The Open Meetings Act
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Motions Explained
MOTIONS EXPLAINED Adjournment: Suspension of proceedings to another time or place. To adjourn means to suspend until a later stated time or place. Recess: Bodies are released to reassemble at a later time. The members may leave the meeting room, but are expected to remain nearby. A recess may be simply to allow a break (e.g. for lunch) or it may be related to the meeting (e.g. to allow time for vote‐counting). Register Complaint: To raise a question of privilege that permits a request related to the rights and privileges of the assembly or any of its members to be brought up. Any time a member feels their ability to serve is being affected by some condition. Make Body Follow Agenda: A call for the orders of the day is a motion to require the body to conform to its agenda or order of business. Lay Aside Temporarily: A motion to lay the question on the table (often simply "table") or the motion to postpone consideration is a proposal to suspend consideration of a pending motion. Close Debate: A motion to the previous question (also known as calling for the question, calling the question, close debate and other terms) is a motion to end debate, and the moving of amendments, on any debatable or amendable motion and bring that motion to an immediate vote. Limit or extend debate: The motion to limit or extend limits of debate is used to modify the rules of debate. Postpone to a certain time: In parliamentary procedure, a postponing to a certain time or postponing to a time certain is an act of the deliberative assembly, generally implemented as a motion. -
Simplified Parliamentary Procedure
Extension to Communities Simplifi ed Parliamentary Procedure 2 • Iowa State University Extension Introduction Effective Meetings — Simplifi ed Parliamentary Procedure “We must learn to run a meeting without victimizing the audience; but more impor- tantly, without being victimized by individuals who are armed with parliamentary procedure and a personal agenda.” — www.calweb.com/~laredo/parlproc.htm Parliamentary procedure. Sound complicated? Controlling? Boring? Intimidating? Why do we need to know all those rules for conducting a meeting? Why can’t we just run the meetings however we want to? Who cares if we follow parliamentary procedure? How many times have you attended a meeting that ran on and on and didn’t accomplish anything? The meeting jumps from one topic to another without deciding on anything. Group members disrupt the meeting with their own personal agendas. Arguments erupt. A few people make all the decisions and ignore everyone else’s opinions. Everyone leaves the meeting feeling frustrated. Sound familiar? Then a little parliamentary procedure may just be the thing to turn your unproductive, frustrating meetings into a thing of beauty — or at least make them more enjoyable and productive. What is Parliamentary Procedure? Parliamentary procedure is a set of well proven rules designed to move business along in a meeting while maintaining order and controlling the communications process. Its purpose is to help groups accomplish their tasks through an orderly, democratic process. Parliamentary procedure is not intended to inhibit a meeting with unnecessary rules or to prevent people from expressing their opinions. It is intended to facilitate the smooth func- tioning of the meeting and promote cooperation and harmony among members. -
A Guide to Parliamentary Procedure for New York City Community Boards
CITY OF NEW YORK MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, MAYOR A GUIDE TO PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE FOR NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY BOARDS Mayor's Community Assistance Unit Patrick J. Brennan, Commissioner r. 2003/6.16.2006 Page 2 A Guide to Parliamentary Procedure for NYC Community Boards Mayor's Community Assistance Unit INTRODUCTION "The holding of assemblies of the elders, fighting men, or people of a tribe, community, or city to make decisions or render opinion on important matters is doubtless a custom older than history," notes Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. This led to the need for rules of procedures to organize those assemblies. Throughout history, the writers of parliamentary procedure recognized that a membership meeting should be a place where different people of a community gather to debate openly and resolve issues of common concerns, the importance of conducting meetings in a democratic manner, and the need to protect the rights of individuals, groups, and the entire assembly. Parliamentary procedure originally referred to the customs and rules used by the English Parliament to conduct its meetings and to dispose of its issues. Some of the unusual terms used today attest to that connection -- such terms as "Lay On The Table" or "I Call The Previous Question." In America, General Henry Martyn Robert (1837-1923), a U.S. Army engineering officer was active in civic and educational works and church organizations. After presiding over a meeting, he wrote "But with the plunge went the determination that I would never attend another meeting until I knew something of... parliamentary law." After many years of study and work, the first edition of Robert's manual was published on February 19, 1876 under the title, Robert's Rules of Order. -
