Guest Bill Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:01 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:01 PM Our single family Homeowners Association By Laws state: Parliamentary Rules: Robert's Rules of Order (current edition) shall govern the conduct of all Association proceedings, when not in conflict with state law, the Articles of Incorporation, the Declaration, these By Laws, or a ruling made by the person presiding over the proceeding. I am a new member of our BOD and want to become familiar with Robert's as it applies under our By Laws. Robert's can be a bit overwhelming for someone just being introduced to it. I want to be well versed in the portions of Robert's which apply, and not worry a whole lot about the rest. Would I be correct in interpreting this provision of our By Laws as follows: The term proceedings would be our association meetings, either BOD or Membership meetings. Articles 1 through 8 of Robert's would apply under the strict wording of our By Laws. This would include how business is conducted, motions, voting, debate, etc. The remaining Articles of Robert's would not specifically apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:11 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:11 PM (edited) 14 minutes ago, Guest Bill said: Our single family Homeowners Association By Laws state: Parliamentary Rules: Robert's Rules of Order (current edition) shall govern the conduct of all Association proceedings, when not in conflict with state law, the Articles of Incorporation, the Declaration, these By Laws, or a ruling made by the person presiding over the proceeding. I am a new member of our BOD and want to become familiar with Robert's as it applies under our By Laws. Robert's can be a bit overwhelming for someone just being introduced to it. I want to be well versed in the portions of Robert's which apply, and not worry a whole lot about the rest. Would I be correct in interpreting this provision of our By Laws as follows: The term proceedings would be our association meetings, either BOD or Membership meetings. Articles 1 through 8 of Robert's would apply under the strict wording of our By Laws. This would include how business is conducted, motions, voting, debate, etc. The remaining Articles of Robert's would not specifically apply. You have a bit of a fundamental problem here, since the Articles you mention are likely from the 4th Edition of Robert's Rules of Order which you're likely viewing online. Those rules you are reading are 103 years old. You need to update to the 11th Edition. See this http://www.robertsrules.com/book.html Try starting with RONR In Brief as an intro before you dive into the big book although the rules in the 11th Edition itself will be applicable when not in conflict with the other rules you mentioned. Edited January 31, 2019 at 06:15 PM by George Mervosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:53 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 06:53 PM 47 minutes ago, Guest Bill said: Parliamentary Rules: Robert's Rules of Order (current edition) shall govern the conduct of all Association proceedings, when not in conflict with state law, the Articles of Incorporation, the Declaration, these By Laws, or a ruling made by the person presiding over the proceeding. I have a huge problem with the provision in your bylaws that I have bolded. are you sure that is what the provision says? If so, that means that the chair essentially has the final say and they'd even if his ruling clearly violates a provision of RONR (Roberts Rules) his erroneous ruling stands. If that is really what your bylaws say, that particular provision should be deleted as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted January 31, 2019 at 08:00 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 08:00 PM 1 hour ago, Guest Bill said: The term proceedings would be our association meetings, either BOD or Membership meetings. Articles 1 through 8 of Robert's would apply under the strict wording of our By Laws. This would include how business is conducted, motions, voting, debate, etc. The remaining Articles of Robert's would not specifically apply. The entirety of Robert’s Rules of Order is concerned with meeting procedures. So no, I do not think it is reasonable to conclude, based upon the facts provided, that entire portions of RONR are inapplicable. Additionally, if the text you are looking at is divided into “articles,” that is a very outdated edition. It is conceivable, however, that there are portions of RONR which will not be utilized in your organization. You may not need to read the sections on mass meetings and conventions, for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill Posted January 31, 2019 at 11:07 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 11:07 PM George and Josh - I Googled Robert's Rules 11th Edition and assumed that the search returned information on the 11th Edition. Went back and checked and indeed the info was from the 4th edition. What's a hundred years or so between friends. I will go back and be sure to get 11th edition info. Richard - The quote from our By Laws is verbatum. Is this a serious issue and what are the possible repurcussions. To amend our By Laws will take 2/3 of the total membership voting to do so, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atul Kapur Posted January 31, 2019 at 11:39 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2019 at 11:39 PM The 11th edition is not available online. You will have to go out and purchase a copy. You may want to start with RONR In Brief (RONRIB). 22 minutes ago, Guest Bill said: Richard - The quote from our By Laws is verbatum. Is this a serious issue and what are the possible repurcussions. I noted the same phrase that Richard flagged. The idea of having RONR as your parliamentary authority is that you have a common set of rules that you all agree to follow (if the superior documents are silent). The phrase "or a ruling made by the person presiding over the proceeding" throws that out the window and says that the presiding officer can rule unilaterally based on whatever they want to base it on. An argument could even be made that this means the presiding officer's rulings cannot be appealed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bill Posted February 1, 2019 at 01:40 AM Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 at 01:40 AM George and Josh - I looked back and realize I had referenced the wrong edition. I googled the 11th edition and search results were 4th edition. I did not pick up on that. What's a hundred years between friends!! I will research again with the correct edition. Richard - The wording is verbatum from our By Laws. What are the potential dangers and repercussions of this language? It will take a 2/3 majority of ourmembers to change the By Laws, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted February 1, 2019 at 01:46 AM Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 at 01:46 AM 3 minutes ago, Guest Bill said: I will research again with the correct edition. Unfortunately, you won't find the 11th ed. on line. Still well under copyright. Off to the bookstore! http://www.robertsrules.com/book.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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