Saturday, November 19, 2011

Removal of Presiding officer from Chair for all or part of a session

RONR 11th edition has a new section in the chapter of  “Discipline.”  It is called “Removal of Presiding officer from Chair for all or part of a session.” It gives a way to temporarily replace the chair when he is not fulfilling his role when conducting a meeting.  If the person presiding is a chairman pro tem, he can be removed by a motion to “declare the chair vacant and proceed to elect a new chairman.”  RONR states that this is a “question of privilege affecting the assembly and is an incidental main motion requiring a majority vote for adoption.”  The procedure is in the first footnote at the bottom of page 652. 

If the presiding officer is the official officer, then the procedure is different.  A member must make the motion to Suspend the Rules to take away his authority to preside during part or all of the meeting.  A motion to suspend the rules can’t be made for future meetings at the present meeting.  It would have to be made at each meeting the assembly wanted someone else to preside. 

Friday, November 18, 2011

“Removal from Office and other remedies for Dereliction of Duty in Office or Misconduct

In #62, page 650, RONR 11th edition, the section is named: “Removal from Office and other remedies for Dereliction of Duty in Office or Misconduct,” there is a new section that shows the procedure of how to remove a presiding officer from the chair for all or part of a session.  If the person presiding is an appointed or elected chairman pro tem, a member can make the motion to “declare the chair vacant and proceed to elect a new chairman.”  RONR states this is a question of privilege and is an incidental main motion requiring a majority vote for its adoption. Once the motion is seconded the chairman is required to state the motion to the assembly, then step down from presiding. The secretary takes his place and takes the vote. If the motion is adopted, then the chairman steps down and the members elect another new chairman pro tem.  The secretary presides until a new chairman is elected. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

Electronic Meetings.

#3.  The 11th edition of RONR has added pages concerning electronic meetings.  Although many people want to do things electronically they often don’t know how to do it. The book gives procedures to consider.  The highest use of electronic means in organizations is e-mail communication.  To save money many want to send out notices of meetings by e-mail.  See page 89.  It states, “When notice is required to be sent, unless a different standard is specified that requirement is met if written notice is sent to each member either: a) by postal mail to the member’s last known address; or b) by a form of electronic communication, such as e-mail  or fax, by which the member has agreed to receive notice.”  The key here is “by which the member has agreed to receive notice.”  Organizations should have a policy that about electronic notice.  The Washington State Non Profit Code has a law that authorizes e-mail notifications and also states what the procedure should be. The code requires organizations to have a signed record that the person wants to receive notifications by e-mail and a provision for opting out of it.  All organizations who want to do e-mail notification should consider something similar to what this code requires—have a signed record that proves the person wants to receive e-mail notifications and a way to opt out and return to getting the notice by mail.