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The Role of a Parliamentarian Outside of Assembly Meetings


Willie Watson

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The role of a parliamentarian during a properly called meeting is very clearly defined on pp. 466-467 in RONR (11th Edition). His role is limited to giving advice to the chair and, when requested to other members. He does not make motions, participate in debate, or vote on any question (except by ballot).  My question has to do with the role of a parliamentarian outside of the confines of an assembly meeting. Isn’t it true that outside of the confines of a meeting the parliamentarian of an organization can give recommendations, participate in debating issues, and as stated in RONR pp. 465, ll. 26-29, can even steer business that has yet to be formally introduced to the assembly. I ask this question because one member of my assembly (who is not the parliamentarian) is telling our parliamentarian, that outside of a meeting that he can only comment on things that are in conflict with the organization’s Bylaws. The member spoke with such an authoritative tongue that I was wondering if any of you have heard of any such thing?

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My answer to this would be that if a parliamentarian is a member of the organization, then outside of meetings he or she has the same rights and responsibilities as any other member.

But if the parliamentarian is hired by the organization, then the people who hired  him or her (usually the Board of Directors) may - and in my experience generally does - determine the role of the parliamentarian outside of meetings. And generally, in my personal experience, those folks are eager for the parliamentarian to help members do things like write good motions, develop strategies for processing business, etc.

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I have to agree with others - the Parliamentarian only has duties at a Board meeting and they are limited.

However, I see no reason why a Parliamentarian, especially when dealing with a novice group (i.e. novice with how to conduct a meeting) should not be made available to members outside the meeting to assist with preparing for meetings.  Perhaps, if the group is novice enough, the Parliamentarian could be contracted to provide assistance through meeting with the members outside of a formal meeting, such as a training session. 

While not a requirement, anything that helps members be better informed at at meeting and helps make the meeting run more efficiently, are good things.

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