tableinga motinwith out the vote of membership

[Guest gigi]

The question is as an Auxiliary we voted on a motion that has been passed by the membership. The President now has ordered me to table the motion until the next meeting saying the officers want to now ask more questions and make changes. Do these officers have the right to do this?

[Dan Honemann]

On 3/29/2024 at 12:16 PM, Guest gigi said:

The question is as an Auxiliary we voted on a motion that has been passed by the membership. The President now has ordered me to table the motion until the next meeting saying the officers want to now ask more questions and make changes. Do these officers have the right to do this?

Since you've already voted on the motion, I've no idea what your President has in mind.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 3/29/2024 at 12:16 PM, Guest gigi said:

The question is as an Auxiliary we voted on a motion that has been passed by the membership. The President now has ordered me to table the motion until the next meeting saying the officers want to now ask more questions and make changes. Do these officers have the right to do this?

No, the president has no such power unless your bylaws are highly unusual. If the motion was properly made and voted on at a proper meeting, then it is in effect. 

President's can't generally order people to do things.  The membership, by voting, can.  Since the membership has decided to do something, it is the President who must obey the instruction.  The Membership is the superior body, and the elected officers are subordinate to it.  Also, "tabling" a motion is something that can only be done at a meeting and it can't specify an "until" time. 

The officers have no speicial right to make changes, except by making motions at a membership meeting, if they are general members.  But since this question has already been decided, a member (whether an officer or not) who wishes to make changes would need to use the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted at the next meeting.  This motion requires a higher voting threshold since it changes a previous decision. 

Full details on the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted are found in RONR (12th ed.) §35.  But it is important to note that unless and until such a motion is duly adopted at a membership meeting, the original motion remains in effect.

Edited March 29, 2024 at 06:50 PM by Gary Novosielski

[Richard Brown]

On 3/29/2024 at 11:16 AM, Guest gigi said:

Do these officers have the right to do this?

Agreeing with Mr. Novosielski, the answer is a firm “No, they do not have that authority.“. I suppose they can ASK, since it seems they did ask, but they have no authority to order anything or to put anything “on hold”.