Guest Board Member Posted May 2, 2011 at 02:31 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 02:31 AM I am a Board member of a non-profit daycare. We are amending our bylaws. A bylaw committee proposed amendments which the full board endorsed. The proposals are now going before the membership at the AGM. Notice was given as per the current bylaws and included text of current and proposed sections being amended. My question is whether each amendment must be discussed and voted on individually. Or could we discuss changes in their totality and make one motion to approve them? There are a large number of amendments. The current bylaws do not contemplate this.Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted May 2, 2011 at 02:52 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 02:52 AM I am a Board member of a non-profit daycare. We are amending our bylaws. A bylaw committee proposed amendments which the full board endorsed. The proposals are now going before the membership at the AGM. Notice was given as per the current bylaws and included text of current and proposed sections being amended. My question is whether each amendment must be discussed and voted on individually. Or could we discuss changes in their totality and make one motion to approve them? There are a large number of amendments. The current bylaws do not contemplate this.Thanks.Each amendment should be considered and voted on separately to provide the fullest possible opportunity for deliberation. See RONR (10th ed.), §57, pp. 573ff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Board Member Posted May 2, 2011 at 04:27 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 04:27 AM Ok, each amendment gets discussed separately. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted May 2, 2011 at 04:41 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 04:41 AM [snip]Rob, if what works best for this organization is that they consider and vote on all the amendments together (o just some), do you think it is prohibited? The original poster, Guest Board member, did say "must" vs. "could." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mingo999 Posted May 2, 2011 at 07:59 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 07:59 AM If I may piggyback...I have the same question, but regarding our 18-page long set of bylaws, which were refreshed this year by a newly formed Governance Committee, so that they now reflect gender neutrality and and a more up-to-date vocabulary. These changes do not impact the meaning of any of our by-laws in any way. How do we advise the members of these changes when we issue our AGM announcement to 700 members? Do we need to issue 700 sets of the 18-pages of by-laws, or can we issue a sample of the changes and advise that this was done throughout the document? At the AGM, can we vote on the wholesale changes? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted May 2, 2011 at 09:57 AM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 09:57 AM UPon some reflection, and some refreshing dreaming about feeding the crocodiles (think: refractory board members), I'm thinking that not only is there no prohibition on gross consideration of any or all the proposals, it is described as a ligitimate option (p. 574).For Mingo, I think that substituting would be a valid, satisfactory way to go about it (p. 574), preferable, I suggest, to offering a complete revision (p. 575). Be sure to read up on substituting itself (RONR, Section 12).Of course, if there's anything that I might suggest be prohibited to Mingo's and Guest Board Member's organizations, it is that they proceed without even bothering to read the appropriate material in The Book. OKay, thank you, David (post 7, below). Yes, the above is my response to Mingo (post #5 in this thread), not anything written by Mingo at all.[Edited to try to untangle mess. Too embarrassed even to fix typo.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted May 2, 2011 at 01:07 PM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 01:07 PM Gary, when you come back, maybe you could edit your message so it isn't a quote of Mingo, which it isn't? Just a thought .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted May 2, 2011 at 03:10 PM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 03:10 PM Gary, when you come back, maybe you could edit your message so it isn't a quote of Mingo, which it isn't? Just a thought ....Aw gleepsite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted May 2, 2011 at 06:07 PM Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 at 06:07 PM My question is whether each amendment must be discussed and voted on individually. Or could we discuss changes in their totality and make one motion to approve them? There are a large number of amendments. The current bylaws do not contemplate this.If the amendments are proposed as isolated changes (which seems to be the case), it would be advisable to discuss and vote on them individually. Approving them all in a single motion would be acceptable only if no member objects. If it is proposed as a revision, each section of the Bylaws is opened to amendment and debate separately, followed by debate and amendment on the entire document, and then a single vote is taken on the entire document.How do we advise the members of these changes when we issue our AGM announcement to 700 members? Check the amendment process in your Bylaws regarding notice.Do we need to issue 700 sets of the 18-pages of by-laws, or can we issue a sample of the changes and advise that this was done throughout the document? I think the latter strategy would be sufficient notice in this instance.At the AGM, can we vote on the wholesale changes? If the amendments are proposed as isolated changes, approving them all in a single motion would be acceptable only if no member objects. If it is proposed as a revision, which seems advisable in this instance, each section of the Bylaws is opened to amendment and debate separately, followed by debate and amendment on the entire document, and then a single vote is taken on the entire document. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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