Standing committee's authority to act with 'specific instructions'

[Sean Hunt]

What constitutes a 'specific instruction' on p. 491 for the distinction of when a standing committee must in fact be given power by a special rule of order? Is a standing rule giving a standing committee power over a very narrow set of affairs (such as "has the authority to hire a janitor and, should the previous janitor resign, hire a replacement as necessary") permissible, or does the 'specific' mean that every instance of the use of the power must effectively be approved?

[Burke Balch]

Your example seems to me a case of "standing authority to act for the society on matters of a certain class" (RONR [11th ed.], p. 491, ll. 13-15 -- namely janitor employment, and therefore to require a special rule of order (or a specific provision in the bylaws) to constitute the committee. If the committee was given authority to hire a janitor in a single instance, that might be a "specific instruction" that would permit the committee to be have been established by a standing rule. Here, however, whenever the post of janitor becomes vacant at any time in the future, the committee may hire a replacement without specific instructions. Sounds like a clear case of "standing authority."