Who determines what's on an agenda?

[Tomm]

A board member asked the corporate secretary (who is not a member of the board) to add his resolution to the agenda of the upcoming board meeting. The secretary challenged him and asked if he wrote the resolution to which he replied that he didn't, but it's my understanding the resolution was written by another board member. The secretary would not allow the resolution to be added to the agenda. This seems wrong to me!

Question: What does it take for somebody to reject adding an item to an agenda? Who should, or could be allowed to make a decision like that? My assumption would be that any and all items requested to be added to the agenda by a board member should be honored and added! The motion/resolution could always be rejected by the board with a no-second or no vote at the meeting or a member could attempt to amend and remove the motion during the approval of agenda? 

[Joshua Katz]

None of this makes sense from a RONR perspective, so it is most likely governed by your own rules. Per RONR, the agenda is adopted at the meeting, not before, and anything that is presented beforehand is a suggestion. A member would simply move when the agenda is pending for adoption to amend it to add the item. That is the procedure I would suggest, unless other rules interfere here. Note also that, if the rules in RONR are controlling, the motion can be made after completion of the agenda but before adjournment.

You are correct that the procedure for rejecting a motion with which a person disagrees is to vote no on it, not keep it off the agenda. You are also correct that a member could move to amend to remove it at the meeting if it is on the proposed agenda. 

As for the rest, there aren't really clear-cut answers there, for the reasons above.