Committee Chair

[Guest BBQ]

Is it in order for a Special Committee Chair to present a motion to the assembly, on behalf of the committee, without committee approval? If not, what is the recourse for the committee?

[Tim Wynn]

Is it in order for a Special Committee Chair to present a motion to the assembly, on behalf of the committee, without committee approval?

No. "... a report of a ... committee can contain only what has been agreed to by a majority vote... at a meeting of the committee..." See RONR(10th ed.), p. 485, l. 20-27.

If not, what is the recourse for the committee?

A member should raise a point of order, when the reporting member attempts to include anything in the report that wasn't agreed to.

[Guest BBQ]

Can the committee remove/replace the Chair? The Chair was not appointed by the Assembly;the committee elected a Chair in its first meeting.

[hmtcastle]

Can the committee remove/replace the Chair? The Chair was not appointed by the Assembly;the committee elected a Chair in its first meeting.

Generally, the power to elect/appoint is the power to remove.

[Tim Wynn]

Can the committee remove/replace the Chair? The Chair was not appointed by the Assembly;the committee elected a Chair in its first meeting.

The committee, if they had the power to appoint the chair, would have the power to remove or replace, but that only applies to the position of Chairman. The committee could not remove the member from the committee.

Whether the committee had the power to appoint the chair depends on the way in which the committee was appointed. Did the chair nominate or appoint members to the committee?

[Guest BBQ]

Yes it is understood the committee does not have the authority to remove from the committee. No the Chair did not nominate or appoint members to the committee. The committee was elected by the assembly with no instruction for selection/election of Chair.

[hmtcastle]

The committee was elected by the assembly with no instruction for selection/election of Chair.

See p. 168 for the fine print on "Designating the Committee Chairman".

[Josh Martin]

The committee was elected by the assembly with no instruction for selection/election of Chair.

Then the committee had the power to elect the chairman, and therefore also has the power to rescind his election. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 168, lines 24-26) In a committee, such a motion requires a 2/3 vote unless all members who voted in favor of the chairman are present or have received ample notice, in which case only a majority vote is required. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 295, lines 31-35) Since this is only a committee chair, not an officer position, the committee may then immediately proceed to hold another election to fill the resulting vacancy. (RONR, 10th ed., pg. 279, lines 21-27)