Section 1. The Maryland Psychiatric Society
shall constitute the Maryland District Branch of the American Psychiatric
Association.
Section 2. The Maryland Psychiatric Society is
incorporated under the laws of the State of Maryland as a non-profit
scientific organization. No
part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of
any member, trustee, councilor, officer of the corporation, or any private
individual, and no member, trustee, councilor, officer of the corporation,
or any private individual shall be entitled to share in the distribution of
any corporate assets on dissolution of the corporation.
The
objectives of the District Branch shall be to foster the science and
progress of psychiatry, in cooperation with and as a constituent part of the
American Psychiatric Association, to serve as an influence toward the
maintenance of high professional and administrative standards thereto
related, and to assist the American Psychiatric Association in promoting its
aims and objectives. These are
(a) to improve the treatment, rehabilitation, and care of the mentally ill,
the mentally retarded, and the emotionally disturbed, and the prevention of
psychiatric disabilities; (b) to promote research, professional education in
psychiatry and allied fields; (c) to advance the standards of all
psychiatric services and facilities; (d) to foster the cooperation of all
who are concerned with the medical, psychological, social, and legal aspects
of mental health and illness; (e) to make psychiatric knowledge available to
other practitioners of medicine, to scientists in other fields of knowledge,
and to the public; (f) to promote the best interest of patients and those
actually or potentially making use of mental health services and (g) to
advocate for the professional interests of its members. The District Branch
shall not participate in nor intervene in, including the publishing or
distribution of statements, any political campaign of any candidate for
public office.
For
the objectives above stated, the territorial jurisdiction of this District
Branch of the American Psychiatric Association shall be delimited by
geographical boundaries of the State of Maryland, except for the areas
around Washington, D.C., which are under the territorial jurisdiction of the
Suburban Maryland Chapter of the Washington Psychiatric Society.
Section l. All classes of membership (e.g.
Member-in-Training, Early Career, General or Life Member) in The
Maryland Psychiatric Society and the requirements and voting privilege for
each class of membership in The Maryland Psychiatric Society except for
Affiliate membership shall be the same as those for the American Psychiatric
Association at the time of application.
Section 2. Any physician who is, or who is
eligible to be, a member of the American Psychiatric Association and who
resides or practices within the territorial jurisdiction of this District
Branch shall be eligible to apply for any category of membership except
Affiliate membership. Members of the Maryland Psychiatric Society shall be
eligible to: vote, hold office, serve on committees, be listed in the
Directory, receive publications, attend any meetings, receive a discounted
rate to attend programs, and participate in the patient referral service.
Section 3. Affiliate membership in The Maryland
Psychiatric Society will be open only to a member of another District Branch
of the American Psychiatric Association. Privileges of Affiliate membership shall consist in receiving
the Maryland Psychiatric Society membership directory, all Maryland
Psychiatric Society publications, an invitation to attend all Maryland
Psychiatric Society scientific meetings, and participation in the patient
referral service. Affiliate
membership is a non-voting, non-office-holding category of membership.
The
President shall appoint a Committee on Membership. Applications for all
categories of membership except Affiliate membership will be made in writing
on forms approved by the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric
Association. Procedures
regarding endorsement and submission shall be in accordance with the
appropriate procedures of the American Psychiatric Association. The
Membership Committee shall inquire into the character and professional
qualifications of each applicant.
The
Membership Committee shall have published in the next issue of a District
Branch newsletter, the names of all applicants who have been approved by the
Committee.
Names of applicants who have been approved by the membership committee
will appear in the MPS newsletter with the following sentence preceding the
list: “The following applicants have applied for membership in the MPS and
unless any of our current members has evidence that the applicants do not
meet the criteria for ethical and professional standards, these applications
will be approved 14 days after publication.”
In case evidence is submitted, those applications will be returned to
the membership committee for reconsideration.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of Article IV of this Constitution and By-Laws and the
preceding action of Article V, no person shall be admitted to membership in
The Maryland Psychiatric Society who does not conform to the ethical
standards of this organization.
Following
the approval of this District Branch, The Maryland Psychiatric Society shall
notify the American Psychiatric Association of such approval in accordance
with the By-Laws and/or rules and regulations then in effect for the
American Psychiatric Association.
An
applicant concerning whom no action is taken within 120 days after the
completed application is received by the membership committee, or whose
application is rejected, by the Membership Committee may appeal according to
the provisions of the By-Laws of the American Psychiatric Association.
At least one year must elapse before rejected applicants may reapply
for Membership to The Maryland District Branch.
