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call to meeting


Kim Goldsworthy

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Hypothetical.

If one's bylaws were to allow for special meetings, then:

Q. Can the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting include one or more of the following instruction?

1.) "We are to approve the Johnson resolution. No negative votes will be allowed."

2.) "A plurality vote will be sufficient for adoption of the Johnson resolution."

3.) "Mrs. Peacock and Prof. Plum cannot vote, since they are conflicted."

4.) "Any motion to 'refer to committee' or 'lay on the table' will not be allowed."

5.) "Debate will limited to two speakers affirmative and two speakers negative."

6.) "Debate will be limited to 3 minutes per speaker."

7.) "A motion 'to suspend the rules' will take a unanimous vote."

8.) "The sergeant-at-arms will set up 7 chairs on the left and 8 chairs on the right, with the chair and secretary in their usual seats."

9.) "Miss Scarlett will provide refreshments."

10.) "A fee for reimbursement for the refreshments will be collected at the door. The fee is mandatory, not optional."

***

Again, are any of the above specifications, instructions, or demands, truly binding on the organization, or on the assembly, if those statement(s) were to appear on the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting?

***

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Hypothetical.

If one's bylaws were to allow for special meetings, then:

Q. Can the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting include one or more of the following instruction?

1.) "We are to approve the Johnson resolution. No negative votes will be allowed."

2.) "A plurality vote will be sufficient for adoption of the Johnson resolution."

3.) "Mrs. Peacock and Prof. Plum cannot vote, since they are conflicted."

4.) "Any motion to 'refer to committee' or 'lay on the table' will not be allowed."

5.) "Debate will limited to two speakers affirmative and two speakers negative."

6.) "Debate will be limited to 3 minutes per speaker."

7.) "A motion 'to suspend the rules' will take a unanimous vote."

8.) "The sergeant-at-arms will set up 7 chairs on the left and 8 chairs on the right, with the chair and secretary in their usual seats."

9.) "Miss Scarlett will provide refreshments."

10.) "A fee for reimbursement for the refreshments will be collected at the door. The fee is mandatory, not optional."

***

Again, are any of the above specifications, instructions, or demands, truly binding on the organization, or on the assembly, if those statement(s) were to appear on the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting?

***

If any of these is tacked on to an appropriate call, the answer is yes, it can be tacked on to an appropriate call.

As best I can determine, however, in such an event none of them would be binding on the assembly at the meeting absent some applicable rule beyond any of those found in RONR.

This silly question seems to indicate that the poster has managed to miss the point of a recent topic of a similarly silly nature.

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As the original poster in the 'recent topic of a similarly silly nature', I can't help being interested in Mr. Goldsworthy's silly question here.

One preliminary point is that none of the hypothetical limitations suggested here would prevent the special meeting from taking action (even if the limitations were considered binding). Yes, the first 7 on the list attempt to limit the manner in which action is taken, but they don't actually prevent action (not in the way that the 'no voting' provision in the other recent thread would do). Thus, I don't think any of these hypothetical limitations would prevent a meeting of a deliberative assembly from taking place.

Once the meeting is off and running, are the hypothetical limitations in the call binding? I don't think so.

I'm still pondering the ways in which the various hypothetical limitations differ from one another... but have to sign off for tonight...

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