Censure of Board Members Policy Code: 2118
Censure of Board Members Policy Code: 2118 It is the policy of the Board of Education that all Board members conduct themselves in a professional manner and in accordance with the Code of Ethics adopted by the Board. A "censure" under this policy is the process by which the Board of Education, acting by a two-thirds majority vote (i.e. five affirmative votes), can reprimand or condemn the actions of a member for any violation of law or policy or any other conduct committed by a Board member which tends to injure the good name of the Buncombe County Board of Education and/or undermines the effectiveness of the Buncombe County Schools or the Board of Education. A censure is an expression of formal disapproval by the Board. The Board, in addition to or in lieu of censure, may vote to 1) ask the member to resign or 2) refer possible misconduct by a Board member to the District Attorney as provided by law and/or 3) issue the Board member an official warning regarding future conduct. The Board of Education does not have the legal authority to remove a Board member from office. Therefore, any legal consequences or punitive sanctions related to a Board member’s actions shall be in accordance with applicable law and shall be separate and distinct from any censure proceeding under this Policy. In the event that a member of the Board of Education believes that a fellow Board member should be formally censured by the Board, the following protocol shall apply: 1) All Board proceedings related to a censure motion, with the exception of the disclosure of confidential information as permitted by the Open Meetings Law, shall be conducted in an open meeting. -
Robert's Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order: How to Effectively Run a Meeting What is Robert’s Rules of Order? • Most widely used manual of “parliamentary procedure” for non-legislative organizations • Used as a means to organize a meeting for: • Church groups • Professional societies • School boards • Associations • Etc. Purpose of Robert’s Rules of Order • Ensure “majority rule” • Protect rights of minority & absentee votes • Provide order and fairness in decisions made • Expedite meetings • All members have equal rights and privilege • Provides checks and balances amongst hierarchy of positions in meetings Components of Robert’s Rules of Order • Quorum must be present for business to occur. Quorum is the minimum number of members of a group that must be present at any meeting, to ensure that enough voices are heard for the decisions made during that meeting to be valid • Agenda created for meeting • Motions – formal proposal for action to be taken on certain topic by organization’s membership Let’s Put It All Together… Commonly Asked Questions of Robert’s Rules of Order 1. Is it true that the president can vote only to break a tie? a) No, it is not true. If the president is a member of the voting body, he or she has exactly the same rights and privileges as all other members have, including the right to make motions, to speak in debate, and to vote on all questions.. However, the impartiality required of the presiding officer of any other type of assembly (especially a large one) precludes exercising the rights to make motions or speak in debate while presiding, and also requires refraining from voting except (i) when the vote is by ballot, or (ii) whenever his or her vote will affect the result. -
Repealing Federal Health Reform: Economic and Employment Consequences for States
Issue Brief January 2017 Repealing Federal Health Reform: Economic and Employment Consequences for States Leighton Ku, Erika Steinmetz, Erin Brantley, and Brian Bruen The mission of The Commonwealth ABSTRACT Fund is to promote a high Issue: The incoming Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are seeking to repeal performance health care system. The Fund carries out this mandate by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), likely beginning with the law’s insurance premium tax credits and supporting independent research on expansion of Medicaid eligibility. Research shows that the loss of these two provisions would lead health care issues and making grants to a doubling of the number of uninsured, higher uncompensated care costs for providers, and to improve health care practice and policy. Support for this research was higher taxes for low-income Americans. Goal: To determine the state-by-state effect of repeal on provided by The Commonwealth employment and economic activity. Methods: A multistate economic forecasting model (PI+ from Fund. The views presented here Regional Economic Models, Inc.) was used to quantify for each state the effects of the federal are those of the authors and spending cuts. Findings and Conclusions: Repeal results in a $140 billion loss in federal funding not necessarily those of The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, for health care in 2019, leading to the loss of 2.6 million jobs (mostly in the private sector) that officers, or staff. year across all states. A third of lost jobs are in health care, with the majority in other industries. If replacement policies are not in place, there will be a cumulative $1.5 trillion loss in gross state Established in July 1997 as the School products and a $2.6 trillion reduction in business output from 2019 to 2023. -
