Ballot

PROPOSAL 1 - Amend By-Laws 13.3.2 to read:

Delete By-Laws 13.3.2. A portion of each member's dues may be placed in escrow for the account of the Region wherein the member resides to be drawn upon to defray the reasonable expenses of the Director of the Region or for any other purpose benefitting the Region and approved by the Board of Directors.

PRO: Requiring an escrow account requires substantial separate bookkeeping and other complicated banking which is unnecessary and may be detrimental.
 

PROPOSAL 2 - Amend By-Laws 15.4.1.3

15.4.1.3 If for any reason the Breed Committee Chair is vacated, the Breed Committee member who received the next highest number of votes shall become the Breed Committee Chair.The vacant seat on the Breed Committee shall be filled with the Breed Section member who received the next highest number of votes. If all members who ran in the election for Breed Committee are already serving, the Breed Committee may complete the term with a vacant seat(s) or request that the vacancy be filled by appointment of the Board of Directors. The Breed Committee shall notify the Executive Office of any such changes. Notices of Breed Committee resignations and replacements shall be published in the TICA TREND.

PRO: In the case of large breed sections, more than seven section members usually run in the Breed Committee election. Thus the Breed Section has already voted for a replacement member. The expense of re-polling a Breed Section is significant. Very few Breed Committees are actually active, so that completing a term with a vacant seat should not be a problem.
 

PROPOSAL 3 - Amend By-Law 17.4

17.4 Duties of the Breed Committees. It isthe duty of the Breed Committee to represent the Breed/Breed Group Section members on any proposed Breed Standard change, amendment or deletion, submitted by any bona fide voting members of the Breed/Breed Group Section. Any proposal submitted to the Breed Committee must be approved by a majority vote of the Committee prior to the Breed Committee Chairperson forwarding the proposal to the Genetics and Rules Committees for review and approval. It is the responsibility of the Breed Committee Chairperson to forward any approved proposal to the aforementioned Committees within five days of approval by the Breed Committee and to return any proposal not approved by the Committee to the person or persons originally submitting the proposal. Individual Breed Committee members may attach comments to any breed proposal submitted to the aforesaid committees or individuals. Upon approval of the Genetics and Rules Committees, the proposal must be forwarded to the Executive Office for balloting of the Breed/Breed Group Section in accordance with 118.2.

PRO: Restores the authority of the duly elected Breed Committee to determine acceptable changes to the standards. Allows for agreement between the Breed Committee, and the Rules and the Genetics Committees, as well as the Breed Section members, prior to proposed standards revisions being presented to the Board.

CON: Complicates an already complicated process.

PROPOSAL 4 - Amend Registrations Rules 123.1.9 and 123.1.10

123.1.9 Distinguished Judge. An honorary title of Distinguished Judge which may be granted to any judge with 25 or more years of judging experience, of which at least 20 years must be as a licensed TICA judge. To retain the title of Distinguished Judge, the judge MUST lead a judges' conference or breed seminar, or conduct a judging school or genetics seminar (if qualified) at least once every 2 years. A Distinguished Judge is exempt from other CEU requirements and license fees; however, they must complete the refresher test and record form.

123.1.10 Judge of Merit. An honorary title of Judge of Merit which may be granted to any judge with at least 20 years of judging experience, of which at least 15 years must be as a licensed TICA judge. Judges of Merit shall meet all requirements for relicensing, including license fees, refresher test, record form and CEU requirements; Judges of Merit are encouraged to lead a Judges' Conference or Breed Seminar, or conduct a Judging School or Genetics Seminar (if qualified), and if they do so, no further CEU's shall be required for that year.

PRO: TICA no longer grants the title of DJ or JM for time judging for another association.

CON: None.

PROPOSAL 5 - Amend Registration Rules 33.2, 33.3.4 an 33.5.1

33.2 Application for Registration Only Status.

33.2.1 An application for Registration Only Status shall consist of a Letter of Intent for Registration Only Status to the Executive Office with a copy to each member of the Genetics Committee and Board of Directors 120 days prior to the Board Meeting at which approval is sought, which includes the following:

33.2.1.1 A proposed breed name that is unique;

33.2.1.2 A proposed breed standard that is unique;

33.2.1.3 A proposed breeding program;

33.2.1.4 A suggested breed contact person;

33.2.1.5 A processing fee of $50.

33.2.2 At least 90 days prior to the Board Meeting the Genetics Committee shall forward a written report commenting upon the application.

33.2.3 Acceptance or denial for Registration Only Status is entirely at the discretion of the Board. A two-letter registration code, if applicable, will be assigned by the Executive Office upon acceptance by the Board of Directors for Registration Only Status.

