Guest John Posted February 15, 2013 at 02:33 AM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 02:33 AM Since a new Executive Board has been in place, five (5) new By-Laws have been voted in. It's been discovered that the Board didn't allow the entire membership to view the proposals prior to voting them in. One By-Law involved the annual elections. If the By-Law is null & void, are the election results also null & void? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 15, 2013 at 04:52 AM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 04:52 AM Since a new Executive Board has been in place, five (5) new By-Laws have been voted in. It's been discovered that the Board didn't allow the entire membership to view the proposals prior to voting them in.Do your Bylaws give the Executive Board the authority to amend the Bylaws? If so, do they require the board to "allow the entire membership to view the proposals prior to voting them in?"One By-Law involved the annual elections. If the By-Law is null & void, are the election results also null & void?Maybe. It's impossible to tell without more information about the rule in question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Posted February 15, 2013 at 11:43 AM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 11:43 AM Yes. The Executive Board along with the othe Board members are allowed to amend the By-Laws. And yes, the are clearly required to disseminate the proposals, allowing for their input, amongst the entire membership. The Board had by-passed this requirement and tried to "slip" the amendments in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim Posted February 15, 2013 at 04:21 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 04:21 PM Can your members amend your bylaws, contrary to what individuals on the Board or Executive may desire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Posted February 15, 2013 at 08:38 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 08:38 PM No, they cannot. The reason being is our "voting membership" consistes only of Board Members. If they didn't like the proposed amendment, it would be voted down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted February 15, 2013 at 08:54 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 08:54 PM The Executive Board along with the other Board members are allowed to amend the By-Laws. And yes, the are clearly required to disseminate the proposals, allowing for their input, amongst the entire membership. The Board had by-passed this requirement and tried to "slip" the amendments in.. . . our "voting membership" consists only of Board Members.Since "the entire membership" can't vote, I fail to see how it matters whether "the executive board along with the other board members" (?) solicits their input or not. If the rules say they should then they should but, really, what's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted February 15, 2013 at 09:01 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 09:01 PM Since "the entire membership" can't vote, I fail to see how it matters whether "the executive board along with the other board members" (?) solicits their input or not. If the rules say they should then they should but, really, what's the point?On the other hand one could construe the rule (whatever it really says) to be a form of previous notice to "the entire membership", and they may have even granted them a right of membership (debating/input) in their bylaws. We just don't know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted February 15, 2013 at 09:07 PM Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 at 09:07 PM We just don't know for sure.Which is something that rarely, if ever, gets in our way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted February 16, 2013 at 12:15 AM Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 at 12:15 AM ...our "voting membership" consistes only of Board Members. Is this one of those types of organizations where the elections are held only by the board? Do your general members vote at all, or do they just not vote at board meetings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 16, 2013 at 01:28 AM Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 at 01:28 AM Since "the entire membership" can't vote, I fail to see how it matters whether "the executive board along with the other board members" (?) solicits their input or not. If the rules say they should then they should but, really, what's the point?One would hope that the board members would take the input into account when making their decision.Yes. The Executive Board along with the othe Board members are allowed to amend the By-Laws. And yes, the are clearly required to disseminate the proposals, allowing for their input, amongst the entire membership. The Board had by-passed this requirement and tried to "slip" the amendments in.No, they cannot. The reason being is our "voting membership" consistes only of Board Members. If they didn't like the proposed amendment, it would be voted down.It will ultimately be up to the organization to interpret its own Bylaws. See RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 588-591 for some Principles of Interpretation. It may be that the amendments are null and void, but it's not clear from the facts presented what the membership would be able to do about it.As I noted previously, it's not clear from the facts presented whether the election would also be null and void. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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