Ex-Officio Committee Member Appointed as Regular Committee Member

[Roman.76]

If the bylaws provide a provision for an officer to be ex officio a member of all committees (except any nominating committee and disciplinary committee), can that officer be appointed as a "regular" member of the committee by the appointing authority (in this case the President)?

In a related situation, if the President is ex officio a member of all committees, can he appoint himself (or can the society appoint him) to a committee, making him a "regular" member?

(I can see either one of the above situations being desired by a society so that the officer who is ex officio a member of a committee could be appointed to serve as either the committee chairman or a regular member, imposing upon him the obligations of committee membership.)

[Richard Brown]

On 12/15/2023 at 2:35 AM, Roman.76 said:

If the bylaws provide a provision for an officer to be ex officio a member of all committees (except any nominating committee and disciplinary committee), can that officer be appointed as a "regular" member of the committee by the appointing authority (in this case the President)?

I would say yes, because nothing in RONR prohibits it. Any such prohibition would have to be in your own bylaws.

On 12/15/2023 at 2:35 AM, Roman.76 said:

In a related situation, if the President is ex officio a member of all committees, can he appoint himself (or can the society appoint him) to a committee, making him a "regular" member?

Yes, as far as RONR is concerned. 
 

On 12/15/2023 at 2:35 AM, Roman.76 said:

I can see either one of the above situations being desired by a society so that the officer who is ex officio a member of a committee could be appointed to serve as either the committee chairman or a regular member, imposing upon him the obligations of committee membership.)

I don’t disagree, but would point out that nothing in RONR prohibits an ex officio member from serving as chairman. However, if the intent is to make him chairman of a committee, I agree it is probably better that he be a regular member of the committee.

[Joshua Katz]

Agreeing with Mr. Brown, the member would have two hats but only one head, and as a result would only have one vote in the committee.

[Josh Martin]

On 12/15/2023 at 2:35 AM, Roman.76 said:

If the bylaws provide a provision for an officer to be ex officio a member of all committees (except any nominating committee and disciplinary committee), can that officer be appointed as a "regular" member of the committee by the appointing authority (in this case the President)?

In a related situation, if the President is ex officio a member of all committees, can he appoint himself (or can the society appoint him) to a committee, making him a "regular" member?

I think the answer is "yes" to both questions, although I am not entirely certain what purpose this serves.

On 12/15/2023 at 2:35 AM, Roman.76 said:

(I can see either one of the above situations being desired by a society so that the officer who is ex officio a member of a committee could be appointed to serve as either the committee chairman or a regular member, imposing upon him the obligations of committee membership.)

No rule in RONR prevents an ex-officio member (even one who serves as an ex-officio member of all committees) from being appointed as committee chairman.

I would also note that, generally speaking, ex-officio members already do have the obligations of committee membership. RONR does grant an exception in the instance that the President is ex-officio a member of all committees. RONR does not provide such an exception for other officers who are an ex-officio member of all committees (I would guess because that situation was not anticipated), but I think such an interpretation of an organization's own rules would generally be reasonable. See FAQ #2.

Edited December 15, 2023 at 01:47 PM by Josh Martin