amending an amendment to the bylaws

[karen k hansen]

Our bylaws changes have been given notice to our members and we are to vote on them in the upcoming convention.

Problem is one of the amendments is to delete a section of the bylaws.  If someone doesn't want it deleted just reworded,how would they state the amendment to amend the amendment deleting the section?.  Robert's rule is difficult to understand on that subject.  It states that notice has to be given immediately-  that is impossible because all the membership does not attend the convention and our bylaws state that 30 days notice must be given??

 

Karen

[Sean Hunt]

The easiest way is probably to move a substitute, as in "I move that the motion be amended by substituting 'The bylaws be amended by...' for the main motion". It's proposing an alternate motion altogether and would probably be easier to understand.

 

As for the notice, it depends on the nature of the change desired. The new amendment is out of order if it proposes anything more or different from the notice that has already been given. This isn't based on the words, but the semantics. For instance, if the part to be deleted was "There is a membership fee of $10 per month.", it would be in order to propose that it be instead amended to "There is a membership fee of $5 per month." or "There is a membership fee of $10 per year.", because both of these things are less of a change than deleting the fee altogether. But at the same time, it would be out of order to propose to change the membership fee to $12 a month, since an increase was never considered in the original motion.

 

If the proposed amendment falls outside of the notice already given, and new notice cannot be given in time, then the member's only option would be to vote down this bylaw amendment and propose an alternate one next time.