The Emory University Medical Student Senate Bylaws

Ratified October 27, 2013

Article I – Purpose, Scope and Conflicts

These bylaws shall serve as the standard operating procedures and policies of the Emory University Medical Student Senate (MSS) and its Executive Board. The scope of these bylaws applies to all activities of the MSS, including but not limited to General Assembly, committee and Executive Board meetings; funding of divisional student groups; and elections. The Constitution shall take precedence over the bylaws in the case of any conflict between the two documents.

Article II – Roles of MSS Members

Section 1: Meeting attendance policy

1. All MSS members are expected to attend each monthly meeting of the

General Assembly, with the exception of the following excused absences:

a. Leaving town for official academic purposes (e.g. boards studying and away rotations)

b. Member’s official class vacation period includes a meeting date c. Clinical rotation schedule that conflicts with meeting time (e.g.

labor & delivery nights, medicine night call)

2. All MSS members are expected to attend emergency/special meetings of the General Assembly called by the office of President if there is no pre- existing conflict with the meeting time.

3. In all cases of absence, including the aforementioned exceptions, members must notify the Secretary in advance of the meeting and provide a reason for the absence.

4. Any member not present at a meeting shall have no vote on proceedings occurring during that meeting. Proxy voting shall not be permitted.

5. Any member who has accrued two (2) unexcused absences in the member’s current term shall be notified of such by the Secretary and informed of the potential consequences for further absences. After three (3) unexcused absences, the Executive Board may choose to initiate impeachment proceedings after taking into consideration the circumstances involved with each absence. After four (4) unexcused absences, the Executive Board is required to begin impeachment proceedings as the member has demonstrated inability to perform the duties outlined in the Constitution.

6. Absences from emergency/special meetings of the General Assembly called by the office of President do not count toward the absence total.

Section 2: Meeting participation

All MSS members are expected to participate in all aspects of meeting business, including adding relevant discussion points to debates and voting in all decisions during the meeting. Members are further expected to comply with the meeting rules set forth in Article III of these bylaws.

Section 3: Expanded roles of Executive Board members

In addition to the duties and powers outlined in the Constitution for each Executive Board office, further duties and powers of any Executive Board position may be added by amendment of this Section. No additional duties or powers that conflict with Constitutional powers or duties shall be assigned.

Article III - General Assembly Meetings

Section 1: Meeting schedule and notification

General Assembly meetings shall be held monthly in accordance with the Constitution. The date and time of each meeting shall be set by the Executive Board no less than two (2) months in advance of that meeting.

Meeting dates shall be communicated to all MSS members as they are set and shall be placed on the MSS website. A reminder about each meeting shall be communicated to both MSS members and the medical student body by the Secretary at least twice before each meeting, with the first communication occurring no less than two (2) weeks in advance of each meeting. At the end of each meeting, the date of the next scheduled meeting will be communicated to the General Assembly.

Meetings may be rescheduled by the Executive Board provided there is at least one (1) week remaining before the previously scheduled meeting; the new date and time shall be communicated to the General Assembly and the medical student body immediately.

Section 2: Meeting Agenda

The agenda items for each regular meeting shall be set by the President and communicated to the General Assembly no later than 24 hours before the meeting. At minimum, each regular meeting agenda must include:

1. Report on the status of MSS financial accounts by the Treasurer or Treasurer’s delegate

2. Consideration of any individual or group having submitted a complete funding request or charter request (including valid constitution and membership roster for charter requests) at least 72 hours before the meeting, except in the case that the individual or group fails to appear at the meeting

3. Consideration of any committee chair wishing to provide a report on the activities of the committee

4. Solicitation of and consideration of any new business raised by any General Assembly member

Emergency/special meetings of the General Assembly are exempt from these agenda requirements.

Section 3: Meeting Procedures

1. The President or President’s delegate shall preside over each meeting and is responsible for the orderly conduct of all components of the meeting, including recognizing speakers, entertaining motions, monitoring votes and ending discussion on any matters not requiring a vote.

