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1
Chapter Parliamentarians
Regional Parliamentarians
International Parliamentarian
The Role of the Parliamentarian
Frances Jackson, PhD, RN
International Parliamentarian
2004-2012
2
Dedication
This manual is dedicated to those who love “order” and to
parliamentarians serving on the local, regional and
international levels who support the will of the majority,
protect the rights of the minority, and ensure justice for all
(Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, adapted).
AND
To the consummate International Parliamentarian, Past
Grand Basileus, Past Central Regional Syntaktes Annie
Lane Lawrence Brown, who set the standard for us all.
3
Foreword
The purpose of this guide is to assist sorority parliamentarians with understanding the
role and functioning of the parliamentarian on local, regional, and international levels. This
guide is based on Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RONR) (11th
edition). For the most
part, this guide will focus on how to function as a parliamentarian, rather than parliamentary
procedures, per se. The reader is encouraged to purchase the full edition of RONR as the best
and most complete guide to parliamentary procedure. If the role of parliamentarian is new, it
might be advisable to start with Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief. It provides a
good introduction to basic parliamentary law.
Parliamentary procedure is complex. Joining one of the national parliamentary
organizations would be beneficial to expand and support your understanding of parliamentary
procedure. There are two national parliamentary associations: the National Association of
Parliamentarians (NAP) and the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP). The author is a
member of NAP.
NAP is divided into geographical regions and there are also local units located in many
major cities. These local units meet once a month and each meeting has an educational
component that will expand and reinforce one’s knowledge of parliamentary law. Recently,
NAP added a web-based chapter for individuals who don’t live near a local unit. NAP is the
organization with which the author is most familiar and that is the one that will be referenced in
this manual. However, AIP is also a fine organization. Both organizations host training
conferences for parliamentarians at all skill levels. NAP sponsors a leadership conference which
meets biennially in the even years. It is open to non-members.
4
The first chapter of this handbook will address the role and responsibilities of the local
chapter parliamentarian. The second chapter focuses on the regional and international
parliamentarian. Some of the rules that govern deliberative assemblies are based on
organizations that, at a minimum, meet at least four times a year or more which conforms to the
meeting schedule of most local chapters. Some of the rules differ for assemblies like regional
conferences and Boules, which meet less than four times a year. Serving as a convention
parliamentarian has some different aspects than how one would function on the local level. All of
this is addressed in chapter two of this handbook.
The Author
Frances Carter Jackson was inducted into Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. on March 14,
1970 at 1:03 AM at Alpha Eta Chapter located at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She
was elected by the College of Nursing to serve as the representative to the University Student-
Faculty Council. The first three meetings she attended, she was repeatedly told she was out of
order. After the third meeting, she walked to the bookstore and purchased a copy of Robert’s
Rules of Order and her love of parliamentary procedure was born.
In 2004, Soror Jackson was appointed to serve as the International
Parliamentarian by then Grand Basileus, Mynora Bryant. She was reappointed by Grand
Basileus Joann Loveless and reappointed again by Grand Basileus Bonita Herring. Soror
Jackson has also served as the parliamentarian for Central Region under the leadership of
Syntaktes Pamela Kadirifu. She has been a member of the National Association of
Parliamentarians since 1997 and has served on the National Educational Resources Committee of
5
that organization. At the request of the NAP, she authored a manual on parliamentary procedure
written for faith-based ministries (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Catholics, etc.).
6
Table of Contents
Foreword……………………………………………………………………………………….2
Local Chapter Parliamentarian………………………………………………………………….6
Functioning of the Local Chapter Parliamentarian……………………………………………...8
Chairing the Local Bylaws Committee………………………………………………………...12
Standing Rules for the Local Chapter…………………………………………………………14
Other Issues……………………………………………………………………………………..15
When the Bylaws/Robert’s Rules are Silent……………………………………………………16
Regional and International Parliamentarian………………………………………………….…20
Review of Local and Regional Bylaws by the International Parliamentarian………………..…21
Revision of the Bylaws…………………………………………………………………….……22
Common Problems With the Bylaws……………………………………………………………23
Serving as the Parliamentarian at the Regional Conference or Boule…………………………..24
Advanced Preparation……………………………………………………………………24
Opening the Convention…………………………………………………………………25
Credentials Report…………………………………………………………………….…25
Standing Rules………………………………………………………………………...…29
Adoption of Convention Program……………………………………………………….32
How the Parliamentarian Functions at a Convention……………………………………………32
Differences Between Local Meetings and Conventions…………………………………………33
Chairing the Regional or National Bylaws Committees…………………………………………35
Presenting and Voting on Proposed Bylaw Amendments…………………………………….…41
Post-Conference Responsibilities of the Regional and International Parliamentarian…………..45
Role of International Parliamentarian to Review Local and Regional Bylaws…………….……47
Developing Parliamentary Procedure Presentations………………………………………….…49
Commonly Misunderstood Parliamentary Rules………………………………………………..50
Road to Professionalism…………………………………………………………………………55
7
Chapter One
Local Chapter Parliamentarian
One of the major roles of the parliamentarian is to make the presiding officer look good.
One fear of many presiding officers is looking inept or losing control of the meeting. Sometimes
that means offering assistance even when it has not been requested, a role RONR supports. It is
important, however, to adjust the operationalization of this role to the level of expertise of the
presiding officer that is being advised. Some will need less assistance and the parliamentarian
can indeed wait until asked to give advice on parliamentary procedure. Most presiding officers
will let the parliamentarian know if there is a preference for more or less advice.
It is important that the Basileus has a parliamentarian that she trusts. For that reason,
Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) recommends that the parliamentarian is
appointed rather than elected. However, chapters have the right to elect the parliamentarian if
they so choose.
It is important that the parliamentarian is seated next to or very close to the Basileus. It is
awkward for the parliamentarian to try and advise the chair from a distance. One common
method of unobtrusively advising the chair is for the parliamentarian to write her advice on a
3X5 card and slip it to the Basileus. This is an easy but effective way to advise the Basileus that
a certain motion requires 2/3 vote or is not debatable but can be amended.
In addition to parliamentary procedure, the local chapter parliamentarian must be
knowledgeable about local bylaws, regional bylaws, and national bylaws. It is strongly
recommend that she is an active member of either the National Association of Parliamentarians
(NAP) or the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP). NAP is the largest parliamentary
8
organization in the world. It is also the organization that publishes Roberts Rules of Order
Newly Revised (RONR), the parliamentary authority used by most organizations in this country.
The designation of the letters “RONR,” denotes that this is the most recent edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order. AIP uses the Standard Code of Parliamentary Law by Alice Sturgis as its
parliamentary authority. There are some minor differences between RONR and Sturgis. Both
organizations are very good.
The bylaws should specify the parliamentary authority adopted by the chapter in the next
to last article in the chapter’s bylaws (the last article in the bylaws addresses how the bylaws are
amended). Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) is the standard authority used in
Sigma Gamma Rho. The parliamentarian should also have a copy of the most recent local
standing rules.
At the local level, it is assumed that the parliamentarian is a financial member of the
chapter, and thus, is entitled to vote and speak on all matters that are brought before the
assembly. However, to maintain as much objectivity as possible, it is advisable that the
parliamentarian rarely votes or participates in debate on an issue; the exception to this are votes
by ballot. The parliamentarian is free to vote by ballot at any time a ballot vote is taken, unless
the vote is a tie; only the presiding officer can vote to make or break a tie. To avoid any hint that
the parliamentarian’s advice to the presiding officer or to the chapter is biased by a personal
position on an issue, the right to vote should be exercised rarely, and only on matters of the
utmost importance.
Similarly, the same issue is also true with the parliamentarian participating in debate. At
the local level, she would have the right to participate in debate since she is a financial member,
9
but should generally refrain from doing so. It is paramount that the parliamentarian, similar to
the Basileus, is viewed as neutral so that there is no credible impression that her advice to the
chair is influenced by her personal wishes to support a particular point of view.
The role of the parliamentarian, at all levels, is one of advice. The parliamentarian,
regardless of the level (local, regional, international), does not rule. The presiding officer rules
on all matters of parliamentary law. It is of paramount importance that the parliamentarian’s
advice is based on either the bylaws or the adopted parliamentary authority. It is also important
that she not take it personally if her advice is ignored. However, if the presiding officer regularly
ignores the advice of the parliamentarian, that may be an indication that someone else should
serve in the position. Remember, one of the reasons for allowing the presiding officer to appoint
the parliamentarian is that the parliamentarian must be someone the presiding officer trusts. If
the parliamentarian does not have the trust of the presiding officer, there is little point in
remaining in that role.
RONR advises that, in general, the parliamentarian should provide advice to the presiding
officer only when requested. However, RONR also states that in advising the chair, the
parliamentarian should not wait until asked for advice, as this may be too late to avoid potential
problems. The key distinction between what sounds like conflicting advice, is the avoidance of a
bigger problem if the parliamentarian remains silent.
In general, the parliamentarian should wait until she is asked for assistance. However, if
it becomes clear that a problem is developing and intervening can be helpful, she should not wait
for the chair to ask for advice, but proactively advise the chair on the matter. In addition to
restrictions on participating in debate and voting, the parliamentarian should speak to the
10
assembly only on the most “involved” matters (RONR, p. 466), but this should occur on only
rare occasions.
