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By laws change???


Guest Andi

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Good Evening, 

We are a non-profit organization and we have previously had no term limits on the role of President.  We are in the process of adopting new bylaws which would require that a president shall serve a  3 year term limit.  Does this mean that if we vote yes on these bylaws that an election would be held for the role of president? 

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Let's get our term terms straight.  

  • Term length:  The length of a single term.  Usually one or more years. To serve longer, a person must be reëlected.
  • Term limit:  The number of terms that one person can serve in a row.  Or if you prefer, ever. Or without waiting for a certain time, or other limitations.

You say you currently have no term limits, but you surely have a term length.  What is it?

When you do adopt a term limit, how many terms will it be?  How long must a person wait before being elected again in the future?  Are your proposed bylaws clear on what the terms are and what the limits are?  Will they apply only to the president?  To all officers?  To all officers except the Treasurer?  Or some other choice?

In any case, when you change the bylaws, that does not change when elections happen.  Are your elections held every year at an Annual Membership Meeting? 

If the bylaws pass, your current president would presumably serve until the end of their current term.  They could not run again if they were over the term limit.  Whether or when they could ever run again would depend on what your bylaws say.

If you post the text of your proposed amendment, we might be able to give you some notes.

 

Edited by Gary Novosielski
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There is no term length for that position currently.  It is a lifetime position - the president was the founder of the organization however, has since proven unable to preside at meetings, spending money without approval and things of that nature.  Are we just stuck with him unless we formally take action as outlined by our bylaws? 

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On 3/7/2023 at 11:22 PM, Guest Andi said:

Good Evening, 

We are a non-profit organization and we have previously had no term limits on the role of President.  We are in the process of adopting new bylaws which would require that a president shall serve a  3 year term limit.  Does this mean that if we vote yes on these bylaws that an election would be held for the role of president? 

Let's say that you amend your bylaws to provide that all officers, including the president, will serve for a term of one year, and that no member shall be eligible to serve four consecutive terms in the same office. If such an amendment is adopted, your president will be automatically removed from office. If you have a vice-president, that person will automatically become president and you will need to hold an election to fill the vacancy in the office of vice-president. If not, you will need to hold an election to fill the vacancy in the office of president.

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On 3/8/2023 at 6:31 AM, Dan Honemann said:

Let's say that you amend your bylaws to provide that all officers, including the president, will serve for a term of one year, and that no member shall be eligible to serve four consecutive terms in the same office. If such an amendment is adopted, your president will be automatically removed from office. If you have a vice-president, that person will automatically become president and you will need to hold an election to fill the vacancy in the office of vice-president. If not, you will need to hold an election to fill the vacancy in the office of president.

Does this neatly sidestep the issue that the VP could have automatically been removed from office for similar reasons?

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On 3/8/2023 at 5:05 AM, Guest Andi said:

There is no term length for that position currently.  It is a lifetime position - the president was the founder of the organization however, has since proven unable to preside at meetings, spending money without approval and things of that nature.  Are we just stuck with him unless we formally take action as outlined by our bylaws? 

No, you can amend your bylaws as @Dan Honemann suggested.  But I don't think you have been reading our replies carefully, and I'm concerned your bylaws amendment might not be properly worded to accomplish what you want.

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On 3/8/2023 at 2:51 PM, Dan Honemann said:

Interesting question.  

It may depend on the perceived order of events and millisecond timing.

If the president is removed first, the vice president succeeds, and since this is a different office, there's now no violation of the term limit.

But if the term limits eject both the president and vice president at once, there are two vacancies.

The other officers may also be within the blast radius, leaving no officers in place, regardless of what happens in the P/VP.  

I'd still like to get a look at their proposed wording, since this while operation is fraught with "interesting questions". 

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