lamac44 Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:32 AM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:32 AM Our association meets annually and our bylaws state that to amend the bylaws the proposed amendments will be discussed at the meeting and tabled until the next scheduled meeting. Is it proper procedure to adjourn the meeting for 15 minutes and convene a new meeting to avoid having to wait a whole year to vote on the proposed amendments? Thanks for your thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:54 AM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:54 AM About all I can say is whoever dreamed up that bylaw, didn't realize what he was writing. "Table" is the wrong motion - you mean postpone. But it isn't proper to postpone something for more that a quarterly (3-4 months) time interval. And "regularly scheduled" means, well, regularly scheduled. Not some meeting 15 minutes from now that was clearly not scheduled (in advance, in the regular way). But to answer the question we would have to see the complete amendment section from the bylaws. Does it really say what your wrote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:04 AM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:04 AM I think it will be up to your organization to determine what "discussed at the meeting and tabled until the next scheduled meeting" means since RONR does not have such a requirement for amending the bylaws. In addition, what about notice requirements for your meetings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamac44 Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:37 PM Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:37 PM About all I can say is whoever dreamed up that bylaw, didn't realize what he was writing. "Table" is the wrong motion - you mean postpone. But it isn't proper to postpone something for more that a quarterly (3-4 months) time interval. And "regularly scheduled" means, well, regularly scheduled. Not some meeting 15 minutes from now that was clearly not scheduled (in advance, in the regular way). But to answer the question we would have to see the complete amendment section from the bylaws. Does it really say what your wrote?I agree that saying" table" the motion is the wrong thing to say but the bylaws do states that.The meaning was to hold or postpond the vote to give members a chance to process the proposed changes until the next scheduled meeting not regularly scheduled meeting. The best chance of getting a good turnout of members is at the annual meeting. herein lies the basis for the question can we give notice at or before the annual meeting that we will have a second meeting which will be a scheduled meeting to vote on the proposed amendments.Is this allowable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:58 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 03:58 PM Well, the usual meaning of a "scheduled, or 'regular', meeting" is (commonly) a specification in the bylaws of when meetings will be held, such as your annual meeting. Other than an "adjourned meeting" (p. 93, a rather specialized concept) the only other kind of members' business meeting described in RONR is a "Special Meeting". Obviously a Special Meeting has to be "scheduled" (so folks know when it is) but you can have them only if they are authorized in the bylaws, and they commonly require some sort of advance notice. What do your bylaws say? Does your "15 minutes later meeting" fit into your definition of a Special Meeting in the bylaws, presuming that you have a definition at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:10 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:10 PM I agree that saying" table" the motion is the wrong thing to say but the bylaws do states that.The meaning was to hold or postpond the vote to give members a chance to process the proposed changes until the next scheduled meeting not regularly scheduled meeting. The best chance of getting a good turnout of members is at the annual meeting. herein lies the basis for the question can we give notice at or before the annual meeting that we will have a second meeting which will be a scheduled meeting to vote on the proposed amendments.Is this allowable? Well, the usual meaning of a "scheduled, or 'regular', meeting" is (commonly) a specification in the bylaws of when meetings will be held, such as your annual meeting. Other than an "adjourned meeting" (p. 93, a rather specialized concept) the only other kind of members' business meeting described in RONR is a "Special Meeting". Obviously a Special Meeting has to be "scheduled" (so folks know when it is) but you can have them only if they are authorized in the bylaws, and they commonly require some sort of advance notice. What do your bylaws say? Does your "15 minutes later meeting" fit into your definition of a Special Meeting in the bylaws, presuming that you have a definition at all?Dr. Stackpole just said what I was about to say. I agree. I think that it might be a bit of a stretch to say a "scheduled meeting" is different from a "regular meeting". Neither one strikes me as a "special meeting", but we haven't seen your bylaws. If that is indeed the exact language used in the bylaws, then it will be up to your organization to interpret it. I think this whole business of meeting, adjourning for 15 minutes, then calling the meeting back to order, as you described in your opening post, is really questionable.... to say the least. I suspect it is downright improper and not permissible.... but I haven't seen your bylaws. Edited to add: Perhaps what you want to do is theoretically possible, but it causes me a lot of uneasiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamac44 Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:56 