33.3 Breed Names.

33.3.1 A new breed may not use a name the same as or substantially similar to that of a recognized breed.

33.3.2 A breed name shall not be derogatory, nor shall it make unsubstantiated claims regarding the merits of or geographic or genetic origins of the breed.

33.3.3 TICA may change a breed name at any time it is felt to be in the best interest of the association to do so. In such instances selection of a new name shall be by majority vote of the breed section with approval of the Board. If no clear majority of the breed section agrees on a new breed name, the Board may designate a breed name.

33.3.4 Experimental breeding programs that have not yet designated a breed name or have not acquired acceptance for Registration Only Status shall be designated by the code EX.

33.3.5 Experimental code EX may be used before the breed prefix in registering a cat that does not meet pedigree requirements or requirements for a particular breed may not have been established.

33.4 Championship Advancement Class Program. (Unchanged)

33.5 Preliminary New Breed Status.

33.5.1 Requirements for Application. A breed recognized for Registration Only Status may apply for Preliminary New Breed Status no sooner than two years after acceptance for Registration Only Status and upon completion of the following:

PRO: Gives the Board the right to approve breeds for Registration Only. Requires a fee and requires a minimum time before allowing application for advancement.

CON: Uses substantial resources for what is essentially a non-issue, as most Registration Only breeds never progress and only register a very small number of cats. Additionally, a proposed Registration Only breed usually does not have sufficient data to enable any substantive input from the Genetics Committee.

PROPOSAL 6 - Amend Registration Rules 33.4 and 33.5

33.4 Championship Advancement Class Program. The Championship Advancement Class consists of two parts.

33.4.1 Part One consists of two levels outlining the requirements for developing new breeds.

33.4.1.1 The beginning level shall be known as Preliminary New Breed.

33.4.1.2 The second level shall be known as Advanced New Breed.

33.4.2 Part Two outlines the requirements for recognition of non-recognized traits in cats, kittens and alters of breeds introduction of a new trait in existing breeds currently recognized for Championship. This class shall be known as New Traits Class. The trait in question may or may not have been recognized in other breeds.

33.4.3 Any breed accepted in the Foundation Registry as Category V [VI] must declare intent for registration status in Category I, II, III or IV [or V] prior to acceptance for recognition in Preliminary New Breed Class .

33.5 Preliminary New Breed Status.

33.5.1 Requirements for Application. A breed recognized for Registration ONLY may apply for Preliminary New Breed status no sooner than two years after acceptance for Registration Only Status and upon completion of the following:

33.5.1.1 At least 15 cats which have attained the age of 8 months are registered with TICA;

33.5.1.2 At least 10 litters have been registered with TICA;

33.5.1.3 At least five TICA members in good standing, in at least three different regions are actively breeding the breed ("actively breeding" means breeding at least one litter within the previous 2 years);

33.5.1.4 Submission of an Application for Acceptance as a Preliminary New Breed to the Executive Office and a copy to each member of the Genetics Committee 120 days prior to the board meeting at which approval is sought, which includes the following:

33.5.1.4.1 A Letter of Intent to apply for approval as a Preliminary New Breed, including a list of suggested people eligible to serve as proposed Preliminary New Breed Working Group Chairperson and a list of the proposed Preliminary New Breed breed section members to be confirmed by the Board;

33.5.1.4.2 A proposed breed name with permissible outcrosses, if any

33.5.1.4.4 A proposed breed standard that is unique;

33.5.1.4.5 A proposed breeding program which includes proposed category and outcrosses, if applicable;

33.5.1.4.6 A processing fee of $50;

33.5.1.4.7 A proposed two-letter breed designation code, which shall be automatically included in the Registration Rules upon approval as a Preliminary New Breed (if one has not been assigned previously).

33.5.1.5 At least 90 days prior to the Board Meeting the Genetics Committee shall forward a written report commenting upon the application. Comments from individual members may be attached to the report as needed. Such report may recommend approval to advance to Preliminary New Breed status, recommend denial of advancement, that further requirements be met prior to approval, return to Registration ONLY status, or may make further comments.

33.5.1.5.1 Any advancement to Preliminary New Breed status is entirely within the discretion of the Board of Directors.

33.5.1.5.2 The Preliminary New Breed Working Group Chairperson serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors, and may be replaced at any time.

33.5.1.6 Cause a Notice of Intent to Apply for Advancement to Preliminary New Breed status to be published in the TICA TREND at least 120 days prior to the meeting at which the application for advancement will be heard, and which invites comments about the breed to be forwarded to the Executive Office

PRO: Clarifies requirements for advancement from Registration Only to Preliminary New Breed. Adding a time requirement will ensure that breeds have adequate time to document development prior to applying to advance to Preliminary New Breed.

CON: None.

