removing a member

[Guest MacGee]

I'm more of an old timer of an organization with a new regime. An older member very publicly spoke out against another organization ours is affiliated with and now our organization wants to revoke his memebrship on the grounds that his behavior was not "in compliance with the principles and morals" of the organization. Though our bylaws state "principles and morals," they are not clearly defined. National bylaws, however, lists "code of ethics" & another document references the "principles."

Questions:

1. If this is a vote and matter to be addressed by the executive committee, can others (of general membership) be present?

2. The president wants to appoint me as an ex-officio to protect that the bylaws/policies are adhered to. Is this allowed AND can I speak outside of correcting matters of bylaws/policies?

3. How do I explain to this new, young board that they must abide by legitimacy of the bylaws/policies, and not base their decision on personality and personal bias?

[Chris Harrison]

1) If the Executive Committee wants to allow nonmembers (of the EC) to attend the meeting they can do so but only members of the EC have a right to be there (unless your bylaws say otherwise).  See RONR p. 648 ll. 11-14.

2) The President only has the authority the bylaws give him.

3) That is a question of interpersonal dynamics more than parliamentary procedure and you (as a member of the organization) would be more competent to answer that question.  I would suggest you talk to other members who hopefully can help you figure out the best way to do that.

[Edgar Guest]

2. The president wants to appoint me as an ex-officio . . .

I think you may be misusing the term "ex-officio". See FAQ #2.

[Josh Martin]

I'm more of an old timer of an organization with a new regime. An older member very publicly spoke out against another organization ours is affiliated with and now our organization wants to revoke his memebrship on the grounds that his behavior was not "in compliance with the principles and morals" of the organization. Though our bylaws state "principles and morals," they are not clearly defined. National bylaws, however, lists "code of ethics" & another document references the "principles."

Questions:

1. If this is a vote and matter to be addressed by the executive committee, can others (of general membership) be present?

2. The president wants to appoint me as an ex-officio to protect that the bylaws/policies are adhered to. Is this allowed AND can I speak outside of correcting matters of bylaws/policies?

3. How do I explain to this new, young board that they must abide by legitimacy of the bylaws/policies, and not base their decision on personality and personal bias?

1.) Only if the Executive Committee permits it.

2.) If your question truly is whether the President can appoint you as an ex-officio member, the answer is almost certainly no. I think you might mean to ask whether the President may appoint you as a Parliamentarian. This is allowed. The rest of this answer assumes that you are not a member of the Executive Committee, so please correct me if this is mistaken.

Those who are not members of the Executive Committee may not be present unless the assembly permits it (yes, this even applies to the Parliamentarian). You may only speak on matters pertaining to the application of the rules, and even then, you should generally do this by quietly advising the chair. Only on the most involved questions should you address the assembly directly.

3.) I would state (or have the chair state) that the question before the assembly is whether the behavior in question is "in compliance with the principles and morals" of the organization as stated in the bylaws, and if it is found that it is not, the question is what punishment (if any) should be imposed upon the member as a result of the undesirable behavior. Other opinions regarding the member are not the subject of this meeting.

[Gary Novosielski]

You can't appoint someone as an "ex-officio".  You might be able to appoint someone to an office, by virtue of which, they become an ex-officio member of something (else).

 

But it seems pretty difficult to me to see a way that the president can appoint you to anything that would get you a seat on the executive committee.

 

He can try to convince the executive committee to allow you to be present at these meetings, but they don't have to agree.

 

And why is the executive committee dealing with such matters?  is there something in the bylaws that creates this procedure?  Normally it takes a 2/3 vote of the general membership to expel someone.   Are you sure the EC is not overstepping its powers?