Can a committee consist of only ex-officio members?

[CorkyT]

In our society, we have a committee where the Chair and Treasurer are ex-officio members of it.  Does the Chair need to actually appoint any more members for the committee to exist and do business?

According to references I've read, the Chair does not count for quorum purposes, but other ex-officio members who are members of the society do count for quorum. The Treasurer does satisfy that requirement.

Edited April 30, 2021 at 02:59 AM by CorkyT

[J. J.]

Yes, they would be the only two committee members. 

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, CorkyT said:

According to references I've read, the Chair does not count for quorum purposes, but other ex-officio members who are members of the society do count for quorum. The Treasurer does satisfy that requirement.

The devil is in the details. If the bylaws state simply that the chair is ex officio a member of all committees, without specifying which committees he is a member of, then it is true that he may participate and vote in committee meetings but does not count for quorum purposes.

However, if the bylaws provide that there shall be, for example, a “Budget process evaluation committee“ comprised of the president and treasurer, then that situation would be different. Since the president is named specifically to that committee, he and the treasurer would be the only two members of the committee and would both count for quorum purposes. 

if you tell us precisely what your bylaws say about the make up of this committee perhaps we can be more helpful. Please quote the pertinent provision exactly, don’t paraphrase. 
 

[CorkyT]

Here are the bylaws excerpts:

The Chair shall appoint the committee and committee chairs necessary for the work of the organization, with majority approval of the society.

The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all Standing Committees. The Treasurer shall be an ex-officio member of the Finance Committee.

and

The Finance Committee shall prepare an annual budget at the February meeting to be presented to the society for approval.

Someone challenged that the Finance Committee did not exist when it presented the budget proposal in February because no one else was appointed to the Finance committee.

Edited April 30, 2021 at 05:15 AM by CorkyT

[Richard Brown]

Thank you for the additional information. Based upon that information, I concur with JJ that If the president did not appoint any other members to this committee, then it is in essence a committee of two, being the treasurer by virtue of being specifically named a member ex officio and the president by virtue of being a member ex officio  of all committees.  

Some might say it is actually  a committee of one, being the treasurer, since in situations where the president is made a member ex officio of all committees, he is not generally considered an active member of the committee. But, even if it is a committee of one, that is still permissible.  This situation is unusual and perhaps even unorthodox, and I believe the president should appoint additional members, but I don’t think his failure to do so invalidates the committee or its actions.

in my opinion the point of order that the committee does not exist is not well taken

[CorkyT]

Great, thank you for verifying.

[Guest Teetee]

Can a non member ex-officio perform Treasury duties - and is that person accountable for unapproved funds 

[Joshua Katz]

What do you mean by a non-member ex-officio? A member ex-officio holds his membership by virtue of some other office. But I don't think you mean someone who is not a member because of some office he holds.

[Richard Brown]

Guest Teetee, your question is best asked by starting a new topic.