Committee authority

[Guest ds]

We have an officer reporting as chair of a committee on an event we plan to have. There are a few board members who believe the committee is making decisions without board input and they don't agree with some of the committee decisions; and that the chair should have brought each thing to the board -- such as who to contact for sponsorship, giving part of the proceeds to a non-profit, ad space, etc. I am inclined to have the chair give the committee report, including all the details of the event, as an informational report and let each person speak by going around the room as to their opiinion that will be brought back to the committee; but not vote on it by the board. If we were to make the details of the event as recommendations, I'm assuming the board has to vote on it? Or is each person just given the opportunity to accept or reject the recommendations and the committee considers their input. Does the membership have to vote on it?

 

I must clarify that the President appoints all committees, not the board, and can establishe special committees not mentioned in the bylaws.  Does that make a difference in how/what the board votes on?
 

[Sean Hunt]

The creation of a committee assigns no authority to it. A committee only has the authority it is given and, since it is subordinate to the body that creates it, can be overruled on any matter.

 

If the committee was appointed without any power to do anything, then making the plans is all that the committee can do. The committee would have no power to do things like arrange contracts for the venue, for sponsorship, or even to decide that it was an official event of your society. The committee report should contain recommendations of what the committee would like the Board to approve. If the committee or its chair have gone ahead with these things, then they could be subject to disciplinary action or find themselves on the hook for agreements entered into without proper authority (for instance, if a member agreed to rent a venue but didn't have the authority, the Board could refuse to allow the member to be reimbursed!)

 

If the committee was appointed with power, then the committee can make decisions of its own accord, but those decisions could be overruled by the Board at any time. The committee could report back to the Board to inform it of the plans or (assuming you have no other rules on the matter) could report nothing at all. A member of the Board would, however, have a right to make a motion at the Board to have the Board instruct the committee to do anything, such as to report back its plans. Unless the bylaws of your organization (or a decision by the membership) assign the committee the exclusive power to plan the event, then the Board could also instruct the committee to take or refrain from taking certain actions. If the committee was given its authority by the Board, then the Board could also revoke or limit it.

[Guest ds]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.

[Guest Dirk Helferich]

Could you please tell me where in Robert rules it states this? I am struggling to find it.

 

Thanks

[Gary c Tesser]

Could you please tell me where in Robert rules it states this? I am struggling to find it.

Thanks

Most of it, at least, is in Section 50, "Committees." (This, mind you, is in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th Edition.) Any specific thing you don't see there, feel free to ask again. Or about anything else. We never sleep.

[Gary Novosielski]

We have an officer reporting as chair of a committee on an event we plan to have. There are a few board members who believe the committee is making decisions without board input and they don't agree with some of the committee decisions; and that the chair should have brought each thing to the board -- such as who to contact for sponsorship, giving part of the proceeds to a non-profit, ad space, etc. I am inclined to have the chair give the committee report, including all the details of the event, as an informational report and let each person speak by going around the room as to their opiinion that will be brought back to the committee; but not vote on it by the board. If we were to make the details of the event as recommendations, I'm assuming the board has to vote on it? Or is each person just given the opportunity to accept or reject the recommendations and the committee considers their input. Does the membership have to vote on it?

 

I must clarify that the President appoints all committees, not the board, and can establishe special committees not mentioned in the bylaws.  Does that make a difference in how/what the board votes on?

 

Whatever group the committee reports to is the body that would vote on its recommendations.   But unless the committee was appointed with specific power, the only thing a committee is authorized to do is to research the question referred to it, and to report back recommendations.  It has no powers beyond that.