PM Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 04:56 PM Below is the article of our bylaws that I am referring.Also in our bylaws we have defined a regular meeting as: The annual meeting and any scheduled meeting by the excutive board.Article XI. By LawsSection 1. These represent the complete and whole By-Laws of the Atlanta Quarterback Club.Section 2. These By-Laws may be amended as follows:a. Any voting full member who desires to make amendment(s) to these By-Laws shall present theproposed amendments to the President in writing 30 days before the start of the annual meetingso that they may be included in the order of business.b. Proposed amendments shall be subject to discussion during the meeting.c. The proposed amendment will be automatically tabled until the next scheduled meeting of theorganization to allow members to assess the consequences.d. At the next scheduled meeting, the proposed amendment will be automatically un-tabled toallow additional discussion and voting.e. An amendment will have passed if approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members presentat the meeting. what we would like to do is not have items linger for an extended time before acting.We do not want to do anything improper or unpermissible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted March 20, 2015 at 06:12 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 06:12 PM Oh, OK, (I think...) It looks as though your Board has the responsibility to call a "scheduled meeting" (whatever you may think that means - sounds like an RONR-type Special Meeting to me) after the Annual Meeting has adjourned. But, of course, the Board has to meet to do so, and I rather doubt that the Board can itself meet in that 15 minute interval, and still follow all sorts of (presumed) notification rules. So your next course of action is to lean on the Board to call the "Scheduled Meeting" promptly so the general membership can finish the consideration of the bylaw amendments and vote for (or against) them, as possibly amended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:12 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:12 PM Our association meets annually and our bylaws state that to amend the bylaws the proposed amendments will be discussed at the meeting and tabled until the next scheduled meeting. Is it proper procedure to adjourn the meeting for 15 minutes and convene a new meeting to avoid having to wait a whole year to vote on the proposed amendments?No. For one thing, the word "meeting" is understood to mean "session" in bylaws unless the bylaws provide otherwise, and an adjourned meeting is still part of the same session. That issue aside, it's simply absurd to suggest that the assembly can get around the rule in the bylaws by "adjourning" for 15 minutes.Also in our bylaws we have defined a regular meeting as: The annual meeting and any scheduled meeting by the excutive board....what we would like to do is not have items linger for an extended time before acting.We do not want to do anything improper or unpermissibleWell, it seems to me that it would be in order for the Executive Board to provide for another scheduled meeting, at which time the assembly could consider the amendments. That meeting, however, would need to be more than 15 minutes later. A day seems like the bare minimum to me. A week would be better. If your bylaws contain their own rules on how much notice is required for such meetings, follow those rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:26 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:26 PM A day seems like the bare minimum to me. A week would be better And a month better still? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamac44 Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:27 PM Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:27 PM Thanks so much Mr. Stackpole; Mr. Brown and Mr. Huynh I really appreciate all your input. It really would help us move business forward . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamac44 Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:58 PM Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 07:58 PM No. For one thing, the word "meeting" is understood to mean "session" in bylaws unless the bylaws provide otherwise, and an adjourned meeting is still part of the same session. That issue aside, it's simply absurd to suggest that the assembly can get around the rule in the bylaws by "adjourning" for 15 minutes.Well, it seems to me that it would be in order for the Executive Board to provide for another scheduled meeting, at which time the assembly could consider the amendments. That meeting, however, would need to be more than 15 minutes later. A day seems like the bare minimum to me. A week would be better. If your bylaws contain their own rules on how much notice is required for such meetings, follow those rules.Well our bylaws donot have a stated rule on how much notice is required to have a scheduled meeting except that the Annual meeting will be held in the month of June. Can we put it to the general membership to decide? there may be the need for a proposed amendment change to not table(wrong word) the proposed changes and vote on them at the time of the annual meeting.you guys are great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted March 20, 2015 at 08:05 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 at 08:05 PM "Can we put it to the general membership..."? No. If you quoted the bylaws correctly, it is entirely up to the Board to set the Special Meeting "Scheduled Meeting" for the second (and possibly final) consideration of any bylaw amendments introduced at the June Annual meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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