Was vote to move meeting in order?

Parliamentary Procedure Q&A

Q: Our organization's bylaws state that our monthly meetings shall be held at a specific location on a specific day. Last month a member made a motion to hold our meetings in another location and the motion was seconded and passed by the attending members which consisted of a quorum. This month we prepared an amendment to the bylaws to reflect our move and was told by a few members that the vote was not legal as we should have amended our bylaws first and then voted to move.

Did we break a rule by having the vote to move first, and then present the amendment, or did we do it correctly? - M.M., Feb. 6, 2000

A: Because the vote to move your meeting was in conflict with your bylaws, it was null and void. The bylaws should have been amended first.

Many organizations do not specify the place or time of their meetings in the bylaws. Instead, they specify the date (e.g., "first Tuesday of the month"), and specify the place and time in their standing rules. The advantage is that standing rules can be suspended or amended very easily, whereas the bylaws cannot be suspended at all unless the bylaw provides for its own suspension.

Consider amending your bylaws to something like

Regular meetings shall be held on the first Tuesday of the month, at such hour and place as the organization from time to time shall designate. This bylaw may be suspended by the majority vote of the members of the board present and voting at a regular or properly called special meeting of the board. Should this bylaw be thus suspended, the board shall be responsible for providing sufficient notice to the membership of the next meeting date.

Then, adopt a standing rule like

Regular meetings shall be from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., held at the Central High School cafeteria.

This should allow you plenty of flexibility to make last-minute changes to the place or time, plus the stability your members would want for the meeting date.

For details about standing rules, see RONR pp. 17-18, 299-304.

HOME QUESTIONS OTHER SITES