Creating a Permanent Special Committee.

[Druhan]

Our bylaws list the standing committees and their duties, and also they say, "Special committees may be created by the Chapter and shall be composed of those members it appoints."

We want to create another committee without adding it to the bylaws, so I am proposing that we make a standing rule that creates a special committee that is permanent. I am also drafting some bylaw amendments, and I want to know if I can put both bylaw amendments and standing rules into the same resolution; the former requires a two-thirds vote and the latter a majority vote. My drafted resolution follows, but I do not know how to word the standing rules paragraph. Am I doing this right?

            Resolved, That Article II, Section 10-H of the Bylaws be amended by...;

            Resolved, That Article VIII, Section 2-B of the Bylaws be amended by...; and

            Resolved, That the new Standing Rule 4 reads as follows: “There shall be a permanent special committee called the Health and Safety Board to counsel the members of the Chapter which shall consist of the Secretary as its chairman and six members at large appointed by its chairman.”

[Josh Martin]

3 minutes ago, Druhan said:

Our bylaws list the standing committees and their duties, and also they say, "Special committees may be created by the Chapter and shall be composed of those members it appoints."

We want to create another committee without adding it to the bylaws, so I am proposing that we make a standing rule that creates a special committee that is permanent. I am also drafting some bylaw amendments, and I want to know if I can put both bylaw amendments and standing rules into the same resolution; the former requires a two-thirds vote and the latter a majority vote. My drafted resolution follows, but I do not know how to word the standing rules paragraph. Am I doing this right?

            Resolved, That Article II, Section 10-H of the Bylaws be amended by...;

            Resolved, That Article VIII, Section 2-B of the Bylaws be amended by...; and

            Resolved, That the new Standing Rule 4 reads as follows: “There shall be a permanent special committee called the Health and Safety Board to counsel the members of the Chapter which shall consist of the Secretary as its chairman and six members at large appointed by its chairman.”

There is no such thing as a "permanent special committee" in RONR. A standing committee, by definition, is a committee with continuing existence. A special committee, by definition, is a committee which exists only to complete a specified task. As a result, what you call a "permanent special committee" is in actuality a standing committee. In addition, even if it was a special committee, the proposed rule would still be in conflict with the bylaws since the bylaws provide that special committees "shall be composed of those members it appoints" and the proposed rule provides a different method for the appointment of the committee's members. Therefore, the proposed rule is not in order.

If it is desired to create this committee and to not add the committee to the bylaws, then what could be done is to amend the bylaws to authorize the creation of additional standing committees.

As to to the question of whether amendments to the bylaws and standing rules may be combined in the same resolution, I think so, but the resulting resolution will require the higher vote threshold (the requirement to adopt bylaw amendments) for its adoption. Additionally, it should be noted that amendments and standing rules combined in this manner may be divided by majority vote if they are on related subjects or upon the demand of a single member if they are on unrelated subjects.

"Standing committees are constituted to perform a continuing function, and remain in existence permanently or for the life of the assembly that establishes them." RONR (12th ed.) 50:7

"If certain standing committees are enumerated in the bylaws, no standing committee aside from those enumerated can be established without amending the bylaws, unless the bylaws also include a provision authorizing the creation of additional standing committees (see also 56:44–48)." RONR (12th ed.) 50:9

"A special (select, or ad hoc) committee is a committee appointed, as the need arises, to carry out a specified task, at the completion of which—that is, on presentation of its final report to the assembly—it automatically ceases to exist." RONR (12th ed.) 50:10

"The article on committees should provide for the establishment of each of the standing committees (50) that it is known will be required. A separate section devoted to each of these committees should give its name, composition, manner of selection, and duties. If this article names certain standing committees, no other standing committees can be appointed without amending the bylaws, unless a provision is included—usually in a separate section of the article as described below—permitting the establishment of such other standing committees as are deemed necessary to carry on the work of the society." RONR (12th ed.) 56:44

[Druhan]

Thank you very much for your comprehensive response. Because, as you pointed out, the proposed rule would not be in order and because we would like to define the duties of the committee, I am just going to add the committee to the bylaws. You have been a great help.

[Atul Kapur]

1 hour ago, Josh Martin said:

"The article on committees should provide for the establishment of each of the standing committees (50) that it is known will be required

You need to be careful with formatting when copying from The Book. In RONR, the section number is (bolded).

Otherwise it runs the risk of being interpreted as saying it is known that 50 standing committees will be required.

Edited October 21, 2020 at 07:47 PM by Atul Kapur