Must an Agenda be approved?

[Tomm]

Agendas were typically published and posted 7 days before a meeting of the board. The last couple of meetings, the agenda's continue to be posted but didn't list "approval of the agenda" on the agenda and no motions were made at the meeting to do so.

Must it be approved at the beginning of the meeting?

Is there some sort of advantage not to approve the agenda?

Does not approving it give the board some sort of advantage or more options?

 

[Josh Martin]

On 2/10/2022 at 10:05 PM, Tomm said:

Agendas were typically published and posted 7 days before a meeting of the board. The last couple of meetings, the agenda's continue to be posted but didn't list "approval of the agenda" on the agenda and no motions were made at the meeting to do so.

Must it be approved at the beginning of the meeting?

Is there some sort of advantage not to approve the agenda?

Does not approving it give the board some sort of advantage or more options?

Under the rules in RONR, an agenda must be adopted in order for the agenda to be binding. What happens if the agenda is not adopted depends on whether the assembly has a regular order of business. If it does, then that order of business is followed. If it does not, then (except in regard to any orders of the day which have been established), then the order in which the business shall be conducted is essentially a free for all.

"In some organizations, it is customary to send each member, in advance of a meeting, an order of business or agenda, with some indication of the matters to be considered under each heading. Such an agenda is often provided for information only, with no intention or practice of submitting it for adoption. Unless a precirculated agenda is formally adopted at the session to which it applies, it is not binding as to detail or order of consideration, other than as it lists preexisting orders of the day (41:40ff.) or conforms to the standard order of business (3:16, 41:5ff.) or an order of business prescribed by the rules of the organization (2:16, 3:16)." RONR (12th ed.) 41:62

"In cases in which an agenda is adopted, usually this is done at the outset of a session and the agenda is intended to cover the entire session. At a session having no prescribed or adopted order of business, such an agenda is followed as a guide by the chair pending its formal adoption and can be adopted by majority vote, even if it contains special orders; it is then the order of business for that session." RONR (12th ed.) 41:61

So what all this means is that the situation if an agenda has been provided (but has not been adopted by the assembly) is as follows:

• If the assembly meets at least as often as quarterly, the assembly follows the standard order of business (or a special of order of business adopted by the assembly, if there is one). The agenda is not binding - although I find it is often the case that an agenda simply regurgitates the standard order of business anyway, so this may not make any practical difference. See RONR (12th ed.) 41:5-36
• If the assembly meets less often than quarterly and has no special order of business, then the agenda may serve as a guide, but the assembly is ultimately free to consider its business in any order it pleases (except to the extent that other motions have been set on this matter, such as by setting particular items as orders of the day).

Whether these differences are viewed as advantages or not is in the eye of the beholder.

Of course, since your organization has its own rules on this subject, those rules should also be consulted.

Edited February 11, 2022 at 12:05 PM by Josh Martin

[Rob Elsman]

What is really being posted, I think, is some version of the memorandum that is prepared by the secretary or president for the convenience of the president to assist in calling up items of business in the proper order.  See RONR (12th ed.) 41:7.  I see no problem with calling this memorandum an agenda and publishing it to the assembly's members for information only, but it should be clearly understood that other business not listed and not requiring previous notice may also be transacted. RONR (12th ed.) 41:62.

It is not customary, and should not usually be necessary, to adopt an agenda at the beginning of each regular meeting of an assembly held within the quarterly time interval.  RONR (12th ed.) 41:60.  If RONR (12th ed.) has been adopted as the society's parliamentary authority, the board is bound to observe the standard order of business, RONR (12th ed.) 41:5, or a special order of business--adopted as a special rule of order by the assembly that has the authority to make rules of order--unless, for some abnormal reason, the established order of business is impractical or inapplicable.