Appointing a Parliamentarian

[Guest Allen Jaszcar]

Can an temporary chair appoint a parliamentarian or do they have to use the previously elected chair's Parliamentarian?

[Joshua Katz]

Does your organization have any rules on the subject? So far as RONR is concerned, the chair is free to ask anyone for advice, or no one, except that it will require authorization to spend money.

[Richard Brown]

As far as selecting the official parliamentarian for the organization or for a convention, RONR says in 47:48  something to the effect that the chair should be free to select a parliamentarian in whom he has confidence. However, that is what we frequently describe as a “should rule” not a ”must rule” if you review the history of that rule, and particularly what general Robert says about selecting a parliamentarian in his book Parliamentary Law, published in 1923, that provision is intended to be guidance to the organization that it might be wise to include a provision in the organization’s rules regarding the selection of the parliamentarian which grants wide latitude to the presiding officer’s preference. It is NOT a statement that the chair has the absolute right to select the parliamentarian for an organization or convention.

[Guest Response to Joshua Katz]

This is the only item in the HOA By-laws is:

"The Delegate Assembly shall:

(a) Elect a Chair and Vice-Chair.

The Chair (or Vice-Chair in the Chair's absence)

shall preside at meetings of the Delegate

Assembly. The Chair shall appoint the

Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian shall

advise the Chair regarding procedural issues that

may arise in the conduct of the meetings of the

Delegate Assembly." and I can't find a Charter for the assembly. So as far as I know that is all the information available. 

[Guest To Responders]

The present temporary Chair is the previously elected Vice Chair who's term expires this coming June. Does she have the right to select her own Parliamentarian in lieu of using the retired Chair's appointed Parliamentarian?

[Joshua Katz]

On 3/16/2024 at 2:42 PM, Guest Response to Joshua Katz said:

The Chair shall appoint the

Parliamentarian.

 

On 3/16/2024 at 2:57 PM, Guest To Responders said:

The present temporary Chair is the previously elected Vice Chair who's term expires this coming June.

What makes this person a temporary chair? My first thought is that, if the chair appoints the parliamentarian, the chair gets to appoint the parliamentarian, but what in your rules makes this person a temporary chair? And aren't all chairs temporary? 

[Richard Brown]

This is ultimately a question of bylaws interpretation.  Does the provision that says "The chair shall appoint the parliamentarian" mean that the regular chair (who is likely the president or chairman of the board) gets to appoint the parliamentarian or that whoever happens to be presiding gets to select the parliamentarian?  That is for the membership to interpret.  There is also the question of whether the provision regarding the appointment of "the parliamentarian" refers to the appointment of a parliamentarian just for a particular meeting or for the duration of the chair's term.  That is also a matter of bylaws interpretation.

Regardless, I agree with Mr. Katz that 23:17 of RONR (12th ed.) states, "Before rendering his decision, the chair can consult with the parliamentarian, if there is one. The chair can also request the advice of experienced members, but no one has the right to express such opinions in the meeting unless requested to do so by the chair."  Therefore, even if there is an official parliamentarian selected by the regular chair, it seems that the person who is presiding at the moment has the right to call upon an experienced member for advice.

[Josh Martin]

On 3/16/2024 at 1:45 PM, Guest Allen Jaszcar said:

Can an temporary chair appoint a parliamentarian or do they have to use the previously elected chair's Parliamentarian?

I would first note that what the rule should be is that the temporary chair should be able to appoint their own parliamentarian (although, of course, the board or society would need to approve any fees). The primary purpose of the parliamentarian is to serve as an advisor to the chair and, as such, it should be someone the chair has confidence in. There is no useful purpose in "forcing" a parliamentarian on a chair.

"If a parliamentarian is needed by an organization, the president should be free to appoint one in whom he has confidence. The board or society must approve any fee that will be required, however. If needed for only one meeting, a parliamentarian should be appointed as far as possible in advance of the meeting at which he is to serve, since his main work should be done outside the meeting." RONR (12th ed.) 47:46

But apparently your organization has its own rules on this subject.

On 3/16/2024 at 4:42 PM, Guest Response to Joshua Katz said:

This is the only item in the HOA By-laws is:

"The Delegate Assembly shall: (a) Elect a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Chair (or Vice-Chair in the Chair's absence) shall preside at meetings of the Delegate Assembly. The Chair shall appoint the Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian shall advise the Chair regarding procedural issues that may arise in the conduct of the meetings of the Delegate Assembly."

So this raises the question as to whether, in the context of the sentence "The Chair shall appoint the Parliamentarian," the word "Chair" refers to the person presently serving as presiding officer or to the person who is serving in the official office of "Chair." I think there is some ambiguity, but I am leaning toward it meaning the person who is serving in the official office of "Chair."

On 3/16/2024 at 4:57 PM, Guest To Responders said:

The present temporary Chair is the previously elected Vice Chair who's term expires this coming June. Does she have the right to select her own Parliamentarian in lieu of using the retired Chair's appointed Parliamentarian?

These additional facts, however, raise the question of whether this person is, in fact, the "temporary Chair" or is, in fact, now the permanent "Chair." Unless the bylaws specifically provide otherwise, this person is the Chair, nothing "temporary" about it.

"In case of the president's resignation, death, or removal, the vice-president automatically becomes president for the remainder of the term, unless the bylaws expressly provide otherwise for filling a vacancy in the office of president (see also 56:32)." RONR (12th ed.) 47:28, emphasis in original

So if this person is now the Chair, there is no doubt that they can appoint a new Parliamentarian.

If this person is not the Chair, there is perhaps still some ambiguity - although as Mr. Brown notes, the worst case scenario is to simply have another person serve as an "unofficial" parliamentarian.

The simplest solution in the long run may be to amend the bylaws to strike the provisions relating to the Parliamentarian, as I'm not sure they're accomplishing anything other than to cause problems.

Edited March 17, 2024 at 04:29 PM by Josh Martin