2026 WSMA House of Delegates: Preliminary Reference Committee Reports Available
The preliminary reports of Reference Committees B and C are now available for review ahead of the 2026 Annual Meeting of the WSMA House of Delegates.
About the preliminary reference committee reports
To get through the large number of reports and resolutions at each House of Delegates meeting, work is divided by topic between two reference committees, Reference Committee B and Reference Committee C.
Following the close of the virtual reference committee, Reference Committees B and C hold executive sessions to deliberate and to draft preliminary reports based on the virtual testimony provided by delegates and WSMA members. Once drafted, the preliminary reports are posted to the WSMA website, virtual reference committee, and emailed to delegates prior to the WSMA Annual Meeting to give delegations time to caucus. Member and delegate testimony from the virtual reference committee left by the Sept. 11 deadline is compiled and documented for reference: Reference Committee B: Virtual reference committee testimony and Reference Committee C: Virtual reference committee testimony.
What’s in the preliminary reference committee reports?
The job of the reference committee members is to recommend what they believe will be best for the WSMA based on the facts available and the strength of the testimony provided in the virtual reference committee. The persuasiveness of facts is far more important than the amount of testimony.
The committee decides what action they will recommend to the House of Delegates. Options open to the committee include:
- Recommend adoption of the resolution.
- Recommend the resolution not be adopted.
- Recommend amendment and adoption of the amended resolution (usually this is adoption by substitution or adoption in-lieu-of when two resolutions are combined).
- Recommend referral of the resolution.
Referrals should be exercised judiciously. If the reference committee members do not support adoption of a resolution, the committee should recommend not adopting the resolution while encouraging the authors to bring an amended version to the next House for consideration.
The preliminary reference committee recommendations should result in resolutions that are clearly worded and written in the affirmative. They need to be unambiguous. The resolved clauses represent the action to be taken and should be complete on their own (“stand alone”) without reference to the “whereas” clauses in the resolution. Often in the report, the reference committee will add a reason for its recommendation or changes to the resolution. This can be very helpful to the members of the House of Delegates in understanding how the reference committee arrived at its recommendation.
What happens next?
The preliminary reference committee reports will be presented as consent calendars first during the opening session of the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates and again during the subsequent in-person reference committees (the opening session begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 and the in-person reference committees convene at 10 a.m.).
At both opportunities, delegates will be asked for extractions from the preliminary reference committee reports:
- If you agree with the reference committee’s recommendation on an item, no action or extraction is needed. Items not extracted will be acted upon during Sunday’s House of Delegates session.
- If you disagree with the reference committee’s recommendation, or believe the House should consider a different action, you may extract the item from the consent calendar. Extracted items will be considered separately and will be open for discussion.
Extracted items will be discussed further during the in-person reference committees.
Final reference committee reports
After the conclusion of the in-person reference committee hearings on Saturday, Sept. 26, the reference committee members will convene for an executive session to revise the preliminary reference committee reports to reflect the deliberations on extracted items. Items that are not extracted from the preliminary reports for additional discussion will go to the House for final action on Sunday.
As soon as reference committee reports are finalized and signed, they are uploaded to the WSMA website and virtual reference committee. Reports are also copied and made available in the staff office at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27.
When the final reports are presented to the full House of Delegates on Sunday, they will again be presented as consent calendars, and delegates will be able to ask for extractions for further discussion before final action by the House.
About these new procedures
Building on member feedback the WSMA expanded the use of the virtual reference committee platform and introduced the preliminary reference committee reports starting in 2026. These new processes are designed to improve efficiency, accessibility, and delegate engagement. Learn more about these changes in this five-minute video. For an in-depth look at how physician ideas become WSMA policy, review this video made by Speaker of the House Matthew Grierson, MD.
To better understand the role of the reference committees (virtual and in-person) and how resolutions are debated, review Reference Committee Hearings & Reports and House of Delegates Orientation.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact the policy team at policy@wsma.org.