the originators of those resolutions.
- Resolutions Committee meets by conference call to
review and agree upon the final resolutions included in the delegates'
handbook.
- House of Delegates is briefed on resolutions several days prior to formally convening at the annual symposium.
- House of Delegates reviews and debates resolutions.
- Passed resolutions are implemented by the appropriate committee or staff.
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If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Gebhart, Government Affairs, at (410) 992-3145 or ngebhart@amda.com.
All resolutions, policy papers, and position statements should be
submitted for consideration and endorsement by the House of Delegates
as soon as possible. The deadline for submission is Monday, January 16, 2006.
Guidelines for Writing Resolutions
Resolutions set forth background information and propose a course of action or statement of policy. The Title
of the resolution should appropriately reflect the intended course of
action of the resolution. Follow these guidelines for writing a
resolution:
Format
Resolutions begin with background information and conclude with a specific proposal. Background information follows the term whereas, while the proposed course of action is set forth by "therefore be it resolved."
Whereas
Background or whereas information provides the rationale for the resolved course of action. The whereas statement(s) should lead the reader to your conclusion (resolved).
In writing whereas statements, begin by
introducing the topic of the resolution. Be factual rather than
speculative and provide or reference statistics wherever possible.
Although whereas statements are not
mandatory, it is difficult to understand the rationale behind a
proposed course of action when that rationale is not set forth in the
resolution.
Resolved
The resolved
portion of a resolution should emphasize a course of action for the
association. The Board of Directors, not the House of Delegates, is
responsible for determining the appropriate committee involvement.
Also, the association cannot direct another organization to do a
particular task, although it can recommend a course of action or
concern to other organizations.
The rules for the submission of resolutions will be strictly
applied. Late resolutions should be submitted only on truly emergent
issues, especially late-breaking developments of information, and will
be reviewed by the Resolutions Committee that will rule on acceptance.
Please be sure to make your resolutions clear and concise. Because it is only the resolved
portions of the resolutions on which action is taken, they must be
capable of standing alone. If background materials accompany
resolutions, the material will be forwarded to the appropriate
committee for review, but it will not be published in the meeting
handbook that is distributed to the delegates. If funds are needed for
implementation, staff will provide a fiscal note. Please refer to the
Policy Compendium to avoid duplication of current policy.
When resolutions become AMDA policy, the complete resolution is
indexed in the AMDA Policy Compendium--an internal document. For
external purposes, such as the online collection of Resolutions, Policy Papers, and Position Statements, only the resolveds are included.
If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Gebhart, Government Affairs, at (410) 992-3145 or ngebhart@amda.com.
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