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Changing time of meeting


Guest LyndaC

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I have copied and pasted Article 4 Section 7 - article 4, sec 7 SECTION 7 NO SUSPENSIONS OF THE BYLAWS – There shall be NO suspension of any MAAD Bylaws or Rules

and Regulations at any time.

Some of us on the board want to change the meeting time from 8am to 9am. Would this be in conflict with this Article 4 Section 7 since we do have it in black and white that our meeting time is 8am

Thanks in advance.

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I have copied and pasted Article 4 Section 7 - article 4, sec 7 SECTION 7 NO SUSPENSIONS OF THE BYLAWS – There shall be NO suspension of any MAAD Bylaws or Rules

and Regulations at any time.

Some of us on the board want to change the meeting time from 8am to 9am. Would this be in conflict with this Article 4 Section 7 since we do have it in black and white that our meeting time is 8am

Thanks in advance.

If the bylaws say 8 AM than the meeting starts then. However, the meeting can be called to order and recessed until 9 AM.

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I agree with Chris H.'s interpretation, however this should only be a short term solution - and in the absence of the President (Chairman) or Vice President (Vice Chairman), any member can be elected Chair pro tem until the 9 a.m.

However, the By-laws should be changed to read that the meeting will be started at 9 a.m. or at a time that is convenient to the Board of Directors. While a provision like this sounds great on paper for the general membership (maintaining control over the Board), it is better for the By-laws to simply state how often the Board is to meet (normally once a month) and leave it up to the Board to handle their own details (i.e. which day of the week and time are the best.)

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I have copied and pasted Article 4 Section 7 - article 4, sec 7 SECTION 7 NO SUSPENSIONS OF THE BYLAWS – There shall be NO suspension of any MAAD Bylaws or Rules and Regulations at any time.

Some of us on the board want to change the meeting time from 8am to 9am. Would this be in conflict with this Article 4 Section 7 since we do have it in black and white that our meeting time is 8am

Does that black-and-white occur in the Bylaws? In the Rules and Regulations? If so, then it can't be suspended. But it could certainly be changed, by the appropriate procedures for amending your bylaws and rules.

The process of Suspension of the Rules, when permissible, allows the assembly to temporarily ignore a rule of order, for the duration of a meeting, without actually going to the trouble of changing it. The rule remains "on the books", but it may be disobeyed for a particular purpose, if agreed to by a 2/3 vote.

If your bylaws won't let you suspend the rules, you can simply follow the rules that deal with amendments, and change the rule from 8:00 to 9:00 permanently. No suspending required.

But if this is just a one-shot deal, follow the advice about calling the meeting to order on time and then moving to Recess it.

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The process of Suspension of the Rules, when permissible, allows the assembly to temporarily ignore a rule of order, for the duration of a meeting, without actually going to the trouble of changing it. The rule remains "on the books", but it may be disobeyed for a particular purpose, if agreed to by a 2/3 vote.

The rule in question is not in the nature of a rule of order anyway.

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Which rule? The time of the meeting? Because that is one I would think is. Especially after reading RONR p 256, lines 26-31, I would think this is in the nature of a rule of order.

Help me out here. What am I missing?

For one thing, you're missing RONR, 10th ed., pg. 18, lines 8-9. If the hour at which a meeting begins is an example of a standing rule, it is not a rule of order. The two categories are mutually exclusive. More importantly, as a practical matter the rule could not possibly be suspended under the rules of RONR. It's not possible to suspend the rules before the meeting has been called to order, and a motion to Suspend the Rules may not be applied to a future session, as this would interfere with the freedom of each new session. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 85, lines 14-20) It would only be in order to suspend the rule after the meeting had begun, but at that point the rule has already been adhered to, and it is not possible to suspend it without a time machine.

If an assembly wishes to delay the meeting to a later time on a case by case basis, this may be accomplished through means of the motion to Recess or to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn, depending on how long of a delay is desired. There is no method under RONR to change the meeting time to an earlier time except by amending the rule. Since amending the Bylaws is often an onerous process, it is probably not wise to place the meeting time in the Bylaws. A standing rule would be more appropriate.

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Aaaaahhh... Think it through. I shoulda thought of that! Thanks for the detailed reply. Very helpful. I think I'm beginning to understand my block on this subject.

Keep focusing on this: Standing rules -"which are related to the details of the administration of a society rather than to parliamentary procedure" (p. 18) when differentiating standing rules with rules of order. The later deals exclusively with parliamentary procedure (duties of officers INSIDE of a meeting, the vote required to adopt motions, an order of business, etc.)

I

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