Guest chelle Posted March 11, 2015 at 03:42 PM Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 at 03:42 PM Our board of directors passed a motion the other night stating that anyone (director and/ or general member of the organization) can have their membership revoked for two years if they do not "follow the rules". My question is ..... is this something that can be put in place at a board level or would/should it have to go to the membership? I am assuming that the membership would need to know all the rules so they could follow them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrEntropy Posted March 11, 2015 at 03:59 PM Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 at 03:59 PM Your board only has such powers, duties and responsibilities as outlined in the organization's bylaws. In the usual case, membership cannot be revoked except as specified in the bylaws and / or through appropriate disciplinary proceedings (RONR Chapter XX). So any such rules as the board has in mind should probably go into the bylaws. Generally (again, assuming no bylaw overrides this) only the assembly of members can remove a member. Such expulsion from membership requires a 2/3 vote (page 648, during a membership meeting) and may require a trial if the expulsion is for offenses occurring outside of a meeting. In short, check your bylaws, and probably start studying chapter XX. EDIT: I didn't catch the "for two years" part in the original question, but i submit that a two-year suspension is pretty close to an expulsion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 11, 2015 at 04:00 PM Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 at 04:00 PM That is something that would need to be in the bylaws unless the bylaws grant the board or the membership the authority to adopt a rule of this sort. It is further a pretty vague statement and is also something that the organization might be able to do pursuant to RONR without specific authorization if the organization believes that the breach of the rules is serious enough to warrant suspension or expulsion. "Revoking" someone's membership for two years is a strange term.... according to the provisions in RONR, a member can be suspended or expelled as a result of disciplinary action. A suspension is temporary. An expulsion is permanent, but the member might be able to re-apply for membership. But, what is "revoking" someone's membership for two years? I suggest you read all of chapter XX in RONR.... the chapter on discipline. It's 26 pages of detailed rules and procedures. I suggest that you also read the provisions regarding discipline in your bylaws very carefully. They may give you more guidance than you suspect. Any provisions for discipline in RONR would be superseded by any such provisions in your bylaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielEHayes Posted March 12, 2015 at 02:09 AM Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 at 02:09 AM Did they follow the procedures required for amendment of your bylaws when they did this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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