Rob Elsman

2012?

Check the index in RONR for the subject, "Assumed Motions". There are several pages that talk about the chair assuming the necessary motion after the reporting member has reported recommendations of a committee. From what the original poster has said, I think it might have been better for the assembly's presiding officer to call on the reporting member to make the proper motion, since the assembly seems unaccustomed to the use of an assumed motion; however, it does seem to me that the assumption of the motion was not improper.

The chair of the "body" acted properly in assuming the motion to adopt the recommendation of the committee. The chair of the assembly refrains from voting except when her vote would affect the result. Ordinarily, the parliamentarian does not collect and count the ballots.

In a "very small board" that follows the more relaxed rules for small boards, it is more likely that the presiding officer can also function as secretary or "scribe", as he is sometimes called. Nothing in RONR prohibits this arrangement; however, care should be taken that the combined responsibilities are not too onerous.

This rule is not suspendable.

Okay. I think I'm a little clearer about your organization, now. As I understand it, your organization is a "Patriotic Organization" under Title 36 of the United States Code, a federally chartered organization. Usually, it is not recommended to repeat the same rules in two different documents, since a change in one will render the other obsolete. In your case, any future federal legislation that amended the relevant chapter in 36 USC would render the duplicate text in the constitution obsolete. Were it me, I would be questioning why the duplication. Unless there is some compelling answer, I might be in favor of amending the constitution to remove the duplication, perhaps simply making an inclusion by reference, if necessary.

Dr. Stackpole, I suggest a more careful reading of p. 313.

See RONR (11th ed.), p. 313.

Did the committee's chairman have a copy of the society's parliamentary authority (RONR, 11th ed.?) in hand at the meeting? You can see from your own experience why this would be important.

Once the subcommittee has completed its assignment and made its final report to its parent committee, it is automatically "dissolved", as you say. No further motion is necessary or proper to put the subcommittee out of business.

No, the executive director is not a voting member of the executive board and is not included for purposes of a quorum.

What is the organization's parliamentary authority? Is the answer also found in the United States Code? Can you provide a citation?

I think you need the help of an attorney. It does puzzle me, though, how you thought you would discharge your fiduciary responsibilities by signing an important document that you did not understand. But, as they say, better late than never. Get with an attorney.

A deliberative assembly is generally considered to have freedom of action.

RONR does not go into detail on the audit procedures, since the audit is conducted outside the context of a business meeting.

The responsibility for electing a competent presiding officer rests with the electors. The assembly will merely reap what it has sown.

The more complete answer to the question whether the subsidiary motion, Postpone to a Certain Time, can be applied when the incidental motion, Appeal, is immediately pending is found in RONR (11th ed.), pp. 256, 257. The correct answer depends on whether the appeal is debatable and whether the appeal adheres to another pending question or questions. I'm afraid that the correct answer in your situation cannot be definitively given on the basis of the facts that you have provided.

A subsidiary motion to Lay on the Table is not in order if the purpose is to postpone a question to the next meeting.

See Chapter XX in RONR (11th ed.).

I really can't buy into much of what you've said. RONR only deals with the duties of the presiding officer in the context of a business meeting (or that part of another meeting in which business is transacted). For a complete understanding of all the president's duties, all the governing documents and orders of the society must be consulted.

The expulsion of a member requires either a trial and two-thirds vote or the operation of some provision in the governing documents. RONR does not address members' appointment of the presiding officer to act as agent for the society. I think you need to seek an attorney's help with that.

RONR does not prohibit either the president or the chairman of the executive board from being members of the nominating committee.

I agree that the House has 15 "voting members". As you say, a candidate must currently garner eight votes under your rule, which seems to require a vote of the majority of the entire membership, not just a majority vote. Were it ever to happen that no candidate received a vote of the majority of the entire membership, another round of voting would be necessary. This procedure would repeat until someone (perhaps, even a "dark knight") garnered the necessary votes.

They are your bylaws; you tell us.

Just for the record, the tax status of a society does not affect the application of the rules in RONR.