By-Laws

[Guest Marc S]

If a section of the By-laws was removed and ratified by the membership but there were some missed references to that section. Since that section has been removed and replaced with something totally different does the reference still stand?

[jstackpo]

Not if they don't make any sense.

[hmtcastle]

If a section of the By-laws was removed and ratified by the membership but there were some missed references to that section. Since that section has been removed and replaced with something totally different does the reference still stand?

The bylaws stand as amended. If there are references in the bylaws to a section that no longer exists, they're just meaningless references (that should be removed by amending your bylaws again).

[Gary Novosielski]

If a section of the By-laws was removed and ratified by the membership but there were some missed references to that section. Since that section has been removed and replaced with something totally different does the reference still stand?

You could certainly argue that they do not still apply, and the assembly has the final word on what they are supposed to mean.

But now that you know they're incorrect it would be an excellent idea to fix them, before people forget and begin to misinterpret them.

[Josh Martin]

If a section of the By-laws was removed and ratified by the membership but there were some missed references to that section. Since that section has been removed and replaced with something totally different does the reference still stand?

It depends on the particular facts of the case, but I suspect that the reference has been rendered meaningless and should be removed from the Bylaws through the amendment process.

If the Bylaws have a lot of these cross-references, it may be advisable when amending the Bylaws in the future to adopt a motion of the sort found in RONR, 10th ed., pg. 580, lines 26-31, so that the Secretary (or a committee) can catch the little details that the assembly misses.