Adopting a New Constitution

[Guest Wade]

We are a new organization and a committee has prepared a draft constitution for our group. The draft constitution will be mailed out in advance to members and it will be debated (and hopefully adopted) at our next meeting of the membership. Here is the process we are proposing…

The committee chair will read out each article.

Each article will be considered separately, at which time it will be open to debate and to amendment by majority vote.

After all the articles have been considered and there is no further debate or amendments the entire revision as a whole, including any amendments will be voted on by the membership. A two-thirds vote majority is required for adoption.

Is this a reasonable and correct way to go about adopting a new constitution?

Thanks,

Wade

[jstackpo]

Looks like a fine summary of the steps in Section 54 of RONR!

One slightly technical detail: you don't have any "members" until you, acting as a "mass meeting", have adopted the bylaws which 1) set up an association to join (there was none before), and 2) describe how to become a member. So after the bylaws are adopted, recess the mass meeting, enroll the ("charter") members, call the new association meeting to order, and elect officers, and directors if such are in the bylaws, per those brand new bylaws.

Then have the party!

[Trina]

Note, however, that the adoption of bylaws for a brand new organization only requires majority vote, not two-thirds (RONR 11th ed. p. 559 ll. 21-24).