Replacing Agenda Items

[Guest Carol Walsh]

A Town Committee has said that according to Roberts Rules, if they take an item off an already published agenda, or take an item out of order, they are allowed to replace that item with anything else they want. I've never heard of that - may I have some clarification or feed back please? thanks

[George Mervosh]

See FAQ#14

[Gary Novosielski]

A Town Committee has said that according to Roberts Rules, if they take an item off an already published agenda, or take an item out of order, they are allowed to replace that item with anything else they want. I've never heard of that - may I have some clarification or feed back please? thanks

That's just silly, and unlike like anything actually in RONR. Ask them for a page and line number.

But, having said that, it is fine to bring up anything else they want under New Business, so the effect is the same, although their reasoning is a bit screwy.

[jstackpo]

An agenda, after it has been adopted (this is not covered in FAQ14), can be reconsidered, then amended, and re-adopted to meet whatever needs are extant.

Or amended by the motion to amend something previously adopted.

Whatever floats your boat.

Or do whatever you please by "unanimous consent" - i.e. nobody objects to changing things around.

Parliamentary procedure is your friend, not an adversary.

[Dan Honemann]

An agenda, after it has been adopted (this is not covered in FAQ14), can be reconsidered, then amended, and re-adopted to meet whatever needs are extant.

Or amended by the motion to amend something previously adopted.

Whatever floats your boat.

Or do whatever you please by "unanimous consent" - i.e. nobody objects to changing things around.

Parliamentary procedure is your friend, not an adversary.

That first sentence is a bit of a problem.

"An affirmative vote to adopt an agenda or program may not be reconsidered." (RONR, 10th ed., p. 360, l. 29-30).

[Josh Martin]

That's just silly, and unlike like anything actually in RONR. Ask them for a page and line number.

Are you saying the assembly cannot replace an agenda item?

[Gary Novosielski]

Are you saying the assembly cannot replace an agenda item?

No, I'm saying that the idea that "according to Roberts Rules, if they take an item off an already published agenda, or take an item out of order, they are allowed to replace that item with anything else they want", in other words, that some sort of zero-sum swapping game governs the operation of agendas, as described by the OP, is a concept not to be found in RONR.

[Josh Martin]

No, I'm saying that the idea that "according to Roberts Rules, if they take an item off an already published agenda, or take an item out of order, they are allowed to replace that item with anything else they want", in other words, that some sort of zero-sum swapping game governs the operation of agendas, as described by the OP, is a concept not to be found in RONR.

Well, the poster said "allowed," not "required," but at least I see what you're getting at.

[Gary Novosielski]

Well, the poster said "allowed," not "required," but at least I see what you're getting at.

Yes, but I was also looking at the implied reverse: that unless they dropped an item they would not be "allowed" to add another one.

It sounded like one of those rules we hear about so often--the ones that someone has been told are true "according to Robert's Rules" but which aren't in there anyplace--not even in the magical "tinted-invisible" pages.