MSMS Governance Reorganization

Resolved Section(s):
RESOLVED: That MSMS reorganize its membership structure to allow for physicians to choose between one of the following three options:1. County Members: Physicians who choose to be members only of their county medical society would pay dues to the county and have it recorded with the state society. Dues collected and finances would be handled within the county unless the county has no staff and infrastructure. For counties needing assistance, the MSMS Board would set the dues for the county and collect the dues and hold them in an account. The primary use for the funds collected by the state would be to be used to reimburse physicians to attend the annual MSMS House of Delegates (HOD). The state would determine a fair administrative fee to charge the counties for this task. At any time, a county may organize and begin collecting these fees themselves and administering the dues to pay for local affairs and attending the HOD. 2. State Members: Physicians who choose to be only state members pay dues just at the state level to be administered by the MSMS Board and its staff. 3. State & County Members: Physicians may pay to be members of both branches of the society for the combined dues as set forth by the county and the state Board; and be it furtherRESOLVED: That the MSMS House of Delegates shall apportion delegates based on a formula to promote a diversity of views of rural and urban physicians and a proper representation of those who pay dues. The following shall be the rules set for forth for determining the number of delegates to the annual HOD:1. Delegates shall be apportioned based on the number of paid members and their point values as follows: County only and state only members shall be worth one point each. Combined county and state members shall be worth 1.5 points.2. As of a date designated by the MSMS Board, a count will be conducted and each county will be assigned a number of points based on its membership. 3. There will be 250 delegates to the HOD that shall be apportioned according to the point values of each county. No county may have less than one delegate. 4. Each delegate will have a corresponding alternate delegate. 5. In addition to the 250 physician delegates, the following delegates and equal number of alternate delegates will be assigned to the HOD; one delegate for the deans of each medical school, one delegate for each recognized medical specialty society, one delegate for the resident/fellow section, one delegate for the foreign graduate section. 6. The HOD will also continue to recognize the importance and contributions from medical schools by apportioning one delegate for each medical school. Unlike the other sections, medical schools will receive three alternates for each delegate position to maintain a robust presence of medical students.