Leadership Letter
April 2024
ASK COUNSELOR TARA
ASCE’s General Counsel Tara Hoke clarifies legal questions facing sections and branches here each month. Send Tara an email with your question.
How can we modify Robert’s Rules to best serve our meetings?
While most ASCE boards, committees, and other entities recognize Robert’s Rules of Order as the parliamentary authority for how to conduct meetings, it’s worth noting that few (if any) of these entities practice strict compliance with those rules. As the saying goes, deviation from Robert’s Rules is not a bug but a feature – the rules themselves state that Robert’s Rules of Order is designed to serve merely as a default method for handling questions of procedure, but which groups can modify these Rules to suit the group’s own wants and needs.
The most formal method of modifying Roberts Rules is through the group’s governing documents – i.e., the constitution, bylaws, or operating procedures. For example, while Robert’s Rules suggests procedures for calling meetings, nominating officers, and conducting elections, most of ASCE’s organizational entities establish their own process for those activities in their governing documents.
On a less formal level, Robert’s Rules provides groups with the discretion to create “standing rules” and “special rules of order” for meetings and activities. Standing rules relate to the basic administration of the group’s meetings. Common examples of standing rules are rules relating to timing and nature of meeting – for example, a rule that a committee meets on the first Monday of every month, or a rule establishing when a board meets in person or virtually. Because these rules are purely administrative, they are also easily changed. A simple majority vote can suspend a standing rule for the duration of one meeting (for example, changing the usual date of a meeting because of a holiday), or it change the rule more permanently (moving all future meetings to Thursday instead).
The second category of modification is a “special rule of order.” This type of change relates to the substance of the meeting or the duties of its officers. For example, a group may adopt a special rule that caps the number of speakers or the amount of time allotted to any one discussion. A more specific example is the ASCE Board of Direction’s decision to hold regular “information only” meetings, in which no actions can be taken. Because these special rules protect the rights of members present (or absent) at a meeting, the threshold for changing a special rule is higher: a two-thirds vote with prior notice, or a majority of the entire group (not just a majority of those present).
While it’s likely that many boards and committees have special or standing rules that are passed on only by word of mouth when introducing new members, it is strongly recommended to have a written resolution or document spelling out your group’s customized rules of procedure. In the event of any question about the validity or specific details of a standing or special rule, it is always helpful to have a written record for your group to refer to.