Executive Committee approval of motions that go to full board and how the full board is to handle

[Guest RLL]

Our alumni association has an executive committee (EC) that reviews and handles all the business of the full board.   At their meetings, the EC makes motions, discusses and then votes on each item.  All approved motions are then taken to the full board.

Questions:

--since the EC has already approved the motions they are taking to the full board for a vote, are these then presented to the full board on their agenda as action items or motions?

--Is the full board required to move and then second what the EC is presenting?  OR is the full board only required to discuss and vote on the item presented to them by the EC? 

--Should the EC's action item/motion to the full board be considered an approval for the full board's consideration?

--Should the full board's vote (if passed) be considered an adoption of what the EC has presented?

[Josh Martin]

On 3/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, Guest RLL said:

since the EC has already approved the motions they are taking to the full board for a vote, are these then presented to the full board on their agenda as action items or motions?

I'm not sure. What does the phrase "action items" mean in your organization and in what way is this different from "motions?" RONR does not use the term "action items."

On 3/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, Guest RLL said:

Is the full board required to move and then second what the EC is presenting?  OR is the full board only required to discuss and vote on the item presented to them by the EC? 

Somewhere in between the two. A motion coming from a committee (or technically, a "board within a board") must still be formally made at the body of the parent assembly, but such motions need not be seconded.

"When a report contains recommendations—except in cases where the recommendations relate only to the adoption or rejection of question(s) that were referred while pending (13) and consequently become pending again automatically when reported (51:37–43)—the reporting board or committee member usually makes the necessary motion to implement the recommendations at the conclusion of his presentation, provided he is a member of the assembly (see examples in 51:31–35 and 51:44–51, in which it is generally assumed that the “reporting member” is a member of the assembly). If the report is read by the secretary or a reading clerk in such a case, the reporting member resumes the floor for the purpose of making the motion immediately after the reading is completed. No second is required in these cases, since the motion is made on behalf of the board or committee (see 4:11)." RONR (12th ed.) 5:11

Presumably, members of the EC are also members of the board. So the reporting member would generally make the necessary motions.

On 3/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, Guest RLL said:

Should the EC's action item/motion to the full board be considered an approval for the full board's consideration?

Should the full board's vote (if passed) be considered an adoption of what the EC has presented?

Yes.