Petition rules other than for election

[Tomm]

RONR seems to only reference petitions related to elections. If you wanted to establish a set of rules governing petitions for Initiatives, Referendums and Recall petitions, what's the proper way to establish them?

Since they do not relate to parliamentary procedure I assume they would be considered Standing Rules or in our case Board Policies. 

I also assume that all of the rules and requirements for collecting signatures, etc. should not be included as a bylaw, but rather there should only be a reference in the bylaws directing the reader to the Board Policy.

Question: How should the bylaw direct the reader to the Board Policy without getting into any of the details? Is it proper to actually list the specific Board Policy in the bylaw or does that leave the possibility that at some point if the Board Policy number changes then the bylaw will also require an amendment.

What's your recommendation based on your experience.

 

[Gary Novosielski]

There's no need for the bylaws to direct anyone to special rules or policies.  Presumably the article on parliamentary authority notes that there may exist bylaws and special rules.  Sometimes the bylaws simply refer to "such rules as the assembly may from time to time adopt" but even that may be overkill, depending on the context.

[puzzling]

I am still puzzling about this.

for as far as it gives rights and duties to (groups of) members,  they belong in the bylaws. (just the principles, details can be in the bylaws or special rules of order)

As far as it is only about policy  and how to do things they could be standing rules. 

 

[Gary Novosielski]

The bylaws would have to be revised if the desired standing rule would be a violation of some provision in the bylaws.  Permitting petitions violates no rule. 

It would violate a rule if the petition, rather than simply being a position statement on an issue, was capable of overriding the powers of the board, as set forth in the bylaws.  Normally, to direct the board to perform some action, the membership, in a proper meeting, would have to adopt a motion instructing them.  If a petition can do the same, then a standing rule could not override that.

In the case of a special rule of order, that would automatically supersede the bylaws, so no amendment is required in order to pass it.  But if the bylaws contain some statement that would appear to directly contradict what the special rule says, it might avoid confusion to remove it.

 

[Josh Martin]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:43 PM, Tomm said:

If you wanted to establish a set of rules governing petitions for Initiatives, Referendums and Recall petitions, what's the proper way to establish them? Since they do not relate to parliamentary procedure I assume they would be considered Standing Rules or in our case Board Policies. 

Tomm, am I understanding you correctly that your organization's rules already provide for initiatives, referenda, and recall petitions, and your question is about additional rules concerning the administrative details of such petitions?

If this is correct, I am in agreement that these would be in the nature of standing rules.

On 1/12/2023 at 3:43 PM, Tomm said:

I also assume that all of the rules and requirements for collecting signatures, etc. should not be included as a bylaw, but rather there should only be a reference in the bylaws directing the reader to the Board Policy.

I am in agreement that such details should not be included in the bylaws.

As to the reference to the policy, this could be done if it is the organization's wish, but this is not required.

On 1/12/2023 at 3:43 PM, Tomm said:

Question: How should the bylaw direct the reader to the Board Policy without getting into any of the details? Is it proper to actually list the specific Board Policy in the bylaw or does that leave the possibility that at some point if the Board Policy number changes then the bylaw will also require an amendment.

As you suggest, this will cause complications if the policy number changes. To the extent some reference to the polices is desired, a more general reference may be preferable, such as "Additional rules concerning petitions are found in the board policies."

[Tomm]

On 1/13/2023 at 12:44 PM, Josh Martin said:

am I understanding you correctly that your organization's rules already provide for initiatives, referenda, and recall petitions, and your question is about additional rules concerning the administrative details of such petitions?

Yes, and they are currently in the Bylaws and are quite extensive in nature with several sections on the Do's and Don'ts as it relates to the steps to take before circulation, practices during circulation, and post circulation procedures.

I don't believe these items belong in the bylaws. IMO

[Josh Martin]

On 1/13/2023 at 1:54 PM, Tomm said:

Yes, and they are currently in the Bylaws and are quite extensive in nature with several sections on the Do's and Don'ts as it relates to the steps to take before circulation, practices during circulation, and post circulation procedures.

I don't believe these items belong in the bylaws. IMO

I agree. While certainly some level of detail in the bylaws on these matters is necessary, the administrative details should ideally be transferred to standing rules.