Busy with Bylaws: A Morning with the Newport Parliamentary Procedure Team

Having the chance to give back to something that has changed you for the better is a powerful experience. This statement hits home every time I get to give back and have a positive impact on youth in agriculture, especially those in blue corduroy jackets. 

It has been a little over two years now since Newport's Parliamentary Procedure team got a fresh start with a group of nine excited individuals. And after months of studying, deliberating during mock meetings, and taking practice tests, we started competitions. Somehow, someway this group made an improbable run at states, and once there, were able to place first and advance to the National #SuperbowlLDE competition. 

Our Parliamentary Procedure Team after placing first at the 2017 PA FFA State Convention

Throughout our time as a part of this team, a few things stay with us even to this day. The first being a much greater understanding of parliamentary procedure, but we also forged a bond that was one of a kind. Practicing together multiple times a week at 7:00 A.M. has a way of bringing a group of teenagers together. 

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the chance to step back into that classroom, the same classroom that brought our team so close together. Being able to see eight smiling faces and know the amazing journey that are in for made me super excited. Especially because this time, I got to teach! After some discussion with my high school agriscience teacher and FFA advisor, Mrs. Barkley, we figured that the best thing for this team would be to cover something fundamentally important that I wish I would have more knowledge on during my time time on the team. The result we came to...bylaws!

Discussing bylaws back at Newport

This lead to a discussion and lesson on the nine standard articles that go into bylaws. But first, what are bylaws? Bylaws are a document of rules created by an organization or society that sets a precedence for how their organization conducts business. These nine standard articles set a solid baseline for bylaws, but bylaws can contain more than just these nine.

When teaching bylaws for the first time, a great tool to use is the mnemonic device NO MOME C PA (sounds like no mommy, see pa. Have you ever asked mom for something and get a no, only to ask dad shortly thereafter? This mnemonic device sounds a lot like that progression). 

But what exactly does NO MOME C PA stand for? These articles strive to answer the following questions(and more!).

N - Name: What is the name of the organization or society?

O - Object: What is the goal/objective of this organization?

M - Members: Who are your members? What rights do they have? Membership dues? 

O - Officers: What offices? What responsibilities? How are they elected? How do we fill vacancies?

M - Meetings: When are they they? How often? How do we call them? Special meeting protocol?

E - Executive Board: Who and how many serve on this board? Special rules for their meetings?

C - Committees: What standing committees exist? How do we make a special committee?

P - Parliamentary Authority: What parliamentary authority does the organization follow?

A - Amendments: If we need to change these bylaws, how do we do that?

That morning I was able to spend 40 minutes discussing the importance and meaning of these articles with the new Parliamentary Procedure team. Attentive and ready to learn, I cannot wait to see what they accomplish by participating in this leadership development event. 

And as I look back and reflect, a couple key thoughts come to the forefront.

1. It is amazing how the opportunity to build a team for a competition like this can bring people together

2. There are always opportunities to give back and share knowledge. We should do this more often.

3. I cannot wait to spend my future career sharing knowledge with amazing students such as these eight.

I was truly blessed to get a chance to share a little bit of knowledge regarding bylaws and parliamentary procedure.

Parliamentary Procedure, running meetings and bringing people together. Two noble and important tasks.

Let's See Week Three!

Here's a peek at week three! This week, we really, really learned about bylaws!

Articles Generally Included in the Bylaws 

(NO MOME C PA):

*The Basics

I. Name
     1. Full, exact, properly punctuated name of the organization
II. Object
     1. Purpose of the organization, in one sentence if possible, with subparagraphs if needed
     2. Sets limitations on what can be discussed at business meetings
III. Members
     1. Classes of membership
     2. Qualifications for membership eligibility
     3. Fees, dues, and punishments regarding such
     4. Special requirements for good standing
     5. Honorary membership
IV. Officers
     1. Required officers
     2. Qualifications
     3. Election/appointment method
     4. Duties
     5. Nomination process
     6. Term
     7. Filling vacancies
V. Meeting
     1. Regular meeting schedule
     2. Designated annual meeting
     3. How to call special meetings
     4. Quorum
VI. Executive Board
     1. Composition
     2. Powers
     3. Rules regarding meeting conduct, schedule, quorum, call
VII. Committees
     1. Establishing standing committees
     2. Name, composition, selection of each standing committee
     3. How to establish additional standing committees
     4. Authorization of and how to appointment special committees
     5. Ex-oficio membership
VIII. Parliamentary Authority
     1. "The rules contained in the current edition of...(Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised)...shall             govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not                           inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order that the Society may adopt."
XI. Amendments
     1. Requirements and procedure
     2. Specification as to when amendments can be made

What are the four actions a member can take if a quorum does not exist?