Rules of Procedure for the City Council and the Boards, Commissions and Committees of the City of Forney, Texas
Rules of Procedure for the City Council and the Boards, Commissions and Committees of the City of Forney, Texas Sources Include: Robert’s Rules of Order, Robert’s Rules of Order, National Association of Parliamentarians, and Cities of Bellaire, Huntsville, Kerrville, Killeen, Murphy, Weatherford and West University Place ARTICLE 1. AUTHORITY, APPLICABILITY, AMENDMENT, AND ANNUAL REVIEW .......................................... 4 1.1 Authority. ...................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Applicability................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Amendment. ................................................................................................................................. 4 ARTICLE 2. GENERAL RULES OF PROCEDURE AND POLICIES......................................................................... 4 2.1 Construction of Authority. ............................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Council/Staff Relationships and Communications......................................................................4 2.3 Meetings Shall Be Public. .............................................................................................................. 4 2.4 Conduct of Meetings..................................................................................................................... 5 2.5 -
Historical Development of the Senate's Amendment
CONTENTS Introduction 1 Amendments in the early Senate 2 Amendments in the contemporary Senate 4 Key developments in the amendment process 6 Chart 4 6 Chart 1 9 Chart 2 10 Conclusion 10 About the author 11 FIGURE 1: Early amendment tree based on motion to strike 3 FIGURE 2: Early amendment tree based on motion to insert 3 FIGURE 3: Early amendment tree based on motion to strike and insert 4 FIGURE 4: Chart 1 - Motion to insert text 4 FIGURE 5: Chart 2 - Motion to strike text 5 FIGURE 6: Chart 3 - Motion to strike and insert R STREET POLICY STUDY NO. 111 (substitute for section of bill) 5 September 2017 FIGURE 7: Chart 4 - Motion to strike and insert (ANS) 5 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT cloture and employed early in the process, filling the tree OF THE SENATE’S AMENDMENT may be successful in passing the majority’s preferred bill through the Senate unchanged. At a minimum, the tactic PROCESS protects members of the majority from having to cast tough votes that could be used against them in their effort to secure James Wallner re-election. Yet despite the increased importance of the amendment pro- INTRODUCTION cess to Senate majorities’ efforts to control the agenda, we enate majorities have used a complex assortment of have, at best, only a limited understanding of how that pro- rules and practices in recent years to exert greater cess developed. Put differently, existing treatments do not control over the institution’s decision-making pro- account for the role that the amendment process was origi- cess than at any other point in its history. -
Nancy Pelosi Is the 52Nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, Having Made History in 2007 When She Was Elected the First Woman to Serve As Speaker of the House
More than 30 Years of Leadership & Progress SPEAKER.GOV “Pelosi is one of the most consequential political figures of her generation. It was her creativity, stamina and willpower that drove the defining Democratic accomplishments of the past decade, from universal access to health coverage to saving the U.S. economy from collapse, from reforming Wall Street to allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. Her Republican successors’ ineptitude has thrown her skills into sharp relief. It’s not a stretch to say Pelosi is one of very few legislators in Washington who actually know what they’re doing.” – TIME Magazine Cover Profile, September 2018 Nancy Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. Now in her third term as Speaker, Pelosi made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency, the first person to do so in more than 60 years. As Speaker, Pelosi is fighting For The People, working to lower health care costs, increase workers’ pay through strong economic growth and rebuilding America, and clean up corruption for make Washington work for all. For 31 years, Speaker Pelosi has represented San Francisco, California’s 12th District, in Congress. She has led House Democrats for 16 years and previously served as House Democratic Whip. In 2013, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the American women’s rights movement. -
Request for Proposal Development of Meeting Agenda Creation Tool
