rights of a standby member

[bobby101]

Per our by-laws, we have have 4 classes of membership at our club: Senior, Junior, Stand-by, and Honorary. A stand-by membership is available on request to any member who is temporarily unable to play because of medical problems, moving out of the local area and/or working out of the local area. This class of membership may be maintained for 2 consecutive years unless extended by the club's board. The member is entitled to return to regular membership upon payment of regular dues, which is currently $370/year. Stand-by membership costs $50/year and its purpose is to protect a member's right to membership without having to go through a re-application process. Per our by-laws a Stand-by member has no voting or playing privileges. Does a stand-by member have the right to attend our annual membership meeting and to speak. The by-laws do not speak to this particular issue. bobby101

[jstackpo]

This is a perennial problem here: the rights of a "partial" member.

 

In RONR-land one is either a member (full rights) or not a member (no rights, as pertaining to the association, at all).

 

Anything in between has to be spelled out in bylaws.  

 

I'm not sure of the consensus here as to whether a partial member is entitled to all the rights of membership  minus the ones the bylaws take away

 

or

 

The partial member is entitled to only the rights specifically granted him in the bylaws.

 

In any event, it probably boils down to a bylaw interpretation exercise  --  see p. 588ff.  The association members have to figure it out, and say what the bylaws "really" mean.

[Edgar Guest]

And even if the assembly determines that a stand-by member doesn't have the right to attend or speak, he could still be permitted to do so.

[Josh Martin]

I'm not sure of the consensus here as to whether a partial member is entitled to all the rights of membership  minus the ones the bylaws take away

 

or

 

The partial member is entitled to only the rights specifically granted him in the bylaws.

 

It's entirely possible for either to be correct, depending on how the bylaws are worded. Principle of Interpretation #8 is especially important here.

 

"In cases where the bylaws use a general term and also two or more specific terms that are wholly included under the general one, a rule in which only the general term is used applies to all the specific terms. Where the bylaws provide in the basic enumeration of the classes of membership that "members may be active, associate, or honorary," the general term "member" is used to apply to all three classes of members. But if, in the article on Members, it is stated that members may be either active or associate members, or if that article simply describes "members" without classification, as in the Sample Bylaws, Article III (pp. 584–85), the term "member" applies only to those classes or that class of members, even if honorary members are provided for elsewhere—in which case honorary membership is not real membership. Similarly, if the bylaws provide for "elected officers" and "appointed officers," the word "officers" or the expression "all officers," used elsewhere in establishing the term during which office shall be held, applies to both the elected and the appointed officers." (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 592)

 

So if the class of membership is included under the general term "member," then it would be more reasonable to conclude that the member has all the rights of membership except where the bylaws provide otherwise. Conversely, if the class of member is provided elsewhere in the bylaws and is therefore "not real membership," then it would be more reasonable to conclude that the "member" has none of the rights of membership, except where the bylaws provide otherwise.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

Per our by-laws, we have have 4 classes of membership at our club:

...

Stand-by membership costs $50/year ...

Its purpose is to protect a member's right to membership without having to go through a re-application process.

 

Per our by-laws

a Stand-by member has no voting or playing privileges.

 

Does a stand-by member have the right

to attend our annual membership meeting

and

to speak?

There is no way to tell.

 

You have customized your classes of membership, so the default assumptions of "membership rights" is crippled for 3 of your 4 classes.

 

In general:

Where a rule implies

"X has all rights except for R1 and R2,"

then one interpretation possible is that X has all rights, except for those rights explicity crippled.

 

You won't find any support in Robert's Rules of Order which implies:

"If a member cannot vote, then the member cannot attend a meeting."

(There are many instances where an attendee is in attendance, yet cannot vote.)

"If a member does not hold 'playing privileges', then the member cannot attend a meeting."

(There is no reference in RONR for "playing privileges.")