Last summer voting members approved the establishment of a 501(c)(6) entity, which became the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, in addition to the existing 501(c)(3) entity, which became the American Association of Neurosurgeons. The bylaws for both entities can be found at www.AANS.org/about/membership under “Bylaws.” The AANS Board of Directors now is proposing amendments that will affect the bylaws documents of both entities.
All proposed changes were mailed to voting AANS members on March 19, 2004. The bylaws amendments will be discussed at the annual Business Meeting, held jointly by the AANS and the American Association of Neurosurgeons during the 2004 AANS Annual Meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 3, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Following the Annual Meeting, the AANS will conduct a paper ballot via regular mail on these amendments.
Several of the proposed amendments are corrections or revisions to the bylaws. One change reformats and renames Article III to clarify the “Rights and Obligations” of Membership. Another amendment more explicitly spells out the requirement for all members of the AANS Board of Directors to be Active members. These changes will not affect the content of the bylaws.
The amendments that will affect content include: adding two membership classifications, clarifying the quorum requirement for board meetings, linking the number of petition signatures required for bylaws changes to a percentage of membership, and allowing electronic voting.
Allied, International Resident/Fellow Categories Proposed
Two proposed membership categories would allow the AANS to accept as members many individuals who do not qualify for membership under any current membership category. The two new categories are Allied members, and International Residents/Fellows. The Allied category would allow inclusion of the surgical technicians who often assist in the operating room, similar to the nurses and physician assistants who long have been accepted as Associate members of the AANS. The new International Resident/Fellow classification would encourage this group of young neurosurgeons to join AANS earlier in their careers, similar to their counterparts in North American training programs.
Quorum to Equal 50 Percent
Currently, the bylaws contain no specific language that defines what constitutes a “quorum” for business conducted by the Board of Directors. The proposed bylaws insertion would correct this omission and define quorum as “at least half of the sitting members of the Board.”
4 Percent of Petitioners to Hold Sway
Bylaws amendments may be brought forward by the Board of Directors, or by a petition signed by Active members. The proposed amendment would change the number of signatures required for such a petition from a flat number to 4 percent of Active members. In this way, the number of signatures required would always be relative to the number of voting members of AANS.
Electronic Voting to Reduce Cost, Increase Participation
Finally, the addition of Article XV to allow electronic voting has been proposed.
The expense of balloting via regular mail is very high, with production and postage costs totaling between $3,500 and $20,000, depending on the amount of printed materials included. With the technology to handle electronic voting already operational through the security of the password-protected Web site, www.MyAANS.org, it is expected that electronic voting would yield considerable savings that would free funds for other programs. To ensure that no voting member is disenfranchised, plans have been developed to offer a paper ballot to members who do not have access to the Internet. When implemented, electronic voting is expected to increase voter participation while drastically reducing costs associated with paper balloting.
A complete copy of the “redlined” bylaws can be found on the AANS Web site, www.AANS.org/about/membership/voting.asp.
Susan M. Eget is AANS associate executive director-governance.
For Further Information
Eget, SM. “Members Approve Addition of 501(c)(6): Bylaws Change Expands Horizons for AANS.” AANS Bulletin. Fall 2003;12(3):50. https://www.AANS.org, Article ID 18650