Amending a motion to change constitution

[Guest Dean]

The board brings a motion at our annual meeting to change the constitution of our organization. It cannot be voted on until a special meeting with at least ten days notice. Can it be amended at the annual meeting? If amended at the special meeting I would assume it can’t be voted on until at another special meeting with at least ten days notice?

[J. J.]

14 minutes ago, Guest Dean said:

The board brings a motion at our annual meeting to change the constitution of our organization. It cannot be voted on until a special meeting with at least ten days notice. Can it be amended at the annual meeting? If amended at the special meeting I would assume it can’t be voted on until at another special meeting with at least ten days notice?

Unless you require the board to approve the specific wording of amendment, it can be amended within scope of notice.  For example, the bylaws set some fee at $100; the amendment is to increase that to $200.  That motion could be amended for some amount greater than $100 but less than $200.  If the proposal was amended within the scope of notice, e.g. $150, it could be adopted and no further noice would be needed.

[Guest Dean]

The board does not have to approve specific wording. I’m preparing for the meeting which I will chair. My thought was that it could be amended at the annual meeting and then voted on at the special meeting at least ten days later. A friend said it couldn’t be amended at the annual meeting because there was not ten days notice of this motion before the annual meeting. In essence saying no action could happen to the motion without the notice of it coming up. My thought was it could be amended just not enacted without the notice

[J. J.]

11 minutes ago, Guest Dean said:

The board does not have to approve specific wording. I’m preparing for the meeting which I will chair. My thought was that it could be amended at the annual meeting and then voted on at the special meeting at least ten days later. A friend said it couldn’t be amended at the annual meeting because there was not ten days notice of this motion before the annual meeting. In essence saying no action could happen to the motion without the notice of it coming up. My thought was it could be amended just not enacted without the notice

No, but after 10 days notice it can be amended within scope of notice. 

[Richard Brown]

Agreeing with JJ, if the proposed amendment cannot be voted on at your annual meeting, then you cannot amend it at that meeting either. However, as JJ said, you can amend it at the special meeting provided the new amendment is within the scope of notice of the original proposed amendment. 
 

Edited to add: If the required notice of the proposed amendment is not given to the membership at least 10 days prior to the annual meeting, then your friend is right and it cannot be amended at the annual meeting.

Edited January 7, 2020 at 05:11 AM by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph

[Atul Kapur]

It sounds like the notice of motion is being given at the annual meeting (and the business of the special meeting, the proposed amendment  to the bylaws, needs to be included in the notice of the special meeting).

I agree that the constitutional amendment cannot be amended at the annual meeting. If someone wants to suggest a different amendment at the annual meeting, they can give notice of their own constitutional amendment for the special meeting.