Appointment of Committee Chairs

[AnnJ]

Do committee chairpersons have to be appointed at a general meeting or can the president appoint at an executive meeting? Does their acceptance of the position have to part of the minutes of a meeting?

[Richard Brown]

37 minutes ago, AnnJ said:

Do committee chairpersons have to be appointed at a general meeting or can the president appoint at an executive meeting? Does their acceptance of the position have to part of the minutes of a meeting?

That's a hard question to answer without more information and a lot depends on what your bylaws say about creating and appointing committee members and chairs.  It can also make a difference whether these are standing committees or special committees and it makes a difference whether these are committees of the membership or board committees (which may be appointed at a board meeting).

So, for openers, it would be most helpful if you can quote EXACTLY what the bylaws say about both standing and special committees and how the chairs get appointed.  That will sometimes be inn a section about committees and will sometimes be in the section about the powers and duties of the president.  Please quote exactly, don't paraphrase, although you may disguise the name of the organization if you want to.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 7/9/2021 at 11:05 AM, AnnJ said:

Do committee chairpersons have to be appointed at a general meeting or can the president appoint at an executive meeting? Does their acceptance of the position have to part of the minutes of a meeting?

I think that if the president is authorized to appoint committees, this can be done outside the context of a meeting, at least as far as speaking with the appointees and ensuring they will accept the assignment.

The actual appointments should must be announced by the president under Reports of Officers at the next meeting of the body to whom the committee(s) will report.  The report can be filed in the same way as committee reports, or, if desired, can be included in the miote.

Edited to add:

Rereading 50:13(d), it's apparent that if the appointments take place outside the meeting, that the subsequent announcement of the president must be recorded in the minutes.

Edited July 11, 2021 at 10:27 PM by Gary Novosielski

[Weldon Merritt]

9 minutes ago, Gary Novosielski said:

I think that if the president is authorized to appoint committees, this can be done outside the context of a meeting, at least as far as speaking with the appointees and ensuring they will accept the assignment.

The actual appointments should be announced by the president under Reports of Officers at the next meeting of the body to whom the committee(s) will report.  The report can be filed in the same way as committee reports, or, if desired, can be included in the minutes by majority vote.

It's a bit stronger than "should." "But the chair must announce the names of the committee members to the assembly, ... and until such announcement is made the committee cannot act." RONR (12 ed.) 50:13(d) (emphasis added).

[Gary Novosielski]

5 minutes ago, Weldon Merritt said:

It's a bit stronger than "should." "But the chair must announce the names of the committee members to the assembly, ... and until such announcement is made the committee cannot act." RONR (12 ed.) 50:13(d) (emphasis added).

I agree.  My intention there was to point out at which meeting the report should must be given.  

[Atul Kapur]

1 hour ago, Weldon Merritt said:

It's a bit stronger than "should." "But the chair must announce the names of the committee members to the assembly, ... and until such announcement is made the committee cannot act." RONR (12 ed.) 50:13(d) (emphasis added).

I read this as only applying in the situation where the chair is appointing a non-member to the committee and the chair is not pre-authorized to do so.

Otherwise, I understand that the committee can act as soon as the president appoints the members.

I read it this way because of the opening sentence of the paragraph from which you have quoted.

Edited July 11, 2021 at 05:08 AM by Atul Kapur

[Weldon Merritt]

8 hours ago, Atul Kapur said:

I read this as only applying in the situation where the chair is appointing a non-member to the committee and the chair is not pre-authorized to do so.

I have re-read the entire paragraph, and I don't read it that way. I still think the requirement applies to all committee appointments. But I would be interested in others' opinions on the issue.

[Joshua Katz]

5 minutes ago, Weldon Merritt said:

I have re-read the entire paragraph, and I don't read it that way. I still think the requirement applies to all committee appointments. But I would be interested in others' opinions on the issue.

I agree with Mr. Merritt.

When..., except....

But...

Given the structure above, I think that the but clause modifies the whole when clause, not only the except clause. Thus, When the chair appoints a committee ... But the chair must... The exception is to the rule that no vote is taken, and the but is not an exception to the exception, but to the general rule.

This conclusion is strengthened by what follows. The next sentence concerns the case where the assembly wishes to let the chair make the selection outside a meeting. In the instance discussed, after adjournment is equivalent to outside a meeting, as the committee cannot be populated before it exists.

 

[Dan Honemann]

10 hours ago, Weldon Merritt said:

It's a bit stronger than "should." "But the chair must announce the names of the committee members to the assembly, ... and until such announcement is made the committee cannot act." RONR (12 ed.) 50:13(d) (emphasis added).

 

9 hours ago, Atul Kapur said:

I read this as only applying in the situation where the chair is appointing a non-member to the committee and the chair is not pre-authorized to do so.

Otherwise, I understand that the committee can act as soon as the president appoints the members.

 

1 hour ago, Weldon Merritt said:

I have re-read the entire paragraph, and I don't read it that way. I still think the requirement applies to all committee appointments. But I would be interested in others' opinions on the issue.

I agree with Mr. Merritt.

The last sub-paragraph of 50:13(d) reads as follows:

"When the chair appoints a committee, no vote is taken on the appointees, except any who are not members of the assembly in cases where there is no prior authorization for the chair to appoint non–assembly members to the committee—either in the bylaws or in a motion directing the appointment of the particular committee (see also 13:15, 56:46). But the chair must announce the names of the committee members to the assembly, naming the chairman of the committee first, as in (c) above; and until such announcement is made the committee cannot act. If the assembly orders the appointment of a special committee and it is desired to let the chair select the committee members after adjournment, this delay must be authorized by the assembly; the names of the committee members must then be announced at the next meeting and recorded in the minutes."

The rule contained in the second sentence is applicable whenever the chair appoints a committee. In this connection, it is helpful to note what is said in the paragraph which begins at the bottom of page 257 of PL, and ends at the top of page 258. It should also be noted that this rule is not referring to any situation in which the president appoints a committee pursuant to power conferred upon him by the bylaws or by assembly action in an individual case.

 

[Rob Elsman]

There is a lot going on in 13:15, and, I fear, the mixture of various rules in one paragraph has led to some confusion.  My understanding is that the committee members' names shall be "on the record" before the members are empowered to commence the committee's activities.  If the presiding officer does not name the members during the meeting at which the subsidiary motion to Commit or the main motion is adopted, the committee shall not commence its activities until the names shall have been announced at the next meeting and entered on the minutes; however, in every case, the committee shall be given a sufficient amount of time to complete its tasks.

[Gary Novosielski]

18 hours ago, Atul Kapur said:

I read this as only applying in the situation where the chair is appointing a non-member to the committee and the chair is not pre-authorized to do so.

Otherwise, I understand that the committee can act as soon as the president appoints the members.

I read it this way because of the opening sentence of the paragraph from which you have quoted.

I think the only difference when a non-member is appointed is the requirement for a vote on that person's appointment, unless the president has been authorized in advance to make such appointments.  

As I read the paragraph, the requirement to announce the members applies in any case.  In the sentence beginning "When the chair appoints a committee, no vote is taken on the appointees, except...", the exception applies to non-member appointments.  But the beginning of the next sentence reads naturally if all the words from except through the end of the previous sentence are omitted:

"...no vote is taken on the appointees. But the chair must announce the names..."

Edited July 11, 2021 at 11:21 PM by Gary Novosielski
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