Making bylaw amendments retroactive

[Beverly Przybylski]

I read with close attention the NP article (Vol. 82, No. 2) by C.J. Mills, PRP, and Jonathan M. Jacobs, PRP, titled, "Retroactivity." I'm familiar with using a proviso to control the effective dates of newly adopted bylaws amendments, and I know that ratifying actions is another way of retroactively approving actions that were not authorized at the time, but never in my wildest dreams would it have occurred to me that bylaws amendments could be made retroactive. I've never heard of it being done. I don't doubt what the authors wrote, but I would like to hear more thoughts on this.

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

 

[Dan Honemann]

12 hours ago, Beverly Przybylski said:

I read with close attention the NP article (Vol. 82, No. 2) by C.J. Mills, PRP, and Jonathan M. Jacobs, PRP, titled, "Retroactivity." I'm familiar with using a proviso to control the effective dates of newly adopted bylaws amendments, and I know that ratifying actions is another way of retroactively approving actions that were not authorized at the time, but never in my wildest dreams would it have occurred to me that bylaws amendments could be made retroactive. I've never heard of it being done. I don't doubt what the authors wrote, but I would like to hear more thoughts on this.

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

 

You will find a rather brief discussion of this here.

I don't remember having seen the article in the NP to which you refer, and so I express no opinion concerning it.

 

[Beverly Przybylski]

Thank you, Mr. Honemann, for pointing me to a previous discussion and the Q&A in PL. It was very helpful. 

I would love to hear more. Has anyone ever been in a meeting where a bylaws amendment was adopted and made retroactive? If so, would you share the details? If not, would you agree or disagree that it could/should be done?

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

[J. J.]

27 minutes ago, Beverly Przybylski said:

Thank you, Mr. Honemann, for pointing me to a previous discussion and the Q&A in PL. It was very helpful. 

I would love to hear more. Has anyone ever been in a meeting where a bylaws amendment was adopted and made retroactive? If so, would you share the details? If not, would you agree or disagree that it could/should be done?

Thank you,

Beverly Przybylski, PRP

Not at a meeting, but at a country level.  The US.  See the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, Section 4.  That is, effectively, a retroactive act.

Historically, the English Parliament does have a record of retroactively authorizing action, to the point of declaring royal children legitimate years after they were born out of wedlock. 

In terms of Gen. Robert's writing, Parliamentary Law, Q & A 107 would go well beyond the concepts described in the article, but would effectively be retroactive, i.e. authorizing something at a meeting that could not occur legitimately.

The basic premise of the article is that the bylaws are superior to RONR and that the society can do what it wishes to do, procedurally, through its bylaws. 

[J. J.]

I would add that members of the Pennsylvania Association of Parliamentarians, Inc., does plan to authorize some actions taken in the pandemic via a bylaw amendment.