Every three years, CMAHC collects, assesses, and relays MAHC Change Request recommendations to CDC via its triennial Vote on the Code conference. During this conference, members gather, debate, and decide on proposed Change Requests to the MAHC.
- Scope of the MAHC
- MAHC Scope, Principles, and Style Guidance
- The Change Request Submitter
- Caucus Membership & Sector Explanation
- Voting & Weighting
Understand the Update Process
Volunteer Driven
All CMAHC activities are aimed at improving health and safety at public aquatic venues. The motto of CMAHC is “Driven by your Expertise”. All committee members are not only members of CMAHC but are volunteer experts from the aquatics industry or public health. A variety of CMAHC Committees exist to help provide guidance and input on MAHC change requests, provide expert input on topical matters, and address research driven issues that impact public health. As part of the selection process, CMAHC committee members must apply and are required to sign a conflict-of-interest statement to avoid any impropriety when conducting CMAHC business.
- Technical Review Committee (TRC)
- Technical Support Committees (TSC)
- Ad Hoc Technical Committees
- Standing Committees
Technical Review Committee
The Technical Review Committee provides a review of submitted Change Requests and provides voting recommendations to the CMAHC membership. As part of this process, the TRC reviews and considers the comments made by stakeholders for each change request.
Each change request is assigned to a TRC committee member known as a CR Facilitator. This committee member will provide a review of the CR, lead TRC discussion on this CR, and provide their voting recommendation to the TRC for discussion.
The TRC is considered a standing committee. After each review cycle, this committee will be paused and reformed for the next cycle, often with new committee members.
Each change request is assigned to a TRC committee member known as a CR Facilitator. This committee member will provide a review of the CR, lead TRC discussion on this CR, and provide their voting recommendation to the TRC for discussion.
The TRC is considered a standing committee. After each review cycle, this committee will be paused and reformed for the next cycle, often with new committee members.
Technical Support Committees
Technical Support Committees are formed for each MAHC review cycle. As part of the CR review process, all CRs will be assigned to one or more Technical Support Committees (TSCs). These TSCs are composed of discipline specific aquatics industry professionals and at least one public health official. These professionals must be a member of CMAHC and apply to be considered for this role.
Each TSC will review their assigned CRs and complete the TSC Evaluation Form. This form will be referred to by the TRC CR Facilitator during the TRC review process.
There are seven TSCs:
· Design and Construction
· Operations and Maintenance
· Disinfection and Water Quality
· Injury Prevention
· Recirculation and Filtration
· Ventilation and Air Quality
· Lifeguarding and Bather Supervision
The primary role of the TSC is to review the submitted CR based on its own merits and supplied information; and provide a recommendation to the TRC for a YES vote, a NO vote, or an ABSTAIN vote. The TSC may make recommendations to the TRC CR Facilitator on any needed improvements, however any recommendations are not binding.
Ad Hoc Committees
Ad Hoc Committees are temporary committees, focusing on a singular topic, which are formed at any time and not necessarily tied to a MAHC review cycle. Often, however, the Ad Hoc committees’ scope of work will result in a change request being submitted.
Standing Committees
The Standing Committees are created to develop and oversee solutions to long-term CMAHC needs related to the management and operation issues of the organization. The committee functions are long-term in nature so membership will be rotated as needed.
Education Committee
To help with its efforts in promoting the MAHC and advocating for public health and safety at public and semi-public aquatic venues, CMAHC has formed an Education Committee. This committee aids CMAHC in the development, maintenance, and supervision of educational offerings. This is a standing committee and is not tied to the MAHC review cycle.
The MAHC Revision Process
Revising the MAHC is a complicated process that involves multiple layers of input and checks and balances. To provide transparency and help stakeholders understand the process, the general steps of the MAHC revision process are:
- A Change Request is submitted to CMAHC for consideration. Before public posting, CMAHC staff determines if the CR is complete, fits with the scope of the MAHC, and follows the MAHC Style Guide. If necessary, the CR is returned to the submitter for additional information or corrections to conform with the style guide. Approved CRs are posted for public review
- As soon as a CR is posted, Members can comment by clicking on the “Submit Comments” button at the bottom of the specific CR page. The comment will be automatically posted for viewing.
