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Addressing the Board of Directors


BWatson

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There is no such 48-hour notice rule in RONR. However, per RONR, at a meeting of the Board of Directors, non-members (those who are not on the Board) have no rights such as even to attend, or speak. By unanimous consent or majority vote, the Board may allow non-members to attend their meetings, and may also Suspend the Rules to allow non-members to speak (address the Board). Your rules (bylaws, and higher governing documents) may have something to say about this, so it would be good to check them, especially if "sunshine rules" are in effect for the organization.

Where are you getting the 48-hour rule from?

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Firstly, you would have to know when a meeting is going to take place - only members of the group, in this case the Board members are entitled to notice of a Board meeting unless the By-laws state otherwise. Also, only members of the group have the ultimate right to attend, in this case the Board, unless the By-laws state otherwise.

In any case, ask for a specific By-law that deals with the requirement? Then get ahold of a copy of the By-laws to confirm this. It is not in RONR. However, it does sound reasonable to ask for notice. That way the Board knows who is coming - members cannot expect that the Board will spend an entire meeting with presentations from members - they do have other responsibilties to perform and decisons to make.

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I have a copy of the Bylaws that are being presented. I go to every meeting and we have an open session at the beginning of every meeting for members to speak. The Board of Directors said they have to put it in our Bylaws because Roberts Rules said " A member desiring to address the Board of Directors at a regular meeting have to give 48 hours notice prior to the meeting." I wanted to ask because I tried to find it in RONR and could not find it. Thank you for your answer. I really appreciate it.

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Our Board of Directors said it was put in the new bylaws we are voting on because it is Roberts Rules.

Your bylaws supersede RONR, so if and when the bylaw amendment(s) that cover this are adopted, then there you have it. But the 48-hour rule is not found in RONR. You might ask the Board to show you where it says that. Regardless, barring any conflict with applicable law or higher governing documents (i.e. from a parent organization), the bylaws can say whatever the membership (or whoever gets to amend them) agrees for them to say.

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David is correct. Take a copy of RONR's current ection - the 11th, and ask the Board where this rule is. They won't be able to find it. When the By-laws come up for a vote though, you can always offer an amendment (or several) and can move to either remove the notice period, or amend to have a different time frame.

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