Joshua Katz

I doubt it. The word does not appear, so far as I know, in RONR. Do you have some context?

Probably. I didn't pay much attention to the thread, I just saw your answer that it is a board action.

No, notice would be given by the board member who intends to make the motion, not by you. You can ask a board member to make that motion over lunch, or coffee, or whatever, but that isn't notice. The procedure for giving notice appears in RONR, but I don't have the book handy for a page reference.

Sure, they can do so individually, or the membership can adopt a motion requesting it. The motion to rescind or amend can be used to, well, rescind or amend something already adopted. That is, the board can just throw away the unexecuted portion of the motion, or it can change it. A majority with notice, 2/3 without notice, or a majority of the entire membership (of the board) voting in the affirmative.

Given that it is the board which has this power, it would do so at a board meeting, not a general membership meeting.

There is none. Some organizations, though, adopt agendas (most organizations holding conventions) which do differentiate motions as to their type - a time for consideration of bylaws, a time for elections, etc. These organizations sometimes set a time for "resolutions," by which they commonly mean statements about affairs external to the organization, as well as, well, anything not otherwise covered.

And therein lies my concern - while the process in RONR allows for suspension, we have here a process to be carried out by the board, not the membership. Can the board impose the preliminary disciplinary suspension? My immediate answer is no.

Membership includes the right to vote, so all members must be allowed to vote at special meetings, just like at regular meetings. However, to vote, one must be present. Your original question on that seemed to be whether disciplinary action may be taken at a special meeting when the person to be disciplined is not present - so long as that person knows about the meeting AND what is to be considered, i.e. disciplining him, then yes, the meeting may take such action as is permitted otherwise. One cannot prevent discipline by not showing up. Well, it does say the Board may adopt rules for this hearing, but would you think that denial of a member's right to vote would be included in this authorization? It seems to me that such a denial would need to be in the bylaws directly, not simply in rules authorized by the bylaws.

If there is nothing in your bylaws, it seems to me that the board cannot remove its own members.

What body is it that meets? If it is the membership, then the President cannot turn the meeting into a board meeting. If it's a board meeting, then unless your rules say otherwise, no one has a right to be present other than board members, and the board may decide who, if anyone, may attend other than board members - note that it is the board that may decide this, not the President.

Are you a member of the body meeting?

Well, I suppose you could ask them to stop, if it really bothers you. I'm not sure there's a parliamentary solution to your dilemma.

A board member may make motions during board meetings, yes. Non-board members may not. As to when, it depends on the motion. If you mean an original main motion, then only when no other business is pending and, if an agenda has been adopted, at the appropriate time on the agenda (or via a motion to suspend the rules). If not, then original main motions may be made at the appropriate times in the standard order of business - after a committee report if they arise from it, during new business if they are new business, etc. If you can clarify your question further, we might be able to be of further assistance.

Isn't previous question just as effective in this situation? I prefer to limit use of objection to consideration to cases where there's an issue with considering it because any answer will be bad.

Well, technically it can be - just amend the minutes while pending to remove it. It makes for an incomplete record, of course. If the motion to rescind and expunge from the minutes is itself rescinded, the original motion to do so would still appear in the minutes, as would the motion to rescind that action. At least, I would think. I've only used this motion once.

The board can carry out those disciplinary proceedings the bylaws say it can. So far as we're told, the bylaws don't say the board can suspend these rights. So either it requires a different disciplinary process, or it can't be done at all. Doubtful, but see the provisions specifying that the board has those powers given to it and no others. It would be difficult for RONR to specify all the things the board cannot do, since that is a very long list.

Agreed. As noted, my answer is based only on the information provided. The language in the bylaws could well make the remedies there exclusive; your point is well-taken.

This seems not all that far from the description in law of harmless error, except that the legal equivalent of disciplinary proceedings would be impossible because of absolute judicial immunity.

Interesting. I spent several years as the chair of a board which met monthly, which also involved chairing the annual convention, and chaired a rather contentious committee, and I think I might have used the phrase "for what purpose does the member rise?" 2 or 3 times.

If your bylaws specify a different discipline procedure, then you follow that, yes. "Specify" does include the case where the bylaws say something like "The discipline process in the standing rules is to be followed" or "the board may adopt procedures for use in disciplinary proceedings." However: Then that disciplinary process can only be used for those outcomes it mentions. It cannot be used to suspend fundamental rights; for that, your bylaws are, apparently, silent, and you're back in RONR-land.

The national committee, in fact, has a rule that an RP or PRP will be used for each of its meetings. Probably a nice gig.

I don't know about the Ds, but the Rs, I believe, use the House rules of order (together with their special rules of order) for their convention and RONR for their meetings. The Ls do use RONR for conventions, albeit with several special rules of order. I don't know what the Gs do.

That is what you cannot do. The rights of membership are fundamental, and may only be denied through the disciplinary process if your bylaws do not provide an alternative, which they seem not to do. That process cannot be carried out by the board, but only by the general membership. It's also somewhat complex, but read up on the appropriate chapters in RONR and see what your organization wants to do. Well, this seems like a perfect example of RONR's wisdom in not allowing the board to suspend rights. Accusing the board of not following the bylaws is not an offense, and think of the trouble a board could get into if it can strip people of their rights for making such an accusation. Being a thorn in the side of the board is not (in general) an offense either. It sounds to me, based solely on what you've said, like the membership has no grounds to discipline this member anyway.

If RONR is your parliamentary authority, and your bylaws are silent, then the rights of members may only be suspended via the disciplinary process in RONR. That process is carried out by the general membership, not the board. However, let's clarify a bit. Is the person a board member, and are you talking about board meetings, or general meetings? If the member is not a board member, and you're talking about board meetings, you're in luck - he has no right to attend or participate anyway. Otherwise, though, the board cannot suspend his rights.

Okay, I think I'm getting the picture now. So next question: do these items have ongoing effect? That is, by their nature, do they impact what your organization is doing at the moment? That would be the case if they are rules that you are following, continuing expenditures, etc. If that is the case, and the board never adopted them, either ignore the rules and force someone to raise a point of order, or raise a point of order (one of these will be appropriate depending on the nature of the motions not adopted). If you are a board member, you can do so at a board meeting (or if they are rules having effect outside of a meeting, simply violate them at will to force the issue); if you are not, you can raise a point of order at a membership meeting. Whichever body is presented with the issue will need to determine whether the items were adopted or not. Their absence from the minutes is evidence, but that's all it is; minutes, after all, can be wrong. In short, the way to deal with motions you say were not adopted but other say were depends on the nature of the motions. It's also not entirely clear it matters. You can't raise a point of order to past actions unless they constitute a continuing breach (so, for instance, a point of order to money spent in the past is not timely), and if you prove your case, the board can simply go ahead and adopt the motions in question now. So before you do anything, make sure (my advice anyway) there is a point in doing so.