Clarifications on the rules change process

From: <wdgowen_at_gmail.com>
Date: 05 Jun 2014 07:19:50 -0700

I've had a few conversations with other members of the indoor community about the exact implementation of the rules change process. After many readings of the AMA rule book I was still not clear about parts of the process. I sent some questions to Tony Stillman (acting head of the competitions department) and got the following reply which I am quoting here with his permission:

Tony
I've had discussions with several different people about exactly what each of the 3 stages of voting means. Here's what I think it means:

1. Initial - If a proposal passes it goes to the Interim vote. If it fails it is done for this 2 year rules cycle. That is correct

2. Interim - Cross proposals may be submitted but ONLY for proposals that passed in the Initial vote. Proposals that passed the Initial phase are voted on again along with any cross proposals. Proposals that fail are done for this 2 year cycle. That is correct

3. Final - Any proposals that passed in the Interim phase are voted on again. That is correct. If a proposal and a cross-proposal of the same number are passed, then the cross proposal is used to amend the original proposal and that amended proposal is passed on to the final vote. If all cross proposals for a given proposal fail and the original proposal passes, the original proposal goes forward.

So here are a couple of issues I'm not sure about:

1. In the interim voting if a cross proposal and the original proposal both pass what happens? Do they both go to the final voting? And if so, and if both pass in the final voting, what happens then? Which one would be put in the rules? Is there some mechanism that would prevent this from happening? The cross proposal effectively amends the original and a new modified proposal is the result. That new modified proposal is what goes forward to final vote. The contest board chairman oversees this process.

2. To pass, a proposal must be voted acceptable in all 3 votes. If it fails in any one of the votes it is done for this rules cycle. Is this correct? That is correct. The idea of the initial vote is to weed out obvious unwanted rules proposals. Most proposals should pass the initial vote, and in fact, it does not hurt if all pass, as you will then be allowed to get cross proposals that would otherwise fix issues with an original proposal. It the original with a correcting cross-proposal is still not acceptable, it can be disapproved in the interim vote or final vote.



 

Received on Thu Jun 05 2014 - 07:19:51 CEST