The Florida Medical Association (FMA) has announced that county and specialty medical societies can now nominate eligible physicians to serve on its reference committees. The deadline for nominations is set for 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 9.
Each reference committee will include at least five voting members of the FMA House of Delegates (HOD). These members cannot be current FMA officers or members of the Board of Governors (BOG). The FMA Speaker and Vice Speaker are responsible for selecting committee members, who will hold open hearings on proposed resolutions before these items reach the full HOD during the Annual Meeting.
After receiving direct feedback on the resolutions under consideration, committee members deliberate privately and make decisions as a group. Their recommendations are then presented in a detailed report to the HOD. If a resolution passes through the House and is adopted by the BOG, it becomes official FMA policy.
Delegates will be able to submit online testimony regarding any properly filed resolution from Monday, June 23, at 9 a.m. ET until Thursday, July 3, at 9 p.m. ET. When submitting testimony, delegates must indicate whether they support or oppose each resolution.
Reference committees will convene in executive session during the week starting Monday, July 7, to finalize their reports. These reports are scheduled to be published online ahead of the Annual Meeting, which begins Friday, July 25. Delegates can debate committee recommendations during in-person reference committee hearings on Saturday, July 26.
