Guest Mary Ann Kelly Posted July 31, 2012 at 04:10 AM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 04:10 AM Our organization holds monthly board meetings. Under the bylaws, those meetings are open meeting and all members may attend.At a monthly board meeting, can any member of the organization make a motion or can only a board member make a motion? After a motion is made, who votes on the motion - - just the board members, or all the members of the organization? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted July 31, 2012 at 07:55 AM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 07:55 AM The easy part is, nobody except board members gets to vote at board meetings. Period.The rest might be murky. (Or not.) Under Robert's Rules, members have all rights (that means board members -- only members of the board -- not members of the board's association), and non-members have Zero rights. So if the bylaws allow members of the association to attend, then they only have that right, to sit there silently and observe. NOthing else.(There is a countervailing position, to which I myself happen to be partial, but I'll not burden new Guest Mary Ann Kelly with it. Not at no $4.50 an hour at 4 in the morning, I won't.)(Unless she asks me. I'm such a sucker.)N. B. Boy I like typing those square brackets, with the "i's" and "/i's," to get italics and boldface, over and over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted July 31, 2012 at 12:34 PM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 12:34 PM Agreeing with Mr. Tesser, I would add that the board could allow non-board-members to make motions and to enter into debate by voting to suspend the rules to allow such participation at a particular meeting. Such suspension of the rules could also be very specific (e.g. a motion to allow Jane Doe to make a motion regarding a specific topic) rather than giving sweeping permission to all non-board-members to participate as they see fit during the meeting. To repeat an important point, non-members cannot vote, and cannot be given permission to vote by the board... even if the board unanimously wanted to grant such permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted July 31, 2012 at 01:53 PM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 01:53 PM (There is a countervailing position, to which I myself happen to be partial, but I'll not burden new Guest Mary Ann Kelly with it. Not at no $4.50 an hour at 4 in the morning, I won't.)(Unless she asks me. I'm such a sucker.)Ooh, I'll ask - what is the countervailing position? (not just random curiosity, but actual practical application for me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted July 31, 2012 at 04:18 PM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 04:18 PM View PostGary c Tesser, on 31 July 2012 - 03:55 AM, said:(There is a countervailing position, to which I myself happen to be partial, but I'll not burden new Guest Mary Ann Kelly with it. Not at no $4.50 an hour at 4 in the morning, I won't.)(Unless she asks me. I'm such a sucker.)Ooh, I'll ask - what is the countervailing position? (not just random curiosity, but actual practical application for me)Sorry, sMargaret, my mistake. I was thinking of a remotely related argument, where bylaws allow for "non-voting members," and the question arises as to what happens to their other membership rights. (My apologies also to Original Poster Guest_Mary Ann Kelly_, for cluttering up her discussion thread with extraneous gibberish.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted July 31, 2012 at 10:17 PM Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 at 10:17 PM thank you all. . . I appreciate the guidance. the tip on suspending the rules is helpful too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:00 PM Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:00 PM thank you all. . . I appreciate the guidance. the tip on suspending the rules is helpful tooJust FYI, a vote to suspend the rules takes a two-thirds vote (or unanimous consent will do, if the matter is uncontroversial).edited to eliminate a bunch of nonsense (see Chris H.'s post if you're curious ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:08 PM Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:08 PM Just FYI, a vote to suspend the rules has a higher voting threshold than a regular main motion -- it takes a two-thirds vote without notice OR majority vote with notice OR a majority vote of the entire membership (of the body that is voting -- the board, in your situation).It does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:12 PM Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 at 01:12 PM It does? Gaahhh! Sorry -- it takes a two-thirds vote. Period.I went on autopilot about rescind or ASPA. Thank for pointing out my error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.