Using Roberts’ Rules
within the IEEE
Jayne F. Cerone
Senior Director – Governance,
Communications and Volunteer Relations
March 2012
The key building blocks of
Roberts’ Rules
Address one idea at a time
Justice and courtesy for all
Rule of the Majority
Rights of the Minority
Can be misused by
mistake or deliberately
2
Address one idea at a time
Follow the agenda
One motion or discussion item per
agenda item
Finish discussion of one item before
moving on
If discussion moves away from the
motion, chair responsible for refocusing
the discussion
3
4/12/2015
Justice and Courtesy for All
Chair recognizes one individual at a
time; maintains order
Speaker should be concise
Chair may use time limits (per agenda)
Comments are directed to the body (not
to each other)
May go pro/con with discussion
4
4/12/2015
Rules of the Majority: Rights of
the Minority
All members may speak
Minority has right to be heard
After a vote – move on
Motion to Call the Question
– Second
– No debate
– Majority vote
5
4/12/2015
Basics of running a meeting
Call to order
Approve agenda
Approve minutes
Action items (motions)
Discussions
New business/old business
Adjourn
– note time of next meeting, if known
– a motion is not required if agenda done
6
4/12/2015
Responsibilities of the chair
Responsible for creation of agenda
Runs the meeting and his/her decisions
carry (unless overturned by a vote of
2/3 of the body)
One motion or discussion at a time
May not call the question
7
4/12/2015
An Agenda
List items
Group by action, subject or speaker
– Action/Discussion/Reports
– Committee A/ Committee B
– Speaker A/ Speaker B
Place action items early (before
members begin to leave)
Put times – even if you do not adhere
to them, it serves as a guide to keep
meeting moving
8
4/12/2015
Consent Agenda
Method for caring for routine business
Post prior to the meeting
Approve all motions at once (often at
time of agenda approval)
Any individual may remove an item
No discussion at this time – place into
regular agenda
9
4/12/2015
Quorum
Usually half +1 of the voting members
Can have special additional
considerations – MGA requires that the
quorum for the MGA Board must include
at least a majority of the Region
Directors.
Establish quorum at the start of the
meeting; if a quorum is not called,
assume the quorum exists.
10
4/12/2015
Good management
Keep meeting organized
– If a motion on the table, complete that
motion before moving on
– Motion may be amended twice – after
that best to start over
There are ways to stop and start items
11
4/12/2015
Common actions: Postpone to a
Certain Time
“I move to postpone this item until [the
next TAB meeting]”
-
Requires a second
May be debated
May be amended
Requires majority vote
IF APPROVED, the motion AUTOMATICALLY
is added to the agenda – in this case at
“the next OU meeting”
12
Common actions: Lay on the
Table (or “Table”)
“I move to table this item”
- Requires a second
- May not be debated
- May not be amended
- Requires majority vote
IF APPROVED, the motion is “put aside”
until someone makes a motion to remove
it “from the table”. If not addressed by
the close of the next meeting, it is “killed”
automatically.
13
Common actions: Refer to
Committee
“I move to refer this item to [the TAB
Periodicals Committee]”
- Requires a second
- May be debated
- May be amended
- Requires majority
IF APPROVED, the motion is referred to the
named committee. The committee is
expected to bring it back at the next OU
meeting
14
Common Misunderstandings
about RRoO actions
“Second” just means you want to
debate – does not mean you must vote
for the motion
Postpone Indefinitely
– Needs a Second
– Debatable
– Majority vote
THIS WILL “KILL” THE MOTION
15
How many is a majority?
A majority is “more than half”
If 24 voting members, majority is
24/2 = 12, more than 12 is
13
If 25 voting members
25/2 = 12.5,more than 12.5 is
13
If 26 voting members
26/2 = 13, more than 13 is
16
14
But .. the denominator is the total
number of those eligible to vote who are
present at the time of the vote. So…
If 24 voting members
13 vote yes
11 vote no
13/24 is > or equal to majority = PASS
If 24 voting members
11 vote yes, 9 vote no, 4 abstain
11/24 is < majority = NOT PASS
even though a majority of votes cast were yes
17
IEEE MEETINGS: WHAT IS
UNIQUE?
18
4/12/2015
Governance: Conducting the
Meeting “What are the Rules?”
New York State (Certificate of Incorporation)
IEEE Constitution
IEEE Bylaws
IEEE Policies/Finance Operations Manual/etc.
Major Board Governing Documents
– MGA and TA Operations Manuals
OU Governing Documents
– Bylaws/Charters/Policies/Manuals
19
Roberts’ Rules of Order (11th edition)
– Primarily for Issues NOT CODIFIED in other
Governing Documents
Examples of things codified in
other documents (RRoO does
not apply)
Bylaw I-300.4(1): “..the majority of
the votes of the members present and
entitled to vote, at the time of the vote,
provided a quorum is present, shall be
the act….”. Not “present and voting”
TAB Operations Manual: Allowed to
postpone or lay-on-the-table” until the
next meeting, even though TAB meets
only three times a year
20
Limitations of Governance
Documents
Use common sense
There are not enough rules to address every possible
issue
When you try to write a rule for every circumstance,
you end up with
 Too many rules
 Feeling that some rules are “not important”
 Confusion and mistrust
Sometimes you need to make a decision that is
unpopular/hard to do or makes some of the group
unhappy.
21
Comments, Questions,
Discussion?
22