president, vp, sec, treasurer changed a motion that was made by the members, seconded and voted on. is this proper?

[Guest Anita fariina]

Can the officers of an organization change a motion that was made, seconded and voted affirmative by the members of the organization?

[jstackpo]

Nope.

Unless the bylaws give the officers, collectively, the authority/power to do so.

So, guess what -- read your bylaws carefully.

[Tim Wynn]

Can the officers of an organization change a motion that was made, seconded and voted affirmative by the members of the organization?

RONR doesn't give any officer that power. Unless your bylaws provide these officers with such authority (which is unlikely), then no change has been made. The motion, as adopted, represents the official decision of the assembly to take certain action.

[Robert B Fish]

At the next meeting, you should raise a point of order that the motion passed has been changed. Let the chairman rule on your point of order and be prepared to appeal his/her ruling if you do not agree.

You might hear that they engaged in a process some call "smoothing" whereby they rework the motion to something they feel sounds better. This is also not allowed since the chairman has the duty to correctly state the motion just peior to the vote and whatever he states IS the motion, even if he later discovers he wished they had passed something different.

You might also hear that the motion now reflects the intent of the body, a version they felt it would have been passed if the assembly had just thought better. Again, they do not have this authority.

However, you might find they have discovered a legitimate concern and, after your point of order is settled, they will move to amend/rescind the earlier motion. That is entirely proper. (2/3 vote without notice, majority vote with notice or a majority of the entire membership).

If they continue taking actions that exceed their authority as given in the bylaws, see FAQ#20.

-Bob