(CVMA Bylaws – Current to January 2022)
(Proposed/to be adopted in April 2022)
Upon adoption of these Articles the following association groups, with their indicated boundaries, shall be designated as constituent associations of the Association. Other non-geographic constituent associations shall be officially designated by the Board of Governors. Association members residing in a geographic constituent association may choose to assign their vote to a non-geographic constituent association.
| Geographic Constituent Associations | Boundaries |
|---|---|
| Alameda | Alameda County |
| Antelope Valley | Those portions of Los Angeles and Kern Counties referred to as Antelope Valley |
| Central California | Fresno and Madera Counties |
| Contra Costa County | Contra Costa County |
| Delta | Those portions of San Joaquin County and Sacramento County that includes the cities of Stockton, Lodi, Lockeford, and Galt |
| Eastern Sierra | Inyo and Mono Counties |
| Humboldt-Del Norte Counties | Del Norte and Humboldt Counties |
| Kern County | Kern County (except that portion covered by the Antelope Valley Association) |
| Marin County | Marin County |
| Mendo-Lake | Lake and Mendocino Counties |
| Merced-Mariposa | Merced and Mariposa Counties |
| Mid-Coast | Northern Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties |
| Monterey Bay | Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties |
| Mother Lode | El Dorado and Placer Counties |
| Napa-Solano | Napa and Solano Counties |
| North Valley | Butte, Colusa, Nevada, Plumas, Sutter, and Yuba Counties |
| Northern California | Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties |
| Northern San Joaquin | Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, San Joaquin (except that portion covered by the Delta Association), Stanislaus and Tuolumne Counties |
| Orange Belt | Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties |
| Peninsula | San Mateo County |
| Redwood Empire | Sonoma County |
| Sacramento Valley | Sacramento (except that portion covered by the Delta Association) and Yolo Counties |
| San Diego County | San Diego County |
| San Francisco | City and County of San Francisco |
| Santa Barbara-Ventura | Southern Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties |
| Santa Clara Valley | Santa Clara County |
| Southern California | Los Angeles (except that portion covered by the Antelope Valley Association) and Orange Counties |
| Tulare-Kings | Kings and Tulare Counties |
| Geographic Constituent Associations | Boundaries |
|---|---|
| Registered Veterinary Technicians | All Registered Veterinary Technicians who are CVMA members. |
| Equine Veterinarians | Those veterinarians employed in the study or practice of equine medicine who do not choose to affiliate with one of the other constituent associations shall be considered Equine Veterinarians. |
| Food Animal Veterinarians | Those veterinarians employed in the study or practice of food animal medicine who do not choose to affiliate with one of the other constituent associations shall be considered Food Animal Veterinarians |
| Holistic Veterinarians | Those veterinarians employed in the study or practice of holistic medicine who do not choose to affiliate with one of the geographic constituent shall be considered Holistic Veterinarians. |
| Lab Animal Veterinarians | Those veterinarians employed in the study or practice of lab animal medicine who do not choose to affiliate with one of the other constituent associations shall be considered Lab Animal Veterinarians. |
| Public Service Veterinarians | All veterinarians employed by federal, state, city or county governments, including military veterinarians on active duty, who do not choose to affiliate with one of the geographic constituent associations listed above, shall be considered Public Service Veterinarians. |
| Shelter Veterinarians | Those veterinarians employed in the study or practice of shelter medicine who do not choose to affiliate with one of the other constituent associations shall be considered California Shelter Veterinarians. |
| AVMA-COE Accredited Veterinary School Veterinarians in California | Veterinarians employed at any AVMA-COE accredited veterinary school in California who do not choose to affiliate with another constituent association. |
| Veterinary Students | Any student regularly enrolled in a professional Veterinary curriculum at any school within the State of California, which is accredited by the AVMA-COE to confer the degree of Doctor of Veterinary medicine or an equivalent degree in veterinary medicine, and whose ethical and moral qualifications comply with this Constitution and Bylaws, shall be considered Veterinary Student Members |
A geographic constituent association shall be bounded by a county or combination of adjacent county boundaries, or as otherwise designated by the Board of Governors upon the advice of the House of Delegates.
The Association encourages the formation of non-geographic constituent associations that are consistent with the Association’s mission statement. All non-geographic constituent associations shall be constituted based upon a professional veterinary practice area subset or similar professional, employment, or student designation. Groups that are constituted on a social, recreational, lifestyle, ethnic, religious, or similar basis shall not be considered by the Association for status as a non-geographic constituent organization.
Any individual member of the Association may belong to one or more constituent associations of the Association as the member chooses. However, if a member belongs to more than one constituent association, that member must certify in writing to the Executive Director of the Association the constituent association to which the member wishes their vote to be assigned insofar as representation with the House of Delegates is concerned.
Any group that wishes to join the Association as a constituent association must first petition the Association Board of Governors for approval, in writing, of its intent. In conjunction with that petition, the group must then submit a list of no less than twenty-five (25) existing individual members of the Association, each of whom is required to personally sign a letter indicating desire for the formation of the new constituent association.
Notwithstanding the language of the second sentence of Section 5 above, a new geographic constituent association may be formed with fewer than twenty-five (25) members within the boundary of a multiple-county contiguous association, provided this proposed constituent association totally encompasses the boundaries of two or more counties and maintains a minimum of ten (10) individual members of the Association. This type of association would have a minimum of one (1) vote in the House of Delegates.
Upon receipt of a conforming petition under Section 5 (and, if applicable, Section 6), the Board of Governors shall conduct a vote to determine whether to grant constituent association status to the petitioning group. If at least twelve (12) members of the Board of Governors vote to grant such status, then the petitioning group shall be recognized as a constituent association, and be accorded the rights and privileges associated therewith, effective immediately.
In order to continue designation as a constituent association, that constituent association must maintain at least twenty (20) bona fide voting members of the Association except as noted in Section 6, above. Should a constituent association fall below twenty (20) such members, it shall have twelve (12) months to increase its membership to meet the minimum threshold. If no such increase occurs, the constituent association shall lose its status as such. For geographic constituent associations formed in accordance with Section 6, above, this Section 8 shall apply with equal force, except that such constituent associations must maintain a minimum of at least ten (10) bona fide members of the Association.
Registered Veterinary Technicians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Equine Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Food Animal Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Holistic Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Lab Animal Medicine Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Public Service Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Shelter Veterinarians shall be represented by a constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
Veterinarians of any AVMA-COE accredited veterinary school(s) in California shall be represented by their own constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.
The veterinary students of each AVMA-COE accredited veterinary school in California shall be represented by their own constituent association Delegate or Alternate Delegate in the House of Delegates and shall have voting rights in the House of Delegates as hereinafter defined.