Conference for Food Protection

The 2010 - 2012 Constitution and Bylaws/Procedures Committee has addressed recommendations from the 2010 Biennial Meeting as specified in Issue 2010 II-035. The Committee was charged with developing guidelines regarding committee structure, participant responsibilities, membership size, and constituency representation. To meet this charge, a new Article XV, Section 8, has been developed that clarifies committee size and constituency. Additionally, it is recommended that Section VIII, Paragraph D of the CFP Conference Procedures be moved into Article XIV, Section 1, of the CFP Constitution and Bylaws with minor revisions.

Language to amend the CFP Constitutions and Bylaws was developed to incorporate a minimum and maximum council committee size along with a balanced constituency [note: council committees (ad-hoc) are those established or re-created following every Biennial Meeting and report to a designated Council Chair]. This language provides for establishment of a manageable committee size to accommodate and achieve a voting quorum as well as incorporate active input and participation from other CFP member volunteers. The recommended amendment also provides a procedure structure for committee turnover between subsequent biennial meetings and for changes to members and/or constituencies between biennial meetings.

The recommendation to amend and move language from the CFP Conference Procedures into the CFP Constitution and Bylaws is also consistent with the charge specified in Issue 2010 II-035 and relevant to identification of committee membership. This language clarifies the appointment of committee chairs and committee members with Board approval and the appointment of Federal participants to each committee as a non-voting member.

The Constitution and Bylaws/Procedure Committee shall submit recommendations to improve the Conference administrative functions through proposals to amend the CFP Constitution and Bylaws and CFP Conference Procedures.

1) that relevant sections in paragraph D. Appointment of Members, under Section VIII. Committees, in the CFP Conference Procedures, including the subsection on Federal agency participation, be moved to Section 1 of Article XIV Committees, in the CFP Constitution and Bylaws; and

2) that newly created language relative to Council Committee size and constituency be incorporated into the CFP Constitution and Bylaws in Article XV, as a new Section 8.

The recommended language changes are noted as follows (new language is underlined; language to be deleted is in strikethru format:

CFP Conference Procedures

VIII. Committees

A. thru C. No change.

D. Appointment of Members

1. The incoming Council Chairs appoint the Chairs of each Committee formed within their Council with the concurrence of the Conference Chair. The Conference Chair will confirm the appointment of the Committee Chair and then notify the person of their appointment. Once confirmed, the Committee Chair will select the remaining members of the Committee and submit them to the Conference Chair for final Board approval. Accepting a committee chair or member assignment requires a commitment of time and resources as described in the Constitution and Bylaws.

2. Federal participants (FDA/USDA/CDC) may appoint a member and an alternate for each Committee. The member participates in discussion but does not vote. The alternate may act in the member's place if the member is unable to attend.

E. thru J. No language change - renumbering only as paragraphs D through I.

CFP Constitution and Bylaws

Article XIV Committees

Section 1. All appointments to Conference Committees shall be made to provide a balance in representation of the stakeholders in the particular matter under consideration.

Subsection 1. The incoming Council Chairs appoint the Chairs of each Committee formed within their Council with the concurrence of the Conference Chair. The Conference Chair will confirm the appointment of the Committee Chair and then notify the person of their appointment. Once confirmed, the Committee Chair will select the remaining members of the Committee and submit them to the Conference Chair for final Board approval.

Subsection 2. Federal participants (FDA/USDA/CDC) may appoint a member and an alternate for each Committee. The member participates in discussion but does not vote. The alternate may act in the member's place if the member is unable to attend.

Section 2. thru 5. No change.

Article XV Duties of the Committees

Section 8. Council Committee Size and Constituency: Committee membership discussion is limited to Council committees only. Membership on Standing Committees or Executive Board Ad Hoc Committees is defined by the CFP Executive Board.

Subsection 1. Committee size.

Voting membership for council committees should be comprised of at least eleven (11) voting members with a maximum of no more than twenty-three (23) voting members.

a. Minimum size: Voting membership for a minimum size committee is the Chair, Vice Chair, two (2) representatives from state regulatory, two (2) representatives from local regulatory, two (2) representatives from industry, one (1) from an academic institution, one (1) consumer representative, and one elective (1) representative which may be selected from any Conference constituency.

b. Maximum size: Voting membership for a maximum size committee is the Chair, Vice Chair, four (4) representatives from state regulatory, four (4) representatives from local regulatory, eight (8) representatives from industry, one (1) from an academic institution, one (1) consumer representative, and three elective (3) representatives that may be selected from any Conference constituency.

c. Any committee comprised of membership numbers between the minimum and maximum shall make every reasonable effort to maintain constituency balances.

Subsection 2. The Chair and Vice Chair of a council committee may be selected from any of the Conference constituencies as approved by the Council Chair and the Executive Board, provided each is from a different constituency. If a Committee Chair does not receive sufficient volunteers in the appropriate constituencies, they shall confer with the Council Chair to seek volunteers from the Conference membership making every reasonable effort to maintain constituency balances. The Committee Chair, in conference with the Council Chair and/or Executive Board, shall have the flexibility to fill vacancies in the voting membership with unbalanced constituency representation if deemed necessary to reach a minimum of 11 voting committee members. All proposed committee members must be approved by the Executive Board in accordance with Article XIII, Section 6, Subsection 4 of the Constitution and Bylaws.

Subsection 3. A maximum of 23 voting members are permitted on a council committee. All volunteers not selected for a voting position shall be offered an "at-large" non-voting position on the committee. There is no limit to the number of at-large non-voting members that may participate. At-large members will be included and allowed to participate in all committee functions, including but not limited to, meetings, conference calls, emails, deliberations, research and activities, but will not have an individual vote on committee actions. All voting members and at-large non-voting members shall be identified as such on the committee roster along with their respective constituency.

Subsection 4. In the event a council committee voting member departs such committee during a biennial cycle, an at-large member of the same constituency as the departing member shall be selected by the Council Chair to fill the vacancy, subject to approval by the Council Chair and Executive Board in accordance with Article XIII, Section 6, Subsection 4 of the Constitution and Bylaws. If a council committee voting member changes constituency during a biennial cycle, and there is no vacancy in that member's new constituency, the member will need to transition from service as a voting member on that committee and may continue to serve as an at-large non-voting member for the remainder of the biennial cycle. This transition will occur upon notification to the Committee Chair.

Subsection 5. The Chair of a council committee that continues over more than one biennial cycle shall assess the immediate previous committee membership to ensure at least 50% of the ongoing committee's voting membership are new members that did not serve as voting members on the immediate previous committee. This will ensure that an increased number of at-large members or others have an opportunity to participate as a voting member over time when there are a large number of volunteers.