Failed Bylaw Amendment

[MTMauro]

Our bylaw process for voting on bylaw amendments is as follows:

"Amendments shall be reviewed by the BOD prior to being presented for a preliminary vote by the membership. If approved by the membership, it shall be posted for one month and a final acceptance vote will be taken at the next meeting. A 2/3rds vote is required at all voting for bylaw changes."

During our February meeting, we had an initial vote for an amendment which failed to pass, the vote was more 2/3 against in this case. Therefore, the amendment was not posted. During our March meeting, the person who originally submitted the amendment approached me requesting the amendment be presented to the membership again with the exact same wording.

Our current bylaws are silent to how to handle this; therefore, we must revert to Robert's Rules. Being relatively inexperienced, I find Section 57 states that "an affirmative vote on the motion to amend the bylaws cannot be reconsidered."

I understand there are rules for reconsideration also (which have expired in our case), but is there anything preventing resubmittal of the same amendment, with the same wording, despite membership voting strongly against it's approval that I am missing in my review or Robert's Rules, 12th ed.?

Thank you

Edited March 12, 2022 at 04:23 AM by MTMauro
Grammatical edits for clarity

[Atul Kapur]

On 3/11/2022 at 11:22 PM, MTMauro said:

is there anything preventing resubmittal of the same amendment, with the same wording

The term you're looking for is renewal of a motion. Section 38 covers this. The principle to keep in mind is that, with exceptions detailed in section 38, motions may not be renewed at the same session but can be renewed at a future session (in your situation, it appears that "session" is  equivalent to "meeting").

In other words, generally a motion which has been defeated can be brought up at any future meeting with the exact same wording. Yes, this can even occur repeatedly if the mover is dedicated enough to move it at meeting after meeting.

The important thing to note here is that any requirement for previous notice must be followed each time - one notice does not cover repeated attempts to introduce the motion. I read your requirement for board review as analoguous.  So, in your situation, the member would need to re-start the entire process by submitting it to the board for review prior to it going for another preliminary vote. I would not allow it to be presented at the March meeting unless the board has  reviewed it anew.

[Dan Honemann]

On 3/11/2022 at 11:22 PM, MTMauro said:

Our bylaw process for voting on bylaw amendments is as follows:

"Amendments shall be reviewed by the BOD prior to being presented for a preliminary vote by the membership. If approved by the membership, it shall be posted for one month and a final acceptance vote will be taken at the next meeting. A 2/3rds vote is required at all voting for bylaw changes."

During our February meeting, we had an initial vote for an amendment which failed to pass, the vote was more 2/3 against in this case. Therefore, the amendment was not posted. During our March meeting, the person who originally submitted the amendment approached me requesting the amendment be presented to the membership again with the exact same wording.

 The initial question, I gather, is whether or not a proposed bylaw amendment, which has been reviewed by the board and then rejected by the membership, needs to be reviewed by the board again before being presented to the membership again for another preliminary vote. This is a question of bylaw interpretation that only your organization can answer. 

Assuming, however, that the answer to this question is no, then, as Dr. Kapur has indicated, there is nothing in RONR which would prevent renewal of a motion for preliminary approval of the same proposed amendment at a later session.

[Tomm]

I am of the understanding, however, that there is no such thing as a motion to renew?

[Dan Honemann]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:14 AM, Tomm said:

I am of the understanding, however, that there is no such thing as a motion to renew?

That is correct, there is no such thing as a motion to renew. A motion that has been defeated is said to be "renewed" when it is made again at a later session.

[MTMauro]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:14 AM, Tomm said:

I am of the understanding, however, that there is no such thing as a motion to renew?

For my specific situation or in general?

Our bylaws currently have a very vague section about amendments, as follows:

"Section 5 - The Bylaws Committee shall be responsible for updating the Constitution and Bylaws, as well as, the club rules and regulations according to the minutes provided by the Secretary.

Section 5A - Shall be responsible to prepare the amendments necessary to bring them in line with Federal and State laws and the rules and regulations of the POC.

Section 5B - Shall receive for evaluation all proposed amendments that have come about at other meetings and any other proposed amendments, all of which shall have been submitted in 
writing.

Section 5C - Shall report its findings to the POC.

Section 5D - Amendments shall be reviewed by the BOD prior to being presented for a preliminary vote by the membership. If approved by the membership, it shall be posted for one month and a final acceptance vote will be taken at the next meeting. A 2/3rds vote is required at all voting for bylaw changes."

 

So if specific to my situation, the submitter basically gave it back to me as a "new submittal" despite it not being new

[Dan Honemann]

I suggest that both you and Tomm read what is said in RONR, 12th ed., concerning the renewal of motions.