Ad Hoc Committee

[J H Smith]

The Bylaws of the association gives authority to the President to appoint all Committee members.
May the President appoint a Board of Director member as the Chairman to report results of a Committee meeting to the BOD
before a written or verbal report is made to the membership?
What would the process need to be for the Chairman to report to the BOD and the membership together at the bylaws designated time for a monthly regular meeting?

 

[Josh Martin]

May the President appoint a Board of Director member as the Chairman to report results of a Committee meeting to the BOD before a written or verbal report is made to the membership?

 

Maybe. Is this a committee of the board or a committee of the membership?

 

What would the process need to be for the Chairman to report to the BOD and the membership together at the bylaws designated time for a monthly regular meeting?

 

Well, technically, the report will just be to the membership, although board members may happen to be there. If this is a committee of the membership, that's already what's supposed to happen, and a member should raise a Point of Order if someone tries to do otherwise.

 

If it's a committee of the board, the committee would report to the board, and the board would report to the membership.

[J H Smith]

Hi Mr. Martin, thank you for your response. Just a little background on the Ad-Hoc or Special Committee.
At a regular monthly scheduled meeting of the association a member made a motion for a Legislative Committee to research current legislation at the state level for enhancements to the rent control law in the state of Massachusetts for manufactured home communities.

Than report the findings back to the membership with recommendations to be approved by the membership to be submitted to our local state legislators and the Attorney General’s Office to strengthen any present laws or submit a request for a new law(s) which further strengthen protection to the residents of manufactured home communities.

Therefore this is not a Standing Committee.
I believe per your input because the motion was made, duly seconded, discussed and approved by the membership; this is referred to as a Committee of the Membership and not a Committee of the BOD.

You have written in your reply "Well, technically, the report will just be to the membership, although board members may happen to be there. If this is a committee of the membership, that's already what is supposed to happen, and a member should raise a Point of Order if someone tries to do otherwise."

I have no issue with your information. Will you please direct me to the page(s) and line numbers in Roberts Rules of Order newly revised 11th ed. that I may bring to the BOD members which supports your and my interpretation.
Thank you for your assistance.

 

[Gary c Tesser]

Therefore this is not a Standing Committee.

I believe per your input because the motion was made, duly seconded, discussed and approved by the membership; this is referred to as a Committee of the Membership and not a Committee of the BOD..

Here's one stab: it's not about what it's referred to, it's about what it actually is. What it's referred to is a reflection of what it actually is.

(O, I fear I have no citation, unless maybe I go to Desartes)

[Tim Wynn]

The Bylaws of the association gives authority to the President to appoint all Committee members.

May the President appoint a Board of Director member as the Chairman to report results of a Committee meeting to the BOD

before a written or verbal report is made to the membership?

What would the process need to be for the Chairman to report to the BOD and the membership together at the bylaws designated time for a monthly regular meeting?

Nothing in RONR gives the president the power to give the committee any instructions.  If the president has such power, it would have to come from a specific rule of your organization.

A board-of-directors meeting and a meeting of the general membership are two different things, and they should not be taking place at the same time.  Even if they are taking place at the same time, they certainly shouldn't be taking place in the same location.  

 

What are you hoping to accomplish by having the committee present its report to the board?  

[J H Smith]

The Board of Directors unfortunately has little knowledge of Roberts Rules of Order even though it is called out in the bylaws as the parliamentary authority for the association. They have become an autocratic click and want everything including the Committee of the Membership report to be given to them before the membership. Just to determine what content makes it to the membership. They have requested information as to where they may confirm that a committee of the membership has to be read to the membership and not to the BOD first. The BOD members are at the scheduled monthly meetings where the report will be given anyway.

[Josh Martin]

I believe per your input because the motion was made, duly seconded, discussed and approved by the membership; this is referred to as a Committee of the Membership and not a Committee of the BOD.

 

I agree.

 

The Board of Directors unfortunately has little knowledge of Roberts Rules of Order even though it is called out in the bylaws as the parlimentary authority for the association. They have become an autocratic click and want everything including the Committee of the Membership report to be given to them before the membership. Just to determine what content makes it to the membership. They have requested information as to where they may confirm that a committee of the membership has to be read to the membership and not to the BOD first. The BOD members are at the scheduled monthly meetings where the report will be given anyway.

 

"A report of a subordinate board or a committee is an official statement formally adopted by, and submitted in the name of, the reporting body, informing the parent assembly of action taken or recommended, or information obtained" (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 503). In this case, the membership is the parent assembly.