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Alternate Duties


aroznicki

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We have formed a committee and have adopted Robert's Rules. There are nine permanent members and two alternates, Can the alternates make motions and participate in motion discussions? Further, can alternates sit in for an absent permanent member with all the rights of the permanent member and are they returned to alternates status upon return of the permanent member?

Thank you,

Bert

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Alternates are most frequently used in convention settings to replace members of a delegation who are not able to attend.

I'm not sure how your committee was formed and what instructions were given to it by the superior body that fomred it. Perhaps the answer to your question lies there.

Otherwise, the alternates are not members and do not have any of the rights of membership in the committee (attend, motion, speak, vote), although they could be granted the privilege of attending and speaking but not making motions or voting.

Your question sounds like you visualize the alternates fillng in even during short breaks in a meeting. That would be strange indeed.

-Bob

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There are nine permanent members and two alternates.

Can the alternates make motions and participate in motion discussions?

No.

By definition, only members have rights of membership.

An alternate is not (yet) a member.

Something must happen (either automatically by rule, or via some other more dynamic process) to turn an alternate into a true sitting member.

Since RONR has no rule regarding the relationship of committee with its alternates, then there is no default rule regarding what that process is.

Thus, you will have to customize a process (a rule? a motion?) to recognize WHEN and HOW an alternate becomes a member.

And likewise, when/how a MEMBER turns into a NON-MEMBER (so that the substitution may occur).

Can alternates sit in for an absent permanent member with all the rights of the permanent member and are they returned to alternates status upon return of the permanent member?

When/How an alternate obtains 100% of the RIGHTS OF MEMBERSHIP will be a customized process by you (or by the superior body who created your committee, populated your committee, and charged your committee).

Alternates are free to "sit in" on the meeting, but not "sit in for" anyone. - That would require an invocation of your customized swap process.

RONR's rules only applies to conventions, where the credentials committee is the body who does the "swapping." - You, as a committee, have no such credentials committee. So you are on your own, regarding whatever swap process you end up with.

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Thank you folks. You have been very helpful.

Bert

P.S. The Committee was formed to review, evaluate and make recommendations for the existing Master Plan. Fourteen members of the town volunteered for the review committee and nine were appointed and two were named alternates by the town's Board of Selectmen and given a charge.

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Thank you folks. You have been very helpful.

Bert

P.S. The Committee was formed to review, evaluate and make recommendations for the existing Master Plan. Fourteen members of the town volunteered for the review committee and nine were appointed and two were named alternates by the town's Board of Selectmen and given a charge.

It seems to me, then, that the Selectmen need to decide what the answers to Bert's questions are, and then tell the committee what they decided.

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