The Orders and Unfinished Business:

Special Orders:

          ~ Items required by bylaws to be carried out at a specific meeting
          ~ Items postponed from the previous meeting by a 2/3 vote
          ~ May be considered at a specific time and may interrupt business

General Orders: 

          ~ Items postponed from the last meeting

Unfinished Business: 

          ~ Items pending when the last meeting adjourned
          ~ Items on the agenda from the last meeting but not completed 

Changes to the Bylaws:

Cannot be suspended except for clauses in the rules of order or as specified within the bylaws
Can be changed only through prescribed procedure (which typically involves previous notice and a 2/3 vote)

Qualities of the Bylaws:

Should:

1.  Be short and sweet
2.     Meet the needs of the society 
3.           Be clear and precise 
4.           Not  be  restrictive - "silence is still saying something" 
5.      Be separated into articles, sections, and paragraphs
6.  Utilize Roman Numerals, Arabic Numbers, and Alphabetic Letters (Upper and Lowercase)

Thank you for sticking with us this long! Next week will be discussing debating and voting (some of my personal favorite parts)!

Welcome to #AgEdParli!

This week, twelve unique individuals, two excited teaching assistants, and one driven professor made history when they attended their first two Parliamentary Procedure classes of the semester!

Let's have a look at some of the things that we did! 

On day one of the class, Dr. Foster began by providing introductions to each student in the class. This purposeful exercise reminded us that this class is more than a general education requirement, and in this class, students are more than just a number. Throughout this semester, we will truly get to know each other! 

Then, we took a look at how parliamentary procedure developed through the years and why it was developed. To get an idea of where this incredible system came from, please check out the video linked below that a group of students created last semester as their Space for Innovation project! 

Who was Henry Martyn Robert?  

Next, instead of getting our feet wet, we dove directly into the deep end, reading and learning about Robert's Rules of Order and parliamentary procedure. We learned, in depth, about what a Parliamentary Authority is and Deliberative Assemblies (and we got a taste of Dr. Foster's playlist). Did anybody know before class on Tuesday that there are multiple parliamentary authorities for a society to choose from?! 

Before class ended, we discussed the characteristics of a deliberative assembly. If somebody correctly posts these characteristics in the comments, there may be a prize involved! 

Impact Moment: learning how diverse this class truly is. Some students have experienced parliamentary procedure in clubs they are a part of at home, some at school, and some had no experience. A lot of students were members of the National FFA Organization, but there were a few who were not. A small number of students also had experience competing in the Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Event. The point is, this class is a very diverse team, and I am incredibly excited to get to know everyone even more!

If you are reading this blog and are not enrolled in the course but would like to follow our learning, next week's topic of discussion will be a short continuation of the rules of deliberative assemblies, and then we will be covering the topic of *drum roll please* bylaws! 

Reading to be completed for Tuesday: RONR 11th, pg ii; Chapter 1 (1-19); Chapter IV (81-99); Chapter XI (345-375); Chapter XVIII (565-599)

What did everyone think of class this week? If there are any lingering questions, questions about the upcoming reading, or favorite moments, I'm looking forward to seeing them in the comments! 

Session 12 - Bylaws - April 9

Responses to your Ticket Outs from Session 12!

What are you curious about?

