1.1.1consensus, n — the judgment arrived at through the balloting and review procedures of these regulations.

1.1.2member, n — an individual or an organization (or a primary division of an organization) that subscribes to the purposes of the Society, and maintains an active Society membership.

1.2.1Technical Committees that submit standards to ANSI for approval as American National Standards shall also comply with the ANSI Essential Requirements.

1.4.1Appeals procedures are available to all interests.

2.1.1standard, n — as used in ASTM International, a document that has been developed and established within the consensus principles of the Society and that meets the approval requirements of ASTM procedures and regulations.

2.2.1classification, n — a systematic arrangement or division of materials, products, systems, or services into groups based on similar characteristics such as origin, composition, properties, or use.

2.2.2guide, n — a compendium of information or series of options that does not recommend a specific course of action.

2.2.3practice, n — a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations that does not produce a test result.

2.2.4specification, n — an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, system or service.

2.2.5terminology, n — a document comprising definitions of terms; explanations of symbols, abbreviations, or acronyms.

2.2.6test method, n — a definitive procedure that produces a test result.

2.2.7Other types (forms) of documents, such as matrixes, charts, tables, reference radiographs, and reference photographs are relatively few and do not require specific definition. Use of such forms and types of documents should be decided upon by the sponsoring technical committees with approval from the Committee on Standards (COS).

3.1.1balance, n — in a classified committee or subcommittee, when the combined number of voting user, consumer, and general interest members equals or exceeds the number of voting producer members.

3.1.2executive subcommittee, n — a group of committee members, which includes a committee's officers, established to provide direction to a committee.

3.2.1Balance must be achieved before any standards are brought before a classified subcommittee or main committee for ballot.

3.5.1Statement of scope.

3.5.2Qualifications for membership, procedures for acceptance of members, and requirements for continuation of membership.

3.5.3On classified committees, a statement as to the method used for classification of voting interests.

3.5.4Procedure for nomination and election or appointment of officers of the committee and members of the executive subcommittee.

3.5.5Duties and responsibilities of the elected officers.

3.5.6Rules for the conduct of business and meetings, rules pertaining to proxies, and the requirements for a quorum.

3.5.7Duties, responsibilities, and composition of the executive subcommittee including the strategic planning function.

3.5.8Procedures for the operation of subcommittees to include a method of establishing the subcommittee, the subcommittee's scope, the appointment of officers and their tenure of office, and for submitting reports or minutes.

3.5.9Reference to the appropriate sections of these regulations concerning procedures for actions on standards.

3.5.10Procedures for amending the committee bylaws.

3.6.1Committees are merged or discharged by the Board of Directors. This may occur if the purpose of the committee would be better served in another existing main committee, upon completion of the work for which the committee was established, or as a result of inactivity.

3.6.2Determination of Inactivity — A committee is considered inactive if it fails to initiate new standardization activities, keep its standards up to date, hold meetings, or promote other activities that are consistent with the purpose of the Society. The ASTM staff will provide COTCO with an annual report on the status of technical committees.

3.6.3If a committee is inactive by the foregoing criteria and has not requested merger or discharge, COTCO will initiate an investigation which may lead to the following actions:

3.6.4If the Board approves the merger or discharge of a committee, the following actions will be taken:

4.1.1Applications are reviewed and provisions for official voting and assignment of classification (on a classified committee) are made by the membership secretary with review and approval by the executive subcommittee (follow Sections 6 and 7).

4.3.1Denial of membership, assignment of classification (on a classified subcommittee or main committee) and voting interest, and provisions for official voting on a subcommittee or main committee may be appealed to the committee’s executive subcommittee and then, if necessary, to COTCO.

4.6.1Affiliate members shall be considered for approval by the executive subcommittee, and reapproved on an annual basis.

5.1.1The committee member may appeal first to the executive subcommittee and then, if necessary, to COTCO for consideration of reinstatement of the official vote.

5.2.1 The subcommittee member may appeal to the subcommittee chair and then, if necessary, to the committee's executive subcommittee for consideration of reinstatement of the official vote.

