Amending Previously Approved Meeting Minutes

[Guest STEVE RH]

Can previously approved board meeting minutes be amended?  If so, is it the normal process of amending and then approving them?

[Josh Martin]

Just now, Guest STEVE RH said:

Can previously approved board meeting minutes be amended?  If so, is it the normal process of amending and then approving them?

Yes, they may be amended, but no, it is not the same as the process for approving minutes for the first time. Instead, the appropriate tool is the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted. See the second paragraph of FAQ #16.

[Bryce Sullivan]

I have questions about a situation were a complaint was presented to a deliberative assembly based on the rules of that assembly. The deadline for the complaint was met with one version of the complaint document. A second version of the complaint document was placed in the minutes of the assembly on January 18, 2016. Almost eight months later, it was revealed that the complainant worked with the Secretary to edit the complaint after the 60-day deadline but before its inclusion in the minutes and the minutes' approval (a new Secretary was elected in August).

It is clear to me that the version of the complaint that was submitted within the 60-day limit is the only one that should be considered (since this complaint is not yet settled). There is clear evidence by email dates, the admission of the Secretary, and pdf metadata regarding which version of the complaint was the one submitted by the 60-day deadline and which version was edited after the deadline (which is also the version which is included in the minutes). I've reviewed FAQ #16. 

Since the improperly edited complaint is in the records of the assembly, is the proper course of action something like the following?

1. Amend something previously adopted (i.e., the minutes of Jan. 18). 

2. Place the correct document in the minutes of the meeting where the motion amend something previously adopted is adopted (e.g., September 2016).

3. Make a note on the January 18 minutes reflecting the error but keep the incorrect document in the Jan. 18 minutes. This would be akin to what is said on RONR page 509 "CONDITIONS FOR AMENDMENT OF A REPORT BY THE ASSEMBLY BEFORE ITS ADOPTION." I seem to recall RONR says something somewhere about making notations on corrected minutes, but I can't find it. Perhaps each page of the improperly edited complaint should have something written across it in the minutes saying it is incorrect and referencing the action of the assembly when the minutes were amended (e.g., September 2016)?

4. Include the correct version of the complaint document in the minutes of the assembly on the date the minutes of Jan. 18 are amended (e.g., September 2016).  

5. Include a document showing the key differences in the two versions of the complaint in the meeting of the assembly when the minutes of Jan. 18 are amended (e.g., September 2016) for the future reference of the body and so there is no confusion regarding which complaint document in the possession of the members and in the assembly's records is the correct document.

[Dan Honemann]

If I understand you correctly, this "complaint" was actually presented to the assembly during a meeting held on January 18, 2016, and was included in the minutes of that meeting pursuant to the rules of the assembly. Apparently the minutes of this January meeting have since been approved, but it is believed that the minutes as approved do not accurately reflect the "complaint" which was submitted.

Under these circumstances, a motion should be made during some future meeting of the assembly to amend the minutes of the January meeting to correctly reflect what was actually submitted at that meeting. This motion will necessarily include what was actually submitted in January, and will be included in the minutes of the meeting at which it is made and (presumably) adopted. No change should be made in the January minutes, although a marginal notation may be made referring to the minutes of the meeting at which they were corrected.

[Bryce Sullivan]

Great! Thanks! That's very helpful.