The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2023

AFSA NEWS 54 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL fewer than 300 members, opening those positions to candidates anywhere in the world may make it easier to fill those positions. And while those board members would then necessarily have to participate virtually, it is still important for the purposes of discussion and decision- making for the locally resident board members to participate in-person most of the time. Amendment Number 4— Standing Committees Amend Article VII, Section 1 by striking in Section (b) “The Committee on Elec- tions shall be composed of at least five members, includ- ing a chair and at least one member from each constitu- ency” and inserting “The Committee on Elections shall be composed of at least five members, including a chair and at least one member from each constituency when possible.” By inserting a new Section (g) “Governance Committee: The board shall appoint and determine the terms of the chair and mem- bers of the Governance Com- mittee who, under the overall guidance of the board, shall make recommendations for amendments to bylaws and new or updated standard operating procedures.” And by inserting a new Section (h) “Legal Defense Fund Committee: The board shall appoint and deter- mine the terms of the chair and members of the Legal Defense Fund Commit- tee who, under the overall guidance of the board, shall make recommendations to the board for disbursements from the Legal Defense Fund and fulfill other duties as assigned by the Fund’s Standard Operating Proce- dures.” Justification: The amendment regarding the Committee on Elections responds to the reality that it is not always possible to find volunteers from the smaller Foreign Service agencies to serve on that committee. The two bylaw additions establish the Governance Committee and Legal Defense Fund Commit- tee, which have operated as ad hoc committees in recent decades, as permanent com- mittees. Amendment Number 5— Multiyear Financial Commitments Amend Article V, Section 2 adding a new subsection (h): “The board may not enter into multiyear financial com- mitments beyond its term of office plus 90 days except for ongoing multiyear com- mitments that are critical to the daily operation of the association, such as clean- ing, maintenance, informa- tion technology, telephonic services, and/or accounting software and database man- agement. This provision may be overridden by a superma- jority vote of two-thirds of the board.” Justification: This provi- sion prohibits the board from making long-term financial commitments that subsequent boards must continue to honor unless a two-thirds supermajority of the board finds that it is in the best interest of the association. Amendment Number 6—Referenda and Bylaw Amendments In both Article IX, Section 2 and Article X, Section 1(a) strike “100 regular mem- bers ” and insert “two percent of regular members.” Justification: Currently just 100 out of AFSA’s 16,800 members can trigger a membership-wide referen- dum or bylaw amendment vote. Triggering such a vote outside the regular biannual voting period would cost more than $30,000 to con- duct. Raising the threshold to 2 percent of the mem- bership (currently approxi- mately 336 members) would ensure that the substantial added expense would only be borne if a significant number of members called for it. Amendment Number 7— Board Approval of Associate Members Amend Article III, Section 3 by striking “by the board.” Justification: The cur- rent requirement for the Governing Board to vote to accept or decline applica- tions for associate member- ship is a poor use of Govern- ing Board meeting time. That task can be delegated to an ad hoc committee of the board or to AFSA staff. Amendment Number 8— Chapters and Post Representatives Amend Article VII, Section 3 by striking the current text and inserting “Post Chap- ters and Representatives: Regular members assigned outside of the Washington area may form a chapter for their post and elect an AFSA representative. In the absence of such an election, AFSA may appoint such a representative. The activi- ties of chapters and their post representatives shall be consistent with these bylaws, the board’s guid- ance, and the association’s agreements with the foreign affairs agencies.” Justification: This streamlines the current wording. Amendment Number 9— Meetings during Public Emergencies Amend Article V, Section 5 by adding a new subsection (c): “ Should local regula- tions, emergency declara- tions, or general safety or security conditions warrant, board meetings may be held virtually by agreement of a simple majority of board members. Any votes taken during such meetings shall count as final and will not require recertification during an in-person meeting.” Justification: This allows the Governing Board to continue to make decisions even if it is unable to meet in person due to safety or security conditions.