Non-voting Ex-Officio members and introducing motions

[Guest Laurel Holmstrom]

In our by-laws, most of our ex-officio members are non-voting. Do those members still have the right to introduce motions? Cannot find this in my copy of RONR.

Many thanks,

Laurel Holmstrom

Sonoma State University

Academic Senate

[George Mervosh]

The rights of non-voting members are not listed in RONR. View the principles of interpretation of bylaws found in RONR if you find it necessary, but why not just follow whatever custom has been established by the Academic Senate regarding this issue? You can always codify their rights by amending the bylaws at a later date, if need be.

[Gary Novosielski]

In our by-laws, most of our ex-officio members are non-voting. Do those members still have the right to introduce motions? Cannot find this in my copy of RONR.

You won't, because voting is one of the fundamental rights of membership. RONR only deals with one type of member--the kind that has the right to attend meetings, make motions, participate in debate, and vote.

So, if your bylaws create other types of membership, they should enumerate what rights those types of members have, and do not have. If the bylaws are ambiguous, then the assembly as a whole must decide what they are supposed to mean.