PROPOSAL 7 - Amend Registration Rules 33.6 and 33.7

33.6 Advanced New Breed Class Status.

33.6.1 Requirements. A Preliminary New Breed Class Breed may apply for Advanced New Breed status upon completion of the following:

33.6.1.1 At least 1 year has passed since the breed was first advanced to Preliminary New Breed Class Breed status.

33.6.1.2 At least 100 cats, which have attained the age of 8 months, are registered with TICA; of these at least 50 must either correspond to requirements for the assigned registration category for Championship or have a registration code such that the offspring could be eligible for Championship.

33.6.1.3 At least 25 litters have been registered with TICA;

33.6.1.4 At least 25 TICA members in good standing, in at least five different regions are actively breeding the breed.

33.6.1.5 At least ten 15 individual cats of the breed have been evaluated shown in TICA shows. (NOTE: Kittens and alters may be included in this total but each cat only counts once toward the total, regardless of how many times the cat may have been shown.)

33.6.1.8 A copy of the breed standard with any proposed changes.

33.6.1.9 A copy of the breeding program with any proposed changes.

33.6.1.10 Re-revaluation of the registration category as a Transfer New Breed, a Hybrid New Breed (Domestic or Non-Domestic Species), a Native New Breed or a Mutation New Breed, and the rationale that category was chosen as well as a list of permissible outcrosses.

33.6.2.1 A member of a breed designated as an Advanced New Breed may be entered in any TICA show in the Advanced New Breed class provided the cat has a TICA registration number (203.1.1) and provided that the cat meets the pedigree requirements for championship in the proposed registration category or has a registration status code such that its offspring could be eligible for Championship competition. Cats which have non-domestic ancestry may be entered in accordance with Registration Rules 37.6.4, Show Rule 23.19 and Standing Rules 203.

33.7 Championship Status. Requirements. An Advanced New Breed may apply for Championship Status upon completion of the following:

33.7.1 At least 1 year has passed since the breed was first advanced from Preliminary New Breed status.

33.7.2 A minimum of 200 adults registered of which 100 arepotentially eligible for championship competition.

CON: Unduly strict requirements for advancement.

PROPOSAL 8 - Amend Registration Rules 37.5

37.5 Category IV: Domestic Hybrid Breeds.

37.5.1 Purpose. This category is for newer breeds which are being developed by means of deliberate crosses between two (or more) existing domestic breeds. Frequent backcrosses to the parental breeds may be desirable to maintain or improve type.

37.5.2 Requirements for Championship Exhibition. There can be no unknown or unregistered cats within the three generation pedigree. The cat must be the product of two registered members of the breed, the product of a cat of the breed and one of the parental breeds, or the product of two of the parental breeds. The domestic hybrid cat is considered a first generation purebred for exhibition purposes. (See Requirements for Registration, 37.5.4.)

37.5.3 Limitations on Championship Exhibition. A domestic hybrid breed cannot accept for championship a cat which is indistinguishable on the basis of phenotype (physical characteristics such as color, coat length, body type, etc.,) from the parental breeds. At least one characteristic which distinguishes the breed from the parental breeds must be maintained in the standard.37.5.4 Requirements for Registration. A cat which is the product of two members of this breed shall be considered a purebred of this breed. The hybrid between two parental breeds or between a cat of this breed and one of the parental breeds shall be considered a first generation purebred of this breed.

PROPOSAL 9 - Amend Registration Rules 37.6

Advancement to Championship requiring an SB code and moving to Category I

37.6 Category V: Domestic x Non-Domestic Source Species Hybrids.

37.6.1 Purpose. This category is for breeds which are being developed by means of deliberate foundation crosses between domestic cats and a single non-domestic source species. A Non-Domestic Source Species is a species other than Felis catus/Felis domesticus.

37.6.2 Requirements for Championship Exhibition. There can be no non-permissible outcrosses within the three generation pedigree. No unknown or unregistered cats may appear within the three generation pedigree. These cats must have an SB registration code.

37.6.3 Limitations on Championship Exhibition. The breed must apply for championship as a Category I breed.

37.6.4 Requirements for Registration. Non-domestic source species hybrids may apply for Category V Registration status during the new breed process and may be shown according to the following rules:

A cat with a Non-Domestic Source Species parent is an F1 hybrid. It is not a breed of domestic cat. It can be considered an F1 Foundation * Breed Name* if the cross is one allowed by the breeding program, but may not be shown in any class.

A cat with a Non-Domestic Source Species grandparent can be a Foundation *Breed Name*. It should be 3/4 domestic in terms of pedigree, butmay not be shown in any class.