Functioning of the Parliamentarian
When possible, it is preferable that the Basileus will upload the chapter agenda to chapter
members in advance. Even if she does not do so with the entire chapter, it would be
advantageous for the parliamentarian to receive the agenda in advance of the meeting. Once
received, it would be important to review it prior to the meeting to identify potential motions that
might be made. For example, if the agenda lists that certain reports will be given, what motions
might be made in relationship to those reports? The motion to commit or refer to a committee?
The motion to amend? Is this a report that might be amenable to the motion fill in the blank? By
reviewing the agenda prior to the meeting, the parliamentarian can be prepared to advise the
presiding officer.
Do not be afraid to use assistive tools to support this role. Both NAP and AIP publish
numerous educational materials for purchase that can assist with the role of parliamentarian. For
example, NAP has a one-page flyer that lists the major motions, whether the motion must be
seconded, is debatable, can interrupt, can be reconsidered, and the vote necessary to adopt. This
can provide a quick and handy reference that is easier to use than trying to locate each individual
motion in RONR.
In addition to identifying reports that will be made at the meeting to anticipate motions
that might be used to dispose of those reports, it would also be important to make note of reports
that might not require any action. If a report requires no action, for example it has no
recommendations for the chapter to approve, then no motions should be made (exception is the
report of the chapter historian; a motion is made to adopt the official chapter history presented).
11
Often sorors feel that if a report is made, even if no action is required, that some motion needs to
be made to validate the report. This is not true. Above all, the motion to receive should not be
made in such cases. The report was received when it was heard. When a report is given that has
no recommendations, the Basileus can ask if there are any questions, and after all questions have
been asked, thank the person and indicate they can be seated. An example is below:
Basileus: We will now have the report of the Hospitality Committee.
Soror Johnson, Chair of the Hospitality Committee stands up and comes to the front of
the room.
Soror Johnson: Thank you Madame Basileus. Last month I mailed out four cheer cards,
three get well cards and one sympathy card.
Basileus: Are there any questions for Soror Johnson? There being none, we thank you
for that report. You may be seated.
If there is something on the uploaded agenda that is inappropriate (e.g., the Call to Order,
which is NOT part of the agenda and should not be listed on the agenda), advise the Basileus
privately, before the meeting so it can be deleted. This is also true for establishment of the
quorum. Identifying that a quorum is present should not be on the agenda. Once the Basileus
recognizes that a quorum is present, the meeting is called to order.
Also review the uploaded minutes. Is there any unfinished business from the previous
meeting that should be on the agenda for this meeting? Any tabled motions? Any Special
Orders? Did anyone announce at the previous meeting their intentions to make a motion at the
next meeting (previous notice)? Review any major motions that were adopted at the previous
meeting. Do the minutes accurately memorialize these motions? If bylaw amendments are on
the agenda for this meeting, were they presented or disseminated at the previous meeting or in
compliance with whatever advanced notice is required by the chapter bylaws? By receiving a
12
copy of the agenda in advance, the parliamentarian can be prepared for all of these eventualities
and advise the chair in advance of any potential problems or issues.
It was noted earlier in this chapter that one method of advising the chapter is to write
advice on a 3 X 5 card and slide the card to the Basileus. It is also advisable to retrieve this card,
and on the back write down what action was taken in response to the advice that was given. One
of the major complaints lodged against parliamentarians with NAP is that they did not provide
accurate advice during a meeting. This card can help keep track of what advice was given and
what action was taken in case a dispute arises at a later date on the issue.
In addition, the parliamentarian is advised to bring a pad to the meeting, or a notebook.
On that pad, keep track of which business is pending and what motion is before the body. Also
write down all substantive motions, any amendments, and the final disposition of the motion. At
any time, the presiding officer should be able to turn to the parliamentarian and get a faithful
history of the pending motion. Also, particularly if debate was prolonged or heated, the
presiding officer may not remember where she left off on the agenda or what question is
pending; the parliamentarian should always know what is pending or what is next on the agenda.
Another responsibility of the parliamentarian is to maintain an accurate set of the current
chapter bylaws and standing rules. With today’s technology, that should be easy to do. Use
some system to ensure that you are working with the most recent version of the adopted bylaws.
The date is normally the easiest way to do this. By putting the date in a footer or header, you
will know if this is the most recent version of the chapter’s bylaws. New members should
receive the most recent copy of the bylaws and the standing rules upon joining the chapter.
13
Maintaining up-to-date bylaws and standing rules means the parliamentarian must be
diligent in following the progress of any regional or national bylaw changes that may require a
change in local bylaws or standing rules. In addition, the parliamentarian must keep abreast of
changes in the parliamentary authority adopted by the chapter. RONR is revised every ten years.
It would be important for the parliamentarian to be aware of any revisions that would necessitate
amending local chapter bylaws or standing rules. For example, the 11th
edition of RONR greatly
expanded the rules governing electronic meetings. It is important to know about these changes
so that local chapter bylaws/standing rules can be updated to the new provisions in the 11th
edition. However, while RONR is published every ten years, there are often updates or
clarifications on motions contained in RONR that are sometimes published prior to the next
publication date. This is why it is important to be an active member of NAP (or AIP). These
updates and clarifications are not widely disseminated outside of the organization, so being
active is key to keeping updated with the latest information.
The Local Bylaws Committee
Finally, as a general rule, the parliamentarian chairs the chapter Bylaws Committee. The
chapter bylaws should designate this as a responsibility of the parliamentarian. This committee
is responsible for reviewing chapter bylaws on a regular basis and handling submitted bylaw
amendments. This is not just a secretarial function of the committee. The committee should
review the submitted amendment, make sure it is not duplicative, that its meaning is clear and
unambiguous, that it doesn’t contradict some other bylaw article, and that the details are correct
(it seeks to amend the right article).
14
The committee can move adoption of the proposed amendment, or it can move to amend
the proposed amendment, then move its adoption. If the committee could not reach agreement
on the disposition of the amendment, they are not required to make any motion. The motion to
adopt will have to come from the body. The committee can also move to delete the proposed
amendment.
If the committee needs to contact the maker of the motion to get clarity on the
amendment, that is not only permissible, it is highly desirable because it saves time and endless
discussion during the meeting. The committee can also edit the language of the proposed
amendment to improve clarity or make grammatical corrections, as long as the essential language
is not changed. Once the amendments have been adopted, or once the changes to chapter
standing rules have been approved, it is the parliamentarian’s responsibility to make the
corrections in both documents, after consultation with the anti-grammateus to ensure the changes
are accurate. Also, any changes to local bylaws must be submitted to the International
Parliamentarian (IP) for approval before implementing any changes.
It is important to remember, unless there is a date clause included with an amendment,
adopted bylaw amendments take effect immediately! A date clause would be stated similar to the
following: “As of September 1, 2015, local dues will be increased by $100 to $200.” If that date
clause was not included, then this change would take effect immediately. For this reason,
affirmative votes on adopted bylaw amendments cannot be reconsidered.
It is also the responsibility of the local Bylaws Committee to periodically review its
chapter bylaws and make recommendations for amendments that will improve the form and
context of this document. Be careful! What should be in the bylaws are those items that the
15
chapter does not want changed in a single meeting (because it requires advanced notice) and
which requires more than a majority vote to adopt (should require 2/3 vote). All bylaws should
always provide for those two requirements: advanced notice of at least one month (or more) and
minimally 2/3 vote for adoption of amendments. It has been the observation of the author that
chapters tend to put too many items in the bylaws. Some provisions are better suited to be
placed in the Standing Rules. It would be important to note here that traditionally, some chapters
(and Regions as well) believe that proposed amendments to the bylaws must be read three times.
This is not consistent with RONR. While a chapter or assembly has the right to require three
readings, the reasons for doing so are obscure and not supported by parliamentary law.
Being careful about what is placed in the bylaws is also important because the bylaws
cannot be suspended. For example, chapters should not put the time chapter meeting will start in
the bylaws or the place. If something occurs that makes starting at that time impossible, or
meeting in that building difficult, the chapter wouldn’t be able to change the starting time of the
meeting without amending the bylaws. That is not practical. It is better to put such specific
details in the chapter standing rules.
Standing rules contain the chapter’s administrative procedures. Unlike the bylaws,
standing rules can be suspended (for one meeting only and only those rules that relate to the
conduct of business during the meeting), and they can be amended without advanced notice. For
example, there may be a bylaw provision that dues are due locally by September 15 of each year
and that the amount of the dues can be found in the standing rules. By putting the amount of the
dues in the chapter Standing Rules, when regional or national dues change, the chapter doesn’t
have to amend the chapter bylaws to change the amount that is due. However, chapter bylaws
16
should have a provision that identifies that paying chapter dues is requisite for active
membership.
It is important to note here that if chapter bylaws do not provide authority for assessments
to be made, the chapter cannot levy member assessments, even by unanimous vote. For
example, the chapter cannot assess sorors for unsold tickets to a particular event unless the
bylaws give the chapter the authority to levy assessments. The provision for such an assessment
must be in the bylaws, but the details (amount due, deadline date, etc.) are better placed in the
Standing Rules. Each local parliamentarian (and the Bylaws Committee) is encouraged to
review the bylaws to see if there are items that would be better placed in the chapter’s Standing
Rules.