The
Maryland District Branch shall have the responsibility to advance Members-in-Training
to General Members. This is an
action to be taken upon achievement of the requirements established by the
American Psychiatric Association for that further grade of membership.
The American Psychiatric Association Membership Division shall be
notified of the action by the District Branch.
Nominations of General Members to Fellowship are the responsibility
of the appropriate committee of The Maryland District Branch.
Section 1. Any member who fails to pay dues or
other assessments for one year shall automatically be dropped from
membership thirty days after certified written notice of such proposed
action has been sent to the member concerned.
This procedure may be waived for good cause by action of the Council.
Only members in good standing shall be allowed to resign.
Section 2. The Ethics Committee shall consist of
three former Presidents plus as many as five but not less than three other
members appointed annually by the President. If necessary, additional
members may be designated by the President to serve on the Ethics Committee
for cases when regular members of the Committee are unable to do so.
In its work the Committee shall function in accord with American
Psychiatric Association Procedures for Handling Complaints of Unethical
Conduct.
Section 3. The Ethics Committee, after
investigation of a complaint of Unethical Conduct, shall report its findings
and recommendations to the Council for Council's review at a closed meeting.
If Council accepts the report of the Committee, the report shall be
forwarded to the American Psychiatric Association for its review in
accordance with American Psychiatric Association procedures.
If the Council does not accept the Committee's report, it may
instruct the Ethics Committee to make additional investigation of the
complaint with subsequent report to Council. Council shall have final
decision over what is forwarded to the American Psychiatric Association.
Section 4. Loss of Membership in the District
Branch or in the American Psychiatric Association shall entail loss of
membership in both.
Section l. The business and affairs of the
Society shall be managed by its board of directors, which shall be referred
to as the “Council”. All powers of the society may be exercised by or
under the authority of the Council except as conferred on or reserved to the
members of the Society by law or by the Articles of Incorporation or the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Society.
The executive officers of the District Branch
shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary-Treasurer and a
Chairman of Council. The Chairman of Council shall be the immediate past president
of the Society. They will
constitute the Executive Committee. The
President, President Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, the three most recent Past-Presidents,
the Representatives to the Assembly of District Branches, eight active
members duly elected as Councilors, and any American Psychiatric Association
Area III Assembly Representative or Assembly Officer who is a member of this
District Branch, and any voting member of the American Psychiatric
Association's Board of Trustees who is a member of this District Branch
shall constitute the voting members of the Council. The District Branch
representative to the state medical society’s (MedChi) House of Delegates
shall be a voting member of the Council.
Section 2. Only voting members of the Maryland
Psychiatric Society shall be eligible for election to office.
Section 3. The President is the administrative
authority of the Society and shall preside at all meetings of the
membership and of the Executive Committee; issue notices of all meetings;
notify officers and members of committees of their election or appointment;
appoint all committees and Boards and their Chairman with the exception of
the Nominating Committee, which is elected; be ex officio a member of
all Committees and Boards, including the Nominating Committee; sign
all correspondence on behalf of the Society; and shall otherwise perform
such duties as designated in the American Psychiatric Association
Duties of Officers.
Section 4. The President-Elect shall assist the
President and, in the absence of the President, shall perform his or
her duties. The President-Elect
shall assume the office of President at the Annual Meeting of The Maryland
Psychiatric Society on the year following his or her election.
Section 5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall see
that a record of the proceedings of all meetings of the District Branch and
of the Council are kept; ensure that a list of the members is maintained;
certify all official records; and perform other such duties as needed.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall supervise management of all funds; see
that dues are collected; report all expenses of the District Branch to the
Council and shall make an annual report to the Council and the District
Branch membership of the official income and expenditures of the District
Branch and a financial statement of operations for the preceding fiscal
year. This report shall be available within 20 days after an annual meeting
of the Council and shall be available to any member upon request or at the
MPS office. Bank statements, canceled checks, and bank reconciliation shall
be reviewed by the Secretary Treasurer on a regular basis, but at least
quarterly.
Section 6. The immediate past president of the
Society shall serve as Chair of the Council. He or she shall prepare the agenda in consultation with the
President, and shall preside over the meetings of the Council. The Chair of
the Council shall ensure that a report of each meeting is published in the
newsletter. In the Chair’s
absence, the President shall appoint someone to act as substitute Chair.
Section 7. The Representatives to the Assembly
of District Branches shall represent this District Branch in the Assembly
and other official meetings of the American Psychiatric Association, and
report back to the District Branch.