2. Each member of the General Assembly wishing to speak must raise a hand and be recognized by the presiding officer in order to speak. Precedence in speaking order will be given to members who have not yet spoken or have spoken fewer times than other members.

3. At least three General Assembly members must speak on a given question before any motions may be made. All motions must be seconded in order to proceed, and all seconded motions must result in a vote or call for unanimous consent unless the motion is explicitly retracted by the original member.

4. If a motion to vote or a motion to table discussion is made and seconded, a simple majority of the General Assembly is required for the matter to pass or be tabled, respectively. Motions for unanimous consent are also permitted on any matter not relating amendment of the Constitution or bylaws.

5. Because of the usual scope of MSS meetings, formal adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order is not required. However for evaluation of any non- standard motions or contentious items relating to meeting procedures, Robert’s Rules of Order shall take precedence.

Article IV – Committees

Section 1: Creation and types of committees

In order to facilitate more significant investigation, planning or discussion of topics than is feasible during General Assembly sessions, the President may propose and name a Standing Committee, which requires a simple majority vote of the General Assembly to formally establish the Committee. Committees may be established as one of two types:

1. Standing committee – exists in perpetuity unless deauthorized by a simple majority vote of the General Assembly or if the committee has had fewer than two (2) members for a period of six (6) months or more

2. Ad hoc committee – ceases to exist at the end of a time period specified at the time of its creation or after achieving a set of objectives specified at the time of its creation (e.g. Election Reform Committee is disbanded after a new elections policy is enacted)

Section 2: Committee membership

Each committee must consist of two members at minimum and must have two members assume the following roles:

1. Committee chair - responsible for setting the agenda, time and date of committee meetings, for ensuring progress on committee objectives and for presenting committee reports at General Assembly meetings. The MSS President may require that a committee be chaired by a designated member of the Executive board, including the President, as long as this requirement is made prior to the vote to establish the committee.

2. Committee scribe – responsible for providing reliable notes on each committee discussion and for drafting any official committee recommendations (e.g. election policy, budget guidelines, etc.)

After the establishment of a committee by General Assembly vote, members may join the committee either immediately thereafter during the meeting or via communication to the Secretary. After a one (1) week period, the secretary shall notify all members who have joined the committee and instruct them to select a chair (if not already specified) and a secretary among themselves within one (1) week following this notification. If conflict arises or the group does not select these positions within a one-week period, the MSS president will make the final assignment of committee roles.

A member wishing to leave a committee or relinquish the role of chair or scribe may do so at any time by notifying the Secretary. If either reason leaves a chair or scribe role vacant, the same one-week notification and one-week selection period as described above will apply to remaining committee members to fill the vacancy in question.

Members wishing to join a committee after the initial two-week enactment period can do so at any time by notifying the Secretary. However these members will not have an opportunity to assume the role of committee chair or scribe until a vacancy in the given position occurs.

Article V – Budget Policy

The MSS reserves the right to enact a budget policy separate from these bylaws to govern the both the General Assembly and MSS divisionally sponsored student groups’ expenditures of the divisional student activities fee split apportioned to the Medical School. This policy may be both enacted and modified by a simple majority vote of the General Assembly.

Article VI – Elections

Elections for MSS Executive Board officers will be held each April, in accordance with the MSS Appendix to the campus-wide GSGA election code. All elections are for a one-year term commencing immediately following the meeting. Any MSS member other than a class President or Vice President may self nominate for any Executive Board position until the beginning of the April meeting. The President (or designee) shall preside over the election process, in consultation with the MSS election commissioner. A simple majority vote of MSS members present at the April meeting is sufficient for the election of Executive Board officers.

Article VII – Amendment

Members of the General Assembly may propose amendments to these bylaws at any time and submit them to the Executive Board to distribute to the General Assembly. After a review period of no less than seven days, the General Assembly shall discuss the amendment and then vote, with a two-thirds majority of members present required for the measure to proceed. Newly enacted amendments will go into effect immediately and be updated on the MSS website as quickly as reasonably possible.