Structure Committee

WHAT IS THE NETA STRUCTURE COMMITTEE?

  1. The Structure Committee was designed to slow down and thoroughly research motions that will affect our Policies & Procedures. This provides NETA with clear motions to have an “Informed Group Conscience” rather than make uninformed, misinformed, or hasty decisions that AA literature warns us against. The Committee reviews the motion to see if there is past history or experience that needs to be considered, either at NETA or AA as a whole. They also look for conflicts with existing NETA policy. If there are no such conflicts or concerns, the Committee simply reports that to the Area Committee without discussion on the actual merits of the motion.
  2. The Structure Committee members do not have a vote in the Area Assembly nor the Area Committee Meeting. Their recommendations are non-binding and only advisory in nature.
  3. If the Structure Committee does not recommend a motion, the presenter has the right to go forward with it through the proper NETA process without such a recommendation. Area Assembly motions that the Structure Committee did not recommend have been approved by the Area Assembly in the past.
  4. Past Delegates are on the Structure Committee because they have no vote at Assemblies or Area Committee meetings and Delegates are the ONLY position in NETA that were directly involved in AA from the top to the bottom of the “Inverted Triangle”. In later years, Past Delegates were also asked not to stand for Chair positions at NETA, which further eliminates potential conflicts of interest.
  5. Each Past Delegate has his or her unique experience from their panel. In the 1955 Third Legacy Manual, Bill W. wrote that we should not waste their experience. Later editions of the AA Service Manual expounded on the possible uses of Past Delegates.
  6. The Structure Committee was modeled after the “Trustee Emeriti” on the General Service Board of AA (pg S69 AA Service Manual 2012-13). The Emeriti are on the Board as long as they choose to serve and are there for advisory purposes only. They have no vote on the General Service Board.