Is it true that subcommittees cannot exceed their parent committees' authority?

[Benjamin Geiger]

I wanted to make absolutely certain of this, preferably with citations, as I've been asked about it.

We currently have a "Victory Fund Committee" which is a special subcommittee of the Finance Committee. The Victory Fund Committee is responsible for disbursing funds from our Victory Fund to candidates and other causes until the end of the 2018 election.

The problem is that the Finance Committee does not have the authority to disburse funds. Can the Victory Fund Committee exercise an authority that its parent committee does not have? If not, where is it written (so I can convince people)?

Our bylaws are attached.

Thanks in advance.

HCDEC-Bylaws-As-Amended-2018-05-19-3.pdf

[Josh Martin]

13 minutes ago, Benjamin Geiger said:

I wanted to make absolutely certain of this, preferably with citations, as I've been asked about it.

We currently have a "Victory Fund Committee" which is a special subcommittee of the Finance Committee. The Victory Fund Committee is responsible for disbursing funds from our Victory Fund to candidates and other causes until the end of the 2018 election.

The problem is that the Finance Committee does not have the authority to disburse funds. Can the Victory Fund Committee exercise an authority that its parent committee does not have? If not, where is it written (so I can convince people)?

Our bylaws are attached.

Thanks in advance.

HCDEC-Bylaws-As-Amended-2018-05-19-3.pdf

Could you clarify what exactly is the situation here? Who decided that this subcommittee “is responsible for disbursing funds from our Victory Fund to candidates and other causes until the end of the 2018 election”?

Edited September 10, 2018 at 06:59 PM by Josh Martin

[Benjamin Geiger]

1 minute ago, Josh Martin said:

Who decided that this subcommittee “is responsible for disbursing funds from our Victory Fund to candidates and other causes until the end of the 2018 election”?

The chair and/or the members of the Finance Committee. It was basically presented to the Steering Committee as a fait accompli.

[Josh Martin]

3 minutes ago, Benjamin Geiger said:

The chair and/or the members of the Finance Committee. It was basically presented to the Steering Committee as a fait accompli.

Thank you. A committee certainly cannot grant its subcommittee authority that the committee itself does not possess. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is anything explicitly stating as much, since the idea is so patently absurd. I think the burden is on the Finance Committee to find a rule which allows it do this.

[Joshua Katz]

I agree that the idea of a subcommittee having powers not given to the parent committee is absurd (that which one does not own, cannot be given away). However, if I remember correctly, the OP is involved with a political organization, and the term Victory Fund generally refers to a joint fundraising committee, which might very well, once established, have authority under law regardless of bylaw limitations. I think this is primarily a legal, not parliamentary, question.