An example of suspending a Standing Rule that pertains to conduct during a meeting
would be the limit on debate. RONR states that each person is entitled to 10 minutes of debate
on each motion. That’s a long time. Chapters can establish a Standing Rule that debate on any
motion is limited to 2 minutes. If this is a Standing Rule, since it is a rule that pertains to actions
taken during a meeting, it can be suspended for one meeting. If the chapter is debating an issue
of major importance and the chapter wants to extend debate beyond the two minutes, they can
suspend this Standing Rule. If this limit on debate is in the bylaws, it can’t be suspended, not
even by unanimous vote.
Other Issues
Observation reveals that some people who self-select for the position of parliamentarian
are those who are passionate about things being done “right” and that the business is conducted
in an orderly fashion. While this is important, it can be traumatic to a chapter if there is an
17
attempt to change too many things at once. Trying to make numerous changes in how a chapter
functions can, in fact, create more confusion and even distrust. If you are the parliamentarian of
a chapter that has been doing things a certain way for a long time, then you come along and tell
them that they are functioning completely wrong, they will often resist change, even though you
are right. It is better to slowly and carefully institute changes, using workshops on parliamentary
procedure to highlight why something is wrong and how the chapter would benefit from doing
things in accordance with their parliamentary authority.
You also want to be the source for on-going parliamentary education of the membership.
Present one parliamentary tip at each meeting. Or, if your chapter has a newsletter, ask if you
can have a column to discuss parliamentary procedure. In this way, you can institute changes
gradually while also educating your chapter on proper procedures.
What To Do When the Bylaws/RONR Are Silent
There will be times when one will encounter a situation where the bylaws are either silent
or contradictory, or some key element is missing from the bylaws. Not everything will slot
neatly into RONR. The author once served as the parliamentarian for a large convention that
met every four years. According to the bylaws, anyone wanting to run for office had to apply or
be nominated by June in the year preceding the convention. All offices had a two-term limit.
However, the bylaws did NOT state that all officers serve four years or until their successor is
elected. The current executive secretary had served two terms and was not eligible to run again.
One person applied for the position of executive secretary by the deadline date in the year prior
to the convention, as required by the bylaws. However, the following year, the year of the
convention, this person got ill and had to withdraw two months before the convention was to be
18
held. There was nothing in the bylaws that provided for an emergency of this nature. The
Executive Board could only fill a vacancy if an officer died.
When confronted with a dilemma of this nature, parliamentarians will often use the basic
philosophy of parliamentary law which is the following: Parliamentary law exists to enforce the
will of the majority, protect the rights of the minority, and ensure fairness for all. In this case,
not having an executive secretary would have been devastating to this large, international
organization. The executive secretary ran the office for the organization. The bylaws could not
be suspended. The deadline date for submitting amendments to the bylaws had expired. After
consultation with the parliamentarian, the president sent a notice to all delegates about the
dilemma the organization was facing and indicated that a vote would be taken at the convention
to allow the current executive secretary to serve an additional term. At the convention, because
this was a violation of the bylaws, the parliamentarian advised the president that the vote
necessary to adopt this motion would have to be 90%. Thus, in this way, there was an attempt to
protect the rights of the minority by essentially allowing what would have been a very small
minority to stop this action. The motion was adopted unanimously and all was saved.
This is an example to demonstrate that sometimes things are not all neat and tidy and
slotted into appropriate boxes. Sometimes neither the local bylaws nor RONR provides a clear
cut solution, but a solution has to be found for the good of the organization. Henry Robert has
been quoted as saying that parliamentary procedure should never be used as an excuse for not
doing the right thing. This was one of those situations where the right action required the
organization to violate its bylaws, but the rights of the minority were protected and the will of the
majority was enforced and it was a fair solution.
19
It is also true that RONR does not have a chapter entitled “This Is a Hot Mess.” RONR
assumes that organizations have order, bylaws, Standing Rules, and that all of this conforms to a
neat and tidy standard. Sometimes, this is not the case. If a person is determined to do the
wrong thing, rules and rules of order will not stop them. Sometimes things are a “mess” because
that is what the members want. RONR will not be able to resolve that.
Also remember that chapters have the right to institute rules that are contrary to its
parliamentary authority or which are not addressed in its parliamentary authority. For example,
many chapters, regions, and the national body have an Election Committee. No such committee
exists in RONR. Thus chapters cannot use RONR to establish how such a committee should
function. It is not wrong to have an Elections Committee; organizations have the right to
establish such a committee and to include it in the bylaws. However, if there is a controversy
about this committee, RONR cannot resolve it because no such committee is addressed in
RONR.
Sometimes, it can be helpful to bring in an outside presenter on parliamentary authority.
For example, you might invite the IP to your chapter to assist with parliamentary training. An
external speaker may often have more “clout” than someone who is a member of the chapter
even though their advice is the same.
20
Chapter Two
The Regional Parliamentarian
The International Parliamentarian
21
Chapter Two
The Regional Parliamentarian/The International Parliamentarian
The regional parliamentarian may or may not be a voting member of the regional Board
of Directors (RBOD). Each region has the right to decide who will be a voting member on the
RBOD or who will be an officer but not a voting member of the RBOD. The major
responsibilities for the regional parliamentarian normally include chairing the regional Bylaws
Committee, being prepared for the regional conference and any post-conference updating of the
regional bylaws that occurred as a result of bylaw amendments to the regional bylaws that were
adopted at the regional conference. She might also be responsible for updating the regional SOP
as well as the bylaws. In addition, in between regional conferences, the regional parliamentarian
is often called upon to advise the Regional Syntaktes in interpretation of the regional bylaws, to
advise chapters on interpretation of the regional or national bylaws, and to sometimes review
chapter bylaws to ensure they don’t conflict with the regional bylaws. The work of this office
does not end with the regional conference (or Boule for the International Parliamentarian).
At the time this manual was written, the International Parliamentarian (IP) was a voting
member of the International Board of Directors (IBOD), appointed by the Grand Basileus. As
such, she is a national officer and is entitled to all of the courtesies extended to all national
22
officers of this organization. Her responsibilities mirror those of the regional parliamentarian,
but on a larger scale.
The Role of the International Parliamentarian In Reviewing Local Bylaws
One major responsibility of the IP is to review local chapter and regional bylaws to
ensure there are no articles in the local or regional bylaws that conflict with the national bylaws.
For example, the national bylaws state that graduate chapters must hold election of officers every
two years. Local alumnae chapters cannot have a provision that conflicts with this national
requirement. Local chapter bylaws are reviewed in two areas: are there any articles that conflict
with the national bylaws; and secondly, are there recommendations that would strengthen
chapter bylaws even though this may not be a conflict with the national bylaws? It is important
to be clear on the difference between what must be changed versus recommendations on what the
chapter should consider changing.
There is often confusion that local chapters are required to mirror the national body in its
operations. That is not true. Local chapters don’t have to have all the same officers as the
national body. Having some different local officers is not a conflict with the national bylaws.
For example, if a local chapter does not have a National Projects Coordinator, that is okay.
Remember, many chapters in this sorority are small, with fewer than 10 members. If they can
fill the major offices, they feel lucky to do so. Having a conflict with the national bylaws is
different than having provisions that are not the same as the national bylaws. The role of the IP
is to ensure that local bylaws don’t conflict with the national bylaws.
23
The Bylaw and Standing Rule Template
When the author was first appointed to serve as the International Parliamentarian (IP), it
was clear that some chapters needed considerable assistance with correcting their bylaws to have
them conform to RONR. The Regional Syntakti requested a template be developed that could be
given to new chapters who were writing bylaws for the first time as an assistive tool. Given
these two issues, the author developed a bylaw and standing rule template for alumnae and
undergraduate chapters. It has been updated to the 11th
edition of RONR. It includes a
discussion on the Articles that are normally part of the bylaws. It also has a section on standing
rules. The template includes an abbreviated set of mock bylaws for alumnae chapters and an
abbreviated set of mock bylaws for undergraduate chapters. This template has been an
invaluable tool to assist new and established chapters in either writing their bylaws or correcting
their bylaws. If, when reviewing chapter bylaws it is clear that extensive assistance is needed, it
saves time to upload this bylaw template, ask the chapter to review the provisions contained
therein, then modify/revise the chapter bylaws before re-sending them to the IP for review.
Hopefully the next IP will continue this practice as it has been of invaluable assistance in helping
chapters and regions develop strong bylaws and Standing Rules.
This review of regional and local bylaws is a very important function of the IP.
Typically, chapters will upload their bylaws electronically to the IP. While there is no specific
rule on the turn-around time for the bylaws to reviewed and returned to the chapters/regions, a
two-week turn around time is probably reasonable for the chapters/regions to get a response. If
the IP does not return the bylaws to the chapters/regions in a timely manner, chapters/regions
will stop sending their bylaws for review. This can have tremendous legal repercussions for the
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sorority if chapter bylaws have a provision that is illegal or which contradicts the national
bylaws. It is important to reserve time each week to do this review.
Revision of the Bylaws
A revision of the bylaws should be briefly mentioned. In most cases, chapters and
regions are amending their bylaws. They are trying to change one paragraph or subsection of a
section of the bylaws. A revision of the bylaws is done when the bylaws need to be completely
overhauled. Discussing the procedure for doing a revision is beyond the scope of this manual,
but parliamentarians should be aware that such an act exists and that it is a special case of
revising the entire bylaws. NAP publishes a book called Pathway to Proficiency – Bylaws, that
includes an entire section on bylaw revisions. If your region is considering a revision, this would
be an excellent resource to purchase from NAP. It includes not only the process for doing a
revision, but also a script for what the presiding officer says and how the Bylaw Revision
Committee functions.
