The following procedures will be followed in the process of granting provisional Section status to an interest group. These procedures articulate the principles and procedures found in MLA Bylaws Article X, Sections 1 and 2.

1. Section Petition Form

The process to establish a new Section in MLA starts with a petition drive. Completed petitions are sent to the Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee. To assist in the verification of signatures, use the Section Petition Form as a model.

2. Form A

After receipt of the petitions, the Chair of the Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee sends a copy of Form A to the petition organizer. This form is designed to gather information for the Council to use in its decision process. The information requested represents a codification of requirements stated or implied in MLA Bylaws Article X, Sections 1 and 2. This form is forwarded to all Section Council Representatives via the Section Council Chair's regularly scheduled mailings. All Section Council Representatives are required to respond on behalf of their Section so that any potential overlap may be identified and resolved.

3. Contact Between Existing Sections and Proposed Sections

The Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee will act as the liaison between existing Sections and proposed Sections, putting them in contact with each other when potential overlap of purpose has been identified by either group. Such communication functions to assist the proposed Section and existing Sections in resolving the identified potential overlap. It also provides the necessary documentation for the Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee to clearly determine that "the proposed section needs and interests cannot be met reasonably or served by an existing Chapter or Section" as stated in the MLA Bylaws Article X, Sections 1, part B.

4. Form B

The Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee considers the petitions along with the completed Form A and any further documentation to establish the compliance of the proposed Section. To help in their consideration, members of the Committee use Form B, which is a checklist, to make certain all requirements for new Section status are fulfilled.

5. Recommendations to Council

After consideration and debate, the Committee makes its recommendation to the Section Council. This recommendation will be distributed in printed form to ensure uniformity of presentation by the Section Representatives to their respective Sections for vote.

6. Recommendations to Board

At the Annual Meeting, the Section Council will consider and debate the recommendations of the Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee. After voting, the Council forwards all petitions and supporting documentation to the Board of Directors, with recommendation for approval or disapproval and the reasons for such recommendation. It is highly desirable for one or more of the petition organizers to be present at the Council meeting in order to answer questions.

7. Results of the Board Decision

After considering a petition, the Board approves or disapproves it. In either case, the Section Council Chair notifies the proposed section of the Board's decision. Approval of a petition by the Board shall authorize a two-year provisional status. Provisional status will be followed by permanent status, provided the terms of continued recognition are met.

8. Signatures on Petition

Petitions to form a new Section shall be signed by a minimum of fifty of the Association's members with one exception. The Board of Directors may consider a petition with less than fifty signatures where a smaller number of members are pursuing a specific interest which may justify the formation of a new Section.

9. Deadlines

Since the Section Council meets only at the Annual Meeting, there must be sufficient time for both the Section/Special Interest Group Review Committee and the entire Section Council to react to petitions. The Section Council will use the following timetable for proposed Sections:

Timetable

Date	Task	Responsible Party
January 1	Petition form completed	Proposed Group
February 1	Form A	Proposed Group
February 15	Review for completeness of application	Section/SIG Review Committee Chair
February 15	Application forwarded to Section Council Chair for distribution in regular mailing	Section/SIG Review Committee Chair
Feb/March	Review of overlap	Existing Sections
March	Groups put into contact	Section/SIG Review Committee
April	Form B	Section/SIG Review Committee
April/May	Formal recommendation to Section Council Chair	Section/SIG Review Committee Chair
MLA Annual Meeting	Present formal recommendation and distribute printed copy	Section/SIG Review Committee Chair
MLA Annual Meeting	Present issue to Sections for vote	Section Representatives
MLA Annual Meeting	Section Council vote on issue	Section Representatives
Post-MLA Meeting	Board vote on issue	MLA Board

10. Availability of Procedures

These procedures and accompanying Forms A and B, and Petition Form are available to any MLA member requesting to see them.

Procedure Manual Table of Contents

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Last updated on: February 6, 2002.