Direct Authority of Parent Association

[kimberdyer]

The bylaws of our state association states that councils (regional associations created by 3 or more local associations) are under direct authority of the state association. These councils are formed in the exact same manner as local associations, having a charter, elected officers and board, bylaws, standing rules, individual tax-exempt number, etc.. Our council bylaws, approved by the state association, do NOT include anything that says this council is under direct authority of the state asociation, but includes the authority of the state association to revoke the council's charter and what will happen if that occurs. These exact same words are used in the bylaws of local associations.

My questions are - 1) Does the state association have the right to dictate anything to the councils in our state, or can it only act as an advisory body as it does with local associations? 2) Does the state association have the right to disband or alter the makeup of the councils since it was originally formed by cooperation of local units?

Thank you!

[Guest Edgar]

My questions are - 1) Does the state association have the right to dictate anything to the councils in our state, or can it only act as an advisory body as it does with local associations? 2) Does the state association have the right to disband or alter the makeup of the councils since it was originally formed by cooperation of local units?

The answers to your questions require a thorough reading of all governing documents, something that's beyond the scope of this forum.

[Tim Wynn]

The bylaws of our state association states that councils (regional associations created by 3 or more local associations) are under direct authority of the state association. These councils are formed in the exact same manner as local associations, having a charter, elected officers and board, bylaws, standing rules, individual tax-exempt number, etc.. Our council bylaws, approved by the state association, do NOT include anything that says this council is under direct authority of the state asociation, but includes the authority of the state association to revoke the council's charter and what will happen if that occurs. These exact same words are used in the bylaws of local associations.

My questions are - 1) Does the state association have the right to dictate anything to the councils in our state, or can it only act as an advisory body as it does with local associations? 2) Does the state association have the right to disband or alter the makeup of the councils since it was originally formed by cooperation of local units?

Thank you!

These questions relate to the specific rules of your organization, not to Robert's Rules of Order.

Your answers will be found in the governing documents.

[Trina]

...

2) Does the state association have the right to disband or alter the makeup of the councils since it was originally formed by cooperation of local units?

I agree with the previous posts, in that the answers to your questions lie in your governing documents (at all levels of the organization).

However, I'll comment on the highlighted phrase -- assuming that the state association didn't predate the local units, and that the state association was formed by the local units and presumably given whatever authority it has by those local units -- these facts by themselves would not tell you anything about the relative authority of the state and local bodies NOW (under the governing documents as they currently are written).

By analogy, it is quite possible for a group of people to form a society, and to approve bylaws that give away all of the general membership's innate decision-making authority (including the authority to amend the bylaws) to a board of directors.

[sMargaret]

I'm going to comment on this, as I have a very similar situation with parent advisory councils in a province (not state) - there's the local parent advisory councils (PAC), district parent advisory councils (DPAC), and then a coalition formed from the school-based and district ones.

PACs and DPACs are given their responsibilities and powers through legislation in the School Act. They are autonomous bodies, which means they are self-governing. The authority does not flow downward - it flow upward. The local PACs are members of DPACs, and vote on what the DPACs do. The PACs and DPACs are members of the provincial association, and vote on what that association does.

But that's my association - it depends on what YOUR governing documents say. If your regional association bylaws need to be approved by the state association, then it is quite possible that the state association has authority over the regional associations, but you'll have to read more than just the bylaws to find that out.

[kimberdyer]

Thank you everyone. The information I provided is the ONLY information available. The bylaws are the only governing documents. I know that bylaws supercede Robert's, but thought maybe some other parliamentarians may have come across this because I know our organization can't be the only messed up one since there are at least 53 others exactly like ours.

Trina, thank you. Unfortunately, our unit charters are given by the state organization by authority of the national organization. BUT, national does say that its constituent organizations are self-governed.

sMargaret, our situation sounds like your organization's set-up, with the authority (supposedly) moving upward. But when the state submitted a new set of bylaws for general membership approval, the words "direct authority of ..." were inserted and not disclosed. Although someone should have caught it, 27 pages of bylaws is a bit much to read and retain ever word! Thank you sharing and I think we're going to try and amend the bylaws at the next annual meeting to take back our authority!