A cat with a Non-Domestic Source Species great grandparent can use the *Breed* name if the other cats on the pedigree reflect only allowable outcrosses. It will still be designated by the S (367.2.5), indicating the Non-Domestic Source Species is still on the pedigree, and is eligible for competition in the Preliminary and Advanced New Breed classes. Registration codes for showing are:

PNB - A3S, AON, AOP, B3S, BON, BOP, C3S, CON, COP, SB

ANB - C3S, CON, COP, SB

Any cat with a parent that is a non-permissible domestic outcross (i.e. a cat of any breed not specifically listed as a permissible outcross breed in the approved breeding program) will have the term hybrid in its description regardless of the length of the pedigree. It may be shown in Preliminary New Breed but may not be shown in Advanced New Breed or Championship classes. Registration codes for showing are:

PNB ONLY- A3S, B3S, C3S, AON, AOP, BON, BOP, CON, COP, SB

A cat with a non-permissible domestic outcross grandparent may be considered a foundation *Breed Name*. It may be shown in Preliminary New Breed but may not be shown in the Advanced New Breed or Championship classes. Registration codes for showing are:

PNB ONLY - A2N, A2P, B2N, B2P, C2N, C2P, A3S, B3S, C3S, AON, AOP, BON, BOP, CON, COP, SB NOTE: No S’s may shown at the A2, B2, C2 level (i.e. A2S, B2S, etc.).

A cat with a non-permissible domestic outcross great grandparent may be considered a foundation *Breed Name* and may be shown in the Preliminary and Advanced New Breed classes but may not be shown in Championship classes. Registration codes for showing are:

PNB - A2N, A2P, B2N, B2P, C2N, C2P, A3S, B3S, C3S, AON, AOP, BON, BOP, CON, COP, SB NOTE: No S’s may shown at the A2, B2, C2 level (i.e. A2S, B2S, etc.).

PRO: The requirements for a new breed with a non-domestic hybrid are more complex than for new breeds created with only domestic cats. In order not to penalize those new breeds which use only domestic cats, a separate category is in order for breeds created using a species other than Felis catus/Felis domesticus. This proposal creates a new Category V for non-domestic source species hybrids.
 

PROPOSAL 10 - Delete Show Rule 22.6.1

22.6.1 Liability insurance shall be procured by the [Board of Directors of TICA] Association. Each club submitting an application for a show license will be required to purchase a pro rata share for this liability insurance coverage.

22.6.1.1 Exception shall be made for clubs holding shows in areas outside the TICA liability coverage area or where local laws require other insurance coverage. All such liability coverage must name TICA as an additional insured and meet TICA liability insurance requirements.

22.6.1.2 A Certificate of Insurance must be provided to TICA no later than 30 days prior to the start of the show.

PRO: To bring Show Rules into compliance with procedure. Current insurance coverage does not extend to clubs outside the United States.
 

PROPOSAL 11 - Add Show Rule 29.1.1.6

29.1.1.6 The show committee shall publish a show flyer for the show using the guidelines as established by the Board of Directors.

29.1.1.6.1 All advertising, promotion or information that is disseminated to the public regarding a TICA show shall include the name of the club putting on the show and the TICA name and/or logo. In no event shall the name of any public relations firm, production company, show management company, professional show manager or any other entity be displayed in larger type nor more prominently than the name of the club and the TICA name and/or logo.

PRO: There is currently no requirement that a club have a show flyer.
 

PROPOSAL 12 - Add Show Rule 29.1.1.7

29.1.1.7 The show committee shall provide a Master Clerk and Ring Clerks for the show.

29.1.1.7.1 Clerks shall be compensated as set forth in the Standing Rules 501.

PRO: There is currently no requirement that a club have clerks.
 

PROPOSAL 13 - Amend Show Rules 214.2

214.2 The club shall reimburse each judge for reasonable expenses incurred, including transportation, lodging and subsistence meals in accordance with the “Agreement to Judge TICA Cat Show” (i.e., the official TICA Judge’s Contract).

PRO: It needs to be perfectly clear that a judge is not entitled to reimbursement for money not spent (incurred expenses). For instance, when two judges drive together to a show, both are not entitled to full mileage reimbursement. They may each claim half of the total mileage or the owner/driver of the vehicle may claim the full amount.

CON: Unnecessary change.

PETITION PROPOSAL 1 -  Amend By-Law 13.1 to read:

13.1   Qualifications.  Membership shall be open to any individual person who is interested in owning, breeding or exhibiting domesticated cats.  New members must complete the application form which includes an agreement to abide by the rules and regulations of the Association, pay the required fee for membership dues and have at least one cat or a cattery name registered with TICA.  A member's region of record is the region where the member resides.

PETITION PROPOSAL 2 -  Add By-Law 13.1.1, 13.1.2 and 13.1.3:

13.1.1 No more that four people residing at the same mailing address may be voting members.

13.1.2 TICA clubs may collect and send in dues for club members. Dues must be sent with a list which shall include each club member's name and mailing address. Email address shall be included if available.