- Submitted CRs are routed to the Technical Review Committee (TRC) which reviews the CRs including the technical/scientific data or other references submitted to support the proposed change. Additionally, the change request is reviewed by one or more Technical Support Committees (TSC) which will provide a review and recommendation to the TRC.
- The first Member Comment Period is held concurrent to CR submissions. This comment period is intended to provide the TRC with information to consider during its scope of work. All TRC meetings are made available to the public where deliberations can be listened to. The public is not invited or allowed to make comments during this time unless specifically requested by the TRC Chair.
- If the CR submitter agrees, the TRC/TSC discussion and review of comments could lead to the revision of the submitted CR for re-posting.
- All final CRs, TRC reviews, and TRC voting recommendations are posted on the CMAHC website. The TRC recommendation is a consensus recommendation unless otherwise specified.
- The Second Comment Period opens once the TRC has completed its initial scope of work and continues until two weeks before the Vote on the Code Conference (VOC). During this round of comments, members can submit comments on the CRs and the TRC recommendations. This round of comments is a mechanism to influence member voting. CRs may not be modified prior to the conference based on the Second comment period.
Editorial, or non-substantive, change requests are evaluated by a committee composed of the TRC chair and vice chair, the CMAHC Technical Director, a representative from the CMAHC Board of Directors, and a representative from the CDC. CRs that are found to be editorial will not be part of the voting process and passed on to CDC for consideration. CRs that were submitted to be editorial in nature but are found to have substantive impacts on the MAHC, will be referred to the TRC for review.
Vote on the Code Conference
The next step in the MAHC review process is the Vote on the Code Conference. The VOC is co-located with a major industry conference. Starting in 2024, the VOC will be co-located with the Association of Aquatics Professionals (AOAP) annual conference.
During the VOC:
- Caucus groups are formed by CMAHC and exists to allow members to deliberate CRs among similar sectors and decide as a sector how to advise members to vote on any particular change request.
- Key change requests are presented to the conference to facilitate discussion, explain how the TRC came to a voting recommendation, and provide overall transparency to the revision process.
- Members have the opportunity to reflect on the conference discussion, review any new CR edits or voting recommendations, and submit member comments to influence the vote until the vote closes.
- Once the TRC completes its review of a CR, a CR submitter may opt to revise their change request, based on discussions at the VOC. This is the only time a CR may be modified, and it will need to be reviewed again by the TRC for a final voting recommendation.
- 2 weeks after the VOC, voting will open, and membership will recommend if a CR should be approved or denied. Voting will close after 30 days.
Post Voting Period
After votes are cast by membership, the MAHC revision process enters the final phase. In this phase,
- Approved CRs are reviewed by the CMAHC Board of Directors. The Board will review all approved CRs and will make final recommendations to CDC. In this role, the Board of Directors acts as a safety mechanism to preserve the integrity of the MAHC, ensure that any given CR is holding to the principle of “evolution not revolution”, and to cross check all CRs for unintended consequences.
- All approved Change Requests are submitted to CDC. Internally, The CDC reviews all change requests through six different CDC Centers and Offices in an approval process that takes approximately two months to complete. It is noted that the CDC is the final decision-making authority on any submitted change request and can reject an approved change request or approve a rejected request.
- This flow chart illustrates the CDC clearance process for each new edition of the MAHC.
- Once the MAHC has cleared all centers and offices within the CDC, the next edition of the MAHC is posted by CDC.
The MAHC Annex Revision Process
Revisions to the MAHC Annex are handled separately from the Change Request review process and are not voted upon as part of the MAHC revision cycle. CRs submitted to change the Annex will be referred to the Annex Revision Committee. This committee will consider these change requests as part of its scope of work and make appropriate Annex revision recommendations to the CDC.