ASA may only take public positions on issues related to public policy for which there is consensus in the sociological literature or related to matters concerning the wellbeing of the discipline and profession.
If an issue does not have time-sensitivity, it will be considered by the ASA Council during its regularly scheduled meetings.
The executive director is authorized to take a public position on behalf of the Association for anything that is indisputably core to our mission. The executive director should use this authority very conservatively. This authority is to advocate for things like federal funding for social science research or peer review in government grant-making.
For all other issues that are time-sensitive, the executive committee is responsible for deciding whether to take a public position. In cases for which an extremely fast response is required, if this full body is unavailable the President is authorized to make a decision in consultation with whomever s/he deems necessary for appropriate expertise. Should the President be unavailable, the Secretary-Treasurer will fill this role.
In order to be considered in an expedited fashion, a compelling case will have to be made that a particular issue is sufficiently time sensitive that it cannot wait for Council to convene. The executive director may make this decision if the answer is unambiguous. That is, if there is a set deadline by which a position must be taken for it to have an impact on the issue at hand, it is by definition time sensitive. Should the question of time sensitivity be less clear, it will be incumbent upon executive committee (or President/Secretary-Treasurer in cases of extreme time sensitivity) to first determine whether in fact a proposal requires expedited treatment. This group can then decide to consider the merits of the particular proposal, if it is indeed time sensitive, or refer it back to the Council for the more extended process if a compelling argument for expedited review is not made.
