Board Member Motion "Directed" by Standing Committee

[William Kennedy]

The chair of a standing committee is also a member of the Board of Directors. A committee member is proposing a motion that the chair be directed to offer another motion at the Board level. Is this permissible under the Rules?

 

If permissible, is the committee chair bound to do so even if opposed to the motion (and could always vote against it)?

[jstackpo]

There's no need for a committee to "direct the chair";  after the report is read, the reporting member simply moves the recommendation/motion in question.

 

If the chair of the committee doesn't want to give the report and make the motion, any committee member - who is also a Board member - can make the motion.   Or the committee chair can be reminded it is his job to make the motion that a majority of the committee wishes to make.

 

But what, exactly, do you mean by "another motion"?

[William Kennedy]

There is no "report" per se. It is a member motion, the substance of which is another motion to be offered to the Board by the committee chair.

[Edgar Guest]

There is no "report" per se. It is a member motion, the substance of which is another motion to be offered to the Board by the committee chair.

 

Please re-state this clarify.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

The chair of a standing committee is also a member of the Board of Directors. A committee member is proposing a motion that the chair be directed to offer another motion at the Board level. Is this permissible under the Rules?

 

If permissible, is the committee chair bound to do so even if opposed to the motion (and could always vote against it)?

 

Why couldn't the committee decide on making this motion to the board? If the majority agrees, then the motion is made. If not, then it is not made.

[William Kennedy]

The motion has the support of the majority of the standing committee and will likely be adopted.

 

However, the committee chair, who is also its only board member, is opposed to the motion.

 

The standing committee wants to ensure that the question will actually be considered (voted on) by the board. There is no formal committee "report" unless the motion, adopted by the standing committee, is considered as one.

[Gary Novosielski]

There is no "report" per se. It is a member motion, the substance of which is another motion to be offered to the Board by the committee chair.

Committee "reports" (which may be purely informational, or may contain "recommendations" in the form of motions) can be quite brief.

 

So you will have a report even if it's only:  "On behalf of the committee, I move that...."

[jstackpo]

Do I take it that you are saying that the Board is being asked to consider and vote on a motion that was adopted as a recommendation by the committee?

 

If the committee chair refuses, as the only board member from the committee, to actually make the majority's motion, then any Board member could make it (providing he/she gets the text from a friend on the committee) .

 

Then remove the committee chairman from his job.

[William Kennedy]

Correct. My thoughts, exactly.  Thank you.

[Bruce Lages]

It seems to me that the only way the committee chair willl be obligated to present the motion to the board is if the committee adopts a recommendation to do so, by majority vote. You say in post no. 3 that "there is no report per se. It is a member motion...". If this motion is only a suggestion by a committee member to the chair, and not a recommendation adopted by the commmittee, the chair is under no obligation to present the motion to  the board (unless he wants to of his own accord).

[Kim Goldsworthy]

Here are Bill K’s posts, homogenized together and numbered.
 

S1. The chair of a standing committee is also a member of the Board of Directors.

S2. A committee member is proposing a motion that the chair be directed to offer another motion at the Board level.

S3. Is this permissible under the Rules?

S4. If permissible, is the committee chair bound to do so even if opposed to the motion (and could always vote against it)?

[. . .]

S5. There is no "report" per se.

S6. It is a member motion, the substance of which is another motion to be offered to the Board by the committee chair.

[. . .]

S7. The motion has the support of the majority of the standing committee and will likely be adopted.

S8. However, the committee chair, who is also its only board member, is opposed to the motion.
 
S9. The standing committee wants to ensure that the question will actually be considered (voted on) by the board.

S10. There is no formal committee "report" unless the motion, adopted by the standing committee, is considered as one.

 

Reply to S3.

 

("Is this permissible under the Rules?")

 

Clarify:

A single member of a committee

is asking the reporting person of the committee

to make a motion at a board meeting. -- A motion which was not officially adopted by the committee.

 

Right?

 

It violates no rule for a single committee member to ask the committee chair a favor.

The committee chair is free to oblige -- or to decline.

Again, it is permissible to ask.

The chair of a committee is not compelled by any rule to bring any one idea from a single member here, a single member there, up to the board's attention.

 

To be complete, a chair of a commitee is compelled to report out those ideas which have been adopted officially at the committee level.

[Rev Ed]

The Committee's report can simply be to recommend to the Board that is adopt a motion.

 

The Committee has to vote on what to report on.

 

As such, the Committee could pass the following resolution:

 

"Resolved, that the Committee recommend that the Board adopt the following motion: 'That, ....'"

 

As others have stated, if the Board member does not move this at the Board meeting, then any member can, so pass the information along to another Board member if need be (i.e. the President or the Secretary.)