Executive Comm. and need for?

[Calvin Branche]

 

I was an Officer of the Pasco County DEC for many years. We did not have an Executive Comm, but rather a Steering Comm.  The current President has set up an Executive Comm. and claims that Robert's Rules allows this and it does not have to be in the By-laws.  I was Chair of the By Laws Comm. and I know we did not want to set up a separate committee since the Steering Comm. was there for running day to day operations.

 

ARTICLE 5 DUTIES OF OFFICERS
5.1. Chair: The Chair shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the COUNTY COMMITTEE and an ex-officio member of all standing committees and subcommittees. The Chair shall have the implied authority and duties of such title, as well as the express or implied duties and responsibilities granted by these Bylaws and the Charter and Bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party.
(The Bylaws of the Florida Democratic Party are silent regarding Executive Comm.)
The Chair will seek approval of a majority of Steering Committee members for issues raised between meetings of the Steering Committee, and which need to be addressed before the next County Committee meeting date. *************************
ARTICLE 7: STEERING COMMITTEE 7.1. Steering Committee: The Steering Committee shall be comprised of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, Chairs of Standing Committees, presidents of duly chartered Democratic Clubs, and presidents of chartered local Democratic caucus chapters who reside in Pasco County. Authority to appoint additional At-Large members shall be vested in the COUNTY COMMITTEE Chair, subject to confirmation by majority vote of the STEERING COMMITTEE membership present and voting. At-Large members shall be members of the COUNTY COMMITTEE.
The Steering Committee's duties shall include, but not be limited to the following:
7.1.1. Assist the Chair in governing the day to day operations of the COUNTY COMMITTEE, including the hiring or terminating of staff as included in the annual or amended budget;
7.1.2. Transact the business of and act on behalf of the COUNTY COMMITTEE between its regular and special meetings, with the authority to approve expenditures up to and including the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000);

 

[Rob Elsman]

Do we get to know what a "DEC" is?

[Josh Martin]

On 3/7/2023 at 12:42 PM, Calvin Branche said:

The current President has set up an Executive Comm. and claims that Robert's Rules allows this and it does not have to be in the By-laws.

This claim is incorrect.

“A board cannot appoint an executive committee unless the bylaws so authorize.” RONR (12th ed.) 49:13

[Gary Novosielski]

On 3/7/2023 at 3:42 PM, Calvin Branche said:

I was an Officer of the Pasco County DEC for many years. We did not have an Executive Comm, but rather a Steering Comm.  The current President has set up an Executive Comm. and claims that Robert's Rules allows this and it does not have to be in the By-laws.  I was Chair of the By Laws Comm. and I know we did not want to set up a separate committee since the Steering Comm. was there for running day to day operations.

The technical parliamentary jargon for your president's claim is hogwash. 🙂

It's common for political parties to call their executive board a Steering Committee, and when referring to RONR for information the rules for boards will be applicable, notwithstanding the "committee" name.  The same note would apply to an Executive Committee if you had one.

But you don't.  As Mr. Martin has pointed out, even the Steering Committee has no authority to appoint an EC, much less the president acting alone.