ABA House of Delegates Chair's Message to the House of Delegates

Chair Bay’s Message to the House of Delegates
2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

Members of the ABA House of Delegates:

By now you are all aware that the 2020 Annual meeting, including the House of Delegates Meeting, will be held virtually. A virtual House Meeting will require some changes and adjustments to how and when we do things. A terrific group of staff and volunteers has been working diligently to ensure that the House will be ready to conduct its business as seamlessly as possible. This even included consulting legal counsel about the virtual meeting.

Specific details about the actual process of how the House will hear from speakers on each resolution are nearly finalized and will be made available soon. We will endeavor to accommodate every member who wishes to speak or make a motion but we will need your help to do so as detailed below in part C (2). These changes will permit us to be good stewards of the time of each member of the House as we consider the matters that come before the House of Delegates.

Please note that we have made several adjustments to the timing of certain events relating to the business of the House. The significant changes to our normal calendar of events are detailed below in part B:

A. What will happen in a virtual House meeting?

1. Format. The House will use a specially designed platform with a Zoom interface. However, it will not be a Zoom meeting. Essentially, it will be a Zoom webinar with a large number of panelists (those speakers pro and con). Attendees will not be able to see each other; instead, they will see the speakers.
2. Voting. There will be a separate voting system that delegates can access. It will require a computer or smart device. We will utilize pre-populated voting screens for each matter on which a vote is required.
3. Delegates. The microphones of all delegates will be muted. To speak, delegates will be required to submit a salmon slip and be recognized to speak by the Chair. Further details are below under part C.

B. What changes will be made to the timing of meetings and deadlines?

1. Removal from Consent Calendar. The final time to remove a resolution from the consent calendar will be noon CDT on Friday, July 31. This will give the Rules & Calendar Committee adequate time to finalize the calendar in advance of the Monday start.

2. Rules & Calendar Committee. The Rules & Calendar Committee will have one meeting on Saturday, August 1 from 9:30 to 11:30 am CDT. The committee will not meet on Sunday. Therefore, the deadline to submit all Resolution revisions to Rules & Calendar will be 11:30 am CDT on Saturday, August 1 instead of Sunday afternoon.

3. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will meet Saturday, August 1 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm CDT. It will not meet on Sunday. We will hear from the candidate for Association office and we will review the final agenda and procedures for the Monday and Tuesday meetings of the House of Delegates. We urge you to participate in this meeting.

4. House of Delegates. The House of Delegates will meet as follows:

Monday, August 3
• 10:00 am CDT to 1:00 pm CDT, and
• 2:30 pm CDT to 4:30 pm CDT

Tuesday, August 4
• 10:00 am CDT to 1:00 pm CDT or until finished.

C. What changes will be made to our normal procedures?

1. Consent Calendar. The Rules & Calendar Committee will expand use of the Consent Calendar, given the change in meeting format. Proponents of matters on the Consent Calendar will be permitted to post a three-minute video presentation about their resolutions on the House website, and delegates can view those presentations starting on or about July 21. There are two practical reasons for this. First, we hope this encourages greater use of the Consent Calendar by providing an opportunity for proponents to speak directly to delegates in advance of the meeting about their resolution. Second, it will assist delegates as they consider whether to remove a matter from the Consent Calendar. As detailed above, the deadline to remove a matter from the Consent Calendar will be noon CDT on Friday, July 31, which is prior to the start of the meeting on Monday, August 3.

2. Salmon Slips. We are making every effort to be good stewards of the time of each member of the House as well as to accommodate every member who wishes to speak or make a motion. To do that, we need you to work with us as we plan for this meeting. That is why we have established the following guidelines if you wish to address the House:

a. Delegates who wish to speak in favor or against a resolution or who wish to make a motion to postpone indefinitely or amend are strongly encouraged to submit salmon slips by noon on Sunday, August 2. The list of speakers and movants will be circulated to the House on Sunday evening, August 2.

b. The Rules & Calendar Committee will try to accommodate those delegates who decide on Monday or Tuesday that they wish to speak in favor or against a resolution or who wish to make a motion. We will have a feature on the system that will permit you to ask to speak during the meeting. We also anticipate having an emergency number to call as a back-up. This will not be as easy as our normal practice for obvious logistical and technological reasons and therefore, we cannot guarantee that everyone will be recognized. That is why we strongly encourage you to file a salmon slip by noon on Sunday. Your fellow delegates will thank you.

c. Details on how to submit salmon slips electronically will be provided as we get closer to the meeting.

We look forward to a great experience as we all participate in our first ever virtual meeting of the House. As always, I thank you for your willingness to serve our profession as a member of the House of Delegates.

William R. Bay, Chair
ABA House of Delegates