Announcements

The cancelation of the in-person 2020 SPER Annual Meeting in June has highlighted several challenges for SPER governance. SPER relies on the business meeting for important decisions like setting membership dues and modifying the bylaws. To address these logistical challenges, the SPER Executive Committee (EC) is proposing 6 changes to the bylaws. You will be invited to vote on these changes at the time of the voting process for new members of the Executive Committee in May.

The proposed changes are described below and are shown in the marked up version of the current bylaws.

A. Process for setting SPER membership dues (changes #1 and #3)

As currently described in the bylaws, it is “the business of the annual meeting to change the annual dues, if proposed by the Executive Committee”

Reason we are proposing these changes: The current process outlined in the bylaws that ties dues to the annual meeting and a vote at the business meeting affects: (1) the potential for participation by the membership, and (2) logistics/flexibility to respond to Society financial needs. We propose that proposals to change the annual dues by the EC shall be posted for a 30 day period to allow review and input by the full membership, not only those in attendance at the business meeting. After this 30 day period, the Executive Committee will vote on the proposal, with approval requiring support by at least 2/3 of the EC. 

B. Process for making changes to SPER Bylaws (change #5)

Currently, the bylaws state that amendments to the bylaws require a vote by the membership of the Society after having been proposed by a member, seconded by at least 5 members, posted for review at least 90 days prior to the meeting, and included in the annual mail ballot, with approval determined by majority vote.

Reason we are proposing this change: The proposed change gives responsibility for bylaw amendments to a majority vote of Officers of EC that may be held at any time in order to allow for more a flexible, responsive, and simple process should changes to the bylaws be necessary in the future.

C. Updating outdated language (changes #2, #4, #6)

Several proposed changes are for the sake of making updates and clarifications to the language of the bylaws. For example, we propose eliminating reference to mailed ballots and notifications. In addition, we propose to eliminate language suggesting that “The Executive Committee shall submit to the Society for adoption and approval a report on the general state…of the Society…and financial statement for the past year….”

Reason we are proposing these changes:  Each of the above mentioned instances is anachronistic and our proposed modifications will update the language and processes in a way that is consistent with current practice.