6.1.1official vote, n — in a committee or subcommittee, one cast by an official voting member on a ballot or motion, and that is used for calculating the numerical voting requirements of these regulations.

6.1.2voting interest, n — an organization, a subsidiary of an organization, or an unassociated individual member having a distinctly separate interest from any other interest with regard to the scope of a committee or subcommittee.

6.1.3subsidiary, n — of an organization, an operational unit that functions in a nearly autonomous fashion.

6.1.4official voting member, n — of a committee or subcommittee, a member who has the official vote on ballots and motions concerned with ASTM standards.

6.1.5non-official voting member, n — of a committee or subcommittee, a member whose votes and comments on all ballots or motions shall be fully considered, but whose votes are not included in the calculation of the numerical voting requirements for standards.

6.2.1The ballots submitted by all members shall be counted in administrative actions, such as election of officers and amendments to bylaws.

6.3.1The member’s voting interest already has been granted one official vote.

6.3.2Acceptance will create an imbalance on classified committees or subcommittees.

6.3.3The member’s vote has been terminated as a result of the provisions in Section 5.

7.1.1Producer — A member who represents a voting interest that produces or sells materials, products, systems, or services covered in the committee or subcommittee scope.

7.1.2User — A member who represents a voting interest that purchases or uses materials, products, systems, or services other than for consumer use (See 7.1.3) covered in the committee or subcommittee scope provided that the member could not also be classified as a producer.

7.1.3Consumer — A member who primarily uses, purchases or represents those who use or purchase products and services for personal or non-commercial use within the committee or subcommittee scope.

7.1.4General Interest — A member who cannot be categorized as a producer, user, or consumer.

7.2.1A member serving as a consultant retained by a voting interest, whereby the arrangement includes representing it on an ASTM committee or subcommittee, shall be considered the same classification and voting interest as that by which the member is retained

7.2.2A member serving as a consultant for multiple voting interests of exclusively the same classification shall be classified in accordance with those voting interests’ principal business activities.

7.3.1A trade association for multiple organizations of exclusively the same classification shall be classified in accordance with those organizations’ principal business activities.

7.3.2A trade association consisting of a single member organization shall have the same classification and voting interest as that member organization.

8.2.1General Classification System —  Each member of a committee or subcommittee has one classification in accordance with Section 7.

8.2.2Multiple Classification System — Each member of a committee or subcommittee has two or more classifications in accordance with Section 7. Multiple classification of committee members may be used when balance cannot be achieved on the main committee under the general classification system, for example, when several products or services are listed in the scope of the committee. The multiple classification system allows the executive subcommittee to classify committee members into two or more groups, each addressing a separate part of the scope. These groups shall then be balanced.

8.2.3Other Classification Systems — A committee may adopt its own system for classification, with the approval of COTCO.

9.5.1 To vote via proxy at a subcommittee or main committee meeting, an official voting member shall designate any member from the applicable subcommittee or main committee or an individual from the official voting member’s voting interest (see Section 6 on Definitions).

9.5.2To vote via proxy, an official voting member shall personally contact the individual whom the member wishes to exercise the proxy and shall complete a duly executed ASTM International proxy form provided in Appendix C.

9.5.3The signed and duly executed ASTM International proxy form shall be mailed, e-mailed as a scanned attachment, faxed by the official voting member or hand delivered by the proxy holder to the chair of each committee or subcommittee prior to the applicable meeting or action.

9.5.4An ASTM International proxy form may be used to designate a proxy for meetings of a single main committee and all, or some, of its subcommittees. A single proxy form cannot designate proxies for meetings of multiple main committees.

9.5.5The solicitation of proxies from official voting members is prohibited. Solicited proxies will not be accepted.

9.5.6No voting interest shall hold or exercise proxies for more than one official voting member in any subcommittee or main committee meeting.

10.1.1adjunct, n — data or material that supplements and supports a standard which due to its size, volume, physical makeup, or nature, is not included in the text of a standard, but is made available separately.

10.1.2task group, n — an ad-hoc group operating in an unofficial capacity for the subcommittee for a specific activity.

10.2.1Task groups are established by the subcommittee chair or by majority approval of the official voting members of the subcommittee either at a meeting or by ballot.

