Motions

[TrinityLegacy]

I need to understand the proper way for recommendation to be made from committees and the procedure for the general body.

Scenario: If a committee makes a recommendation to the Executive committee (EC), does the EC have to entertain a motion to accept the recommendation from the committee, when it still has to to go to the general body for approval? For example: If the Membership committee reports that they want to purchase tablecloths for a ceremony, shouldn't that go to the chapter for a vote, but just voiced at the EC meeting for awareness? Or could the EC approve the recommendation and it be a part of the EC meeting minutes.

My understanding is that if it didn't/wasn't created in your meeting, that entity cannot approve the recommendation.

What's happening is that we are making motions on the same thing in the EC meeting and the general body meeting.

Please provide some clarification I can share.  

 Thank you!

[Gary Novosielski]

Committees report to their parent body, from which the matter in question was presumably referred, and which presumably has the power to act on a motion as a result of that report.

What we need to know is whether this was a committee of the membership, or a committee of the EC, and whether the EC has the power to deal with such matters.  If the matter must be decided by the membership, I question whether this is in fact a committee of the membership, which shouldn't be reporting to the EC to begin with.

But the definitive answer may be buried somewhere in your bylaws, rather than in the pages of RONR.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

On 9/5/2017 at 1:58 PM, TrinityLegacy said:

Q. If a committee makes a recommendation to the Executive committee (EC),

does the EC have to entertain a motion to accept the recommendation from the committee, when it still has to to go to the general body for approval?

A. No.

• Nothing in Robert's Rules of Order would suggest that an Executive Committee has any such authority.

• Nothing in Robert's Rules of Order says that a given standing committee's, or ad-hoc committee's, recommendation must pass through: (a.) a board; (b.) an executive committee, (c.) any body other than the responsible body (for that given action item).

Indeed, it seems that there is an unnecessary duplication of efforts going on, when all the Executive Committee needs to do is say, "Thank you, for keeping us informed."