Discussion Item and Action Item

[Quietstorm]

Good day, hope everyone's doing well. I have a question about how the Chairperson presents his agenda. He has two categories  "Discussion Items and Action Items". He insists that those items under "Discussion" are only there for that purpose (to discuss) and become "Action Items" (for example to be voted on by the Board) "at the next meeting". And the "Action Items listed are previous "Discussion Items" to be voted on at a current meeting. Am I missing something? I don't recall seeing these items on any standard agenda. Thanks in advance.

[Atul Kapur]

I've seen this in several public bodies that operate under "open meeting" laws, as a way to prevent surprises.

However, this is not found in RONR and would need to be in your special rules of order.

[George Mervosh]

First off, the suggestion that it's "his agenda" that the group is bound by is incorrect.  See the answer to FAQ#14 https://robertsrules.com/frequently-asked-questions/#faqs

Next, if your group has adopted RONR and meets within quarterly time intervals, the standard order of business (see 41:5ff) applies and there's no need to adopt an agenda.

If your group's bylaws or special rules don't define what a discussion item is or what an action item is, then it seems that the chair just made this up since those things aren't defined in RONR either, though we do see those terms used here by posters from time to time but I have no clue what they mean.

 

[Quietstorm]

Thank you for the quick response. Much appreciated.