10.3.1 Approval of New Standards and Revisions of New Standards.

10.3.2 Revision of Standards.

10.3.3 Withdrawal of Standards.

10.4.1Reapproval of Standards — If approved by a motion passed by the subcommittee, or by authorization of the subcommittee chair, reapprovals shall be issued to main committee ballot and Society Review (follow Section 12 and 13).

10.5.1Responsibility for assigning subcommittee jurisdiction of a standard resides with the executive subcommittee of the originating technical committee.

10.5.2Responsibility for the jurisdiction of a standard resides with the originating technical subcommittee.

10.6.1Coordination with Other Committees — In the development of standards, the committee should maintain liaison representation and cooperation with other committees when mutual interests or possible conflicts exist. The committee shall provide review of its standards to other related or interested committees or to committees offering particular expertise on sections of standards if requested.

10.6.2Revisions to Standards — Revisions can be proposed at any time and shall be considered by the responsible subcommittee.

10.6.3Frequency of Review — A standard should be reviewed in its entirety by the responsible subcommittee and shall be balloted for reapproval, revision (in part or in its entirety), or withdrawal within five years of its last approval date. If the standard has not received a new approval date by December 31 of the eighth year since the last approval date, the standard will be withdrawn, unless there are unresolved main committee negative votes (see Section 10.6.3.1).

10.6.4Editorial Changes — Editorial changes may be made at any time without a requirement for ballot.

10.7.1A single page for each withdrawn standard shall appear for three years in the printed volume of the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, providing the title, scope, former committee jurisdiction, reason for withdrawal, any replacement, and the date of withdrawal.

10.10.1The production of adjuncts is the responsibility of ASTM. Inform ASTM Headquarters prior to balloting adjuncts so that it can be determined if the adjunct can be developed.

10.10.2An adjunct shall be available at the time of publication of the standard.

11.1.1Subcommittee chairs or their designees are authorized to initiate and conduct a subcommittee ballot. A ballot may also be authorized by a motion passed by a majority ¹ of official voting members at a subcommittee meeting.

11.1.2The ballot shall indicate a closing date, which shall be not less than 30 days after the issue date, or as soon thereafter as a 60% return is achieved.

11.1.3Each ballot item shall be accompanied by a rationale. The ballot item and rationale shall be sent to the staff manager at ASTM Headquarters.

11.2.1An affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the combined affirmative and negative votes cast by official voting members is required with not less than 60% of the official voting members returning ballots.

11.2.2All statements from non-members of the subcommittee will be forwarded to the responsible technical subcommittee for consideration and the non-member will be notified of this action. These statements do not affect the outcome of the ballot.

11.2.3All ballots received after the closing date, or as soon thereafter as a 60% return is achieved, will be considered as not having been returned and may affect voting status (see Section 5). All statements accompanying these ballots will be forwarded to the subcommittee for information and the voter will be notified of this action.

11.3.1All written statements accompanying ballots received prior to the closing date, or as soon thereafter before a 60% return is achieved, shall be considered.

11.3.2 Negative Votes:

11.4.1A negative vote may be withdrawn by the negative voter at any time, unless the item is removed from ballot. A withdrawn negative vote allows the item to proceed, in the absence of an unresolved or a persuasive negative vote. A withdrawn negative vote is counted as affirmative unless specified by the voter as an abstention.

11.4.2Negative votes received on subcommittee ballots shall be acted upon either (1) at a meeting of the subcommittee, or (2) by ballot of the subcommittee. Section 11.1.1 provides for authorization of subcommittee ballots on negative votes. (For motions for handling negative votes see Section 11.4.3). The written statements accompanying the negative votes are available to the subcommittee members prior to a subcommittee action on those negative votes.

11.4.3 Motions for Handling Negative Votes:

11.4.4 Removal of Item from Ballot:

11.4.5Documentation of Actions on Negatives — Actions on all negative votes including the vote record and accompanying subcommittee reasons shall be recorded in the subcommittee minutes. The negative voters shall be notified of these actions.

