voting on main motion

[Guest raa]

Our HOA board has an bylaw amendment written by our attorney to tighten up some things. We may have some resistance. Once I make the motion to approve the amendment, and we're in the debate and Q & A session....do I have to recognize another motion made by a resident if he wants to change anything about the wording?

I want to get to a vote on the amendment as written and avoid trying to amend in the annual meeting.

[Guest Zev]

The person offering the motion should be the first person recognized. That person may make a supporting speech and conclude by moving the Previous Question, which when put would require a two-thirds vote in order to stop any further debate and the putting of the main question on the amendment. If no person recognized moves a Previous Question then there is no way a presiding officer can prevent a speaker from moving an amendment. It must be understood, however, that any such amendment to a proposed bylaw amendment must be germane to the question and must also be within the scope of the notice. For example, if the bylaw amendment is noticed as raising the annual dues from 10$ to 20$ then an amendment to raise it to 15$ is within the scope but raising it beyond 20$ would be out of order; while an amendment to establish another standing committee would not be germane to the subject. Come back if you need more help on this.

[Gary Novosielski]

When such a motion is before the assembly, there's no reason why a member can't offer an amendment to the wording, presuming it gets seconded.  You are free to explain in debate why you believe it would be a bad idea.

[Bruce Lages]

Under the rules in RONR most motions are subject to amendment before they are voted on. For bylaw amendments in particular, the ability to amend the original proposal may be limited however, particularly if, as in many cases (and in RONR), prior notice of the amendment is required. If notice of this amendment, including either its exact wording or a specific description of its intent, has been given to the board before the meeting at which it is to be voted on, then any amendments proposed at the meeting must not exceed the scope of this notice - meaning that the effects of the proposal cannot be made greater or lesser than what was stated in the notice and what your bylaws currently provide. As an example, if your bylaws currently set the dues at $100, and the proposal is to raise them to $200, then no amendment is in order that would change the proposal to be less than $100 or more than $200. Anything in between is OK.

But be sure to check the procedure specified in your current bylaws for their amendment - it is possible they may provide for something differing from RONR's prescription.

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Guest raa said:

Once I make the motion to approve the amendment, and we're in the debate and Q & A session....do I have to recognize another motion made by a resident if he wants to change anything about the wording?

If you are presiding, you should not be the one to make the motion to approve the amendment. If you are not presiding, it’s not up to you to recognize or not recognize people.

Additionally, yes, the presiding officer must recognize a motion made by a resident to amend the proposed bylaw amendment. Such amendments must be within the “scope of notice” to be in order.

50 minutes ago, Gary Novosielski said:

You are free to explain in debate why you believe it would be a bad idea.

Since the OP suggests he would be recognizing people, he may be the presiding officer. If so, he should not speak in debate.

Edited April 16, 2019 at 10:32 PM by Josh Martin