Guest Steve Sader Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:03 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:03 PM Is it appropriate for the President or a member of the Board of Directors to act as a proxy for a voting member who cannot attend the annual meeting to introduce a motion from the absent member for a vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:10 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:10 PM Is it appropriate for the President or a member of the Board of Directors to act as a proxy for a voting member who cannot attend the annual meeting to introduce a motion from the absent member for a vote? Unless the bylaws or applicable law provide otherwise, no, it is not proper for anyone to act as a proxy. See FAQ #10. With that said, it would be appropriate for a member other than the President to make the motion on his own, if he wishes to do so. The President should not make motions while presiding, in order to maintain the appearance of impartiality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Sader Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:17 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 11:17 PM Many thanks. Both excellent comments and suggetions. Cheers to all!Steve Sader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted April 22, 2015 at 12:15 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 12:15 PM Is it appropriate for the President or a member of the Board of Directors to act as a proxy for a voting member who cannot attend the annual meeting to introduce a motion from the absent member for a vote? No. According to RONR, proxy voting is prohibited to the maximum extent possible under applicable law. If your bylaws permit it, that falls under your own rules, not the ones in RONR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted April 22, 2015 at 12:49 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 12:49 PM No. According to RONR, proxy voting is prohibited to the maximum extent possible under applicable law.There was no mention of proxy voting. Only a member making a motion on behalf of an absent member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintCad Posted April 22, 2015 at 04:55 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 04:55 PM The President should not make motions while presiding, in order to maintain the appearance of impartiality.But to answer the OP, they can make the motion. But in reality if the Chair could not hand the motion off to a regular member to make it, it probably wouldn't pass anyways. As to whether or not it is approriate, could the Chair pre-emptively say this was from an absent member, make the motion, then not debate it? Maybe, depends how contentious the body is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted April 22, 2015 at 05:34 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 05:34 PM As to whether or not it is approriate, could the Chair pre-emptively say this was from an absent member, make the motion, then not debate it? Maybe, depends how contentious the body is.No, in my opinion, this would not be appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted April 22, 2015 at 06:42 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 06:42 PM As to whether or not it is approriate, could the Chair pre-emptively say this was from an absent member, make the motion, then not debate it? Maybe, depends how contentious the body is. No, in my opinion, this would not be appropriate.Although if this is a "small" board the chair is free to participate fully. The question then becomes, can a member who's present make a motion on behalf of an absent member? Acknowledging that "on behalf of" has no parliamentary meaning, a present member is free to make a motion that he knows the absent member would have made if he were present. But, of course, the absent member gets no "credit" for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted April 23, 2015 at 02:26 PM Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 at 02:26 PM But to answer the OP, they can make the motion. But in reality if the Chair could not hand the motion off to a regular member to make it, it probably wouldn't pass anyways. As to whether or not it is approriate, could the Chair pre-emptively say this was from an absent member, make the motion, then not debate it? Maybe, depends how contentious the body is. The chair would still be the one making the motion. Saying where it originated is something that might be mentioned in debate, but it would only have such weight as those present are willing to invest in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.