Motions

[Guest Dakota Johnson]

Making A Motion-

In a board meeting, does a general member have authorization to make a motion?  It is my understanding that even a high ranking committee member, let alone a general member, may not make a motion if they are not a voting board member. Is this correct in Roberts Rules of Order.  I have a Robert's Rules of Order (In Brief) and I can not find it in there.

Thank you,

Dakota

 

 

[jstackpo]

You are correct.

 

It is a direct consequence of being a defined member of a group/assembly that you have the right to vote, make motions, &c.   RONR (the big book) p. 3.   But if you are not a member then,  logically, you don't share in those rights.

 

Defining who is (and who isn't) a "member" is the business of the bylaws.

[Richard Brown]

I agree with Dr. Stackpole.   In a board meeting, only members of the board have a right to attend, speak, debate, make motions or vote.   Edited to add:  The organization's bylaws or special rules may grant general members the right to attend board meetings.  There might also be a custom of allowing general members to attend board meetings.  But, the right to attend meetings does not include the right to speak. 

 

Non-members of the board may be given permission to attend and/or to speak by majority vote and may be granted permission to speak in debate by suspending the rules (which requires a two-thirds vote), but they may not vote under any circumstances. 

 

I believe RONR is silent as to whether non-members may be allowed to make motions.  The only clear no-exceptions rule seems to deal with voting.  It could be argued that making a motion is equivalent to speaking in debate and that the rules can be suspended to allow it.  It certainly can't be done without suspending the rules.  RONR p 263

[Guest Dakota]

Thank you for the responses.  Could either of you give me a page number to look up in any of the Roberts Rues of Order books.  I will have to be able to show this in a meeting.  I have researched my Robert Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief and can not find it.  

Thank you,

Dakota

[Josh Martin]

I believe RONR is silent as to whether non-members may be allowed to make motions. The only clear no-exceptions rule seems to deal with voting. It could be argued that making a motion is equivalent to speaking in debate and that the rules can be suspended to allow it. It certainly can't be done without suspending the rules. RONR p 263

I would not argue that "making a motion is equivalent to speaking in debate," but I concur that the rules may be suspended, by a 2/3 vote, to permit a non-member to make a motion.

Could either of you give me a page number to look up in any of the Roberts Rues of Order books. I will have to be able to show this in a meeting. I have researched my Robert Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief and can not find it.

If someone is claiming that he can make a motion during a meeting of a body that he is not a member of, I'd say he's the one who should be looking for a citation to back this up. If you need a citation, however, I'd start on pg. 3 of RONR, noting that the text specifically refers to a member of an assembly having the rights of membership, such as making motions. A member of the society who is not a board member is not a member of the assembly in the context of a board meeting, and therefore has no rights in relation to its proceedings (at least so far as RONR is concerned).

[DanielEHayes]

RONR(11th ed.), 644-645, the section on  PRINCIPLES GOVERNING DISCIPLINE AT MEETINGS. may be useful to you.

[Guest bob]

If a county board votes down a proposal on a wind farm, can the wind company change its original proposal and bring it back to the board as a new proposal?

[jstackpo]

RONR says "Sure".  And as far as RONR goes, they can bring back the exact same proposal, provided that the next meeting of the county board is a new "session".   Check with your county attorney to see if each of your meetings is a new session or not.

 

County rules may differ, however, from RONR in this respect.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Also, Guest_bob, for future reference, please post a new question as a new topic instead of adding to an existing thread. Think of this thread as Guest_Dakota Johnson's thread. This way, the answers to your question will not be confused with the answers to the question that Guest_Dakota Johnson had, especially if they're completely different situations, and Guest_Dakota Johnson comes back with follow up questions to the original topic.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Making A Motion-

In a board meeting, does a general member have authorization to make a motion?  It is my understanding that even a high ranking committee member, let alone a general member, may not make a motion if they are not a voting board member. Is this correct in Roberts Rules of Order.  I have a Robert's Rules of Order (In Brief) and I can not find it in there.

 

"Any nonmembers allowed in the hall during a meeting, as guests of the organization, have no rights with reference to the proceedings." (RONR 11th ed., p. 648, ll. 11-13)

 

In this case, at a board meeting, the "nonmembers"/"guests" are those who are not members of the board.

[Guest John Doe]

We have an EMS association that the majority of members want to disband. Several times a motion has been made to disband the association but every time it comes up, they are told that you can not make a negative motion. Does anyone know the facts on this matter? How do we get the association to disband?

[jstackpo]

Your friends don't seem to know what a "negative motion" is.

 

It is a motion that says NOT to do something, and indeed is improper.  How is your motion (that they don't like) exactly phrased?

 

To disband your association move to rescind (p. 305) the bylaws.  This will be an amendment to your bylaws (a rather substantial one at that) and must follow the amendment rules in your existing bylaws.

 

BTW, next time you post with a new question, start a new Topic / Thread, please.

[Josh Martin]

We have an EMS association that the majority of members want to disband. Several times a motion has been made to disband the association but every time it comes up, they are told that you can not make a negative motion. Does anyone know the facts on this matter? How do we get the association to disband?

A motion to disband the association is in order. See RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 563-564 for more information.

To disband your association move to rescind (p. 305) the bylaws.  This will be an amendment to your bylaws (a rather substantial one at that) and must follow the amendment rules in your existing bylaws.

Although it will have that effect and does have the same requirements for adoption, a motion to disband an unincorporated society is not made as a motion to rescind the bylaws. Rather, it is made as a motion to dissolve the society. The society should also be sure to adopt resolutions handling other necessary matters, such as disposing of the society's assets.

If the society is incorporated, how to dissolve the society will depend upon applicable law, and it will be advisable to consult an attorney.