Reconvening from no quorum with a new agenda

[Guest Leslie]

what is the proper way to reconvene a meeting where quorum was lost with a NEW agenda?

[Rob Elsman]

A first step is forgetting you ever heard the word, "agenda".

[Guest leslie]

great, so what is the next step then? thanks

[Gary Novosielski]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:09 PM, Guest Leslie said:

what is the proper way to reconvene a meeting where quorum was lost with a NEW agenda?

That depends.  What happened when the quorum was lost?

 

[Guest Leslie]

great, so what is the next step then? thanks

[Gary Novosielski]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:26 PM, Guest Leslie said:

great, so what is the next step then? thanks

You're repeating yourself.

 

 

[Rob Elsman]

The next step is to carefully study RONR (12th ed.) §41.

[Guest Leslie]

didnt mean to repeat, this site is not very user friendly with the "key captcha" requirements. ill go elsewhere for help. this is time sensitive and to study the book last minute isnt time condusive nor do i have the book to refer to. thanks. ill go on another forum where people are friendly

.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:33 PM, Guest Leslie said:

didnt mean to repeat, this site is not very user friendly with the "key captcha" requirements. ill go elsewhere for help. this is time sensitive and to study the book last minute isnt time condusive nor do i have the book to refer to. thanks. ill go on another forum where people are friendly

.

The key captcha can be easily avoided by becomming a "member".   Your address will not  be used for any spam purpose, and it will be much easier to use the forum.  I apologize for my colleagues short responses, and I encourage you to answer my question regarding how the previous meeting ended.

[Rob Elsman]

The unavailability of a book at hand can easily be solved with a visit to the local public library. Almost all of them have a copy of the book on their reference stacks, and some even have copies available in their circulation stacks to check out and take home.

[J. J.]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:25 PM, Guest leslie said:

great, so what is the next step then? thanks

Did you actually adopt an agenda?  

[Rob Elsman]

I may be assuming facts not in evidence, but it sounds like the session ended without having fixed the time to which to adjourn. If I'm right about that, there is nothing left to "reconvene".

[Gary Novosielski]

On 6/29/2023 at 6:16 PM, Rob Elsman said:

I may be assuming facts not in evidence, but it sounds like the session ended without having fixed the time to which to adjourn. If I'm right about that, there is nothing left to "reconvene".

That's what it sounded like to me.   The OP seemed to be looking for a way to hold the next meeting without having the unreached items on the previous agenda turn up under Unfinished Business and General Orders.

[Josh Martin]

On 6/29/2023 at 4:09 PM, Guest Leslie said:

what is the proper way to reconvene a meeting where quorum was lost with a NEW agenda?

The reason we're having difficulty answering your question is because very little facts have been provided. In order to know how to properly reconvene the meeting, we would need to know what exactly happened when the meeting adjourned. Since these facts have not been provided after several attempts, I suppose I'll just have to speculate about the various possibilities.

When a meeting lacks a quorum, the assembly may still take certain, limited actions in the absence of a quorum. One of these is to set an adjourned meeting. If the assembly, for example, sets an adjourned meeting for a particular date and time, then the meeting would automatically reconvene at that time. Or the assembly might vote for the meeting to reconvene "at the call of the chair," in which event the chair may reconvene the meeting at a time of his choosing, and would notify the members of this information.

In any case, if the meeting is reconvened, any agenda adopted at the previous meeting would continue in effect for the reconvened meeting. The assembly may, however, amend the agenda by means of a motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted. This requires a 2/3 vote or a vote of a majority of the entire membership. The agenda may be amended by substituting an entirely new agenda if desired.

On the other hand, if the meeting was adjourned and no provision was made for an adjourned meeting, then it is not possible to reconvene the meeting (unless the organization's rules provide some mechanism for this). Instead, a new meeting could be called in accordance with the provisions in your organization's rules. Since this would be a new meeting, the agenda from the previous meeting would not be controlling, and the assembly would be able to adopt an agenda that it wishes.

Mr. Elsman is correct that adopting an agenda should actually not be a routine practice for most assemblies, and most assemblies should instead follow the standard order of business in RONR, but the parliamentary profession is fighting a losing battle on that one.

On 6/29/2023 at 4:33 PM, Guest Leslie said:

didnt mean to repeat, this site is not very user friendly with the "key captcha" requirements. ill go elsewhere for help. this is time sensitive and to study the book last minute isnt time condusive nor do i have the book to refer to. thanks. ill go on another forum where people are friendly

We apologize for these difficulties. Unfortunately, loosening the captcha requirement results in an absolute flood of posts from spambots.

While I understand that it may be not be feasible to study the text in time in this particular case, I would advise in the long run picking up a copy of, at least, the much shorter and more manageable Roberts Rules of Order In Brief, 3rd edition.

Edited June 30, 2023 at 11:43 AM by Josh Martin