Can an approved motion (vote) be brought up again and changed?

[Guest LO Lion Jim]

I made a motion to sell our property AND for the money to go to a certain charity.  This was approved by every board member.  Now, members are saying that when we actually sell the property and the money comes in, they will vote on where the money goes.  Is this allowed since my original motion was to sell the property and also where the money should go?

[Tom Coronite]

If a motion to do A & B was adopted by the body that has the authority to do that, it would take a motion to amend something previously adopted to change it.

You made the motion, and every "board member" approved it. Does that mean you are a member of the board and this was done at a board meeting and the board has authority to take such action?

I'm asking because you also say "members" are saying "they" will vote again. Members of the board, or members of the society/group? It makes me wonder if this is a case where the assembly may want to revisit what the board has done.

[Dan Honemann]

12 minutes ago, Guest LO Lion Jim said:

I made a motion to sell our property AND for the money to go to a certain charity.  This was approved by every board member.  Now, members are saying that when we actually sell the property and the money comes in, they will vote on where the money goes.  Is this allowed since my original motion was to sell the property and also where the money should go?

A member of your board may make a motion to amend the motion which was adopted by striking out the portion of it which directs the money to go to the designated charity and inserting, in its place, something else. Such a motion requires only a majority vote for its adoption if previous notice is given of the intent to make it. If previous notice is not given, it will require either a two-thirds vote or a vote of a majority of the entire membership of your board for its adoption.

See RONR, 11th ed., pages 305-310, for details concerning this motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted.

[LO Lion Jim]

On 6/23/2018 at 1:15 PM, Tom Coronite said:

If a motion to do A & B was adopted by the body that has the authority to do that, it would take a motion to amend something previously adopted to change it.

You made the motion, and every "board member" approved it. Does that mean you are a member of the board and this was done at a board meeting and the board has authority to take such action?

I'm asking because you also say "members" are saying "they" will vote again. Members of the board, or members of the society/group? It makes me wonder if this is a case where the assembly may want to revisit what the board has done.

Tom, I am a member of the board and it was done at a board meeting.  I am asking if they can go back and try to amend this once the property is sold and we have the money.  My motion was made together on purpose.  I wanted to make sure that the money would only go to a specific place, no where else.  If they were going to approve the sale, they were going to approve the distribution.  Can I do that or are they allowed to come back on it?

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, LO Lion Jim said:

Tom, I am a member of the board and it was done at a board meeting.  I am asking if they can go back and try to amend this once the property is sold and we have the money.  My motion was made together on purpose.  I wanted to make sure that the money would only go to a specific place, no where else.  If they were going to approve the sale, they were going to approve the distribution.  Can I do that or are they allowed to come back on it?

As has been previously stated, the board is free to amend the motion to change where the money will go.

[Joshua Katz]

2 hours ago, LO Lion Jim said:

I wanted to make sure that the money would only go to a specific place, no where else.  If they were going to approve the sale, they were going to approve the distribution. 

Not only can they revisit part of it by the motion to amend something previously adopted, they could have amended your motion while it was pending, or moved to divide the question while it was pending. You can make a motion with two parts, but you can't force the board, unless it agrees to be forced, to face such a motion as a binary choice.

[Guest Zev]

Lion Jim:

If you can't have the whole loaf of bread perhaps you can get a slice of it. Talk to the other board members and see if they will be receptive to the idea of allocating a part of the proceeds to the place you originally wanted. Also, it really wasn't "your" motion. It was "theirs." They would have moved the sale without you and decide what to do with the income later; they just didn't want to say anything to you at the time. I wish you luck.