Bylaw Committee 2 Part question?

[Guest Curious Geroge]

Are the members of a Bylaw Committee allowed to modify a proposed amendment before sending it to the assembly, or do they have to submit the original proposal, as is, along with their proposed changes to the proposed amendment? 

Are the members of a Bylaw Committee allowed to not submit a proposed amendment if they don’t feel that it is warranted or in the best interest of the assembly?

[Bruce Lages]

That will depend entirely on the authority given the committee either in the bylaws (typically for a standing committee) or in the motion establishing the committee. I think that among many organizations both positive and negative responses to both questions could be expected.

[Rob Elsman]

A main motion referred by an assembly to a committee must not be defaced in any way; when the committee makes its report, any recommended modifications are listed separately at the conclusion of the report.  RONR (12th ed.) 51:4.

[Josh Martin]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:31 AM, Rob Elsman said:

A main motion referred by an assembly to a committee must not be defaced in any way; when the committee makes its report, any recommended modifications are listed separately at the conclusion of the report.  RONR (12th ed.) 51:4.

I agree, but it is not clear that the motions discussed here are motions referred to the committee by the full assembly. Quite frequently, bylaws committees are also charged with reviewing proposed amendments submitted by constituent units, other committees, a certain number of individual members, and so forth.

In the latter case, RONR does not directly address this issue, but what RONR says pertaining to a Resolutions Committee (discussed in RONR (12th ed.) 59:67-83) may also be relevant here.

[Rob Elsman]

On 1/24/2022 at 9:51 AM, Guest Curious Geroge said:

...or do they have to submit the original proposal, as is...

It seems clear to me that the Bylaws Committee is not the originator of the "original proposal". 😊

[Atul Kapur]

On 1/24/2022 at 11:51 AM, Rob Elsman said:

It seems clear to me that the Bylaws Committee is not the originator of the "original proposal". 😊

No one is saying that they are. However, as Messrs. Lages and Martin have noted, the authority given to a bylaws committee by the organization itself (in its bylaws or other rules) may allow the committee to present an amended motion to the Assembly.

The power to not present a proposal at all is rarer, in my experience.

So my answer to Curious Geroge (with the curious spelling) is that RONR does not give the bylaws committee that authority but it would be prudent to check whether the organization specifically does.

[Rob Elsman]

I think I have been misunderstood.  If an assembly refers a main motion to a committee, any recommended amendments should be listed separately, and the text of the main motion should be returned to the assembly unaltered.

[Richard Brown]

On 1/24/2022 at 11:25 AM, Rob Elsman said:

If an assembly refers a main motion to a committee, any recommended amendments should be listed separately, and the text of the main motion should be returned to the assembly unaltered.

I would say that is not necessarily the case with a bylaws committee.  The committee's power would depend on its power granted to it in the bylaws. I've seen wide variations in the authority granted to bylaws committees.

[Josh Martin]

On 1/24/2022 at 11:25 AM, Rob Elsman said:

I think I have been misunderstood.  If an assembly refers a main motion to a committee, any recommended amendments should be listed separately, and the text of the main motion should be returned to the assembly unaltered.

The misunderstanding is that we're talking about two different things.

I believe we are all in agreement that "If an assembly refers a main motion to a committee, any recommended amendments should be listed separately, and the text of the main motion should be returned to the assembly unaltered," unless the organization's rules provide otherwise.

It is not clear, however, that the amendments in question originate from the parent assembly. Certainly it seems unlikely they originate from the bylaws committee. It may be, however, that they originate from some other place - individual members, another committee, a constituent unit of a state or national society, and so forth.

In the event that the organization's rules are entirely silent on that matter, then the bylaws committee is under no obligation to consider such amendments, and to the extent it wishes to consider them, the committee can act as it sees fit, including amending the proposed amendments, or by declining to submit the proposed amendments to the assembly. The situation is the same as an amendment proposed by the committee itself, since the committee either takes up the proposal as its own, or declines to move forward with it. The original proposers could then submit the amendments on their own.

On the other hand, it is not uncommon for an organization's rules to provide that bylaw amendments must be submitted to the bylaws committee and that the committee must consider such amendments. In such cases, the committee's powers in regard to these submissions are hopefully defined in the organization's rules. RONR discusses a similar situation in regard to a Resolutions Committee, and what RONR says on that subject may be of assistance.

So I think we are ultimately unable to answer the OP's question unless additional facts are provided regarding where these amendments originated from and what (if anything) the bylaws say regarding bylaw amendments and the bylaws committee.

Edited January 24, 2022 at 07:50 PM by Josh Martin

[Guest Curious Geroge]

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking time to help me with my questions!  

The Bylaw Committee is established in the Bylaws as a standing committee.  The Judge Advocate (JA) is "responsible for reviewing any prospective changes to the Bylaws, that are submitted by members, and for the JA to review for form and content."  The JA is also the Bylaw Committee Chairperson, where it states that, "any proposed amendment shall be submitted to the E-Board to allow the Board to attach a recommendation to be submitted at the annual meeting."  Other than requirement to provide notice to the assembly, the Bylaws are silent to my original two questions.     

Do these additional details change anyone's opinion on the matter?    Thank you in advance!

[Josh Martin]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:07 AM, Guest Curious Geroge said:

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking time to help me with my questions!  

The Bylaw Committee is established in the Bylaws as a standing committee.  The Judge Advocate (JA) is "responsible for reviewing any prospective changes to the Bylaws, that are submitted by members, and for the JA to review for form and content."  The JA is also the Bylaw Committee Chairperson, where it states that, "any proposed amendment shall be submitted to the E-Board to allow the Board to attach a recommendation to be submitted at the annual meeting."  Other than requirement to provide notice to the assembly, the Bylaws are silent to my original two questions.     

Do these additional details change anyone's opinion on the matter?    Thank you in advance!

It is ultimately up to the organization to interpret its own bylaws, and I think the organization should amend the bylaws in the future to clarify these matters.

In the interim, I would personally interpret the provisions in question as requiring the Bylaws Committee to submit all amendments as originally worded, and that the Bylaws Committee is authorized only to provide its recommendations as to whether the amendments should be adopted and recommendations for any amendments to the proposed amendments. The language in question does not, in my view, authorize the committee to amend the proposed amendments itself or to withhold proposed amendments from the assembly.

I would again urge reviewing the language in RONR (12th ed.) 59:67-83. That information may be of assistance when revising the rules to clarify the degree of authority the society wishes for the Bylaws Committee to have in regard to these amendments.

Edited January 26, 2022 at 03:47 PM by Josh Martin

[Richard Brown]

I concur with Mr. Martin‘s comments immediately above. 

[Atul Kapur]

On 1/26/2022 at 10:47 AM, Josh Martin said:

The language in question does not, in my view, authorize the committee to amend the proposed amendments itself or to withhold proposed amendments from the assembly.

 I agree with all of Mr. Martin's response, including the specific answers to your original two questions above.

[Guest Curious Geroge]

On 1/26/2022 at 10:47 AM, Josh Martin said:

I would again urge reviewing the language in RONR (12th ed.) 59:67-83.

Josh, I did review 59:67-83, it was very helpful...thank you!  And gentleman thank you for all of your advice on this topic; I'm grateful for this forum!

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 1/24/2022 at 12:12 PM, Atul Kapur said:

So my answer to Curious Geroge (with the curious spelling)

He must have been trained by the man in the yellwo hat. 🙂