Top 5 Changes in the New Robert’s Rules of Order
At the 2020 National Association of Parliamentarians Training Conference, the Robert’s Rules Association officially retired the eleventh edition and launched the twelfth edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised and the third edition of Robert’s Rules of Order In Brief. The Conference was kicked off with an all-day lecture from the authorship team that previewed the many changes in the latest edition. Last Minute Meetings had a front-row seat, and is excited to share the most important changes in the new edition.
1) The Look and Feel of the Book
The first change in the new edition occurs when you pick up the book itself! The pages are bigger, the font is larger, and there are no more line numbers. The new edition has changed its citation format where each paragraph is numbered x:y, where x is the section number and y is the paragraph number within the section (e.g. 14:5 is the fifth paragraph in section 14). These changes make Robert’s more compatible with e-book programs.
2) Terms of Office Flexibility
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the unintended consequences of some Bylaws provisions. One popular, but not recommended, provision is to prescribe that directors shall serve “for a term of one year.” The issue that arises with this phrasing is that if your Annual Meeting is postponed, does this mean your organization is without directors because the “one year” is up? The 12th edition recognizes that “When the bylaws specify the number of years in a term of office, it is understood that the actual term may be more and less than a whole number of years, owing to permissible variation in the dates on which successive elections are scheduled” (RONR 12th ed., §56:28). Therefore, groups that have adopted Robert’s now have this flexibility incorporated within their governing documents.
3) Unmasking Executive Session
Although the section on executive sessions is only four paragraphs (RONR 12th ed., 9:24-27), the authors have made several important clarifications. Executive sessions are meetings (or portions of meetings) that are held in secret where the improper divulging of the proceedings can hold a member liable for disciplinary action within an organization (including removal from membership). Many homeowners’ associations and governmental public bodies have laws that limit the topics that can be discussed in executive session, but other bodies use this mechanism to make decisions on sensitive things like personnel matters, contracts, or litigation.
The major clarifications in the new edition of Robert’s include:
- If a member was absent during the executive session, you can inform them what happened if they were entitled to be at that executive session.
- Records and decisions of executive session can be unsealed by i) a majority vote with previous notice, ii) a two-thirds vote, or iii) a majority of the entire membership.
- By a majority vote, a group can exclude non-members from a meeting without having to impose the secrecy of executive session.
- The meeting minutes of what occurred in executive session need to be approved in a subsequent executive session. However, the twelfth edition now clarifies that the brief act of approving those minutes does not then require another set of minutes solely documenting the approval to be approved later.
4) Sample Rules of Electronic Meetings
The 12th edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised contains an appendix with sample Bylaws authorization and rules for electronic meetings. While each organization transacts different business and has various levels of skill using technology, the appendix contains sample rules for four electronic meeting scenarios: 1) a hybrid meeting where distant members are participating through speaker phone, 2) a teleconference by phone only, 3) a teleconference aided with email/internet for voting and document sharing, and 4) an electronic meeting by a full internet platform (e.g. through Zoom, GoTo Meeting, Adobe Connect, Google Meet, etc.).
5) Vice-Presidential Musical Chairs
Unless the Bylaws prescribe otherwise, upon a President’s death, resignation, or removal, the Vice President becomes the President. The 12th edition clarifies what happens with organizations that have multiple, ranking VPs (i.e. first VP, second VP, third VP, etc.). Essentially, each VP moves up a rank and then the vacancy occurs in the lowest ranking Vice Presidency (RONR 12th ed., 47:29-30). In other words, the First Vice President becomes the President, the Second Vice President becomes the First Vice President, the Third Vice President becomes the Second Vice President, etc. This is also applicable for the death, resignation, or removal within one of the Vice Presidencies. The new edition also clarifies that “a vice-president cannot decline to take the higher office to which he has been automatically promoted…his only recourse is [to resign]” (RONR 12th ed., 47:29).
Conclusion
Many of the changes in the 12th edition offer much needed clarification on existing principles. The new books are available at major retailers, as well as the NAP Online Bookstore.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below or contact us. Last Minute Meetings also offers consulting services and trainings for corporations, associations, and bodies of all sizes.
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Donald Garrett, MPA, PRP is a Professional Registered Parliamentarian based in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area (Northern Virginia). He received both his Bachelor of Arts (Government) and Master of Public Administration from George Mason University.
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Is there something new in Roberts Rules of Order that says minutes of a meeting do not need to be approved after their reading?
You should approve the minutes so you don’t run into a situation where you have a set of several you have to do at a meeting. You can always amend the minutes at a later date if the group finds that something was omitted.