At its January 2025 meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed public comments submitted on Nov. 3, 2024, Committee Restructure Amendment to the Bylaws and approved ratifying the amendment as adopted in November without changes.

Background.

At its Nov.3 meeting, the Board of Directors approved to amend Articles I and II of the ACTAA Bylaws to modernize committee structure as a strategy of the ACTAA in Action strategic plan approved at the Fall Conference.

In compliance with ACTAA By-laws, Article VII, section 2, before the amendment can be ratified and engrossed, the Board-approved amendment was published via email to the membership for thirty (30) days for members to submit comments on the amendment in the November 18 Newsletter.

If the amendment receives no comments from the membership after the thirty (30) day comment period, the amendment would have been ratified effective December 18. Since the amendment received at least one comment on the proposed changes during the thirty (30) day comment period, the Board of Directors shall review the comments at its January 5 meeting, where the Board will: "(1) approve the amendment with recommended changes; or (2) approve the amendment “as is,” with no changes, by a two-thirds vote."

Amendment Details.

This amendment removes the unnecessary references of “permanent” in committee name types (AI §1), adds language to clarify better the difference between standing and special committees (AI §7(1)), reorganizes committees in the document to better align with their appropriate committee type (AI §6(2a-j) & §7(2a-f)), moves liaison positions from Article I, [Committees] §7(2) to Article II, [Officers] (AII §7-10), and other non-substantive changes for clarification (AI §2, §5, §6(2), §6(2c), §7(2), & §7(2E).

Additionally, the amendment renames the Professional Standards Committee to the Advocacy and Public Engagement Committee (AI §6(2a)), the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to the Belonging and Inclusion Advocacy (BIA) Committee (AI §6(2d)), and the Recruitment and Mentoring Committee to the New Member Support Committee (AI §6(2g)). The purpose and function of these committees will not change.

The amendment adds a reference to the ACTAA Professional & Ethical Standards of Conduct in the purpose of the Ethical Practices Committee. (AI §6(2e))

Finally, the amendment restructures the Tournament Advisory Committee (TAC) to be a defined seven members, including the President, the ASC Permanent Director, and the Student Congress Permanent Director serving ex-officio and four general members appointed by the President. The amendment also establishes clearer committee expectations, including who TAC complaints should be reported, who should be included in conferring, and examples of potential outcomes. (AI §6(2j)).

Amendment Language.

The following document outlines the amendment in two versions.

·        The first version (pages 2-12) is in markup⎼⎼showing the changes highlighted in red text, with stricken language being removed and underlined language being added to the document.

·        The second version (pages 13-20) is a “clean” version⎼⎼showing the document as amended with the changes incorporated in the document.

Public Comment Summary.

The commenters oppose the proposed restructuring of the Tournament Advisory Committee (TAC), citing concerns about consolidating power within the Board of Directors, limiting diverse viewpoints, and creating a perception of exclusivity that may discourage broader participation. They recommend expanding TAC roles to include individuals not already in leadership positions, retaining the requirement for members to host tournaments, and ensuring leaders have substantial hands-on experience in tournament management. They propose allowing the general membership to nominate and vote for TAC members to enhance transparency and inclusivity. Additionally, they call for more straightforward guidelines on sanctions, illustrative examples for policy clarity, and the inclusion of an option to reject amendments outright, ensuring balanced and comprehensive decision-making.

Additionally, the commenters criticized the by-laws amendment process adopted by the membership at Fall Conference and the timeline and medium of the membership notice for comments.

Neither commenter referenced other structural or committee changes in the amendment.

Full comments can be reviewed here: Responses to the ACTAA Member Comment Form for Nov. 3, 2024, Committee Restructure Changes to By-laws.

Board Decision.

After reviewing the comments submitted, the Board discussed the items, including those related to the appearance of power consolidation, the roles of the proposed ex-officio members (president, ASC director, and Student Congress director), qualifications to serve on TAC and the pragmatic role of TAC over the last several years. After much discussion, the Board approved 11-1 to ratify the amendment.

The amendment has been engrossed and published in the ACTAA Organizational Handbook, effective Jan. 5.