The Internet Society on behalf of The IETF Administrative Oversight Committee Request for Proposal Development of Meeting Agenda Creation Tool Date of Issuance: May 25, 2012 Proposal Submission Deadline: July 9, 2012 no later than 5:00 P.M. EDT 1 IETF Request for Proposals Development of Meeting Agenda Creation Tool The Internet Society (“ISOC”) on behalf of the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) is soliciting this Request for Proposals ("RFP") to develop the IETF Meeting Agenda Creation Tool. Those submitting a Proposal (“Vendor”) shall do so in accordance with this RFP. I. Introduction The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) desires a Meeting Agenda Creation Tool that will manage all meeting scheduling and space allocation associated with regular IETF meetings. This includes working group sessions, leadership meetings, EDU sessions, BoFs, office hours, registration, breaks, and more. Currently these meetings take place over 7 days and have between 250 and 300 distinct sessions, with between 8 and 12 of these sessions taking place concurrently. The tool will also manage meeting scheduling for Large Interim Meetings (LIMs). These are meetings are expected to take place over 2 to 3 days, with 3 sessions taking place concurrently. II. Instructions and Procedures A. Submissions Proposals must be received via email at [email protected] no later than July 9, 2012 at 5:00 P.M. EDT. Vendor assumes all risk and responsibility for submission of its Proposal by the above deadline. ISOC shall have no responsibility for non-receipt of Proposals due to network or system failures, outages, delays or other events beyond its reasonable control. -
STATE of COLORADO Chief Operating Officer
PHIL WEISER Attorney General RALPH L. CARR COLORADO JUDICIAL CENTER NATALIE HANLON LEH Chief Deputy Attorney General 1300 Broadway, 10th Floor Denver, Colorado 80203 ERIC R. OLSON Phone (720) 508-6000 Solicitor General ERIC T. MEYER STATE OF COLORADO Chief Operating Officer . DEPARTMENT OF LAW Office of the Attorney General FORMAL ) OPINION ) No. 20-01 ) OF ) ) December 4, 2020 PHILIP J. WEISER ) Attorney General ) Patty Salazar, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and designee of Governor Jared Polis, requested this Formal Opinion on behalf of the Governor under § 24-31-101(1)(d)(II), C.R.S. (2020). QUESTIONS PRESENTED AND SHORT ANSWERS Questions Presented. (1) When the effective date of enacted legislation to renew a regulatory program that is scheduled for sunset repeal falls on a date subsequent to the repeal date listed in the regulatory program’s organic act, but within the one-year wind-up period following that repeal date, is the enacted legislation effective as a matter of law in renewing the regulatory program? (2) Is the Occupational Therapy Practice Act at § 12-270-101, et seq., C.R.S., as amended by House Bill 20-1230, effective as a matter of law, despite having been legislatively renewed by House Bill 20-1230 which held an effective date falling after the Acts statutory sunset repeal date on September 1, 2020? Short Answers. (1) Yes. Because the provisions of § 24-34-104(2)(b), C.R.S., ensure that any regulatory program scheduled for sunset repeal shall continue for one year following the program’s scheduled sunset repeal date, that regulatory program’s organic act remains in effect as a matter of law for one year after the formal date set for sunset repeal. -
The Constitutionality of Legislative Supermajority Requirements: a Defense
The Constitutionality of Legislative Supermajority Requirements: A Defense John 0. McGinnist and Michael B. Rappaporttt INTRODUCTION On the first day of the 104th Congress, the House of Representatives adopted a rule that requires a three-fifths majority of those voting to pass an increase in income tax rates.' This three-fifths rule had been publicized during the 1994 congressional elections as part of the House Republicans' Contract with America. In a recent Open Letter to Congressman Gingrich, seventeen well-known law professors assert that the rule is unconstitutional.3 They argue that requiring a legislative supermajority to enact bills conflicts with the intent of the Framers. They also contend that the rule conflicts with the Constitution's text, because they believe that the Constitution's specific supermajority requirements, such as the requirement for approval of treaties, indicate that simple majority voting is required for the passage of ordinary legislation.4 t Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School. tt Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law. The authors would like to thank Larry Alexander, Akhil Amar, Carl Auerbach, Jay Bybee, David Gray Carlson, Lawrence Cunningham, Neal Devins, John Harrison, Michael Herz, Arthur Jacobson, Gary Lawson, Nelson Lund, Erela Katz Rappaport, Paul Shupack, Stewart Sterk, Eugene Volokh, and Fred Zacharias for their comments and assistance. 1. See RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, EFFECTIVE FOR ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS (Jan. 4, 1995) [hereinafter RULES] (House Rule XXI(5)(c)); see also id. House Rule XXI(5)(d) (barring retroactive tax increases). 2. The rule publicized in the Contract with America was actually broader than the one the House enacted.