Common Bylaw Problems
Listed below are some common problems identified in local chapter bylaws as either
items that are omitted or items that are included but inappropriately so:
1. Article II of the bylaws should speak to the purpose of the organization, not the purpose
of the bylaws.
2. The language on term of office should end with the phrase “or until their successor is
elected.” For example, the language might say: A term of office is two years or until a
successor is elected.” Without this phrase, two things can happen. First, if no one runs
for office, the office becomes vacant. Secondly, whether the chapter uses “or until their
25
successor…” versus “and until their successor…..” depends on what process the chapter
wants to use to remove someone from office. If the chapter uses “and until their
successor is elected,” then a trial will have to be held to remove the officer from office.
If the chapter bylaws state “or until their successor is elected,” then the chapter only
needs to rescind the election to remove the officer from office. It is recommended that
local chapter bylaws include the phrase “or until their successor is elected.”
3. The Basileus should be listed as ex officio of all committees except the Nominations
Committee. RONR does not address Election Committees, but if such a committee exists
as it does in some regions and on the national level, the Basileus/Regional
Syntaktes/Grand Basileus should not be ex-officio on this committee either.
4. RONR considers it a bad idea to prevent people who serve on the Nominations
Committee from running for office. Unless the bylaws specifically prohibit this, people
who serve on the Nominations Committee are eligible to run for office. Again, RONR
does not address Election Committees. However, given the nature of an election
committee, it is advisable that candidates for office should not serve on the Election
Committee.
5. Unless they are authorized in the bylaws, chapters, executive boards and standing
committees cannot hold electronic meetings. Authorizing electronic meetings for ad hoc
committees can be placed in the Standing Rules.
Convention Parliamentarian
Conventions (Regional Conferences and Boules) are different from local chapter
meetings in several respects. RONR makes a difference in assemblies that meet four times a
year or more, versus assemblies that meet less than four times a year. Both the Regional
26
Conference and the Boule fall into this latter category. This section of the booklet is to assist the
parliamentarian (Regional and International) who is serving at a sorority convention.
Advanced Preparation for the Regional Conference/Boule
As is true for local chapter parliamentarians, the regional or IP also needs to receive the
conference program ahead of time. Review the agenda of the entire conference. Does the first
plenary session include the adoption of the credentials report, the convention standing rules and
the conference program in that order? Does the agenda provide for approval of the minutes for
each succeeding plenary session after the first session? Review the convention standing rules.
Do they include a provision that limits individual debate? The number of times a soror can
speak on any issue? Do they provide for a committee to be appointed that will review the
minutes of any plenary session whose minutes were not approved during the regional conference
or Boule?
Unlike the local chapter, the agenda for the regional conference or Boule will rarely
include any unfinished business from the previous conference or Boule. When an organization
meets less than four times a year, there is only one way to hold over business from one meeting
to the next and that is to refer it to a committee. Anything that is not referred to a committee at
the close of the convention/conference, falls to the ground when the conference is adjourned.
This would include any motions that were tabled, or any recommendations that were not
presented to the body. They “go away” when the conference adjourns unless they were referred
to a committee. However, there will be unfinished business that occurs during the conference.
Each business meeting after the first meeting should include unfinished business to handle any
items left over from the previous business meeting.
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In addition, it is expected that regional parliamentarians and the IP are chairing their
respective Bylaws/Constitution and Bylaws committees. Remember, there is only one
constitution in Sigma Gamma Rho, and that is the national constitution. All other constituent
bodies have bylaws only. As the chair of the regional Bylaws Committee (RBLC), you must
take the lead in ensuring that compliance with the required notice to amend the bylaws is adhered
to. For example, on the national level, amendments to the bylaws must be received by chapters
60 days in advance. The IP works with headquarters to ensure the proposed amendments are
prepared so that they are received by chapters at least 60 days in advance of the Boule. How
these committees function on the regional and national levels will be addressed later in this
chapter.
Reports That Open The Regional Conference/Boule
There are three actions that open a convention. These reports form the delegates into a
voting body. The convention must adopt the credentials report, the convention standing rules,
and the convention program. The adoption of these items must be in the order listed above.
Only after these three reports have been adopted, can the Grand Basileus or Regional Syntaktes
declare the Boule or Regional Conference open for the transaction of business.
The first report is the report of the Credentials Committee. In our sorority, this function is
normally filled by the Regional or International Grammateus. Depending on the language in
your bylaws, this report will have three categories. The first category that the Grammateus will
report consists of everyone who is registered for the conference, including guests.
The second category that would be reported are the number of voting delegates who have
picked up their credentials, meaning they have arrived at the conference/Boule. On the regional
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level, this part of the report would be limited to: Regional Officers (only if they have a vote),
national officers living in the region ( if they are entitled to a vote at the regional conference),
alumnae chapter delegates, undergraduate chapter delegates, regional undergraduate members,
members-at-large, and life members. On the national level, the report would include the number
of international board members who have picked up their credentials.
Whether or not there is a third category to this report depends on the quorum requirement in
the regional or national bylaws. For example, in Central Region, the quorum for the Central
Regional Conference is 50% of the financial alumnae chapters and 50% of the Regional
Executive Board. In order for the Syntaktes to have any chance of determining if a quorum
exists, she will need this third part of the report to include the number of financial alumnae
chapters in the region, the number of alumnae chapters that have registered, and the number of
alumnae chapters who have picked up their credentials. Then the number of regional officers
who are registered would be reported, and the number who have picked up their credentials
would then be reported.
“There are 80 financial alumnae chapters in Central Region. Delegates from sixty
alumnae chapters are registered. Representatives from 30 alumnae chapters have picked up
their credentials. There are 14 Central Regional officers. Twelve officers have picked up their
credentials.”
Given the above report, the Central Regional Syntaktes now knows she does NOT have a
quorum, because she does not have delegates from 40 alumnae chapters who have arrived at the
conference. With this information, it doesn’t matter if there are a thousand sorors in the room.
The quorum for the Central Regional conference is 50% of the financial alumnae chapters and if
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50% have not arrived, it doesn’t matter how many sorors are in the room, the quorum
requirement couldn’t possibly be met. In Central Region, the quorum requirement is based on
chapter representatives and the Regional Board, not a certain number of delegates being present.
If the regional bylaws do not define a quorum, according to RONR, the quorum would be a
majority of the registered delegates. If there are 250 registered delegates, the quorum would be
126 delegates.
Do not confuse the credential report with the quorum. Remember, the quorum reflects
who has to physically be in the room in order for business to be transacted. That is different
from who is registered. Given the above example, all 80 chapters could have delegates
registered and their credentials picked up. However, if there are only 10 sorors in the room, it
would be impossible for there to be delegates from 40 chapters in the room, and therefore, there
is not a quorum. The Grammateus is reporting who is registered and essentially, who has arrived
and picked up their delegate packet. The Syntaktes or the Grand Basileus declares whether or
not there is a quorum present. That is not the role of the Grammateus.
When building the credential’s report, it is important to have a policy on how to handle
sorors who hold multiple voting statuses. For example, at the time this manual was written, the
International Parliamentarian was a national officer, living in Central Region which entitles her
to have a vote at the Central Regional conference according to the Central Region Bylaws. She
was also the Central Regional Parliamentarian, which also entitled her to have a vote at the
Central Regional Conference. She was a Life Member, which entitled her to have a vote at the
Central Regional Conference. In spite of these multiple statuses, she only gets one vote. The
region has to decide how they are going to count someone with multiple voting statuses in the
credentials report. At the regional level, the decision may be to count the person as a regional
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officer since, in Central Region, the Central Regional Board is part of the quorum definition. At
the national level, a decision would have to be made on whether to count the person as an
international officer or a life member. Again, regardless of status, a soror only gets one vote and
can only be counted under one category in the credentials report. Both the regions and the
national Board should establish a Standing Rule on this issue to decrease confusion and promote
consistency on how the credentials report is presented. While the credentials report can only list
a soror in one category, any listing of the attendees at the regional or Boule could reflect all
categories of status for a soror who can be counted in more than one category. This listing does
not reflect voting strength, but conference attendance. An example is below:
Name Regional Officers National Officers
Living in Central
Region
Alumnae Chapter
Delegates
Undergraduate
Chapter
Delegates
Life Members Members-at-
Large
Mary Carter X X
Frances Jackson X X X
Joyce Dewar X X
After the Grammateus has made the Credentials report, there must be a motion to adopt.
If this is a committee of more than one person, then a member of the Credentials committee can
move adoption of the report on behalf of the committee. If the motion to adopt is made by a
committee of more than one person, then no second is required. If it is a one-person committee,
then the Grammateus cannot move adoption of this report (individual officers can never move
adoption of their reports). There will have to be a motion from the floor. This motion only
requires majority vote to adopt. Please refer to the full RONR to read how to handle a challenge
to this report.
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At each subsequent plenary session, the credentials report must be updated, but at the
updates, the time of the report must be included: “As of 1 PM, July 25, this is the report of the
Credentials Committee.” Every time a new report is given, the report must be adopted. Also, for
subsequent updates, the report must include the voting strength, which would not include Philos
and Rhoers. If the report is unchanged from the previous report, then a new report is not
required and no motion is made.
