Rewriting bylaws

[Guest Peggy Tolboom]

I have been given the task of re-writing the by-laws.  Not amending them.  Our amendments have been typed onto separate sheets of paper, then put into the master copy.  We want to make one consecutive Word document.  My question is "do I type out each amendment?  or can I leave out individual amendments and just type the new version?"  Does that make sense?

[Clurichan]

Something like, do want them to look like this:

     Section 2. DUES

     Dues shall be $25 $35 per year, due January 1.

or just:

     Section 2. DUES

     Dues shall be $35 per year, due January 1.

Is that your question, more or less?

 

Edited December 31, 2016 at 05:20 PM by Clurichan
indent

[Hieu H. Huynh]

A revision is a type of amendment (see RONR 11th ed., p. 593). 

[Bruce Lages]

Let's first note that if you are writing an entirely new set of bylaws to replace the current ones, you will be substituting the new set for the current set, but that is still a form of amending, and you will have to follow the requirements for amending contained in the current bylaws.

I would suggest doing separate side-by-side comparisons of each instance where you are replacing current wording with new wording. This would make it fairly easy for the members to see exactly what specific changes are being proposed in these cases. Separately, you could list any changes that involve deleting current sections or adding entirely new sections. Your main goal should be to provide the members with written documentation of  all of your changes in a logical and easy-to-understand manner.

[Shmuel Gerber]

8 hours ago, Guest Peggy Tolboom said:

I have been given the task of re-writing the by-laws.  Not amending them.  Our amendments have been typed onto separate sheets of paper, then put into the master copy.  We want to make one consecutive Word document.  My question is "do I type out each amendment?  or can I leave out individual amendments and just type the new version?"  Does that make sense?

You should ask whoever gave you the task what they had in mind.

Every organization ought to have a fully updated version of the bylaws -- in the current wording, not cluttered with various amendments being shown -- that can be referred to as needed. However, there is certainly nothing wrong with also keeping a historical record, and maybe it has simply been decided that you should convert that record into an editable file. Some organizations also put a parenthetical note, in the updated current version, next to any section that has been amended, with the date(s) of amendment but without showing the old versions of the text.

[g40]

Whenever there are multiple changes (at once or over time) to Bylaws, I am a big fan of adopting a full, clean set of Bylaws. A separate document can highlight the changes as information to the body (Board or membership) that is empowered to make such changes. For an organization where I am a Board member and officer, I have done such drafting several times over the years.