Who can submit amendments to bylaws?

[Guest KDRREPTG]

Bylaws state "This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote at any meeting provided it was proposed at a previous meeting."

Who can submit a proposed amendment to the constitution/bylaws? Is anyone excluded (ie: President)? Since bylaws state at any meeting, does that include a non-public Executive board meeting? Because it states "at a previous meeting" doesn't that override RONR rule of 3 meetings to submit, review, present?

[Dan Honemann]

First of all, would you like to tell us where in RONR you find this "rule of 3 meetings to submit, review, present?"  🙂

 

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[Atul Kapur]

10 minutes ago, Guest KDRREPTG said:

Who can submit a proposed amendment to the constitution/bylaws? Is anyone excluded (ie: President)?

Presumably, any member. So no one is excluded, not the president nor anyone else. The president, chairing the meeting, may prefer to make arrangements beforehand to have someone else make the actual motion.

13 minutes ago, Guest KDRREPTG said:

Since bylaws state at any meeting, does that include a non-public Executive board meeting?

Presumably it refers to a previous general membership meeting, assuming that it is the membership meeting that can vote to amend the bylaws (not clear from the excerpt you've provided).

15 minutes ago, Guest KDRREPTG said:

Because it states "at a previous meeting" doesn't that override RONR rule of 3 meetings

As Mr. Honemann has noted, this isn't found in RONR so please cite your source.

In any case, bylaws supersede the rules found in RONR.

[Gary Novosielski]

1 hour ago, Guest KDRREPTG said:

Bylaws state "This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote at any meeting provided it was proposed at a previous meeting."

Who can submit a proposed amendment to the constitution/bylaws? Is anyone excluded (ie: President)? Since bylaws state at any meeting, does that include a non-public Executive board meeting? Because it states "at a previous meeting" doesn't that override RONR rule of 3 meetings to submit, review, present?

It would be quite unusual for a bylaws amendment to be adopted in secret by the Executive board.

Without reading your entire bylaws, I would assume with virtual certainty that only the general membership at a meeting of the general membership may amend the bylaws. The board has only such powers as are granted to them by the bylaws.  It would make no sense to allow the board to grant themselves unlimited power and lifetime terms of office with no way to prevent it.

And RONR has no such rule as "three meetings".  Do your bylaws have such a rule?  Even if they do, it apparently does not apply to amending the bylaws.  And if they don't, you should stop doing so.