Motion from the floor

[Guest Peter Merriman]

Our by-laws requires the Board of Directors to establish a committee for a specific purpose.  After our most recent annual meeting, we established such committee, based on those that volunteered to serve.  At the first meeting of the established committee, it was evident that the committee would never work, due to the attitude and goals of at least two of the members.

 

The Board of directors voted to disband the committee and to establish a new committee after a certain date.

 

At our most recent interim meeting, one of our members made a motion that we establish a replacement committee within 30 days, which is long before the date that the Board voted to establish such committee.

 

The motion was seconded but failed to pass.

 

It appears to us that the members cannot vote ro override a decision made by the Board, a decision that the Board believes was legal.

 

Was the motion from the floor legal?

[Richard Brown]

Our by-laws requires the Board of Directors to establish a committee for a specific purpose. . . .

 

The Board of directors voted to disband the committee and to establish a new committee after a certain date.

 

At our most recent interim meeting, one of our members made a motion that we establish a replacement committee within 30 days, which is long before the date that the Board voted to establish such committee.

 

The motion was seconded but failed to pass.

 

It appears to us that the members cannot vote ro override a decision made by the Board, a decision that the Board believes was legal.

 

Was the motion from the floor legal?

 

The answer to your question "Was the motion from the floor legal?" depends more on your bylaws than RONR and also on whether this was a regular Board meeting or a meeting of the general membership.  Which was it?  A board meeting or a general membership meeting?

 

If it was a general membership meeting, what do your bylaws say about the power of the Board vs that of the general membership?

 

If it was a Board meeting, then, yes, a motion to appoint a new committee prior to the time the Board had previously decided on for forming the committee could be "in order"  (RONR doesn't talk about "legal"), but since it conflicts with the previously adopted motion to appoint a new committee after a date certain in the future, it should be made as and considered as a motion to amend something previously adopted, which requires a two-thirds vote or a vote of a majority of  the entire membership without previous notice or a majority vote with previous notice.  

 

Even if it is not presented as a motion to amend something  previously adopted, its passage would still be valid if it passes by the vote threshold I mentioned above.

[Bruce Lages]

The board's decision to disband the committee appears to be an exaggerated response that was unnecessary in the first place. If the board has the authority to create the committee it also has the authority to choose the committee members, and that authority includes the right to remove committee members as well. It would have been more appropriate for the board to just remove these two committee members if it felt they would impede the effectiveness of the committee and replace them with two more suitable people.

[Edgar Guest]

It appears to us that the members cannot vote to override a decision made by the Board, a decision that the Board believes was legal.

 

See Official Interpretations 2006-12 and 2006-13.

[Guest Nancy N.]

Mr. Merriman, you're asking two distinct questions.  Mr Brown and Mr Lages answered one (rather impressively, I observe, at the risk of looking obsequious).; for the answer to the other,, see O. I. #13, Countermanding Board Action,  at http://www.robertsrules.com/interp_list.html#2006_13 .