The Agenda

It is funny that many people think that the Board or the President sets the agenda for a meeting. Neither of these is true unless the bylaws contain a provision saying so. So how does the agenda get set?

If the organization just follows the general order of business stated in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised or in one of the other standard works, no agenda is needed. A clear order of business is established. But this is not enough for many organizations. They want a clear indication of when matters will come up.

If an agenda is needed or wanted, it is the meeting that establishes it. The appropriate officer, often in consultation with others, proposes an agenda. This isa main motion and can be amended by proposals. Most amendments are handled by unanimous consent. If there is not unanimous consent, the change is usually voted on. If a member is proposing to bring up an idea under New Business, no vote is needed. The assembly, often by unanimous consent, votes to accept the agenda.

So if somebody tells you that the officers set the agenda, just ask them where that rule is written down. If they cannot give an exact citation that you can check out, ignore them.

The Reason for ParliamentaPstrry Procedure

Parliamentary Procedure is designed to give all at a meeting a fair share in the action. It is not designed to limit people; it is designed to give people a chance to bring forth their ideas in a fair way. It is designed to make the playing field fair and equal. Trouble is that many organizations have people who don't want to play fair. These are the people who afraid to let others bring forth ideas or who are afraid to let people stop debate because they have heard enough.

Parliamentary Procedure also works to let the majority rule and decide things as opposed to some minority which thinks that they are right about how things should be.

Yes, it is complicated at times as it is dealing with human relations -- not the easiest thing in the world. But a little knowledge can help all.

Web Site

My web site, where there is a lot of study material for Parliamentary Procedure, is www.parliamentarycorner.com.

Just a start

I have been involved in Parliamentary Procedure for several years. Yeah, I capitalize it even though it does not need to be so. Parliamentary Procedure is important, I firmly believe, because it helps people learn how to interact productively with others without one person or one small set of people being dominate. Parliamentary Procedure is based on all being equal and all having a fair chance to participate in a society. It only works if the society wants to make it work. That is probably enough for this post.