• Where in Robert's does it talk about the Chair's requirement to stand at meetings?
• There is no such requirement.
• Who starts writing Bylaws for a newly organized society?
• The society designates a Committee to draw up Bylaws 
• RONR, p. 566
• Holding meetings in the absence of Bylaws
• Many organizations function without any set rules they follow
• Making an organization work and committees
• See you next week!
• What happens if a Bylaw is missing an important Article?
• You will have to follow the other rules in the Bylaws in the meantime, but hurry and make a Bylaws revision to include the necessary Articles!
• Can you "tweak" Bylaws already in place without Amending them?
• No. If the Bylaws say something, you want to follow that exactly. The only way you could "tweak" them is by actually amending them.
• RONR, p. 588-591: Principles of Interpretation
• What would you include in a Constitution that isn't in the Bylaws?
• Things that you want to amend less often and/or have them be more difficult to amend
• Can Bylaws be written in a way that they invalidate themselves?
• Of course, that is why when writing or revising Bylaws you want to take the utmost care that this does not happen. 
• If you have multiple sections that contradict each other, follow the following basic principles of interpretation so that you interpret your Bylaws as best as possible: RONR, p. 588-591

 What did you learn?

• General format of the Bylaws with the 9 basic Articles
• Proper time to use Point of Order
• The Membership Article and what it includes
• NOMOMECPA (mnemonic to remember the 9 Articles in order)
• Article I: Name
• Article II: Object
• Article III: Members
• Article IV: Officers
• Article V: Meetings
• Article VI: Executive Board
• Article VII: Committees
• Article VIII: Parliamentary authority
• Article IX: Amendments
• All about the Bylaws!
• How important it is to "waterproof" your organization's Bylaws
• A group an essentially establish any rules it wants when it creates its Bylaws
• How to write a solid set of Bylaws and where to start
• The importance of descriptive, specific Bylaws
• Bylaws amendments

What do you want to learn more about?

• Bylaws in informal groups where people don't care
• If there is no need for Bylaws, there is no need for Bylaws. Informal groups generally do not have Bylaws. However, if you are a campus organization you do need Bylaws filed with the Office of Student Activities. They will give you a very bare-bones skeleton that you can fill in in order to put down the most basic information about the organization.
• Special meetings
• A special meeting is a meeting that is called outside of the regularly scheduled meeting times and in which only the business sent out when calling the meeting can be discussed.
• See RONR, p. 91-92 for more information. 
• Amending Bylaws
• Amending Bylaws can be a very in-depth process. In order to start the process, often a Committee is created to do so. Also, usually previous notice is given. 
• Read more about all aspects of amending ("revising") Bylaws here: RONR, p. 592-599 
• The final exam
• We'll be talking about it soon!

Session 11 - Organizational Leadership - April 2

Responses to your Ticket Outs from Session 11!

What are you curious about?

• Some more scenarios of punishments
• Development of bylaws and utilization of them
• That's next week! Also check out chapter 18
• Bylaws
• See chapter 18
• Best election practices
• What do you do if you are in an organization that struggles to follow its own bylaws? What can you do as an officer?
• Bring it up to the rest of the officers. Your organization should be following its bylaws! You can explain to them why it's important. 
• Is there a format for creating standing rules?
• They can be adopted by a majority vote as long as it doesn't amend or conflict with any existing rule or act of the society. RONR pg. 18 
• Is there a difference in disciplining officers, chairs, and members?
• Your bylaws may specify different rules. For example, officers can be removed from office as a punishment.  Chapter 20
• More info on officers
• Rules about your officers may be different depending on your bylaws. See also chapter 15
• What about ties in elections?
• In ballot votes where there is no majority reached (like in a tie), the chair announces "no election" and a second election is conducted. pg. 439, l. 33-34 The same situation would occur in a tied roll-call election. pg. 443 l. 19-21

What did you learn?

• How we are supposed to nominate
• If the secretary is absent, you must elect a secretary pro-tem
• Who takes minutes when the secretary is absent
• Voting
• Different types of elections
• Ballot, Viva voce, Roll call, Cumulative voting
• Write-ins taken online for nominations are still nominations by ballot
• Cumulative voting 
• Positive and negative
• Executive secretary is a paid position 
• Duties of a secretary and the presiding officer
• Robert's does lay out policies on discipline 
• What to do in the absence of officers
• When elections take effect

What do you want to learn more about?

