November 20, 2018, Wisconsin Medical Society 

The Wisconsin Medical Society’s House of Delegates (HOD) will convene Sunday, April 7, as part of the Society’s 2019 Annual Meeting at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. Any Society member may submit resolutions for consideration by the HOD to help shape Society policy on important medical issues. The deadline is 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.*

These guidelines should be followed when drafting resolutions:

• Select a title that appropriately reflects the action the resolution seeks.
• Carefully check the resolution for accuracy.
• The wording of the “Resolved” statement should be able to stand alone as an item to be acted upon by the HOD, because the HOD adopts only the “Resolved” language. The wording in the sections of the resolution that begin with “Whereas” does not appear in the official record of the proceedings of the HOD and will not appear in the Society’s Policy Compendium if the item is adopted by the HOD.
• The Society strongly encourages—but does not require—that all resolutions contain a statement by the author about relevant existing policy or a statement that the Society does not have any current policy on the topic.
• Resolutions that request the Society’s HOD to forward the policy item to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates for its consideration should contain a statement by the author about relevant existing AMA policy or a statement that the AMA does not have any current policy on the topic.

 
If the implementation of an adopted item would require the expenditure of funds not normally included in the Society’s budget, the Society will add a fiscal note to it. Those who submit resolutions should ensure that a sponsor will attend the reference committee hearings to introduce the resolution and testify, providing background information and the rationale for the “Resolved” statements.

Members who need help developing a resolution may contact Society staff for assistance or click here for a brief primer on resolution writing.

Any resolution received after the Feb. 1 deadline will be considered a “late resolution,” unless it is presented by the Board of Directors, the Speaker, Vice Speaker, constitutional officer or by a council or committee of the Society or the HOD. All “late resolutions” will be forwarded to the Rules Committee for review. The Rules Committee will make recommendations to the HOD regarding the acceptance of any “late resolutions” at the April 7 opening session. Click here** for information about the late resolution process, including the information that must accompany a late resolution. The HOD is unable to accept late resolutions unless two-thirds of the Delegates present consent to the acceptance of the item.

Submit resolutions for the 2019 House of Delegates to CEO, Clyde “Bud” Chumbley, MD, MBA, Wisconsin Medical Society, PO Box 1109, Madison, WI 53701 or via email to Noreen Krueger.

The House of Delegates is only one avenue for raising issues or submitting resolutions. Members may submit issues or resolutions throughout the year via the Society’s year-round resolution process by using the online Member Communication Form. Members who have time-sensitive issues can opt to use the year-round submission process for prompt disposition rather than waiting for the next Annual Meeting. Issues submitted via the year-round process are referred to the Board for further study and recommendations.

For more information about submitting resolutions for the 2019 HOD, contact Noreen Krueger at 608.442.3904 or 886.442.3800, ext. 3904 (toll-free).

*According to the Society’s Bylaws, members must submit resolutions in proper form to the CEO’s office on Feb. 1 or 60 days prior to the first session of the HOD at its Annual Meeting, whichever date is earlier.