Section 8. Eight members of the Society shall be elected as Councilors.
Each will serve for a term of two years; terms being adjusted so that
normally four new Councilors will be elected annually.
No Councilor may serve more than two consecutive terms on the
Council. New Councilors will
take office at the same time as the general Officers.
In addition, there shall be an Early Career Psychiatrist (using the
APA criteria) who shall be a voting member of the Council.
That person shall be elected by the Early Career Psychiatrist
membership of the MPS and shall serve a two-year term after which a new
Early Career Psychiatrist Councilor shall be elected.
Section 9. All
officers shall enter upon their duties at the Annual business meeting of The
Maryland Psychiatric Society immediately following their election and shall
continue in office for one year, or until their successors are duly elected
and installed. The
Representatives to the Assembly of the District Branches shall continue in
office for three years, and their term shall end after the APA Annual
Meeting. No Representative to the Assembly may serve more than three
consecutive terms.
Section 10.
The Executive Director shall have such duties as shall be delegated
to him or her by the Council.
Section 11. To
the maximum extent permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law and the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and regulations thereunder, all as from time
to time amended, the Society shall indemnify and hold harmless its currently
acting and its former Councilors (directors), committee members, and
employees against any and all liabilities and expenses incurred in
connection with their services in such capacities. No amendment or repeal of
this paragraph, or the adoption of any provision of the Society’s Articles
of Incorporation or By laws inconsistent with the paragraph shall apply to,
or affect in any respect, the indemnification of any Councilor, officer,
committee member, or employee of the Society with respect to any alleged act
or omission which occurred prior to such amendment, repeal or
adoption.
Section l. A
Nominations and Elections Committee shall be elected and organized in the
following manner:
A.
The Nominations and Elections Committee shall have six members and
they will elect the Chairperson.
B.
The members shall have three-year terms with two new members normally
elected each year, along with the usual election of officers.
C.
Nominees for the two annual elected positions on the Nominations and
Elections Committee shall be voting members of the District Branch nominated
by majority vote of Council with at least two nominees for each position.
All nominees must express their willingness to serve.
D.
Election to the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be in
accordance with procedures for the Election of Officers in Section 4 below.
E. The
President shall be a non-voting, ex officio member of the Nominating
Committee. The President-Elect shall be a non-voting member of the
nominating committee.
Section 2. Duties
of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be to:
A.
Recommend Nominees for the various offices.
B.
Nominate at least one or more candidates for each office. In selecting the nominees for Council Members the Nominations
and Elections Committee shall so select as to broadly represent the general
membership, considering the organized sub-specialty groups within the
general membership. In the
event of a vacancy in the Committee the President shall appoint a member to
serve the remaining term of that member.
C.
Certify nominations made by oral or mail petition.
D.
Ensure all ballots are tallied.
E. The
Nominations and Elections Committee may not nominate any of its standing
members.
Section 3. Nomination
by Petition
A.
Any voting member with a signed petition, including ten (10) voting
members may, on his or her own initiative, make a nomination for any office
by letter to the Chairperson of the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Such petitions must be in to the MPS office by not later than February first
of that election year to be included on the ballot.
B.
All nominations by petition must include a signed letter from the
nominee, expressing his or her willingness to be nominated and to fulfill
all of the requirements and demands of office if elected.
Section 4. Election
A.
Election shall be by secret mail ballot.
B.
All responses from voting members postmarked within thirty (30) days
of mailing shall be considered valid. The candidate for each position
receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected, a quorum
being required.
C.
If there are more than two nominees for a given position the votes
for that position shall be counted preferentially.
D.
The results of the election shall be announced at the next Council
meeting and published in the next available District Branch publication.
Section l. In the event the position of
President becomes vacant, the President-Elect will become Acting President
for the remainder of the year and then will begin his or her term as
President. If the position of
President is vacated, the acting President has the option of requesting that
Council select a new President-Elect to serve the remainder of the year and
become President at the beginning of the following year. Section 2 summarizes the procedure that would be followed.
Section 2. If the position of President-Elect
becomes vacant, the President will request a meeting of the Council at an
early date for the purpose of selecting a new President-Elect and, if the
Secretary-Treasurer becomes President-Elect, a new Secretary-Treasurer. The
person so chosen will serve as President-Elect until the end of the year, and
then will become President.
Section 3. If a position of a Representative to
the Assembly of District Branches becomes vacant, Council will elect an
interim voting member of the Society as Representative to complete the term.
Section 4. In the event any other position
becomes vacant before expiration of a term, the Council shall elect a voting
member to serve for the unexpired portion.
