Who Can Make a Motion

[Guest Stephen D. Shirk]

Shrine Clubs have an Executive Committee who receive reports from sub committees.  They then report the minutes of the Executive Committee at the Regular/General Meeting.  Is it mandatory for an Executive Committee member move to accept these minutes which recommend financial spending or can anyone at the Regular/General Meeting make the motion to except these minutes which would then approve the spending?  I understand reading Robert's Rules of Order that a Sub-Committee member would make the motion to accept idea/spending regarding their committee at an Executive Meeting however is it mandatory that they again make the motion at the Regular Meeting, or can someone else make this motion which would show support to the Sub-Committee submission?

[Joshua Katz]

Four issues here:

1. At a Regular/General meeting, anyone who is a member of the body that is meeting may make a motion on any topic to be considered by that body.

2. The minutes of the Executive Committee should not be adopted at the Regular/General meeting.  They should be adopted by the Executive Committee.  More generally, any body should be adopting its own minutes.  

3. If the Regular/General meeting is approving spending, that's not the same thing as adopting minutes.  It sounds like the Executive Committee is making recommendations.  In that case, the reporting member should move those recommendations during its report (no second is required when a motion is made by direction of committee) and the body should then decide.  Do not blur the line between adopting minutes, which just says they're correct, and adopting recommendations made by a different body.  It sounds further like those recommendations first come from a subcommittee - the reporting member of the subcommittee will move the subcommittee's recommendation in the Executive Committee in the same manner.  In both cases, that's the correct procedure.  Is it totally mandatory?  Well, no - the reporting member could say "yea, we think this is a good idea" without making a motion, and some other member could then make the motion, but that seems to introduce a hassle into a meeting for no good reason.  If a non-member wants to show support for a committee recommendation, they can speak in debate on the motion.

4. No motion is needed to adopt minutes.  The chair asks for corrections, and when all corrections have been handled, declares the minutes adopted.