• Need a review of motions 
• Bylaws
• Chapter 18 and next week!
• How to start bylaws
• Bylaw revisions
• Rule infractions within meetings and their consequences
• See pg. 644-649 and your bylaws
• When to abstain in an election 
• Anytime you do not want to express an opinion on the election
• Object to the consideration 
• Allows assembly to avoid discussion on a motion, Does not require a second, Not debatable, Not amendable, 2/3 vote against the consideration sustains the objection, A negative vote can be reconsidered
• pg. 267-270

Session 8 - Debate and Voting - March 26

Responses from your Ticket Outs from Session 10!

What are you curious about?

• What type of motion is the motion to take a plurality vote? When is it in order to make this motion?
• How my meetings could run more efficiently by using the strict rules of order.
• If people follow the rules that the are supposed to, the meeting will be run more efficiently automatcially. This is because Parliamentary Procedure is meant to accomplish the four principles and make the meeting run smoother. 
• Election proceedings
• We'l learn about this next class, Session 11!
• What does Sandusky Blitz taste like?
• It's a "banana flavored ice cream, with chocolate covered caramel and peanut pieces."
• Rules about reading minutes, quotations, reports, etc.
• You cannot just assume that you can read from other documents in your speech. However, you can make a request to do so as in pg. 298-299.
• Majority members present
• This means that if you need "more than half" it has to be more than half of those that are there. So blanks and abstentions can affect to vote. 
• Do we write on our exams or turn the correction in on a separate sheet of paper?
• On the exams is alright. 
• Leadership positions within an organization
• Next week...Session 11!
• If I debated twice for a total of 2 minutes, I can't debate more using my remaining time, correct?
• Correct-You forfeit the right to the rest of those speeches. pg. 388 l. 12-20
• Proper use of abstention
• No one can be forced to vote. If they don't want to during a voice, rising vote, or ballot vote, they just have to not participate. During a roll call vote, just say present. pg. 407 l. 12-19
• Meeting attendance via video chat
• More information can be found here about this addition. pg. 97-99
• In the absence of a vice president, who steps up when the chair steps down in order to debate?
• The chair can appoint another qualified member in this case. They cannot have spoken on the motion, not wish to speak. pg. 395 l. 7-13'

What did you learn?

• Proxy votes are only allowed by bylaws and laws. 
• The effects of abstentions on voting outcomes.
• The chair is allowed to vote when creating/breaking ties or two-thirds votes or during secret ballots. 
• Rules about yielding times
• The  maker of a motion cannot debate against their own motion.
• Plurality votes
• When a plurality vote can be used
• The chair can step down to participate in debate although it could make them look like they can't be impartial to the members. 
• Rights of chair to vote
• Various types of voting
• Better debate skills
• There are several types of votes including voice, ballot, rising 
• Proxy voting 
• Practice on debate
• Four types of votes
• Methods of voting 
• Voting based on members present means that if you're present and abstain, you're essentially voting in the negative. 
• Discretion sometimes plays a major role in decisions of the chair
• The chair can participate in debate by stepping down temporarily while the vice president takes the chair. 
• Abstentions are recorded only when having a roll call vote

What do you want to learn more about?

• More practice at chairing
• We'll definitely practice more!
• Elections
• pg. 438-446
• Times each vote types are used 
• A majority vote is most commonly used, including for handling normal business, Two-thirds is used whenever someone's rights as a member will be compromised. Unanimous consent is helpful for when no one objects to the business. pg. 400-406
• Absentee voting
• Check out pg. 423-429
• How do you choose by-laws for your group?
• 2 weeks...Session 12

Session 6 - In Depth with Incidental Motions - February 19

Responses from your Ticket Outs from Session 6!

What are you curious about?

