Does the Creation of a Standing Rule Have to Be Explicit?

[Druhan]

If a member of my org. moved, for example, that a given strip of parking spots be reserved for members of the Executive Committee, and the motion was adopted, does it constitute a standing rule? He did not explicitly state that he was creating a standing rule—as I am sure almost no one in my org. knows what that is—but both the intent and effect was the creation of a permanent rule.

He also did not state that he was creating a bylaw. The org. has done this a few times—created a rule by a motion that has a permanent effect. I have gone through the minutes and compiled these as standing rules. Was I right to do so?

[Joshua Katz]

3 minutes ago, Druhan said:

If a member of my org. moved, for example, that a given strip of parking spots be reserved for members of the Executive Committee, and the motion was adopted, does it constitute a standing rule?

Yes, so long as it remains in effect.

 

4 minutes ago, Druhan said:

The org. has done this a few times—created a rule by a motion that has a permanent effect. I have gone through the minutes and compiled these as standing rules. Was I right to do so?

Yes, this is the first thing I did (aside from panic) when I became Secretary of a mid-sized organization. Just remember to keep it updated.

To address the more general question: a standing rule is simply a main motion with continuing effect. Or, at least, it works if you think of it that way. If you move to create a rule, you don't need to specify that it's a rule - the language itself (i.e. may not park...) tells you that. 

6 minutes ago, Druhan said:

He also did not state that he was creating a bylaw.

In general, the requirements to amend the bylaws are quite stringent, and usually require notice and a 2/3 vote. I would not recommend putting parking restrictions in the bylaws - they are for rules relating to the general structure of the organization's governance. 

However, do note that the rule in question here (parking) may not be suspended, since it has its application outside of meetings. If you want to give someone permission to park there, say because he broke his leg, you'll need to amend the rule in question.

[Richard Brown]

7 minutes ago, Druhan said:

If a member of my org. moved, for example, that a given strip of parking spots be reserved for members of the Executive Committee, and the motion was adopted, does it constitute a standing rule? He did not explicitly state that he was creating a standing rule—as I am sure almost no one in my org. knows what that is—but both the intent and effect was the creation of a permanent rule.

He also did not state that he was creating a bylaw.   (Emphasis added)

In my opinion, that would create a standing rule since it has continuing effect until rescinded or amended.  It makes no difference whether the person who made the motion introduced it as a standing rule.  Such a rule could also be put in the bylaws, but the adoption of such a rule into the bylaws would require a specific bylaw amendment pursuant to your provisions for amending the bylaws.

11 minutes ago, Druhan said:

The org. has done this a few times—created a rule by a motion that has a permanent effect. I have gone through the minutes and compiled these as standing rules. Was I right to do so?

Yes, "pulling out" or compiling motions which are truly in the nature of standing rules and listing them as standing rules is generally a very good thing to do.  Otherwise, they get "lost" in old minutes and are not readily available in a single document for members to refer to.

[Joshua Katz]

7 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

Just remember to keep it updated.

Which reminds me of something to look out for in creating the list: make sure you look for motions to rescind or amend something previously adopted when going through the minutes (though, in most organizations, they won't be written out so clearly) so that you do not include rules that were rescinded, and so that rules that were amended get updated. 

[Guest Zev]

29 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

Which reminds me of something to look out for...

In your experience with this type of thing, do you feel it necessary or perhaps prudent to include as a title to each standing rule the date on which such rule was adopted and the dates in which the rule was amended, so that members may examine the minutes of those meetings if needed?

[Joshua Katz]

3 minutes ago, Guest Zev said:

In your experience with this type of thing, do you feel it necessary or perhaps prudent to include as a title to each standing rule the date on which such rule was adopted and the dates in which the rule was amended, so that members may examine the minutes of those meetings if needed?

Interesting question. I had typed something about that then deleted it. When I did it, I included the date of adoption of any rule still in effect, and noted the dates of amendment, but did not include a "history of amendments" - i.e. I didn't show what each amendment did, because I figured if anyone was curious, they could go look at those minutes (I can't guarantee how easy those minutes are to read, but if I could figure it, presumably so could they). I also did not include any rescinded rules, although arguably I could have included them, struck them out, and indicated the date of rescission. Maybe I should have, but at a certain point, I think, it becomes a question of the intended audience, and with my audience, I felt it would increase confusion. Plus, the organization did a lot of making rules and then rescinding them, so the document would have become unwieldy. And, in all honesty, I was a volunteer, and there were monthly meetings, often with dozens of motions with continuing effect...

[Druhan]

Thank you all for your help. I will make sure to look out for future amendments and rescinsions.

On the document I made of the standing rules, I have numbered each of them in the order that they were adopted and then on the next line right below each rule it says, “Adopted on D Month, YYYY.” This way, people can find the minutes of the meeting that day if they want to read them.

We have never amended or rescinded a standing rule, as we do not have many of them; but, if we did, I think I would treat the document similarly to the Bylaws document. If we rescinded one, I would delete it and increase the number of each rule below it by one. If one was amended, I would not change the order—keeping them in the order they were adopted—and, under it, change it to “Adopted on [dates], and amended on [date(s)].”

Also, I do not give titles to the standing rules, except for one which was given a title/name with it when it was moved.

Edited April 23, 2019 at 07:12 PM by Druhan