Executive Session

[Debbie]

I am part of a member owned, not for profit, organization. We have Annual, General and Regular meetings, all of them are open to members. The board consists of 8 directors and 4 executive officers. The board is elected by the membership. When the president choses to go into executive session during one of these meetings all members at the meeting must leave except for the board. Does the membership have any right to attend these executive sessions ? Are the minutes to the executive sessions available to them ? I've read RONR and this seems somewhat confusing to me ?

[hmtcastle]

Does the membership have any right to attend these executive sessions ? Are the minutes to the executive sessions available to them ?

Non-members of the board may be invited to or excluded from board meetings whether they're held in executive session or not.

Non-members don't have individual access to the minutes of board meetings (whether held in executive session or not) but the association can order the minutes read at a meeting of the association. If the board meeting in question was held in executive session, the association meeting where the executive session minutes are to be read should also be held in executive session.

[Tim Wynn]

When the president choses to go into executive session during one of these meetings

The president can not make that decision on his own authority. It is up to the board, in a board meeting, decided by a majority vote. However, in any meeting of the general membership, the general membership cannot be excluded.

[Tim Wynn]

See RONR(10th ed.), p. 92-93 for details on Executive Session.