• Suspend the Rules
• Suspend the Rules sets aside a rule of the Assembly. 
• Needs a second, not debatable, not amendable, cannot be reconsidered
• Requires a majority vote to suspend a Standing Rule, but requires a 2/3rds vote to suspend a parliamentary order or order of business
• Read everything about it here: RONR, p. 260
• Bylaws language
• Follow Ch. 18 starting on p. 565 on creating and writing the Bylaws with correct language. 
• We will be studying this more in depth on April 9th!
• Judging opportunities and coaching for them
• Talk to Dr. Foster for details!
• Is time the primary purpose you can only debate once in Appeal?
• Although RONR doesn't state anything specifically, time is a good reason, as is the fact that a decision has already been made and members are debating the validity of that decision. The Chair has the right to speak first or last.
• Read all about Appeal starting on RONR, p. 255
• The five other Incidental motions we didn't cover
• Consider by Paragraph or Seriatim: RONR, p. 267
• Motions Relating to the Methods of Voting and the Polls: RONR, p. 283
• Motions Relating to Nominations: RONR, p. 287
• Request to be Excused from a Duty: RONR, p. 289
• Requests and Inquiries: RONR, p. 292
• MTBBBTA ("zombie" motions)!
• Next week! Read Ch. 9 to prepare.
• Is there a way to formally call out an officer and re-vote the vote that gave them their office? Like a Call for the Orders of the Day but for the role of officers?
• I like that idea for a motion! Unfortunately, it doesn't exist though. 
• The best way to call out or punish an officer or member is to move to censure him or her. The rules regulating censures and the subsequent punishments are usually laid out in an organization's Bylaws.
• Incidental main motions and why they are used?
• They're main motions that are incidental, or related to, the Business of the Assembly or its past or future action. 
• They're used for procedure or to delineate further steps related to substantive Business (aka something introduced via a main motion)
• See RONR, p. 100-102
• Withdraw/Modify
• Use this motion to withdraw or modify a motion without having to take a vote
• Needs a second when modifying the motion. Needs no second when withdrawing the motion
• Not debatable. 
• Vote by general consent when asking to withdraw. The negative vote in withdrawing a motion can be reconsidered
• See RONR, p. 295-298

What did you learn?

• The eight Incidental ("popcorn") motions (POWPADDS)
• Point of Order
• Object to the Consideration of a Question
• Withdraw
• Parliamentary Inquiry
• Appeal
• Division of the Assembly
• Division of the Question
• Suspend the Rules
• Withdraw has conditions on voting
• You can't Appeal an opinion
• There can be numerous parts to your main motion and you can break it down by calling for Division of the Question
• Amendments can be divided with Division of the Question
• Division of the Assembly vs. Division of the Question
• Division of the Assembly: retaking a vote in a format where the result can be quantified. Call it when you don't trust a viva voce vote
• Division of the Question: dividing a motion into smaller sections to be dealt with individually
• How to Suspend the Rules and that the motion has different standards and restrictions when applied to different types of rules
• You can't Suspend Bylaws unless it's stated in the Bylaws that you can
• Incidental motions are for the unexpected and do not have an order of precedence
• How to properly use Object to the Consideration of a Question
• When you can Withdraw with or without a vote

What do you want to learn more about?

• Voting
• We'll be looking at Debate and Voting on April 2nd
• In the meantime, check out Ch. 13 in RONR (starting on p. 400)
• How to make sense of all 24 motions and their precedence
• Use the acronyms in order of precedence (FARQC, LCLRPRAP) and then POWPADDS and MTBBBTA and Main to remember them all. Keep up with your chart quiz studying and it will all fall into place before the semester is out! 
• Cassie and I would also be happy to meet with you to find the best way for everything to make sense for you :)
• Using Object to the Consideration of the Question in a model
• Check out RONR, p. 270!
• Suspend the Rules
• Suspend the Rules sets aside a rule of the Assembly. 
• Needs a second, not debatable, not amendable, cannot be reconsidered
• Requires a majority vote to suspend a Standing Rule, but requires a 2/3rds vote to suspend a parliamentary order or order of business
• Read everything about it here: RONR, p. 260
• MTBBBTA!
• Next week! Read Ch. 9 to prepare.
• Under what circumstances would you Withdraw a motion?
• Successfully withdrawing a motion makes it as if that motion never happened. There are many situations in which you might want that to happen, such as new information coming to light (for example, you want to move our midterm to March 12th, but then realize that's spring break) - see RONR, p. 41 for this particular example. 
• Using Chair language
• Pay attention to the phrasing used in class by Dr. Foster and your classmates, read the models of motions in RONR, and practice with your friends!
• Participating in debates as Chair
• You'll have at least two opportunities to Chair class this semester!
• Amending Bylaws
• Amending Bylaws is a variation of the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted. 
• It's an involved process and the process for each individual organization will be explained towards the end of their Bylaws document. We will be covering Bylaws on April 9th, but until then read RONR, p. 592-599
• Where in Roberts does it say about Withdraw needing a second after being stated?
• RONR, p. 40-41
• Object to the Consideration of a Question
• This prevents the main motion from being considered
•  No second, not debatable, not amendable. Because no second and no debate is needed, the Chair takes an immediate vote on the Object to the Consideration of a Question motion
• Requires a 2/3rds vote in the negative for the main motion to not be considered. Only a negative vote can be reconsidered
• Check out RONR, p. 267 on for more information
• Are there any example websites on Parli Pro videos?
• YouTube has tons!

