TSA Bylaws
ARTICLE 4 - DISTRICTS OF THE SOCIETY
4.0 COMPOSITION
Districts of this Society shall be drawn by the Board of Directors and approved by the House of Delegates.
4.1 DISTRICT REPRESENTATION
4.11 Each District will be represented by one Director and a number of Delegates and Alternate Delegates based upon overall District membership (see section 4.31).
4.12 Requirements
To be eligible for election a District Director, Delegate or Alternate Delegate shall be an active member and shall maintain his or her place of principal professional activity in the District to be represented.
4.13 Election of Director, Delegates, and Alternate Delegates
4.131 Nomination
4.1311 In each District in which an election is to be held the following year, a District Nominating Committee is to be constituted by the preceding October 1. The committee shall be appointed by the Director and shall consist of at least three active members of that district, one of whom shall be designated by the Director to be the Chair of the Nominating Committee. If possible, no two members of the committee should be from the same locality. Each person appointed must agree in writing to serve, such agreement to accompany the notification of the TSA Executive Office on October 1. The written acceptance shall be kept on file in the TSA Executive Office until the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates.
4.1312 The active voting membership of each district in which an election is to be held shall be informed of the pending election and the composition of the District Nominating Committee for their District by October 15 in a manner recommended by the Communications Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.
4.1313 A list of active members eligible to serve as Director, Delegate or Alternate Delegate will be sent to the Director and District Nominating Committee of each district by the Executive Office prior to October 15. Recommendations to the District Nominating Committee for the slate of nominees may be submitted to the Chair of the District Nominating Committee, to arrive by November 15; such recommendations should be accompanied by a statement (written or verbal) by the proposed nominee to the Chair of the District Nominating Committee or to the TSA Executive Office agreeing to abide by the delineation of the duties of the office as set forth in these bylaws.
4.1314 It shall be the responsibility of the District Nominating Committee to prepare a slate consisting of one (or more) nominee(s) for each position to be filled. Nominees should provide a wide geographical representation of the District.
4.1315 The District Nominating Committee shall meet or confer by December 1. If a conference call is necessary, the cost shall be borne by TSA. The District Nominating Committee is to complete its work by December 15.
4.132 Election
4.1321 The names of those nominated shall be placed on a ballot by the TSA Secretary and mailed to all voting members by February 1. The executed ballots shall be received by the TSA Executive Office by February 21. A plurality shall be necessary to be elected. A tie vote will be resolved by the Board of Directors.
4.1322 The results of the election will be certified by the Board of Directors at the Interim Meeting.
4.14 Terms of Office
4.141 Director
The term of office of the District Director shall be for three years starting at the opening of the Annual Session of the House of Delegates following the Director’s election.
4.142 Delegate
The term of office shall be for three years and shall commence at the opening of the annual meeting following his or her election.
4.143 Alternate Delegate
Same as Delegate under 4.142.
4.144 Initial Terms of Office
Terms of office of the presently elected members of the House of Delegates shall begin at the start of the House of Delegates meeting at which the Delegates were elected. Alternate Delegates shall have the same term of office as that of their Delegate, and an Alternate Delegate may substitute only for his or her Delegate unless both are absent, in which case any Alternate Delegate from within the same District may substitute.
4.2 DUTIES OF DIRECTOR
4.21 The Director of each District shall:
4.211 Serve on the Board of Directors of this Society as the representative of the District from which he or she is elected;
4.212 Serve as the official correspondent of the District with this Society;
4.213 Make a written report relating to the work and to the condition of the specialty of Anesthesiology in his or her District at the annual meeting of the House of Delegates;
4.214 Attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and the House of Delegates during the term of office. In the event of inability to attend any one of these meetings it shall be the Director’s responsibility to select from among the elected delegates or alternate delegates of that District a proxy who will appear in his or her place, duly authorized to cast a ballot on all official business at such meeting;
4.215 Perform such other duties as are provided by these Bylaws.
4.22 Appointment of Alternate Director
The Board of Directors shall appoint an Alternate Director of any District on the recommendation of the Director of that district. The Alternate Director shall be an elected Delegate or Alternate Delegate from his or her District. This appointment shall be made no later than the board meeting following the meeting at which the district director recommended appointment of an Alternate Director.
4.221 Term of Office of Alternate Director
The term of office shall be concomitant with the term of office of the Director for which he/she serves as an Alternate.
4.222 Duties of the Alternate Director
The Alternate Director may attend any meetings of the Board of Directors at his/her own expense. In the absence of the Director at any Board meeting, the Alternate Director shall assume all the duties and responsibilities of the Director and shall be entitled to all rights, privileges and authorized payments due the Director for said meeting.
4.3 DISTRICT DELEGATES AND ALTERNATE DELEGATES
4.31 District Delegates and Alternate Delegates
Each District is entitled to one Delegate and one Alternate Delegate for each twenty-five voting members, or fraction thereof, as shown by the official membership roster as of December 31st of the preceding year, to represent the District in the House of Delegates of this Society.
If the membership within a District decreases so that the District is entitled to a lesser number of Delegates, the Delegate serving in the most recently created Delegate Place shall serve the full term to which elected, then that Delegate Place shall be eliminated if required by this Article of these Bylaws.
4.32 Precincts
Upon petition by members of a non-metropolitan geographic area within a District, the Director may request the Board of Directors to designate this area as a separate voting precinct within the District for the purpose of electing a Delegate and Alternate Delegate to represent the District from this precinct. The precinct shall exist for the duration of the term of office of the Delegate elected to represent that precinct.
4.33 Duties
Each Delegate and Alternate Delegate shall:
Attend all House of Delegates meetings and perform such other duties as are provided by these Bylaws.
4.34 Termination for cause
Should a Delegate or Alternate Delegate not fulfill the duties (as specified in these Bylaws, Paragraph 4.33) of his or her office, the Delegate or Alternate Delegate may be removed from his or her elected office by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.
4.4 VACANCIES
If for any reason the Director, or any Delegate or Alternate Delegate, become unable or unwilling to perform the functions of the office, or is removed from office, or moves from the jurisdiction of the body which elected him or her to office, or is elected to higher office, such office shall be declared vacant. In addition, should one of these offices fail to be filled after the approved nominations and election procedures, as outlined in Section 4.13, such office will be declared vacant.
Vacancies in office shall be filled in the following manner:
4.41 Director
4.411 In the event that the Director vacancy is for a term of one year or less, the Board of Directors will make an appointment to fill the vacancy of the unexpired term.
4.4111 Such office shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the departing District Director.
4.4112 If no such recommendation is made by the departing District Director, then the Board of Directors shall fill the office by appointment at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
4.412 In the event that the Director vacancy is for a term of more than one year, the vacancy will be filled using the following process.
4.4121 An Interim Director will be appointed by the Board of Directors, based upon the recommendation of the departing District Director. The Interim Director will hold this office until the election of a new Director, as outlined below.
4.4122 At the next annual election cycle, a special election will be held within the District to fill the remainder of the vacant term of the Director’s office. All procedures outlined in Section 4.13 will be followed in this special election.
4.42 Delegate
Appointment by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Director to fill the vacancy of the unexpired term.
4.43 Alternate Delegate
Appointment by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Director to fill the unexpired term.
