Majority of remaining members

[Guest iamgeezzy]

If there are 8 remaining members of a public body, what is considered a majority of the remaining members?  

[iamgeezzy]

If the legislative total is (9) nine members and (1) one member resigns leaving (8) eight remaining members, what is considered a majority?  Is (4) four a majority?

[Drake Savory]

It still would be 5.  4 is not more than half.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 7/25/2023 at 3:38 PM, Guest iamgeezzy said:

If there are 8 remaining members of a public body, what is considered a majority of the remaining members?  

A majority of eight is five.  

[iamgeezzy]

Thank you very much!  That's what I thought.  

[Joshua Katz]

I agree with the answers above, but you'll have to consult the relevant law to determine if they answer what you actually want to know, namely, how many votes it takes to act. 

[Josh Martin]

On 7/25/2023 at 2:38 PM, Guest iamgeezzy said:

If there are 8 remaining members of a public body, what is considered a majority of the remaining members?  

A majority is "more than half." So a majority of eight members is five.

But additional context about why it is necessary to know this may be helpful.

[Gary Novosielski]

The usual question that comes up in this regard is whether quorum is affected. 

If quorum is defined as a majority of the members, this is usually not an issue.  If some number of members leave, the quorum adjusts automatically, so that it never becomes impossible to achieve (until there are no members).

If quorum is a fixed number, then too many resignations can create a situation where a quorum cannot be achieved.  To compensate, some bylaws or statutes provide that filling vacancies can always be accomplished by the remaining members even fewer than a quorum.  Once the vacancies are filled, normal business can resume.  Bylaws that do not contain such relief are a real problem.  

 

[Josh Martin]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:19 PM, Gary Novosielski said:

The usual question that comes up in this regard is whether quorum is affected. 

If quorum is defined as a majority of the members, this is usually not an issue.  If some number of members leave, the quorum adjusts automatically, so that it never becomes impossible to achieve (until there are no members).

If quorum is a fixed number, then too many resignations can create a situation where a quorum cannot be achieved.  To compensate, some bylaws or statutes provide that filling vacancies can always be accomplished by the remaining members even fewer than a quorum.  Once the vacancies are filled, normal business can resume.  Bylaws that do not contain such relief are a real problem.  

Yes, but the other context this comes up in is voting thresholds - sometimes because the organization's rules or applicable law actually provide for a threshold of "a majority of the remaining members," but other times because the organization incorrectly assumes this is the threshold. So as I noted, additional context would be helpful.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:57 AM, Josh Martin said:

Yes, but the other context this comes up in is voting thresholds - sometimes because the organization's rules or applicable law actually provide for a threshold of "a majority of the remaining members," but other times because the organization incorrectly assumes this is the threshold. So as I noted, additional context would be helpful.

It would be, agreed.