The Delegates' Voice
Newsletter for the House of Delegates of AAPG

COCBAP3--Executive, AC & House Leadership Recommend Defeat!

Summary by George Eynon, Chair, Constitution and Bylaws Committee

Lowell Lischer, Chairman
Ed Dolly, Chairman-Elect
Sandi Barber, Secretary-Editor

Delegates to the House, who will be voting on this issue in Denver, now have the benefit of clear opinions from the Association’s other two governing bodies, as well as that of the House leadership, to help make an informed decision.

With communication such a key issue in an organization such as ours, AAPG has already informally instituted part of COCBAP (Committee on Constitution and Bylaws Amendment Procedure). This procedure, previously adopted by the EC, suggests opinions be sought from the AC, EC and HOD on all resolutions for amendments (COCBAP2a, see final paragraph below). In the September 2000 The Delegates’ Voice -- we outlined the history of COCBAP and in particular the final, third recommendation of that committee, which was as follows:

3. Constitutional Amendment -- The EC should pass a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment. The proposed amendment would prevent any one body (AC, EC, or HOD) from proposing amendments which would “alter the composition, manner of selection, the terms of office, the specific duties, responsibilities, and other matters relevant to such bodies and officers” without the consent of the affected body. This resolution for amendment should be submitted to the HOD, and if passed by a majority vote, will be submitted to the entire membership for vote.

The House leadership asked for and has already received opinions from the other two bodies. All three bodies recommend defeating COCBAP3 when it comes before the House in Denver. Their decisions are summarized:

The Executive Committee (EC) The Executive Committee discussed the COCBAP3 issue at its meeting in Houston on October 26, 2000. As a result of that discussion, the Executive Committee voted to “recommend defeat” of COCBAP3 by a vote of five (5) in favor, one (1) opposed, and one (1) abstention.

The Advisory Council (AC) The AC discussed the COCBAP3 in teleconference meetings on October 10 and November 6, 2000. In the first of these a motion to “recommend defeat of COCBAP3 by the House of Delegates.” was tabled until the second teleconference so that all AC members could give the matter further consideration, and on November 6, after some discussion and clarification, the AC passed the motion unanimously--thirteen (13) to zero (0).

House of Delegates (HOD) Leadership At a meeting in August, the “leadership” of the House of Delegates (Chairman, Chairman-Elect, Secretary-Editor) and the Constitution and Bylaws (C&BL) ]ommittee Chairman discussed the issue, unanimously agreeing to recommend defeat of COCBAP3.

The House leadership feels very strongly about a need for greater cooperative effort among the EC, AC, and HOD in effecting change in the Association. Informally adopting the procedures outlined in COCBAP2, the House has been publishing the resolutions for all constitution and bylaws amendments and seeking input from other AAPG bodies (items from COCBAP2). However, the amendment proposed by COCBAP3 could bring any legislative change in the Association to a standstill. Its provisions do not serve to promote and to improve communications between the three bodies of the AAPG. The HOD leadership believes that rather than fostering cooperation, the COCBAP3 recommendation could serve to create further antagonism.

As a follow-up to this issue, the AC included in its motion to defeat COCBAP3 a “request that the House of Delegates Constitution and Bylaws Committee formulate language to embrace the intent of COCBAP2a.” The House C&BL committee is preparing an amendment that we hope to fast-track for the Denver meeting to formally “require opinions from the EC, AC and HOD on resolutions for amendment,” since it is clear that all three bodies are in favor of this.

It is a pleasure to see the system working so well -- congratulations and thanks to all involved to-date.

In this issue …

Constitution and Bylaws Committee

Officers Columns:
> Chairman's Corner
> Chairman-elect
> Secretary/Editor

Officer Candidates
> Chairman-Elect:
Donald Dean Clarke
Terry Hollrah
> Secretary-Editor:
Martin D. (Marty) Hewitt
Brian Keith

Committee Reports:
> Audit
> Credentials
> Future of Earth Scientists
> Honors and Awards
> Nominations & Elections
Articles
> Rules and Procedures

Important Dates:
> Deadlines for 2000-2001 HOD Business
> Mid-year House Leadership Meeting

Facts:
> Birth of the House of Delegates
> Are You Aware That

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