11.5.1When an item has been successfully balloted, the subcommittee shall submit the item with its rationale for main committee ballot. The submittal shall include: (1) the numerical results of the subcommittee ballot, (2) the name and affiliation of all negative voters, (3) the statements accompanying negative ballots, and (4) the disposition of all negative votes including reasons.

11.5.2A subcommittee chair may, with the approval of the main committee chair, submit an item to main committee ballot prior to subcommittee consideration of subcommittee negative votes on that item. The submittal shall include items (1), (2), and (3) of 11.5.1 and the subcommittee chair's reasons for proceeding in this manner.

11.6.1Issuance of a Concurrent Ballot — Ballots for revisions and withdrawals, or new standards that have undergone at least one subcommittee ballot, can be issued concurrently. On concurrent ballots, the main committee ballot return serves also as the subcommittee ballot return. A ballot of the subcommittee and the main committee may be issued concurrently when approved by the main committee chair or by a majority ² of the main committee members either at a main committee meeting or by ballot and by the subcommittee chair or by a majority² of the subcommittee members either at a subcommittee meeting or by ballot. Each concurrent ballot item shall be accompanied by a rationale. Concurrent ballots shall not be issued for initial balloting of new standards unless the conditions as outlined in Section 11.7 are met.

11.6.2Negative Votes on Concurrent Ballots — In concurrent ballots, subcommittee, main committee and Society negative votes shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of 12.4.

11.7.1To meet a demand for more rapid issuance of specific new standards, such as an emergency situation, regulatory requirement, or other special circumstance, permission for the initial balloting of new standards concurrently requires an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the combined affirmative and negative votes cast by official voting members of the subcommittee either at a meeting or by ballot, and approval by the main committee chair.

11.7.2The ballot item shall be accompanied by a rationale for balloting concurrently and background information regarding the proposed ballot action.

11.7.3Subcommittee, main committee, and Society negative votes shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of 11.4. No further action is required by the main committee.

11.7.4If a reballot is necessary, follow 11.7.2 and 11.7.3.

12.1.1Upon completion of a subcommittee ballot, each item that has been approved in accordance with the requirements of Section 11 shall be submitted to ASTM Headquarters for ballot of the main committee. All main committee ballots shall be conducted by ASTM Headquarters.

12.1.2The ballot shall indicate a closing date, which shall be not less than 30 days after the issue date, or as soon thereafter as a 60% return is achieved.

12.1.3The main committee ballot shall include the information required in 11.5 or 11.6.

12.2.1An affirmative vote of at least 90% of the combined affirmative and negative votes cast by official voting members is required with not less than 60% of the official voting members returning ballots.

12.2.2All statements from non-members of the society will be forwarded to the responsible technical subcommittee for consideration and the non-member will be notified of this action. These statements do not affect the outcome of the ballot.

12.2.3All ballots received after the closing date, or as soon thereafter as a 60% return is achieved, will be considered as not having been returned and may affect voting status (see Section 5). All statements accompanying these ballots will be forwarded to the subcommittee for information and the voter notified of this action.

12.4.1A negative vote may be withdrawn by the negative voter at any time, unless the item is removed from ballot. A withdrawn negative vote allows the item to proceed, in the absence of an unresolved or a persuasive negative vote. A withdrawn negative vote is counted as affirmative unless specified by the voter as an abstention.

12.4.2Negative Votes Not Previously Considered — Negative votes received on main committee or concurrent ballots shall be first considered by the subcommittee that initiated the ballot item in accordance with 11.4.2 and then by the main committee or concurrently by the subcommittee and the main committee. The ballot includes the date and place of the next committee meeting.

12.4.3If substantive changes are to be made, the revised document shall be reballoted at all levels.

12.5.1When a main committee (or Society) negative vote introduces the same reasons as those contained in a subcommittee negative vote which was previously considered and found not persuasive or not related by the subcommittee, the subcommittee chair may recommend that further consideration of the negative by the subcommittee is not required provided that the voting requirements specified in 11.2 and 12.2 have been met. The subcommittee chair shall report this determination to the subcommittee at its next meeting. The subcommittee’s non-persuasive action must be upheld by the main committee in order to be approved. The required documentation includes (1) the statement accompanying the negative vote, (2) consideration given by the subcommittee, and (3) the subcommittee's and main committee's votes on the action. The documentation shall have been included in minutes from a previous subcommittee meeting and attached to the ballot item.

