Overturn one board decision by another board vote required

[Guest Jim]

One board has made a decision. The next seated board finds that decision is no longer valid for what ever reason and wishes to change that decision. What is the required % of votes to overturn the first boards decision. Simple majority? Can the % be set in the bilaws?

[Steven Britton]

First, the "decision," has to be something that has not been fully executed.

If the decision is something in the nature of a standing rule or an item of business not fully executed, without previous notice it takes a two-thirds vote to rescind or amend the decision. With previous notice it would take a majority vote.

If the decision involves parlimentary procedure rules, than previous notice and a two-thirds vote is needed to rescind or amend the decision.

If the item involves something specified in your bylaws. read the bylaws carefully.

< please see Trina's note in post #4; excellent catch, Trina!)

[jstackpo]

And a detail: you don't have "one board" and then "the next board". It is the same board, as defined in the association bylaws; the only thing that changed (in whole or in part) was the people serving on the board.

[Trina]

One board has made a decision. The next seated board finds that decision is no longer valid for what ever reason and wishes to change that decision. What is the required % of votes to overturn the first boards decision. Simple majority? Can the % be set in the bilaws?

Adding to Mr. Britton's answer in the second sentence/paragraph of post #2, such a decision can also be rescinded or amended, without notice, by a majority vote of the entire membership of the body. Since you're asking specifically about procedure in a board, this may well be relevant, since board meetings (as opposed to general membership meetings) are more likely to have a high percentage of members in attendance on a regular basis.

Yes, you could decide to set the % required in the bylaws -- if you write your own rule about how to rescind or amend something previously adopted, the rule in your bylaws would supersede the rule in RONR. But, think carefully before you proceed with such a change (the rule in RONR has had a lot of real-world testing over the years; also, there are a number of pages of detailed description of its application -- pp. 305-310 in the 11th edition). If you really want to roll your own, you'd have to decide if you want to replace those 6 pages with your own rules and details, or perhaps just tweak a few voting thresholds and leave the rest of the rules in place... or something in between.

edited to add:

Looking at your topic title again, I'll echo Dr. Stackpole's comment -- the procedure for rescinding a previous decision is exactly the same, regardless of any change of personnel on the board. If the board adopts a motion at one meeting, and the very same board members decide they are unhappy with their decision the next month, they follow the rules for rescind or amend something previously adopted. If the board adopted a motion in 2008, and a totally different set of board members wants to change that decision in 2012, they must follow the identical rules for rescind or amend something previously adopted.

[Guest Claudette]

I am a very new secretary for our church. We recently made a motion, voted it, then immediately after the issue was voted, someone raised a question about a difference between 2 figures in the treasurer's report that we just voted to accept as read. The Pastor who leads these meetings asked the person who made the motion and the person who seconded it, to both recind their motion and second. Is that correct or what should have been done?

[jstackpo]

The first mistake was moving to "accept" or "adopt" the treasurer's report. See RONR, p. 477, and RONRIB, p. 153.

But you did.

And the second (procedural) error was the Pastor's request to the mover & seconder to "rescind" the motion (that you shouldn't have made in the first place!). It is not up to the mover but up to the assembly to rescind something like that (by a 2/3 vote in the circumstances you describe). See RONR, p. 305, & RONRIB, p. 57. You could also have moved to reconsider the vote since you were still in the same meeting - majority vote.

Next step: Buy a copy of RONRIB for the Pastor.

RONRIB:

"Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief", Updated Second Edition (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group, 2011). It is a splendid summary of all the rules you will really need in all but the most exceptional situations. And only $7.50! You can read it in an evening. Get it at this link.

And finally, this board works best if you ask a new question by starting a new topic.

[Steven Britton]

The first mistake was moving to "accept" or "adopt" the treasurer's report. See RONR, p. 477, and RONRIB, p. 153.

But you did.

And the second (procedural) error was the Pastor's request to the mover & seconder to "rescind" the motion (that you shouldn't have made in the first place!). It is not up to the mover but up to the assembly to rescind something like that (by a 2/3 vote in the circumstances you describe). See RONR, p. 305, & RONRIB, p. 57. You could also have moved to reconsider the vote since you were still in the same meeting - majority vote.

Next step: Buy a copy of RONRIB for the Pastor.

RONRIB:

"Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief", Updated Second Edition (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group, 2011). It is a splendid summary of all the rules you will really need in all but the most exceptional situations. And only $7.50! You can read it in an evening. Get it at this link.

And finally, this board works best if you ask a new question by starting a new topic.

The first mistake was moving to "accept" or "adopt" the treasurer's report. See RONR, p. 477, and RONRIB, p. 153.

But you did.

And the second (procedural) error was the Pastor's request to the mover & seconder to "rescind" the motion (that you shouldn't have made in the first place!). It is not up to the mover but up to the assembly to rescind something like that (by a 2/3 vote in the circumstances you describe). See RONR, p. 305, & RONRIB, p. 57. You could also have moved to reconsider the vote since you were still in the same meeting - majority vote.

Next step: Buy a copy of RONRIB for the Pastor.

RONRIB:

"Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief", Updated Second Edition (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group, 2011). It is a splendid summary of all the rules you will really need in all but the most exceptional situations. And only $7.50! You can read it in an evening. Get it at this link.

And finally, this board works best if you ask a new question by starting a new topic.

And to follow-up with the good doctor's advise:

If Robert's (p. 479) controls, the only report that a treasurer is required to make is an annual treasurer's report. The only action on the annual report that is proper, is if it is unaudited, to refer the report to an audit committee. Check your bylaws or other rules to determine if they require the treasurer to report more frequently than at an annual meeting.