Voting Rights for Staff during Committee and Board Meetings

[Guest cawynne@comcast.net]

We have a paid staff/contractor who wants to have voting rights at the Committee level.  I disagree. Is this allowed?

[Richard Brown]

On 7/29/2024 at 3:02 PM, Guest cawynne@comcast.net said:

We have a paid staff/contractor who wants to have voting rights at the Committee level.  I disagree. Is this allowed?

Not unless he is actually a member of the committee. It is possible for people who are not members of the organization to be appointed to committees, but appointing nonmembers to committees usually requires the approval of the parent assembly. 

Edited July 29, 2024 at 08:11 PM by Richard Brown

[Josh Martin]

On 7/29/2024 at 3:02 PM, Guest cawynne@comcast.net said:

We have a paid staff/contractor who wants to have voting rights at the Committee level.  I disagree. Is this allowed?

People who are members of the committee have voting rights. People who are not members of the committee do not have voting rights.

If the question is whether to make the staff/contractor a member of the committee, that is up to the organization's judgment. RONR has no rule on this subject. If the committee in question has supervisory authority over this person or makes decisions regarding their pay, benefits, etc., my personal opinion is that it is not advisable.

The following rule may also be relevant to this matter, depending on the manner in which the committee is appointed (and assuming this person is not a member of the organization).

"A standing or special committee may include, or even have as its chairman, one or more persons who are not members of the assembly or the society; but if the chair appoints the committee, the names of all such nonmembers being appointed must be submitted to the assembly for approval, unless the bylaws, the rules of the assembly, or the motion to appoint the committee specifically authorizes the presiding officer to appoint nonmembers (see also 50:12, 50:13(d))." RORN (12th ed.) 13:15

I would also note that the text of your question refers solely to committee meetings, but the title refers to both committee and board meetings. Could you clarify?

Edited July 29, 2024 at 08:11 PM by Josh Martin