Committee vs. Task Force

[simcha]

Our bylaws state that committees are formed by the governing council or the executive board, and the committee chair is appointed by the president. Some people have argued that the president can form a task force without board approval, because it's just a task force, not a committee. I've read the section on committees in RONR (11th ed., 493-497), and it states that the president can't form a committee unless authorized by the bylaws (495 line 15).  I've never found the phrase "task force" in RONR, and as far as I can see, it's just another name for a committee, and forming one should follow the rules outlined in the bylaws. But....I'm not sure. Is a task force really different?  Thanks in advance for your help.

[Rob Elsman]

Some people are doing a little fancy dancing.  My sense of it is that a "task force" is just a committee.

[Gary Novosielski]

27 minutes ago, simcha said:

Our bylaws state that committees are formed by the governing council or the executive board, and the committee chair is appointed by the president. Some people have argued that the president can form a task force without board approval, because it's just a task force, not a committee. I've read the section on committees in RONR (11th ed., 493-497), and it states that the president can't form a committee unless authorized by the bylaws (495 line 15).  I've never found the phrase "task force" in RONR, and as far as I can see, it's just another name for a committee, and forming one should follow the rules outlined in the bylaws. But....I'm not sure. Is a task force really different?  Thanks in advance for your help.

I don't see any difference between a task force and any ordinary committee.  It's possible that a task force is authorized to act more independently than most committees, but that's not a rule.  Any committee can also be empowered to take actions, either independently or under direct supervision of the parent body.

The president has only such powers as are detailed in the bylaws, or routinely recognized in the parliamentary authority.  Unless your bylaws authorize the president to establish task forces, the power doesn't exist.

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, simcha said:

I've never found the phrase "task force" in RONR, and as far as I can see, it's just another name for a committee, and forming one should follow the rules outlined in the bylaws.

Sounds right to me.

1 hour ago, simcha said:

But....I'm not sure. Is a task force really different?

I don't think so. Perhaps you should ask these people who are claiming that the President can appoint task forces (but not committees) what they think the difference between a task force and a committee is.

Even if it is somehow different, however, the President still doesn't have the authority to appoint one, because (other than his duties as presiding officer), the President doesn't have the power to do anything except what the assembly or its rules authorize him to do.

"All of the duties of the presiding officer described above relate to the function of presiding over the assembly at its meetings. In addition, in many organized societies, the president has duties as an administrative or executive officer; but these are outside the scope of parliamentary law, and the president has such authority only insofar as the bylaws provide it." (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 456)

Edited July 15, 2020 at 02:50 AM by Josh Martin

[simcha]

Thank you all for the replies!  This is very helpful. I had forgotten that paragraph on p. 456.

[simcha]

1 hour ago, Rob Elsman said:

Some people are doing a little fancy dancing.  My sense of it is that a "task force" is just a committee.

"Fancy dancing"  -- exactly!  :)