Using Roberts’ Rules within the IEEE

Jayne F. CeroneSenior Director – Governance, Communications and Volunteer RelationsMarch 2012

The key building blocks of Roberts’ Rules

Address one idea at a timeJustice and courtesy for allRule of the MajorityRights of the Minority

Can be misused by mistake or deliberately

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Address one idea at a time

Follow the agendaOne motion or discussion item per agenda itemFinish discussion of one item before moving onIf discussion moves away from the motion, chair responsible for refocusing the discussion

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Justice and Courtesy for All

Chair recognizes one individual at a time; maintains orderSpeaker should be conciseChair may use time limits (per agenda)Comments are directed to the body (not to each other)May go pro/con with discussion

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Rules of the Majority: Rights of the Minority

All members may speakMinority has right to be heardAfter a vote – move onMotion to Call the Question– Second– No debate– Majority vote

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Basics of running a meeting

Call to orderApprove agendaApprove minutesAction items (motions)DiscussionsNew business/old businessAdjourn– note time of next meeting, if known– a motion is not required if agenda done

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Responsibilities of the chair

Responsible for creation of agendaRuns the meeting and his/her decisions carry (unless overturned by a vote of 2/3 of the body)One motion or discussion at a timeMay not call the question

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An AgendaList itemsGroup by action, subject or speaker– Action/Discussion/Reports– Committee A/ Committee B– Speaker A/ Speaker B

Place action items early (before members begin to leave)Put times – even if you do not adhere to them, it serves as a guide to keep meeting moving

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Consent Agenda

Method for caring for routine businessPost prior to the meetingApprove all motions at once (often at time of agenda approval)Any individual may remove an itemNo discussion at this time – place into regular agenda

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Quorum

Usually half +1 of the voting membersCan have special additional considerations – MGA requires that the quorum for the MGA Board must include at least a majority of the Region Directors.Establish quorum at the start of the meeting; if a quorum is not called, assume the quorum exists.

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Good management

Keep meeting organized– If a motion on the table, complete that

motion before moving on– Motion may be amended twice – after

that best to start over

There are ways to stop and start items

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Common actions: Postpone to a Certain Time

“I move to postpone this item until [the next TAB meeting]”

- Requires a second

- May be debated- May be amended- Requires majority vote

IF APPROVED, the motion AUTOMATICALLY is added to the agenda – in this case at “the next OU meeting”

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Common actions: Lay on the Table (or “Table”)“I move to table this item”

- Requires a second

- May not be debated- May not be amended- Requires majority vote

IF APPROVED, the motion is “put aside” until someone makes a motion to remove it “from the table”. If not addressed by the close of the next meeting, it is “killed” automatically.

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Common actions: Refer to Committee “I move to refer this item to [the TAB

Periodicals Committee]”- Requires a second

- May be debated- May be amended- Requires majority

IF APPROVED, the motion is referred to the named committee. The committee is expected to bring it back at the next OU meeting

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Common Misunderstandings about RRoO actions

“Second” just means you want to debate – does not mean you must vote for the motion Postpone Indefinitely– Needs a Second – Debatable– Majority vote

THIS WILL “KILL” THE MOTION

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How many is a majority?

A majority is “more than half”If 24 voting members, majority is

24/2 = 12, more than 12 is 13If 25 voting members

25/2 = 12.5,more than 12.5 is 13If 26 voting members

26/2 = 13, more than 13 is 14

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But .. the denominator is the total number of those eligible to vote who are present at the time of the vote. So…

If 24 voting members13 vote yes11 vote no13/24 is > or equal to majority = PASS

If 24 voting members11 vote yes, 9 vote no, 4 abstain11/24 is < majority = NOT PASS even though a majority of votes cast were yes

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IEEE MEETINGS: WHAT IS UNIQUE?

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Governance: Conducting the Meeting “What are the Rules?”

New York State (Certificate of Incorporation)IEEE ConstitutionIEEE BylawsIEEE Policies/Finance Operations Manual/etc.Major Board Governing Documents– MGA and TA Operations Manuals

OU Governing Documents– Bylaws/Charters/Policies/Manuals

Roberts’ Rules of Order (11th edition)– Primarily for Issues NOT CODIFIED in other

Governing Documents

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Examples of things codified in other documents (RRoO does not apply)

Bylaw I-300.4(1): “..the majority of the votes of the members present and entitled to vote, at the time of the vote, provided a quorum is present, shall be the act….”. Not “present and voting”TAB Operations Manual: Allowed to postpone or lay-on-the-table” until the next meeting, even though TAB meets only three times a year

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Limitations of Governance Documents

Use common senseThere are not enough rules to address every possible issue When you try to write a rule for every circumstance, you end up with

Too many rules Feeling that some rules are “not important” Confusion and mistrust

Sometimes you need to make a decision that is unpopular/hard to do or makes some of the group

unhappy.

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Comments, Questions, Discussion?

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