Running a Darn Good Meeting: What Community Association Attorneys Need to Know About Parliamentary Procedure
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www.caionline.org ISBN: 978-1-59618-078-9 © 2015 Community Associations Institute. Community Association Law Seminar 2015 Speakers/authors are solely responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions or licenses from any persons or organizations whose materials are included or used in their presentations and/or contributed to this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, audio, visual, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Inquiries should be directed to Community Associations Institute. Community Associations Institute 6402 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500 Falls Church, VA 22042 CAI assumes no responsibility for obtaining permission to reprint any previously published materials provided by speakers/authors for this event or this publications. All such responsibility lies with the contributing speaker/author. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.—From a Declaration of Principles, jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers Printed in the United States of America RUNNING A DARN GOOD MEETING: WHAT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ATTORNEYS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE Jim Slaughter, Esq.1 Rossabi Black Slaughter, P.A. Law Firm Site: www.lawfirmrbs.com Parliamentary Site: www.jimslaughter.com 1 Jim Slaughter is a partner in the North Carolina law firm of Rossabi Black Slaughter, PA. He is a Certified Professional Parliamentarian, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, and past President of the American College of Parliamentary Lawyers. Jim served as 2014 President of CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL). Many charts and articles on meeting procedure can be found at www.jimslaughter.com Table of Contents (Click on a Link to Go to That Page) I. Introduction .............................................................................. 6 II. What is Parliamentary Procedure ......................................... 6 III. What Procedures Should Be Followed ................................. 8 A. Statutory Parliamentary Guidance ............................. 8 B. Parliamentary Authority ............................................ 11 C. Board Meeting vs. Membership Meeting Rules ..... 12 IV. The Order of Business ........................................................... 14 A. Opening the Meeting .................................................. 14 B. Approval of Minutes .................................................. 14 C. Reports of Officers, Boards, Standing Committees 15 D. Reports of Special Committees ................................. 16 E. Unfinished Business ................................................... 17 F. New Business ............................................................... 17 G. Closing the Meeting .................................................... 18 V. Agendas…… .......................................................................... 19 A. The Informal Agenda ................................................. 19 B. The Adopted Agenda ................................................. 20 C. The Timed Agenda ..................................................... 21 D. The Adopted Timed Agenda .................................... 22 Running a Darn Good Meeting, Page 2 36th Annual Community Association Law Seminar VI. Bringing Business Before the Assembly ............................ 22 VII. The Most Used Motions ....................................................... 25 VIII. How Motions Work Together (Precedence) ...................... 26 IX. Principles of Decision-Making…….. .................................. 28 X. Governing Authority Conflicts ........................................... 30 XI. Quorum Issues…… ............................................................... 32 XII. Voting Methods ..................................................................... 35 A. Voice Vote .................................................................... 36 B. Rising Vote ................................................................... 36 C. Counted Vote ............................................................... 37 D. Show of Hands Vote ................................................... 38 E. Unanimous Consent ................................................... 38 F. Voting Card .................................................................. 39 G. Ballot Vote .................................................................... 40 H. Machine or Electronic Vote........................................ 44 I. Roll-Call Vote ............................................................... 44 J. Absentee Voting .......................................................... 45 i. Proxy Voting ...................................................... 46 ii. Voting by Mail ................................................... 47 iii. Electronic Online Voting ................................. 49 K. Cumulative Voting...................................................... 50 Running a Darn Good Meeting, Page 3 36th Annual Community Association Law Seminar L. Voting by Telephone .................................................. 51 XIII. Model Nonprofit Corporation Act ...................................... 51 XIV. Parliamentary Resources ...................................................... 55 A. Parliamentarians ......................................................... 55 B. Parliamentary Organizations .................................... 56 i. National Association of Parliamentarians .... 56 ii. American Institute of Parliamentarians ........ 57 iii. Amer. College of Parliamentary Lawyers ..... 58 XV. Parliamentary Procedure Books .......................................... 59 XVI. Parliamentary Web Sites ...................................................... 61 XVII. Conclusion ............................................................................. 62 XVIII. Attachments ................................................................. 63 A. Preside Like A Pro B. Minutes C. Order of Business D. Handling of a Motion E. Simplified Parliamentary Motions Guide F. Parliamentary Motions Guide (based on Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th Edition)) G. Presiding Phrases (Using Robert’s Rules of Order) Running a Darn Good Meeting, Page 4 36th Annual Community Association Law Seminar H. Parliamentary Motions Match-Up I. Parliamentary Strategy J. Teller’s Report for Motion K. Teller’s Report for Election L. Parliamentary Law Legal Resources M. “Better Use of Parliamentary Procedure,” Community Association Institute’s Common Ground, 1998 N. “Community Associations & the Parliamentarian,” National Association of Parliamentarian’s National Parliamentarian, First Quarter 2000 O. “Parliamentary Procedure for Community Associations,” Community Association Institute’s Common Ground (feature/cover story), Sep/Oct 2000 P. Meeting Myths,” Community Association Institute’s Common Ground, Jan/Feb 2003 Q. “Statutes & Procedures of Community Associations,” National Association of Parliamentarian’s National Parliamentarian, First Quarter 2005 R. “Planning the Effective Meeting,” Community Association Institute’s Common Ground, 2007 S. “Psst! Executive Sessions are Secret,” Community Association Institute’s Common Ground, Mar/Apr 2008 Running a Darn Good Meeting, Page 5 36th Annual Community Association Law Seminar I. INTRODUCTION Legal counsel to community associations must be aware of parliamentary procedure basics. Numerous states have adopted statutes requiring associations to follow a specific parliamentary manual in association meetings. Even without such a mandate, courts generally hold that all organizations are subject to the principles and rules of common parliamentary law. In other words, all of these organizations must observe proper rules when meeting to transact business. In addition to these legal obligations, many community associations adopt a rule (typically in the bylaws) that they will follow a particular procedural book, such as Robert’s Rules of Order. Members who act contrary to the rules they have adopted can be held liable for their actions. As a result, ignoring or incorrectly applying parliamentary procedure can lead to embarrassment and even lawsuits. The benefits of a well-run meeting extend beyond questions of liability. Proper procedure can help turn long, confrontational meetings into short, painless ones. As a result, attorneys advising homeowner and condominium associations should make every effort to learn the essentials of parliamentary procedure. II. WHAT IS PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE? Parliamentary procedure is all the rules that govern the transaction of business in meetings. The term “parliamentary procedure” is likely broader than you think. That’s because the phrase encompasses everything that goes into running a legal and effective meeting, including these procedures: • Giving proper notice of the meeting to members • Waiting until enough members show up before starting the meeting Running a Darn Good Meeting, Page 6 36th Annual Community Association Law Seminar • Discussing and voting on issues at the meeting All of these considerations