Committee responsibilithy

[Guest John Season]

Can the Board of Directors vote to direct a committee to change a rule?

[Richard Brown]

40 minutes ago, Guest John Season said:

Can the Board of Directors vote to direct a committee to change a rule?

Are you referring to a rule of procedure concerning the way the Committee conducts business? If not, what type rule are you referring to?

Edited to add:  The following language from pages 500-501 of RONR regarding committee procedures might be helpful:

"Committees of organized societies operate under the bylaws, the parliamentary authority, and any special rules of order or standing rules of the society which may be applicable to them. A committee may not adopt its own rules except as authorized in the rules of the society or in instructions given [page 501] to the committee by its parent assembly in a particular case. If a standing or special committee is so large that it can function best in the manner of a full-scale assembly, it should be instructed that the informalities and modifications of the regular rules of parliamentary procedure listed for small boards on pages 487–88 are not to apply to its proceedings."

So, the question of whether your board can direct a committee to change a rule, or whether the board can change the rule for the committee on its own, depends on the authority granted to your board by your bylaws.  The society itself clearly can adopt rules or instructions applicable to committees, but that does not necessarily mean that your board can do the same thing.

Edited April 20, 2017 at 02:43 PM by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph

[Transpower]

The board can direct a committee to research and propose a new standing rule for the board--but only the board itself can adopt or reject it.

 

[Alexis Hunt]

54 minutes ago, Transpower said:

The board can direct a committee to research and propose a new standing rule for the board--but only the board itself can adopt or reject it.

 

Unless the committee has authority (either on a standing basis or a one-off) to do so. If it's a committee of the membership and not the Board, moreover, the Board may not have any authority over it.