Unanimous Consent during Bylaw Revision

[Chip]

If an assembly is considering a revision to the bylaws, and we are considering it by paragraph, is it acceptable/appropriate to ask for unanimous consent on some sections that are simple and likely uncontroversial?

(e.g. the name of the group, the clause re: parliamentary authority, etc.)

I don't think it should be used for anything complex, and I also don't think it should be used if there is ANY debate at all on the issue (other than the initial person from the committee speaking in favor of the section). But for the simple and basic things, it could help us save some time.

I ask the question because obviously bylaws are of critical importance, and I don't want to appear to be rushing through anything.

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

The members will be the judges of what is acceptable for unanimous consent by raising objection or not. A good chairman will not keep asking for consent in the face of repeated objections.

[Dan Honemann]

2 hours ago, Chip said:

If an assembly is considering a revision to the bylaws, and we are considering it by paragraph, is it acceptable/appropriate to ask for unanimous consent on some sections that are simple and likely uncontroversial?

(e.g. the name of the group, the clause re: parliamentary authority, etc.)

I don't think it should be used for anything complex, and I also don't think it should be used if there is ANY debate at all on the issue (other than the initial person from the committee speaking in favor of the section). But for the simple and basic things, it could help us save some time.

I ask the question because obviously bylaws are of critical importance, and I don't want to appear to be rushing through anything.

I trust you understand that, when considering a proposed revision of the bylaws seriatim, although proposed amendments to each paragraph are voted on as they arise during consideration of that paragraph (and so could be adopted by unanimous consent instead), no paragraph, whether amended or not, is voted on individually.

[Chip]

54 minutes ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

I trust you understand that, when considering a proposed revision of the bylaws seriatim, although proposed amendments to each paragraph are voted on as they arise during consideration of that paragraph (and so could be adopted by unanimous consent instead), no paragraph, whether amended or not, is voted on individually.

After you posted this, I went back and re-read the RONR section on consideration by paragraph. I think that somehow I misunderstood how it works (maybe I read something outside of RONR that was wrong). I'd thought that each section was voted on individually, and hadn't realized that it was only amendments that are voted on during the paragraph-by-paragraph consideration.

Is the main purpose of consideration by paragraph so that people don't get overwhelmed with an enormous amount of language to deal with? Or is it more about limits on debate? Or both, or something else?

[Josh Martin]

53 minutes ago, Chip said:

Is the main purpose of consideration by paragraph so that people don't get overwhelmed with an enormous amount of language to deal with? Or is it more about limits on debate? Or both, or something else?

Both. It also helps to ensure an orderly progression in the consideration of the document. Amendments regarding a particular section will be dealt with before moving on to the next section, rather than jumping all over the place.

Edited February 5, 2018 at 08:00 PM by Josh Martin