Demystifying Chapter Rules Alpha Psi State Maine Demystifying Chapter Rules Kathryn Wilcox Alpha Phi State Maine Bylaws and Standing Rules Chair

ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER NEWLY REVISED (11th Edition) GOALS ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER NEWLY REVISED (11th Edition) Clarify difference between constitution, bylaws and standing rules. What is the responsibility of the Chapter Rules Chair and how are committee members determined and the role of the Parliamentarian. What should be included in chapter rules and aligning with DKG International and Alpha Psi State Maine Terminology General formatting of document

Constitution and Bylaws Organizations may have a one document – Constitution and Bylaws Or Two separate documents- Constitution, Bylaws (Delta Kappa Gamma ) These “documents contain their own basic rules relating to the principally itself as an organizations, rather than parliamentary procedure it follows.” Should have same form and content Defines primary characteristics of the organization Prescribes how the society functions Rules that the society considers so important that they cannot be changed without previous notice to the members and a vote of specify majority and cannot be suspended unless specified

Standing Rules Standing Rules are rules: Which relate to the details of administration of the chapter rather than to parliamentary procedure And which can be adopted or changed upon the same conditions as any ordinary act of the chapter Can be adopted with a majority vote without previous notice, providing it does not conflict or amend any existing rule.

Chapter Rules Should have the same format and content as the State/International. See Handout. Chapter leadership does not have to match the State or International as long as the State and International requirement in the duties are met. If your chapter is thinking of reorganizing the leadership and committees, it is suggested that the current leadership or an ad hoc committee is assigned the task. The Chapter Rules Chair and committee will translate their recommendations into amendments for the chapter to vote upon. Formatting errors, spelling and grammatical mistakes can be corrected at anytime without a vote. The only time a vote is needed is when the original intent of the rules is changed.

Chapter Rules Chair Responsibilities In the Chapter Rules there needs to be a statement as to how standing committee chairs are determined. Generally speaking, chairs are appointed by the president except for the nominations chairs which is determined by a vote of the assembly. If method of appointment of the committee is not prescribed on the bylaws or rules, then the committee shall be selected, by unanimous consent or majority vote at that time. For clarity, your Chapter Rules may want to state the number of members on the committee and how they are determined. The role of the Parliamentarian on the Rules Committee should be stated in the rules. Generally they serve as a consultant, unless otherwise stated.

Committee Responsibilities Review the Chapter Rules each biennium. Suggestion: that the members of the chapter, officers and committee chairs are asked to review to the parts of the document that relate to their responsibilities and provide recommendations to the committee. The committee then presents the amendment to the membership as prescribed in the Chapter Rules. Check your Chapter Rules as to the procedures and timelines.

What should be included in chapter rules and aligning with DKG International and Alpha Psi State Maine

Terminology QUORUM SHALL or WILL AUDIT or REVIEW Quorum in a mass meeting is simply the number of persons present at the time since that constitutes the entire membership at that time.   Quorum on a small board is the majority of members unless stated differently in bylaws. SHALL or WILL use "shall," confine it to the meaning "has a duty to" and use it to impose a duty on a capable actor. use "will" to create a promise--a contractual obligation AUDIT or REVIEW An audit provides the highest level of assurance on an organization’s financial statements.  A review provides limited assurance on an organization’s financial statements. EXECUTIVE BOARD or EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE A board is and administrative, managerial, or quasi-judicial body of elected or appointed persons. A committee are bodies that are small and subordinate instruments of an assembly and accountable to a higher authority in some way not characteristic of an assembly STANDING COMMITTEES Committee with a continued existence, formed to do its assigned work on an ongoing basis AD HOC COMMITTEES committee to oversee a certain project where no standing committee exists, they can create a committee by adopting an incidental motion to create a committee to carry out a specific assignment. This creates what is called an “ad hoc,” “special” or “select committee.”  This committee’s purpose is to investigate or carry out the specific project for which it was created; it ceases to exist after the work is completed and it “rises to report,” which means to give its final report.

ARTICLE I(Roman Numeral) Title of Article General Formatting ARTICLE I(Roman Numeral) Title of Article   Section A. Section B. 1. 2. Section C. a. b. (1) (2) Section D. (a) (b)

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