In addition to having an updated credentials report at each session of the convention, an
updated credential’s report is usually made before an election or any important vote. This report
provides the maximum number of votes that can be cast. If there are 1000 delegates, then any
counted vote that exceeds that number is invalid.
The second report that must be adopted is the report of the convention Standing Rules.
These are different from chapter standing rules. Convention Standing Rules relate to the conduct
of the convention/conference. If the rules are unchanged from one year to the next AND if each
delegate receives them in advance of the convention, then they do not have to be read. If they
are not sent to all delegates prior to the convention, then they have to be read even though they
are printed in the convention workbook. They are read by the Parliamentarian.
Convention standing rules typically include limits on debate, require that all delegates
wear the official convention badge, turn off cell phones or place them on mute, can’t speak more
than twice on the same issue, must complete a motions form when making a motion, etc. It is
also important to have a convention standing rule that all minutes will be approved at each
succeeding session, but that the last session will be approved by a committee appointed by the
Regional Syntaktes (or Grand Basileus).
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RONR states that all conventions are responsible for approving their own minutes. For a
regional conference held in 2012, it is not reasonable to assume that the delegates who attend the
regional conference in 2013 will remember what happened in 2012. Additionally, a good portion
of the delegates who attend in 2013 probably were not at the conference in 2012, so they
certainly can’t determine if there are errors in the minutes. Therefore, after the first session, the
second session should include approval of the minutes of the first session. The third session of
the convention should include approval of the minutes of the second session. Obviously, there
will not be a session after the last session (it might be the last day which may include more than
one session) for approval of the minutes.
What RONR recommends is that the presiding officer appoints a committee that will
review the minutes of the last session (or all sessions whose minutes were not approved by the
body) and approves those minutes. After this approval, then the minutes in their entirety can be
disseminated to the appropriate level of membership. In the following year, the Syntaktes or
Grand Basileus only needs to ask if there are any corrections to the minutes that were
disseminated. Remember, factual corrections to the minutes can always be made, even years in
the future if the facts can be proven. If the bylaws provide for a Minutes Approval Committee
(or some facsimile), then this does not have to be in the convention standing rules.
Instead of appointing this committee prior to the Conference/Boule the Regional
Syntaktes/Grand Basileus may appoint this minutes approval committee during the first plenary
session. The only benefit in waiting until the regional conference or Boule is to ensure that the
persons appointed are in attendance. Whenever the committee is appointed, it is important for
these sorors to know that they need to take their own minutes so they will have something to
compare to the minutes they will receive from the Anti-Grammateus. For the Boule, experience
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suggests that the members of this committee take minutes of at least the last 3 sessions. Often,
given the press of time, the Grand Anti-Grammateus may not have the minutes ready for
approval by the body for several sessions, not just the last day. The committee needs to be
prepared to take their own minutes for any sessions not approved by the body before
adjournment. Instead of a minutes approval committee, RONR also suggests that this function
can be completed by the Executive Board. It would be advisable to appoint specific officers who
will physical be in the meeting (and not running in and out) to be tasked with this responsibility
and not just the generic “Executive Board.” If the Executive Board will fulfill this function,
adjust the standing rules to reflect this change.
The parliamentarian will read the standing rules in their entirety. If she has a committee
on Standing Rules, she can move adoption of that report. If not, then anyone can make the
motion to adopt. Because the standing rules always contain limits on debate, they require 2/3
vote to adopt. If a soror objects to a standing rule, then she can, without a motion, have that
standing rule omitted from the motion to adopt. That standing rule would then be debated and
approved or denied on its own. Please refer to RONR to read the procedure on rescinding the
standing rules or amending the standing rules after they have been approved.
The third motion that must be adopted in order to open the convention/conference is the
motion to adopt the convention program. The convention program is not just the meeting agenda.
This motion is to adopt the entire convention program which includes the business sessions,
workshops, convention meals, all activities. It requires only majority vote to adopt. The
convention program can be amended at this time if a soror wants to move an item, within reason.
For contractual reasons, for example, obviously the luncheon cannot be moved from noon to 2
PM or the Public Meeting moved from Wednesday to Friday because there are invited guests
34
who have made arrangements to come on Wednesday. However, a soror could move that the
report of the Recommendations Committee be moved from Friday to Wednesday or moved to
earlier in the day on Friday.
Once all three of these reports have been made and the reports adopted, then the
Syntaktes/Grand Basileus can declare that the Xth Session of the Region/Boule is officially
opened for the transaction of business. In recent years, there has been an opening session which
the Philos and Rhoers attend. If the Syntaktes /Grand Basileus is not opening the
conference/convention at this session, then these reports can wait until after the Rhoers, Philos,
and guests have departed.
Conduct of the Parliamentarian During the Regional Conference/Boule
Similar to that of the chapter parliamentarian, the regional and IP should sit next to the
podium so she can unobtrusively advise the Syntaktes or Grand Basileus. She should review the
order of business, just like the local parliamentarian so that she can anticipate what motions will
be made and ensure she is knowledgeable about those motions and potential amendments that
might be made. On the national level, it is also wise for the IP to be seated next to the Grand
Legal Adviser. Sometimes an issue arises that may involve both of these officers and being
seated next to one another can facilitate their advice to the Grand Basileus.
It is important for the IP to keep track of how the business has progressed, i.e., what
items from the agenda have been handled, which were not disposed of and should be shifted to
the next business session. It is common that all items of business may not be completed during a
session, so it would be important for the IP to remind the presiding officer of which items were
not completed from the previous session and which should be handled under unfinished business
35
the next day. One way of doing this is to bring a pad and keep track of the motions that are made
and the disposition of those motions. At any time, the Grand Basileus should be able to turn to
the IP and ask what business is pending or before the body. As with the local chapter
parliamentarian, it is advisable to use 3X5 cards to advise the presiding officer on issues of
parliamentary law when it is deemed helpful. Retrieve the card and keep it to document the
advice that was given to the presiding officer in case there is a dispute at some later date.
The Difference Between Local Meetings and the Regional Conference/Boule
RONR draws a line of demarcation between organizations that meet at least quarterly (four
times a year or more) and organizations that meet less than four times a year. As either a
regional or the IP, it is important to know about these differences:
1. A convention is normally one session composed of several meetings. Each succeeding
meeting continues the business at the point where it ended at the previous meeting
(RONR, p. 82).
2. There is only one way to hold over any business from one regional conference/Boule to
the next and that is to refer it to a committee. Any business that is not finally disposed of
at the final adjournment (sine die, RONR, p.83), falls to the ground (goes away). For
example, if a motion is tabled, but the conference/Boule adjourns before that motion is
taken from the table, that matter dies. It is not part of some “unfinished business” at the
next conference or Boule.
3. Adjournment sine die (final adjournment) occurs after the final event, not the final
business session. If the regional conference or Boule program indicates that the final
activity is a banquet, that is when the Regional Syntaktes/Grand Basileus adjourns the
conference/Boule.
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4. The motion to reconsider is one of those motions that has language specific to a
conference of more than one day. A motion to reconsider can only be made on the same
day that the original vote was taken or on the next succeeding day within the session
(conference) on which a business meeting is held. For example, say a motion is adopted
on a Thursday to increase dues by $200. If plenary sessions are held on Thursday and
Friday, then the motion to reconsider this motion that increased dues is only in order on
the same day, i.e., Thursday, or the next calendar day, i.e, Friday. If the next business
day is Saturday, then the motion to reconsider must be made on Thursday or Saturday.
After the motion to reconsider has expired, the motion to rescind would be in order.
5. On all levels (local, regional, national) any action that requires more than majority vote to
be adopted is a rising vote. On the local level, sorors will be asked by the Basileus to
stand when she takes the vote. However, at the regional conference/Boule, if voting
cards are being used, the Syntaktes/Grand Basileus can ask sorors to raise their voting
cards instead of standing up for motions that require more than majority vote to be
adopted.
Chair of the Bylaws Committee – Regional and National
Regional and national bylaws should normally denote that the parliamentarian is chair of
the Bylaws Committee. Usually, these committees are appointed by the Regional
Syntaktes/Grand Basileus. Unfortunately, it is likely that some committee members will not
attend the Regional/Boule. Often Sorors who are in attendance will volunteer to serve on the
committee. It is advisable to check with the Syntaktes/Grand Basileus to make sure they would
not have a problem if volunteers are allowed to serve who were not official appointees.
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The regional bylaws and/or the policies and procedures (SOP) should specify the
procedure for handling proposed bylaw amendments. At the regional level, it is usual that
proposed amendments, whether they are seeking to amend the regional bylaws or the national
bylaws, are only submitted by chapters, the Regional Executive Board, or regional committees,
not individuals. The reason for this is simple. Since regional conferences meet once a year, the
matters that are submitted for action should have widespread support. If individual sorors were
able to submit amendments and recommendations, it is likely that the number of items submitted
would be impossible to manage in the brief amount of time the conference actually meets in the
business session. The same is true for those items intended for action by Grand Chapter. Those
items of business handled by Grand Chapter should be those items that have widespread support
beyond an individual or even a single chapter or the business could be mired down in a myriad of
issues for which there is little support.
