Reading of Minutes

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi there, just want to make sure I'm not misinterpreting RONR. For the reading of minutes, can you forego the reading and skip to the approval of the minutes at the regular time if the minutes are distributed to members through a written agenda before hand, or regardless of that, you have to make a motion to forego them that requires a simple majority vote?

[Caryn Ann Harlos]

41:9 ays that in organizations where copies of the minutes of each previous meeting as prepared by the secretary are sent to all members in advance, the chair announces this has been done and the actual reading of them aloud is dispensed unless any member then requests that they be read.

So no motion is required to forgo that - a proactive request by a member is needed to have them read (provided those conditions above are met).

[Atul Kapur]

8 hours ago, Guest Anonymous said:

can you forego the reading and skip to the approval of the minutes at the regular time if the minutes are distributed to members through a written agenda before hand

Correct. So the presiding officer, instead of asking the secretary to read the minutes, says, "The minutes were distributed along with the agenda. Are there any corrections to the minutes?"

If there are no corrections, the presiding officer declares they are approved. Don't even need a motion.

[Gary Novosielski]

3 hours ago, Atul Kapur said:

"The minutes were distributed along with the agenda. Are there any corrections to the minutes?"

As this is essentially unanimous consent, would it not be appropriate for the chair to say, "The minutes have been distributed to all members. Without objection, reading is waived. Are there any corrections to the minutes?" 

[Atul Kapur]

RONR (12th ed.) 41:12 says that "they are not read at the meeting unless a member requests it."

I think there is a difference between an objection to not reading the minutes and a request to read the minutes. I'd prefer to keep the onus on the member to make the request instead of having the chair invite one.

[Gary Novosielski]

I see your point, but it is not really a request, it is a demand, since the minutes must be read on the "request" of a single member.  Since a single member can alter the process, it amounts to an objection not unlike that of a unanimous consent request.

The difference occurs in what happens next.  In the case of a unanimous consent request, the chair states the question as a motion.  But here, the chair upon hearing objection (or requisition) would simply say "The secretary will read the minutes."