Guest ARF Posted July 9, 2012 at 02:29 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 02:29 PM Can by-laws govern what happened in the past? If you make a by-law that states you can only hold office for two terms and someoneheld the office for two terms prior to the by-law are they prohibited from running for office again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted July 9, 2012 at 02:59 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 02:59 PM Maybe. It depends on the exact wording in the bylaws (don't post it here because we don't interpret bylaws in this forum). There is a difference between a blanket 2 term limit and a limit of 2 consecutive terms in that a blanket term limit would prevent someone who has reached that limit from being elected but a limit of 2 consecutive terms probably would only prevent them from serving a 3rd consecutive term but they could serve after someone else has served a term. However, it is ultimately up to you all to interpret your bylaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted July 9, 2012 at 03:21 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 03:21 PM Can by-laws govern what happened in the past? If you make a by-law that states you can only hold office for two terms and someoneheld the office for two terms prior to the by-law are they prohibited from running for office again?Yes, but that's not truly an example of governing the past. It's governing what happens in the future, i.e., who is eligible to run next time. Of course it's based on the past, but what isn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Wynn Posted July 9, 2012 at 04:37 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 04:37 PM Can by-laws govern what happened in the past? If you make a by-law that states you can only hold office for two terms and someoneheld the office for two terms prior to the by-law are they prohibited from running for office again?No, for the first sentence, if you mean can a bylaw govern a situation that took place before the bylaw was adopted. Yes, to the second sentence, if you mean that the individual is prohibited from HOLDING office, again. On the other hand, anyone who held office for four terms does not suddenly have his last two terms removed from the history books. See FDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted July 9, 2012 at 11:03 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 11:03 PM I just had a conversation the other day with someone about this exact same subject, and possibly the exact same misconception.Apparently, the (misheld) belief was that if the organization has just implemented bylaws with a term limit ("A person may only hold a particular position on the Board for a maximum of 4 consecutive years"), that meant that the 4 consecutive years started from the time the bylaws are implemented, and not from the time that the person was first elected to the Board. It had never occurred to me that someone might think that was the case, so I thought I'd mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted July 9, 2012 at 11:28 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 at 11:28 PM It had never occurred to me that someone might think that was the case . . .Stick around. You'll be amazed at what some people might think is the case.deGGJr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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