Chapter 7-3 of the national SOP specifies the process for handling both
recommendations and proposed amendments to the National Constitution and Bylaws (NCBL).
The following table can be found in the national SOP and is the required format for submitting
proposed bylaw amendments (and recommendations) to the national body from the regions, the
IBOD, or international committees:
Sponsoring Chapter/Region
Section to be
amended
Current language, if
applicable
Proposed Language
Rationale Motion Disposition
As described in the national SOP, Section 7-3, proposed bylaw amendments to the
NCBL can only be submitted by the Regions, the International Board of Directors, or National
38
Committees. In all cases, submitted amendments must conform to the timeline contained in the
bylaws. On the national level, all recommendations and bylaw amendments must be received by
chapters 60 days prior to the Boule. In order for headquarters to mail/e-mail/post all proposed
bylaw amendments and recommendations so that they are received by chapters 60 days prior to
the Boule, the deadline date for International Headquarters to receive the proposed amendments
and recommendations is normally three months to four months prior to the Boule.
The International Parliamentarian (IP) is chair of the National Constitution and Bylaws
Committee (NCBLC). It is important to remind the Regional Syntakti to make sure that the
proposed amendments to the national constitution/bylaws (NCBL) adopted by the regions for
both years preceding the Boule are submitted to headquarters. For example, if the regional
conference adopted proposed bylaw amendments to the NCBL in both 2013 and 2014, both sets
of proposed amendments must be submitted to Headquarters for action at the 2014 Boule.
Sometimes regions will forget to submit the proposed amendments and recommendations
adopted in the off-Boule year to headquarters for inclusion in the packet that will be voted upon
in the Boule year.
Each region should identify who on the regional level will submit adopted proposed
amendments to the national level. It is strongly suggested that proposed amendments to the
national CBL are simultaneously submitted to the IP and the International Headquarters. Neither
the National Recommendations Chair nor the IP does the actual compiling and mailing of these
proposed amendments and recommendations to the chapters. They need to receive a copy, but
headquarters needs to have a copy as well.
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Once the proposed amendments have been received, whether at the regional level or
national level, it is important to understand that the Regional Bylaws Committee (RBLC) and the
NCBLC are not just passive, pass-through committees whose function is to merely receive the
proposed amendments. Once the proposed bylaw amendments (from chapters on the regional
level and from the regions on the national level) have been received, each proposed amendment
should be reviewed to determine the following:
Which ones are editorial or grammatical in nature and therefore don’t need to be
voted on? Under these circumstances, the parliamentarian can ask the Region or
Grand Chapter permission to make the changes as noted; there is no need to vote
on these. Alternatively, if the committee is “bundling” a group of proposed
bylaws to be voted on as a group, include these editorial changes in the bundle.
Are the proposed amendments clear and unambiguous? If they are not, contact
the chapter (on the regional level) or the appropriate Syntaktes and ask for
clarification on the intention of the proposed amendment.
Will the adoption of this amendment cause a problem or conflict with other
articles in the bylaws?
Are there proposed bylaw amendments that are mutually exclusive? That is, if
Grand Chapter adopts proposed amendment #2, does that invalidate proposed
amendment # 9? Or if proposed amendment #5 is defeated, does that make
proposed amendment # 45 invalid? For example, some years ago there was a
proposed bylaw amendment to add a national officer who would be the Grand
Anti-Epistoleus. That was one proposed amendment. In a separate amendment,
the duties of this officer were listed. Grand Chapter was informed that if they
40
voted the first amendment down, the second amendment about the duties of the
office would go away and not be voted upon. Obviously if the motion to establish
this new office failed, there would be little point in adopting the duties of that
office.
If amendments are related, but are not in numerical order, the committee can and
should bring forward the ones that are related so that the Region/Grand Chapter
are voting on them in a bundle. Or, as referenced above, announce that if
proposed amendment X is lost, proposed amendment XX will fall to the ground
and not be voted upon.
Are there similar proposed amendments that should be merged together? This is
not the same as the two bullet points above. Sometimes there are a number of
proposed amendments that all seek to do the same thing. For example, at every
Boule since the 1980’s, there has been a proposed amendment to have the
regional conference meet every other year rather than every year. If more than
one proposed amendment is submitted on this issue (meaning more than one
region has submitted this as a proposed amendment to the NCBLC), it makes no
sense to vote on one that is proposed amendment #4, another that is proposed
amendment #42 or a third that is proposed amendment #60, all wanting to change
the meetings of the regional conferences. Either merge the three so that they read
like one motion, or if they can’t be merged because of differences in detail, make
the motion that first establishes the change (i.e., that regional conferences will
only meet every other year), then make the motions on the details (how Annie
Neville winner selected, regional election details, etc). So, the first motion would
41
be to amend the national bylaws so that regional conferences meet every other
year. If that motion fails, then the other proposed amendments fall to the ground.
At that point, the details are immaterial. If the motion to have regional
conferences meet every other year is adopted, then subsequent motions would be
made from the proposed amendments that have been submitted, to adopt the
details. The NCBLC would make these motions.
Is this amendment necessary and appropriate? For example if a region submitted
a bylaw amendment that proposed that we should all love one another, that is not
an amendment that should be included in the bylaws. The NCBLC should move
to postpone this indefinitely, which kills the amendment. Also, sometimes the
regions will submit bylaw amendments to headquarters that are amendments to
the regional bylaws, not the national bylaws. Regional bylaw amendments are not
handled on the national level. When this happens, first contact the appropriate
Regional Syntaktes to make sure this is an amendment to the regional bylaws. If
it is an amendment to a region’s bylaws, simply inform Grand Chapter that it was
submitted in error and will not be voted upon.
Are there non-controversial bylaw amendments that can be “bundled” together
and voted on as a group? If so, identify these, write a report that lists what the
committee considers non-controversial bylaw amendments, and make enough
copies for each delegate to have in advance. It is recommended that this is
distributed well before the session where the assembly will vote on the bylaws so
that chapters have a chance to caucus and determine if they agree or disagree with
what should be included in the bundle. It only takes one delegate to disagree with
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an item for it to be taken out of the bundle and then voted on separately with the
other proposed amendments. Bundling can save a lot of time at the
Conference/Boule.
The IP should also review the recommendations intended for either action by Grand
Chapter or action by the regional conference to make sure that there are no bylaw amendments
that were sent to the Regional/National Recommendations Committee. Sometimes, the reverse is
true, i.e., there are recommendations sent to the NCBL committee that are not amendments to the
bylaws but are recommendations. What is the difference? Proposed amendments must identify a
specific bylaw article that it wants to amend (or add). At the Boule, the National
Recommendations Committee and the National CBL Committee meet jointly to make sure each
committee is handling the appropriate recommendations/amendments.
Once the two committees have determined that they have the proper recommendations or
bylaw amendments, the two committees separate. During the bylaws committee meeting at the
Boule or the regional, the committee discusses each proposed amendment and whether or not the
amendment has the support of the committee. It would be important to note at this point that
RONR does not address recommendations. RONR addresses resolutions. However, it is a time
honored tradition in Sigma Gamma Rho to use recommendations, not resolutions, so the
procedure for the handling of resolutions that can be found in RONR is not useful for the
sorority’s process. Remember, each organization has the right to have its own rules.
After discussion of the pros and cons of each proposed amendment, the committee then
takes a vote on each proposed amendment. The committee can:
1. Vote that the committee will move to adopt a proposed amendment
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2. Vote that the committee will postpone indefinitely (kills the proposed amendment)
3. Vote that the committee will offer an amendment to the proposed motion
4. Or if the committee vote is tied, we would state that we have no motion on the
proposed amendment. If the committee has no motion to make on a proposed
amendment, the motion for adoption must come from the floor.
After completing work on all amendments, or before beginning consideration, the assembly may
wish to adopt a motion to authorize the committee to correct article and section designations,
punctuation, and cross-references and to make such other technical and conforming changes as
may be necessary to reflect the intent of the organization with reference to the adopted
amendments (RONR, p. 599).
Member: On behalf of the Bylaws Committee, I move that the bylaws committee be authorized to
correct article and section designations, punctuation, and cross-references and to make such
other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the intent of the
organization in connection with the amendments (or the revision) to the bylaws.
If this motion is adopted, this will eliminate the need to propose a number of amendments that
seek to correct Article numbers because an adopted bylaw amendment changes the Article
numbers or paragraph designation. This motion gives the committee the authority to make those
corrections. The above language can also be included as a convention Standing Rule.
Presenting the Proposed Bylaw Amendments at the Regional Conference/Boule
During the regional conference or Boule when the committee makes its report, a member
of the committee reads the proposed amendment, the article it seeks to amend, the current
language, if any, the rationale and the proposed change. If the committee has voted to move that
this amendment be adopted, a member of the committee will read the motion then say the
following: “By direction of the committee, I move adoption of this amendment.”