Section 5. The Council may by two-thirds
majority vote request the resignation of any elected Officer, Council
Member, or Representative for failure to fulfill the responsibilities of their
office. If the officer in question refuses to resign upon the request of the
Council then the issue must be immediately submitted to the membership for a
vote by secret mail ballot with accompanying statements by the Council and
the officer in question. Recall will require a simple majority with twice
the quorum usually required for a mail ballot.
Section l. The District Branch shall be
represented at the meetings of the Assembly of the American Psychiatric
Association by the number of Representatives determined by the Assembly
rules.
Section 2. Such Representatives shall be
nominated by the MPS Council and elected by the membership by mail ballot
and shall serve for a term of three years or until a successor is elected.
Their terms shall end after the Assembly Meeting at the APA Annual
Meeting in May.
They
shall serve no more than three consecutive terms.
Provisions
shall be made that no more than one representative shall be elected any one
year.
Section 3. When appropriate, such
Representatives shall be instructed by Council and/or District Branch as to
its wishes on various matters. The
Representatives shall act in a manner, which, in their best judgment,
supports the wishes of the membership of the District Branch.
Representatives
shall submit written reports to the District Branch on the activities of the
Assembly.
Section l. When a group of not less than twenty
(20) MPS members residing in a contiguous geographical locality outside of
Central Maryland or representing a subspecialty, (e.g. child psychiatry)
within the jurisdiction of the Maryland District Branch desire to become an
Interest Section of the Maryland District Branch, they are encouraged to do
so and may petition the MPS Council to have a Councilor elected by them.
This Councilor will be in addition to the MPS Councilors elected in Article
VII Section 8. If such geographical or subspecialty organization falls below
the number stipulated it shall lose the privilege of electing a Councilor.
Amendments to the Constitution or to the By-Laws may be initiated by a
petition of 10 voting members of the Maryland District Branch.
Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws may also be initiated by a
majority vote of the Council. The
Secretary-Treasurer will then see that the Amendment is placed on the secret
mail ballot sent out at the time of the next election of officers including
the full text of the proposed amendment, the Council’s recommendations
concerning the proposed amendment, and stating the date on which the mail
ballots are to be counted. The amendment will become effective, if approved
by a majority of the mail ballots returned by the specified date, a quorum
being required.
A quorum at a general membership meeting will be 25 voting members. A mail quorum of the Maryland District Branch shall be ten
(10) percent of the voting members. A quorum of Council shall be a simple
majority of that body.
Section l. General
meetings of the District Branch shall be held as planned by the Program
Committee. An Annual Business
Meeting of the Society shall be held, at which the President will give a
report on his term of office, and at the end of which the new officers will
be installed.
Section 2. Special
meetings may be called by the President or Council or upon petition signed
by twenty (20) voting members of the District Branch.
Section 3. Members
shall be notified of meetings by the President, not less than one week
before the meeting.
Section 4. The
Council shall conduct open meetings at least five times a year.
Any additional meetings as the Executive Committee deems necessary
may be held. Regularly scheduled Council meetings shall be announced to the
membership.
Section l. The
amount of dues shall be determined and readjusted from time to time
according to the needs of the organization. Changes in dues and assessments
shall be recommended by the Council and determined by a simple majority vote
of the membership attending any regular business meeting after 30-days’
notice, a quorum being present, or by secret ballot. Council alone may approve a dues increase equal to or less
than the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the last dues increase.
The MPS Council may create new categories (non member) of association with
the MPS (e.g. “Friends of the MPS”) from time to time for individuals
who do not meet the criteria for membership but who share the objectives of
the MPS. Such “Friends” shall pay a financial assessment, the amount of
which shall be determined by the MPS Council.
Section 2. As noted
in Article VII Section 5 of the Constitution, the Secretary-Treasurer shall
make an annual report of the official income and expenditures of the
District Branch and the proposed budget for the coming year.
The responsibility to authorize disbursement of funds is vested in
the Council.
Section 3.
Upon dissolution of the corporation, the assets of the corporation
shall be distributed exclusively to charitable, religious, scientific,
literary or educational organizations which would then qualify under the
provisions of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its
Regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended. (December
1968).
Section 4.
Dues are payable 30 days after notices are issued.
The
official rules of procedure governing meetings will be Davis' Rules of
Order.
By-Laws may be adopted, amended or
suspended as indicated under Article XII:
AMENDMENTS of the Constitution.
Last amended June 16, 1998
Last amended April 9, 2002
Last amended March 31, 2005