wwdslovene Posted January 21, 2011 at 12:36 AM Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 12:36 AM I return again to the question of standing committees. I do not understand from Robert's Rules how a standing committee iscreated. Can it be created by a simple motion made and voted on and passed at a board meeting? Majority, two thirds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tctheatc Posted January 21, 2011 at 01:19 AM Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 01:19 AM It's a committee that exists all the time. Continuously. It's always standing there, ready to do its business. It's likely described in the bylaws, and was created when those laws were written. It stays in existence and is not created by a motion or a vote. An ad-hoc or special committee is one that is formed by a body for a particular purpose and a certain time, and drops out of existence when it's done its work. At a meeting, you might make a motion to form a special/ad-hoc committee to study possible plans for renovating your building. But that would not be a STANDING committee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted January 21, 2011 at 01:29 AM Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 01:29 AM Can it be created by a simple motion made and voted on and passed at a board meeting?Typically, boards don't have standing committees (though I don't think there's any prohibition). As noted, standing committees are usually defined in the bylaws (though that's not a requirement). See pp. 473-474 for the fine print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwdslovene Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:23 PM Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:23 PM Typically, boards don't have standing committees (though I don't think there's any prohibition). As noted, standing committees are usually defined in the bylaws (though that's not a requirement). See pp. 473-474 for the fine print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwdslovene Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:28 PM Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:28 PM Thank you so much for your repy. I do understand the purpose of a standing committee (we already have several in our organization).Now we want to make our education committee a standing committee since education (lectures and the like) is central to ourorganization's mission. So, can I simply make a motion at the next Board meeting to make our committee a standing committee? Does it require advance notice to members of the board?Does such a motion require a majority or 2/3 to pass?Your help is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:40 PM Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 at 05:40 PM So, can I simply make a motion at the next Board meeting to make our committee a standing committee? Perhaps it should be a committee of the organization, not of the board?If your existing standing committees are defined in your bylaws, that's where you'll have to establish your standing education committee (and all standing committees).You'll probably want to first discharge your (ad hoc?) education committee before creating your standing education committee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:10 AM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:10 AM So, can I simply make a motion at the next Board meeting to make our committee a standing committee? Does it require advance notice to members of the board?Does such a motion require a majority or 2/3 to pass?It is highly unlikely that the board has the authority to create standing committees at all. Are the current standing committees of the organization defined in the organization's Bylaws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwdslovene Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:21 PM Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:21 PM It is highly unlikely that the board has the authority to create standing committees at all. Are the current standing committees of the organization defined in the organization's Bylaws?Our board does in fact have standing committees (finance, publicity, communications, social events, etc.). It also has a documentdescribing the duties of its standing committees.B U T, these standing committees were created before my time on the board, and no one on the current board seems to knowhow the committees were created. Now we want to add an education committee. The bylaws note the existence of the standingcommittees but no place does it state how a new standing committee can be created.Can I make a simply motion at the next board meeting? I don't see where that would be forbidden.I have searched Robert's Rules (including the pages noted in other replies), but I cannot find an article stating HOW astanding committee comes into existence.HELP !! It is rather urgent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:25 PM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:25 PM Our board does in fact have standing committees (finance, publicity, communications, social events, etc.). It also has a documentdescribing the duties of its standing committees.B U T, these standing committees were created before my time on the board, and no one on the current board seems to knowhow the committees were created. Now we want to add an education committee. The bylaws note the existence of the standingcommittees but no place does it state how a new standing committee can be created.Can I make a simply motion at the next board meeting? I don't see where that would be forbidden.I have searched Robert's Rules (including the pages noted in other replies), but I cannot find an article stating HOW astanding committee comes into existence.HELP !! It is rather urgent.If the byalws simply note the existence of standing committees, and give no procedure for creating new ones, then the way to create a new one is to amend the bylaws so that the existence of the new one is simply noted along with the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:26 PM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 07:26 PM Our board does in fact have standing committees (finance, publicity, communications, social events, etc.). It also has a documentdescribing the duties of its standing committees.B U T, these standing committees were created before my time on the board, and no one on the current board seems to knowhow the committees were created. Now we want to add an education committee. The bylaws note the existence of the standingcommittees but no place does it state how a new standing committee can be created.Can I make a simply motion at the next board meeting? I don't see where that would be forbidden.I have searched Robert's Rules (including the pages noted in other replies), but I cannot find an article stating HOW astanding committee comes into existence.HELP !! It is rather urgent.Take a look at RONR (10th ed.), pp. 473, 474. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwdslovene Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:10 PM Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:10 PM If the byalws simply note the existence of standing committees, and give no procedure for creating new ones, then the way to create a new one is to amend the bylaws so that the existence of the new one is simply noted along with the others.I realize that in my ignorance about the running of organizations and Robert's Rules I have mispoken.We have an organization which is run by a board with a president. Of course the board does not have standing committees.Our organization has various committees including standing committees. There is no provision in our bylaws for creatinga new standing commitee. They simply states that we have standing committees.I have read pp 473-474 several times, and the language is simply too dense for me to comprehend. I think it tells me thatsince we have an education committee already, it can be made a standing committee by a simple motion at a board meeting and by a majority vote. Yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:24 PM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:24 PM I realize that in my ignorance about the running of organizations and Robert's Rules I have mispoken.We have an organization which is run by a board with a president. Of course the board does not have standing committees.Our organization has various committees including standing committees. There is no provision in our bylaws for creatinga new standing commitee. They simply states that we have standing committees.I have read pp 473-474 several times, and the language is simply too dense for me to comprehend. I think it tells me thatsince we have an education committee already, it can be made a standing committee by a simple motion at a board meeting and by a majority vote. Yes?No. The language there says exactly what I paraphrased (more simply) in my last message: If your bylaws lists some standing committees then that is the list of standing committees you have.If the bylaws does not give you an easy procedure to add more, then you cannot add more by any easy procedure.What you then can do (and must do) to create a new standing committee is to add it to that list that is in the bylaws. And the way you do that is with a bylaws amendment. The procedure for amending the bylaws should be found in the bylaws, probably near the end. It is certainly more stringent than a simple motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM If your bylaws lists some standing committees then that is the list of standing committees you have.I was about to post a similar reply when it occurred to me that the bylaws might provide for standing committees without actually naming any. If so, I wasn't sure that any new (first) ones would have to be delineated in the bylaws at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:58 PM Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 at 08:58 PM I have read pp 473-474 several times, and the language is simply too dense for me to comprehend. I think it tells me thatsince we have an education committee already, it can be made a standing committee by a simple motion at a board meeting and by a majority vote. Yes?No. Try RONR, 10th ed., pg. 474, lines 11-17. Since you have standing committees in the Bylaws, you can only add more by amending the Bylaws, which is a power generally reserved for the general membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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