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When a committee offers a motion, as long as it is a committee composed of more than
one person, no second is required. Once the motion is made, the member steps back, and the
Regional Syntaktes or the Grand Basileus steps forward, and states, “it has been moved by the
National Constitution and Bylaw Committee (or Regional Bylaws Committee) that (reads the
proposed language). You have heard the motion, are you ready for debate?” It is important that
the Syntaktes/Grand Basileus reads the proposed language. She should not say, “the committee
moves adoption of amendment #1.” Once the floor is open to debate, other amendments can be
offered by the delegates to the motion, and then a final vote is taken. Two-thirds vote is
necessary to adopt amendments to the bylaws at both the regional and national levels. However,
if there are primary or secondary amendments to the proposed bylaw amendment, that only
requires majority vote to adopt. This may seem confusing, but the motion to amend the bylaws
is a main motion. Amendments to this main motion are made through primary and secondary
amendments. Consider the following example:
NCBLC Member: On behalf of the committee I move to adopt proposed bylaw
amendment number 3 which reads: National Head Tax will be increased from $100 to $200 per
soror and will be due October 1.
Grand Basileus: It has been moved that proposed bylaw amendment #3 be adopted which
reads: National Head Tax will be increased from $100 to $200 and will be due October 1. You
have heard the motion, are you ready for debate?
Soror A: Not ready!
Grand Basileus: State your unreadiness
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Soror A: I’m Soror A from Rho Sigma Chapter Detroit. I move to amend this motion by
striking out $200 and inserting $125 (this is a primary amendment).
Anyone: Second!
Grand Basileus: It has been moved and seconded to strike out $200 and insert $125 to
the proposed amendment. If adopted, the amendment will read: National Head Tax will be
increased to $125 and will be due October 1. You’ve heard the motion, are you ready for the
question?
Soror B: Not ready!
Grand Basileus: State your unreadiness.
Soror B: I’m Soror B from XX Chapter. I move to strike out $125 and insert $150 (this
is a secondary amendment which must be germane to the primary amendment. If this
amendment wanted to change the due date of the dues, it would be out of order because the
primary amendment speaks to the amount, not the date.)
Anybody: Second!
Grand Basileus: It has been moved and seconded to strike out $125 and insert $150. If
adopted, the amendment will read: National Head Tax will be increased to $150 and will be due
October 1. You’ve heard the motion, is there any debate?
In the above example, the original bylaw amendment, i.e., to increase head tax by $100 to $200
is a main motion. The primary amendment, if adopted, would increase head tax by $25 from
$100 to $125. The secondary amendment would increase head tax by $50 to $150. Both the
primary amendment and secondary amendment only require majority vote to adopt. However, if
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the secondary amendment (increase head tax by $50 to $150) is adopted, then the primary
amendment (increase head tax by $25 to $125) goes away. If the secondary amendment fails,
then Grand Chapter would vote on the primary amendment to increase head tax to $125. Again,
majority vote would be required to adopt this secondary amendment. Once all amendments have
been made and disposed of, the final version of the motion would require 2/3 vote to be adopted.
If the committee has an amendment, the committee member reads the proposed
amendment as submitted, then state, “The committee has an amendment. By direction of the
NCBLC (or RBC), I move to strike the word “first” and inserting the word “second” and as
amended, that the motion be adopted.”
Grand Basileus/Regional Syntaktes: “It has been moved by the committee that the
proposed amendment to the bylaws be adopted. The committee has an amendment. We will
handle the amendment first. The amendment by the committee is to strike out the word first and
insert the word second. The proposed amendment as amended reads, ”The What-Not
Committee shall be chaired by the Second Grand-Anti-Basileus. Is there any debate?” After
debate, the Grand Basileus/Regional Syntaktes takes the vote on the amendment offered by the
committee. If the committee’s amendment fails, then the motion is on the proposed amendment
as it was originally submitted without the committee’s amendment.
Other Issues With the Bylaws
It is important to note that an affirmative vote on the bylaws cannot be reconsidered. If
the motion to adopt an amendment passes, it takes effect immediately (unless there is a date
clause included with the motion). Therefore, because bylaw amendments require advanced
notice, an affirmative vote on the bylaws is not subject to reconsideration.
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Secondly, proposed amendments to bylaw amendments cannot exceed the scope of the
notice. In one of the examples above, there was an amendment to increase head tax from $100 to
$200. At the Boule, any amendments to the proposed amendment that wants to exceed the $100
increase (which would increase head tax to more than $200) is out of order. It would also be out
of order if someone wanted to move to decrease head tax to less than $100. Because bylaw
amendments require advanced notice, the primary and secondary amendments that are offered
cannot exceed the scope of what was in the notice.
Post-Conference Responsibilities of Regional and International Parliamentarians
As a practical matter, it is wise to use the conference workbook to keep track of which
proposed amendments to the bylaws were adopted, which failed, which were amended, and what
is the final, approved language of the motion that was adopted. Committee members are also
asked to also keep track of the above so that the committee can confirm the final adopted
language on each proposed amendment. The Boule uses a court reporter who submits a typed
transcript. This can be used to resolve any dispute between what the committee has recorded and
what the Grand Anti-Grammateus may have recorded. On the regional level, the committee and
the Regional Anti-Grammateus must come to agreement on the final, adopted language.
After the Boule, the IP will make the corrections in a electronic copy of the NCBL, and
send the edited document to International Headquarters so that new copies of the bylaws can be
printed and sent to new members or sold to returning members. Both the Regional and IP need a
MS Word copy of the bylaws. On the regional level, in some regions, the parliamentarian is
responsible for updating the regional bylaws and the regional policies and procedures. In other
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regions, the regional recommendations chair updates the policies and procedures or other
documents, while the parliamentarian is only responsible for updating the regional bylaws.
Obviously, the importance of ensuring that the language of adopted amendments is
accurate is critically important. For that reason, when the Minutes Approval Committee reviews
the minutes of that session where bylaw amendments were adopted (whether Regional or Boule),
it is crucial that the minutes reflect a format of the adopted amendments and recommendations
that ensure that years later, if there is a dispute, the minutes are clear about the amendments and
what changes were made. In other words, it is not helpful if the minutes simply state “Bylaw
amendment # 3 amended and then adopted.” Years from now, if there is a dispute about bylaw
amendment # 3, no one can tell from these minutes as stated here, what was adopted, what
amendment was adopted, and it might be difficult to identify which amendment is # 3! The
importance of the parliamentarian insisting that the minutes list the amendment, including any
amendments to the language that were adopted, and lists the final disposition (adopted, not
adopted) cannot be overemphasized. An example of what is needed is below:
Amendment #3: Proposed language:
To amend Article IX, Section X,X to add: The International Parliamentarian will be paid
an honorarium of $5000 a year. The committee had an amendment. The committee’s
amendment is to strike out $5000 and insert $2500. The amendment was voted on first.
The motion to amend the amount from $5000 to $2500 was adopted. The motion as
amended was voted on. The amended motion is: The International Parliamentarian will
be paid an honorarium of $2500 a year. Motion carried.
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Ten years into the future, it would be clear to everyone what was specifically adopted by Grand
Chapter in regards to this motion.
After the convention or conference is over, the parliamentarian is responsible for making
sure the newly adopted amendments are properly inserted into the bylaws (and in some regions,
it might also include the regional SOP). Sorors newly appointed to the position of Regional
Parliamentarian or IP should request the latest version of the bylaws (CBL on the national level)
in Microsoft Word and standing rules/SOP. The parliamentarian is the keeper of the most recent
version of these documents.
When inserting newly adopted amendments into the bylaws, please be advised that
headings and titles of the bylaws cannot be changed without specific action of the region or
Boule if the change has any effect on meaning. Corrections that do not change meaning can be
made without a vote of the assembly (e.g., adding an “s” to the title Committee).
Presentations on Parliamentary Procedure
As the parliamentarian, whether local, regional or international, chapters should be able
to depend on you to do presentations on parliamentary procedure. If you don’t already have
presentations prepared, it is suggested that you develop these as soon as you are appointed or
elected so that you will have this resource readily available if called upon to do a presentation.
Three types of presentations are needed. One is a basic presentation on effective
meetings. This would include the agenda, officer reports, committee reports, etc. A second
presentation needs to be developed on the bylaws. Many problems that you will deal with as the
parliamentarian occur because the bylaws either don’t address a specific issue, or the bylaws are
ambiguous in its language. A third presentation is on more advanced parliamentary procedure
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for those who are knowledgeable about the basics but would like to learn more advanced
parliamentary law. This would include precedence of motions, nominations and elections,
voting, disciplinary action, motions to bring back matters to an assembly, as a basic start.
Finally, a brief discussion on the process to become a Professional Registered Parliamentarian is
normally included with each presentation (AIP uses the term “Certified”).
NAP publishes some educational resources that can assist with these presentations.
There is a parliamentary Jeopardy game, parliamentary Wheel of Fortune game and other
resources that can make your presentations exciting and engage participants in parliamentary
play. Also develop scripts for role playing scenarios with pre-tests and post-tests that also make
the presentations more exciting. Everything that you can do that engage participants is better in
most circumstances than presentations where you are the only speaker. As a general rule, the
maximum amount of time given for these presentations rarely exceeds one hour. Remember, it
normally takes two minutes for each power point slide, so a power point presentation with 30
slides will generally take one hour to present. That is too long if the presentation is only one
hour. Always, always, always, leave time for questions. In a 60-minute time frame, prepare a 45
minute presentation and leave at least 15 minutes for questions.
Other Resources
In addition to parliamentary games, NAP has a number of other resources that can be
very helpful to parliamentarians at every level. You can also make your own materials according
to your needs. For example, often the parliamentarian serves as the timekeeper. It is easy to
create pages that have ONE MINUTE, THIRTY SECONDS, STOP in a very large font so that
speakers know when their time to speak is winding down. NAP also has a one page document
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that list the major motions, whether or not they have to be seconded, can interrupt, the vote
needed to adopt, and whether they can be reconsidered in an easy to read format that makes it
easier to quickly advise the chair on motions.
