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Minutes of Meetings required to be provided to members?


Guest EAT

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If nothing specific in the Bylaws, does Roberts Rules provide that members of a non-profit organization should be timely provided Minutes of Meetings of the Membership (such as an AGM)?  as well as Minutes of Board Meetings?  upon specific request of a member?

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7 hours ago, Guest EAT said:

...

Q1.) Does Roberts Rules of Order provide that members of a non-profit organization should be timely provided Minutes of Meetings of the Membership (such as an AGM)?  

Q2.) As as well as Minutes of Board Meetings? 

Q3.) Upon  specific request of a member?

A1.) Alas, there is a recommendation in The Book that the minutes of an Annual General Meeting *not* be set aside for a full year, but rather, to have a Minutes Approval Committee be formed, for the purpose of approving the minute in days or weeks, instead of 12 months, while members' collective memories are still fresh.

But few organizations take advantage of this recommendation. -- Most organizations wait the full year. Too bad. Que sera sera.

A2.) No.

General members do *not* get to see the minutes of the board, under the default rules of Robert's Rules of Order.

There are ways to see board minutes. But not "by right".

A3.) No.

Individual general members cannot view board minutes, under the default rules of Robert's Rules of Order.

There are ways to see board minutes. But not "upon demand by a single general member."

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8 hours ago, Guest EAT said:

If nothing specific in the Bylaws, does Roberts Rules provide that members of a non-profit organization should be timely provided Minutes of Meetings of the Membership (such as an AGM)?  as well as Minutes of Board Meetings?  upon specific request of a member?

 

7 hours ago, mjhmjh said:

Page 459 line 4 may be of assistance

mjh, what makes you so sure that Guest EAT has a copy of the 11th edition of RONR?   The passage you cited is very short, why not quote it?  :)

Guest EAT, RONR does not require that members actually be provided with a copy of any minutes.  What RONR does require, in the line referenced by mjh, is that the Secretary must make the minutes AVAILABLE to members upon request.  That is not the same thing as providing members with a copy, although it is quite common in many organizations to do so.  That can be by custom or by rule.  RONR has no rule prohibiting it, but neither does it have a rule requiring it.

Here is the text of the line referenced by mjh about the duties of the secretary:  "To make the minutes and records available to members upon request (see p. 460, ll. 13–17). "

To elaborate on Mr. Goldsworthy's answers, only the members of a particular body are entitled to see the minutes of that body as a right.  For example, only executive committee members are entitled to see the minutes of the executive committee and only board members are entitled to see the minutes of the board.  All members of the society are entitled to see the minutes of general membership meetings. 

As Mr. Goldsworthy pointed out, there are procedures that can be utilized to obtain access to minutes one might not normally be entitled to see.

And, of course, a body can always create a rule or adopt a motion to grant access to its minutes and/or  to distribute them to anyone and everyone it so desires.

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