Session 1 - Anatomy of an Organization - January 15th

Responses to your Tickets Out from Session 1!

What are you curious about?

• Whatever is being taught next week!
•  See the Syllabus!
• Anything/everything Parli Pro
• It will be great!
• What’s involved in running our own sessions
• You will chair a mock meeting in class! It will be fun and you will have a support network
•  Standard set of most common motions every member of an organization should know
•  See the Syllabus! We will be teaching 24 motions: 7 Subsidiary, 8 Incidental, 5 Privileged, 3 MTBBABA and Main motions
•  Bylaws
•   Yay for April 9^th!
•   How to word a specific motion
• Next Week!
• Do all meetings use Parli Pro? What if not all members know standard procedures?
•   It depends on the organization. 
  Educating your fellow members is key (we’ll address this in our 2^nd class)
• Rights of an organization
•    Laid out in the Special Rules Documents discussed
• Other events to help with Parli Pro
•  Just jump in and participate :)
• Special rules of order
•   See p. 15-17 in RONR
• Silence is consent – I’ve been in meetings where non-votes are considered no votes for personnel issues
• Depends on Bylaws and Special Rules of the organization
•  The legal importance of Parli Pro
•   You must follow what you governing documents say
• Deliberative Assembly
• See p. 1-2 in RONR
•  Optimal ways to run a meeting
•  We will learn by practice!

What did you learn?

1. Special orders
2. Unfinished vs. old business
3. Types of rules
4. Types of Assemblies/Meetings
5. Members’ rights
6.  Standard order of business (RRRSUN)
7. Purpose and deeper understanding of Parli Pro
8. 4 principles of Parlia Pro
1.  The majority rules
2. Protect Rights of Minority
3. Extend Courtesy to Everyone
4. One Item at a Time
9. Meetings must start on time, have a plan, and use a standard order of business
10. Definition of quorum

What do you want to learn more about?

•  Special orders/Rules
• See pp. 364-365, 369, 270 in RONR
• Why are different sections of a convention called sessions? It seems that they are all just multiple meetings of the same session
• See p. 625-630 in RONR
• Standing rules
• See p. 18 in RONR
• What does each motion do and when do you use them?
• We will learn in the upcoming session!
• How to teach Parli Pro easily and quickly to a large group of people?
• Will try to role model ideas.
• Everything there is to know about Parli Pro
• That’s a lot! ;)
• Standard order of business and how to apply it to real meetings
• You apply by simply setting up your agendas that way; See p. 353 in RONR
•  Bylaws – how do you go about creating and making your Bylaws?
• We will cover on April 9^th, but you could read ahead on p. 565–583  in RONR
• Powers of the Chair
• See p. 448-450 in RONR
• More about procedures and motions
• Keep coming to class!
•  2/3rds vote vs. majority vote
• We will talk more on March 26^th
• What votes required 2/3rds and how do I determine this quickly?
• See upcoming class sessions
• What are common quorum numbers?
• Just depends on organization, Read more on Quorum here;
• How is a township meeting run?
• Visit one :)
• What kind of motions can be made?
• See upcoming classes
• Elections
• Session 10 on April 2^nd!