Commonly Misunderstood or Misused Parliamentary Procedures/Issues
1. One of the most misunderstood motions in parliamentary law is the motion to table.
The motion to table is in order when something more urgent interrupts your business.
The two key words are “urgent” and “interrupt.” For example, suppose the Grand
Basileus is visiting in your city and is coming to your local chapter meeting. When she
arrives, you are discussing the chapter budget. You aren’t going to make her sit there
while you go over that. Her arrival means that something more urgent has interrupted
your business. A motion to table the budget would be in order. However, many times
the motion to table is used when the assembly wants more information or isn’t ready to
make a final decision on an issue. Under those circumstances, since nothing urgent has
interrupted your business, the motion to table is not in order. The proper motion would
be to postpone to a certain time or to refer the matter to a committee. This motion is so
misunderstood that RONR suggests that the presiding officer should change the motion to
postpone to a certain time when the motion to table is made and is not in order.
2. The agenda does not include the “call to order” or the “establishment of a quorum.”
Once the presiding officer recognizes that a quorum is present, she calls the meeting to
order, but these items are not part of the agenda and should not be listed on the agenda.
3. Another motion that can be misused is the motion to call the previous question. This
motion is used when a member wants to stop debate on a motion. What is often
misunderstood, is that one person cannot stop a whole room full of people from debating.
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This is a motion. It must be seconded, it is not debatable, and it requires 2/3 vote to be
adopted. If the motion to call the previous question is adopted, then the presiding officer
immediately takes the vote on the pending motion without asking for any more debate or
unreadiness. If the motion to call the previous question fails, then debate on the pending
motion continues.
4. A call for a division is a call for a rising vote, not a counted vote. Any member who
doubts the outcome of a vote can, without waiting to be recognized, call for a division by
simply calling out “Division!.” At that point, the presiding officer will ask all those in
favor to stand, have them be seated, then ask all those opposed to stand. If a member
wants a counted vote, they must make a motion to have the vote counted. However, if
the presiding officer cannot tell from a voice vote or rising vote the outcome of a vote,
the presiding officer can, without a vote, ask the vote to be counted.
5. What should constitute the quorum for a local chapter? The quorum should be set at that
number that, at a minimum, should be present in the room to make decisions for the
entire group. Chapter bylaws should indicate what constitutes a quorum. There are
several ways to determine this. One method is to estimate normal chapter attendance,
then make the quorum a majority. If 25 sorors normally attend chapter meetings, the
quorum would be 13. The bylaws would specify that a quorum is the presence of 13
members in good standing. Another way of determining the quorum is to make it a
percentage of the financial membership. That could be set at whatever percentage of the
membership the chapter wants present to constitute the quorum. If the bylaws state that a
quorum is 40% of the financial membership, then if the chapter has 60 financial
members, the quorum at 40% is 24 financial members. Under this scenario, the
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grammateus would have to keep the Basileus apprised of the number of financial chapter
members so she can determine the 40% needed to meet the quorum requirement. What
chapters want to avoid is making the quorum requirement so high, that chapter meeting
has to be cancelled due to lack of a quorum. But chapters also should not make the
quorum number so low that a small group of sorors are making major decisions for the
entire chapter. The chapter needs to consider that number, that a minimum, they feel
comfortable being present making decisions for the entire group and make that the
quorum requirement in the bylaws.
6. Financial reports are never adopted. Once the Grammateus and Tamiochus have made
their reports, the presiding officer asks if there are any questions. Once the questions
have been exhausted, the Basileus states without needing a motion, “the report will be
filed for audit.” No motion is necessary because filing financial reports for audit is the
only action the chapter can take. What is adopted, is the auditor’s report, once it is made.
7. Any motion that requires more than majority vote to adopt is automatically a rising vote.
8. The presiding officer when taking the vote should ask for those in favor to say aye and
those opposed to say no. She should not say, those opposed use the “same sign.” That
can be confusing.
9. When taking the vote, the presiding officer should NOT ask for abstentions. Abstentions
are a “no” vote. They do not affect the outcome of the vote. For example, if there are 50
people in the room and 10 vote in favor and 5 vote against, the motion is carried or
adopted even though 35 people did not vote or abstained. Unless your local chapter
bylaws specifically provide that people who abstain can then make other motions,
knowing who abstained is useless. The exception to this is a personal conflict of interest.
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For example, if a soror’s brother is going to be hired to be the disc jockey for the
chapter’s dance, that soror may want the record to show that she abstained since such a
motion provides financial gain for a member of her family.
10. Often when sorors give a report, it provides information or updates, but there are no
recommendations to adopt. If a report requires no action, then no motion is required or
should be made. The motion that absolutely should not be made is the motion to receive.
The report was received when it was heard. While it may appear anticlimactic, the only
action that should be taken is to have the presiding officer thank the soror and have her
take a seat. The exception to this are reports of the chapter historian. The chapter needs
to vote to accept the report of the historian as the official history of the chapter for the
time period indicated in the report.
11. While this is not as important at the local level as it is at the regional or national levels,
the name of the person who seconds the motion does not go into the minutes. It is
important, however, that the presiding officer can identify who seconded the motion. If
the Grand Basileus does not know the identity of the soror who seconded the motion, she
can ask the seconder to go to the microphone and give her name and chapter.
12. Some people believe that you must have a motion for every action in order for that action
to be valid. That is not true. For issues that are non-controversial, the presiding officer
can use unanimous consent. For example, with the approval of the minutes, the presiding
officer can ask if there are any corrections. Once the corrections have been made, she
can then state, “If there is no objection (pause), the minutes stand approved as
corrected.” Asking for a motion is not wrong, it just isn’t necessary. As long as the issue
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is non-controversial, many items can be handled in this way, thus facilitating the
meeting.
13. It is not uncommon for the regional conference or the Boule to not complete its business
within the confines of the adopted program. If the region or Grand Chapter must return
after the Awards Banquet in order to complete its business, the motion that must be made
is the motion to “fix the time to which to adjourn.” The format for this motion is “I move
we adjourn in order to reconvene at X time.” This is the highest ranking motion and is
undebatable (unless it is moved while no other question is pending), but must be
seconded. It is amendable. Majority vote required for its adoption. It can be
reconsidered.
14. The presiding officer, whether that is the chapter Basileus, the Regional Syntaktes, the
Grand Basileus, or a designee, cannot preside over the meeting and participate in debate.
Nothing is more unfortunate than a presiding officer who is the first to voice an opinion
on an item of business. The role of the presiding officer is to help facilitate the business
of the organization and to be available to resolve conflicts. This cannot happen if the
presiding officer has voiced an opinion on the outcome of an issue. If a presiding officer
believes that it is imperative to speak, they must physically vacate the chair (i.e., move
out of the chair) and once they have spoken, they cannot preside until the entire issue is
finally resolved. She cannot vacate the chair, voice her opinion, then retake the chair and
preside over the motion. If the Basileus vacates the chair to speak in debate, then the
First Anti-Basileus presides, IF she has not voiced an opinion on the issue. If the First-
Anti-Basileus has voiced an opinion, then the assembly needs to elect a president pro tem
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from among those who have not spoken on the issue to preside until the matter is
disposed of.
The Road to Professionalism
As stated in the Foreword, NAP is divided into regions and there are also local units
located in many major cities. RONR is a complicated book that is more than 700 pages long. In
order to really achieve proficiency, joining a national parliamentary organization is critically
important. First, join the local unit in your area. Put the word “parliamentarian” in your web
browser and the web site for NAP will pop up. Click on that site and find the local unit in your
area. If there is not a local unit in your area, you can join the web-based unit. The local unit has
educational meetings every month. In this way, members learn the philosophy behind the
motions and other procedures in RONR. Just as importantly, the exceptions are also taught, why
they exist and when they should be applied.
The next step is to join the NAP. In order to become a member of NAP, individuals have
to pass a 100 question exam at the 90% pass rate. Thus, anyone who is a member of NAP, has
passed an exam in order to join; they didn’t just pay dues. Once a person passes the NAP
membership exam, they can also join their State NAP organization.
The highest level of recognition in NAP is the Professional Registered Parliamentarian
(PRP). The first step is to become a registered parliamentarian (RP). To become a registered
parliamentarian, a person purchases the 1200 questions to study. The exam is composed of 400
of these questions and also has a section where the person has to find verbatim sentences in
RONR within a timed sequence. Once a person passes this exam, they can add the letters RP to
their name, which stands for Registered Parliamentarian. Once a person becomes a RP, they can
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then take the course of study to become a Professional Registered Parliamentarian (PRP). This
course teaches RPs how to write parliamentary opinions and how to work as a professional
parliamentarian. It also includes the parliamentary code of ethics to which all parliamentarians
associated with NAP are expected to adhere. Every six years, PRPs have to recertify in the
professional course.
In addition to the above, every other year, NAP sponsors a leadership institute which
focuses on specific topics on parliamentary procedure. It also includes updates, corrections and
clarifications. It is a marvelous opportunity to network with other parliamentarians from around
the world. A person doesn’t have to be a member of NAP to attend this conference.