Preparing Resolutions for the Delegate Assembly

Calendar of Dates and Deadlines

Preparing the Content and Meeting Other Submission Requirements

1. The content of a resolution must be consistent with the purposes of the MLA, as set forth in article 2 of the constitution.



2. The content of a resolution is limited to "matters of public and institutional policy affecting the study and teaching of the humanities and the status of the language and literature professions represented by the association. Such matters may include proposed or enacted legislation, regulations, or other governmental and institutional policies, conditions of employment and publication, or additional matters that affect the association, its members in their professional capacities, or the dignity of members' work" (MLA constitution, art. 9.C.10).
   

   Emergency resolutions may not name individuals or institutions in such a way that, in the determination of the DAOC, a response from the named party must be sought. Since the time available for making this determination is short and since the consequences of misjudgment may be serious, the committee usually applies rigorous standards.



3. The resolution may not contain erroneous, tortious, or possibly libelous statements.



4. The resolution, if adopted, must not pose a threat to the association's operation as a tax-exempt organization.



5. The entire text of the resolution is limited to 100 words.



6. The resolution must be accompanied by "material that provides evidence in support of the resolution['s] claims" (MLA constitution, art. 11.C.3.b). The main criteria here are, of course, the relevance and strength of the support, but it is a good idea to keep in mind both the amount of material that members of the DAOC and members of the assembly may reasonably be expected to read and the association's cost in copying the supporting material and mailing it to assembly members.



7. The resolution must be accompanied by the signatures of at least ten current members of the association.
   

   Emergency resolutions must be accompanied by the signatures of at least twenty-five current members of the association.



8. The persons whose signatures are submitted must be listed in the most recent printed directory of members of the association. (For example, only those who are listed in the 2007 membership directory may provide a signature in support of a resolution submitted for consideration in 2007.) Signatures may be submitted in any of the following ways:
• as an original signature or a collection of signatures mailed with the resolution;
• as an individual signature or a collection of signatures faxed with the resolution text, with the original of the fax forwarded to the MLA office within seven business days; or
• as an individual or a collective statement of support e-mailed with the resolution text, with printouts of the original e-mail messages signed by each originator or supporter and forwarded to the MLA office within seven business days.

Following Proper Form

1. A resolution consists of a resolved clause or clauses that set forth the resolution's objectives. It may also contain a preamble that sets forth the reason or reasons for the resolved clause or clauses. A preamble is, in essence, free debate; that is, it puts before the voting body some of the arguments in support of the resolution in advance of the meeting, during which debate is strictly limited. However, a preamble has some disadvantages. It may work against adoption if members agree with the resolved clauses but do not agree with the preamble or find the content of the preamble overstated or poorly expressed. Also, of course, a preamble uses some of the 100-word limit imposed on MLA resolutions and may therefore interfere with the careful and complete statement of the resolved clauses.



2. Writers of resolutions should avoid references to unknowable future events and activities since a resolution should not commit the association to a particular course of action in the absence of clear knowledge of a situation. By the same token, writers of resolutions should state facts, not opinions.



3. The proper form of a resolution is illustrated below:

  Whereas _______________________________________; and

  Whereas _______________________________________;

  Be it resolved that _______________________________; and

  Be it further resolved that _________________________.

Meeting the Deadlines

1. Resolutions plus supporting materials plus original or faxed signatures or e-mailed statements of support must reach the association office by 1 October.



2. Originals of faxed signatures and printouts of e-mailed statements of support must be received by the association office within seven business days after 1 October.

1. Before it comes to the floor of the Delegate Assembly, a resolution goes to the DAOC, where
• the coordinator of governance confirms that all submission requirements (those having to do with deadlines, word limit, and supporting signatures) were met;
• judgments are made regarding compliance with the content requirements set forth in the MLA constitution (see items 1 and 2 under Preparing the Content, above);
• supporting materials are reviewed for sufficiency and relevance; and
• a member of the DAOC with special interest or expertise is assigned to present the resolution on the floor of the assembly. (Note: In cases where it is deemed helpful, a member of the DAOC will contact the proposer of a regular resolution with suggestions for revision that, in the judgment of the committee, increase the measure's chances of adoption. The DAOC also provides the proposer with a deadline by which the proposed revision must be submitted. Whether to make the suggested revision is totally at the discretion of the proposer.)



2. A hearing exclusively for the consideration of resolutions is held during the MLA convention on the day before the Delegate Assembly meets. The hearing lasts for an hour and a quarter (12:00 noon to 1:15 p.m.), the time being divided among the proposed resolutions. It is a good idea for proposers to attend the hearing to briefly set forth the arguments in favor and to hear the responses of other members to the resolution.



3. The DAOC holds a closed meeting to consider the comments made on each resolution during the open hearing and to determine its recommendation to the Delegate Assembly. The MLA constitution (art. 11.C.5) requires the DAOC to present each resolution to the assembly with a recommendation that the resolution be adopted or that it not be adopted.

1. Resolutions are taken up under the heading New Business. Each resolution is presented by a member of the DAOC, who also states the committee's recommendation regarding the adoption of the resolution. The floor is then opened for debate of the resolution.
   

   Before an emergency resolution can be debated, the assembly must first vote, by a three-quarters majority, to consider the resolution.



2. Both delegates and observers may speak during the debate. The proposer should be at a microphone ready to speak as soon as the measure is put before the assembly. Since each member may speak to the measure only twice for three minutes, the proposer's statement should be carefully planned so that the most persuasive points are made first and all points are succinctly expressed. The proposer's second speech should be reserved for the end of the debate period so that it can be used to respond to opponents' arguments.



3. The resolution is put to a vote. A majority vote is required for passage.

1. Resolutions adopted by the Delegate Assembly are sent to the Executive Council. Because the Executive Council has fiduciary responsibility for the association, its primary concern in considering resolutions is to ensure that the measures do not have the potential to damage the MLA financially or legally. Thus, the council directs its attention chiefly to the criteria set forth in numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, under Preparing the Content, above.



2. Normally the Executive Council approves a resolution and sends it forward to the general membership with no changes or with only nonsubstantive modifications. More rarely, the Executive Council decides that it cannot send a resolution forward because it fails to meet the criteria listed above.



3. A ballot on those resolutions sent forward by the Executive Council is mailed to the general membership. A majority of those voting is necessary for ratification. If the membership ratifies the resolution, the association publicizes that fact and implements any action that may have been called for by the measure.

1. The executive director, in his or her report to the Delegate Assembly, announces any action taken as a result of the ratification of a resolution by the membership; or



2. The Executive Council, in its report to the Delegate Assembly, explains why it was unable to forward a resolution to the membership for ratification and returns the resolution to the assembly for possible revision and resubmission at the following year's assembly meeting.