NAP Connections
M eet the N ew C ode of
Professional Responsibility By Kay Allison Crews, PRP
It started, as many good things do, at a parliamentary workshop. At the American Institute of Parliamentarians™ (AIP) 2019 East Coast Practicum, the topic was “Contentious Meetings.” During discussions there, concerns about the Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians were a frequent topic for those serving in non-traditional parliamentary roles. Many of the members present had worked as professional presiding officers, floor parliamentarians, or even as parliamentary strategists. Such work was not fully covered under the language of the Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians. A further concern was the weaponization of the code. In such circumstances, individuals who were not the client had filed ethical charges against the organization’s parliamentarian in an effort to weaken a presiding officer or to remove a source of parliamentary knowledge from an organization. Development of the New Code AIP and the National Association of Parliamentarians® (NAP) had first adopted the Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians in 2001. The code has remained largely unchanged since then, with only a few edits in 2015 to deal with concerns about restraint 22
National Parliamentarian • Fall 2020
of trade issues. The code had failed to evolve to meet the changing scope of many professional parliamentary practices. AIP Ethics Committee Chairman Sarah Merkle, JD, CPP-T, PRP, took the new concerns to heart. In January of 2020, she invited the members of AIP’s Ethics Committee, NAP’s Professional Standards Committee, both organizations’ presidents, and members Jim Slaughter, JD, CPP-T, PRP, and me to participate in a conference call to discuss concerns and possible additions to the joint code of ethics. At that meeting, the presidents of the two organizations agreed to appoint a special joint committee to review and propose amendments to the code of ethics. AIP President Al Gage, CPP, PRP, appointed Jesse Binnall, JD, CPP-T, PRP; Barry Glazer, MD, CPP-T; and me to serve on the joint committee. NAP President Darlene Allen, PRP, appointed Robin Browder, JD, RP; Weldon Merritt, CPP, PRP; and Jason Morgan, JD, PRP, as representatives for NAP. Each of the organizational presidents also served as members of the committee. The committee elected me chairman at the first meeting. The group adopted the name “AIP/NAP Joint