12.5.2When a main committee (or Society) negative vote introduces the same reasons as those contained in a main committee (or Society) negative vote which was previously considered and found not persuasive or not related by the subcommittee and upheld by the main committee, the subcommittee chair may recommend that further consideration of the negative is not required provided that the voting requirements specified in 11.2 and 12.2 have been met. The subcommittee chair shall report this determination to the subcommittee and the main committee at their next meetings. The required documentation includes (1) the statement accompanying the negative vote, (2) consideration given by the subcommittee, and (3) the subcommittee's and main committee's votes on the action. The documentation shall either have been included in minutes from a previous subcommittee meeting or attached to the ballot item.

15.1.1The committee shall include with the ballot a statement of willingness to consider alternatives and a request for identification of alternatives to patented items. If an alternative(s) is identified, the committee shall reconsider whether the patented item is required and, if not, reference to the patented item will be removed.

15.2.1If the committee determines that an alternative exists, the reference to the patented item, by name and number, shall be deleted from the standard by ballot.

15.2.2References to patented items in ASTM standards shall comply with Section F3 of the Form and Style for ASTM Standards.

18.1.1Disbursement — ASTM Headquarters will make Disbursement with the approval of the committee chair and authorization by the executive subcommittee in accordance with the Society Regulations Governing Finance. ASTM Headquarters shall provide a financial statement annually to the committee.

18.1.2Voluntary Contributions — Payment of voluntary contributions as authorized in this section shall not be required as a condition of committee membership, committee meeting attendance, or participation in committee work.

18.1.3Salaries and Fees—Committees shall not pay salaries or professional fees in any form to any committee or subcommittee officer to carry out the responsibilities of their ASTM activities.

18.2.1Proposal Preparation — Committees that identify the need to raise funds in order to support special projects shall follow the Guidelines for Fund Solicitation and Management of Funded Projects which may be obtained from ASTM Staff. All such committee funds shall be deposited with the Society and accounted for by ASTM Staff.

19.1.1ASTM and its members are subject to federal (including Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and Robinson-Patman Act), state, and possibly antitrust/competition laws of countries other than the US. It is important for ASTM members and employees to be aware that they may be held liable for antitrust conspiracy by merely attending a meeting with inappropriate discussion (i.e. illegal price-fixing) even if not an active participant. See Section 19.2.2.5 for additional information. ASTM meeting attendees should formally object whenever an inappropriate topic for an ASTM meeting is engaged.

19.1.2In carrying out its standardization objectives, it is ASTM's policy, to which no exception is made, that all ASTM activities shall be conducted in strict conformity with applicable antitrust laws. ASTM will not condone any violation of its policy in this regard, and any member or employee who violates such policy will be subject to expulsion or discharge from ASTM.

19.2.1Membership — Membership in ASTM or a committee shall not be denied to any qualified company or individual. No person shall be unreasonably excluded from participating in ASTM activities. (See Regulations Sections 4.3 and 4.4)

19.2.2 Meetings.

19.2.3Record Retention — ASTM has a formal record retention policy for its official records. Records should reflect a factual, objective and business-like account of the activities of ASTM without retaining insignificant or outdated information. Notes taken at meetings and drafts of documents are discarded.

19.2.4Official ASTM Communications — All official ASTM correspondence, on ASTM letterhead, by anyone in any official ASTM capacity, must comply with the Regulations, Section 16. Any official ASTM communication being proposed as an ASTM position (email, letter, telecommunication, etc.), must first be reviewed and approved by ASTM staff.

19.2.5Standards — Neither ASTM nor any committee, subcommittee or task group thereof shall make any effort to bring about the standardization of any product or service for the purpose or with the effect of (a) preventing the manufacture or sale of any product or service not conforming to a specified standard or (b) artificially (without legitimate business justification) inflating the price at which a product or service may be offered for sale or sold.