Suspended Constitution

[Guest Brokonstitution]

Our constitution states:

The selected committee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations in writing to the Parent Board within 45 days.

There is no particular rule in the constitution that specifically provides for its suspension.

Is this rule properly within the nature of a rule of order as described on page 17, lines 22-25?

 

This committee missed the 45 day deadline, so they passed a motion to extend the time limits so they wouldn't be ruled unconstitutional. I'm not convinced the motion was in order.

[Atul Kapur]

No, this is not a rule of order. The definition of Rules of Order is found on p. 15, lines 9-11: "Such rules relate to the orderly transaction of business in meetings and to the duties of officers in that connection." (Emphasis added)

This rule is not about what goes on in or during a meeting.

The section on Suspend the Rules reinforces this. "The object of this motion [Suspend the Rules] is to suspend one or more rules applicable to the assembly . . . that interfere with proposed action during a meeting." (RONR 11th ed., p. 261, lines 22-26. Emphasis added)

and, on p. 264, lines 29-30: "Rules that have their application outside of the session which is in progress cannot be suspended." Unless you have a session that runs the entire 45 days, it cannot be suspended.

[Guest Brokonstitution]

Thank you for responding, Atul.

I was having difficulty identifying the mechanisms of what constitutes "during a meeting" and "not during a meeting" regarding this question.

The committee has 45 days to complete a task. That is a fixed sequence of time assigned by the constitution. Changing that fixed limit would require whatever process is necessary for amending the constitution.

It seems to me that the 45 day constitutional statute would have been treated as nothing more than a custom if a motion to extend that limit were permissible in any committee meeting.

[Gary Novosielski]

No, the committee cannot vote to extend a time limit imposed upon it by the constitution, unless the constitution explicitly provides for that.  If they miss the deadline, they don't necessarily get "ruled unconstitutional".  The parent body to which they report might get upset or choose to let it slide. 

hey can vote to discharge the committee from further consideration of the matter, and take it into their own hands.  But since the constitution sets the time limit, even they cannot vote to extend it.  But they could also just allow the committee to continue until they're done.  If nobody moves to discipline the committee members, there won't be an automatic penalty, if the rules in RONR apply.

Edited May 10, 2020 at 05:28 PM by Gary Novosielski

[Guest Brokonstitution]

Thank you for responding, Gary.

The constitution does not explicitly provide for an extension to this 45 day time limit.

The purpose of the committee is to investigate charges made by members against officers.

Here's where it gets sticky.

The committee is a standing committee.

The committee is constitutionally bound to a specifically stated "due process" clause when handling these charges.

Constitutionally, the parent board had the choice between handing the issue to the standing committee or handling it themselves. The parent board chose to hand the charges investigation off to the standing committee. The standing committee just failed to do the job in time.

I forecast the charging party will be less than pleased considering the "due process" issue, but that likely will be an issue for another day.

[Josh Martin]

7 hours ago, Guest Brokonstitution said:

The constitution does not explicitly provide for an extension to this 45 day time limit.

The purpose of the committee is to investigate charges made by members against officers.

Here's where it gets sticky.

The committee is a standing committee.

The committee is constitutionally bound to a specifically stated "due process" clause when handling these charges.

Constitutionally, the parent board had the choice between handing the issue to the standing committee or handling it themselves. The parent board chose to hand the charges investigation off to the standing committee. The standing committee just failed to do the job in time.

Based on these additional facts, I think it would be desirable to see the full text of the rule in question, in order to make an informed opinion of what exactly occurs if the committee fails to report within the 45 day time period. I agree entirely with my colleagues that the rule in question may not be suspended. What exactly this means if a committee does not report within the required time seems less clear.

Edited May 11, 2020 at 01:31 PM by Josh Martin

[Guest Brokonstitution]

Thank you for responding, Josh.

There is no constitutionally started result if the condition of ,meeting the 45 day deadline, is not met. There is only a stated obligation in a separate section placed upon all officers to basically "follow the constitution".

If the Parent Board forwards the complaint to a committee, the selected committee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations in writing to the Parent Board within 45 days.

Upon receipt, the Parent Board Chair shall cause those involved to be notified that the selected committee's report is before the Parent Board. The Parent Board shall render a decision and notify those involved in writing within a reasonable period of time.

I hope this answers your question.

[Josh Martin]

10 minutes ago, Guest Brokonstitution said:

Thank you for responding, Josh.

There is no constitutionally started result if the condition of ,meeting the 45 day deadline, is not met. There is only a stated obligation in a separate section placed upon all officers to basically "follow the constitution".

If the Parent Board forwards the complaint to a committee, the selected committee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations in writing to the Parent Board within 45 days.

Upon receipt, the Parent Board Chair shall cause those involved to be notified that the selected committee's report is before the Parent Board. The Parent Board shall render a decision and notify those involved in writing within a reasonable period of time.

I hope this answers your question.

Yes, I think this is very helpful.

Personally, I am inclined to think that, after the deadline has passed, the parent board is obliged to "render a decision and notify those involved in writing within a reasonable period of time" notwithstanding the committee's failure to submit its report, although it would certainly be desirable to clarify this matter in the constitution in the future. It will ultimately, of course, be up to the organization to interpret its own rules.

[Guest Brokonstitution]

Josh,

I agree with the concept that, once the deadline strikes, the parent board goes with what they have at that moment; even if all they have is a blank sheet of paper.

Instead, a time extension has been unilaterally granted to this committee, while there is no mechanism allowing such practices.

I do not support the open ended "reasonable period of time" clause, especially since there is no explicitly stated requirement for the "reason" to be sound. That's what the body has agreed upon though for... some... reason.

[Gary Novosielski]

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Edited May 18, 2020 at 07:02 PM by Gary Novosielski