Say what? What are you talking about? Our proposed bylaws, that's what. Not an exciting document, to be sure. Boring, sometimes ambiguous and full of stilted rhetoric, an organization's bylaws are by no means a page turner. However, our bylaws form the essential fabric that keeps us functioning as a long-standing, respected TLA unit. They keep us honest, give us purpose, direction, and govern our actions. Nevertheless, last year it became very clear that our bylaws needed a solid and thorough overhaul.
Why is that? For starters, our current bylaws document does not follow, either in form or in content, the guidelines set forth in the TLA Model Bylaws. These were drawn up by the TLA Bylaws Committee several years ago to assist all TLA units in either drafting or revising their bylaws. It is a plain and tidy but clearly written document, allowing for units to plug in their name, purpose, and procedures.
Our bylaws, drawn up prior to the creation of the TLA Model Bylaws, worked OK but often left us with a lot of questions. What do we do about tie votes in an election? Who chooses the winner? Or do we re-ballot and if so, what is the procedure? How do we handle officers having to leave the unit in the middle of their term of office? What really is a quorum? What does it mean? How many people must be at a meeting for a quorum to exist?
Is it necessary to elect a Nominating Committee? Nobody else does. Do we need to vote each year on a standing committee's charge? Must the Councilor-Alternate attend all Council meetings even when the Councilor diligently goes to every Council meeting, waving the yellow paddle when a vote is called? Which version of Robert's Rules of Order do we follow? And what, precisely, is the procedure to follow in amending, adopting or dissolving our bylaws?
I'm sure none of these questions keeps you awake at night, unless of course, you are the RRT Chair plagued with one of these pesky situations and, after turning to the bylaws for guidance, are more bewildered than ever. Fortunately, as Laura Olejnik and I set about revising our bylaws, the TLA Model Bylaws document answered most of these questions. And the truly complex problems? The ones requiring a keen eye and an unparalleled devotion to detail? These we referred to the TLA Bylaws Committee for adjudication. When they felt there was no one, precise way to handle a situation, they gave us several options from which to choose.
You will be relieved to know that our proposed bylaws now spell out the procedures for handling tie votes in an election. They tell us who is in charge of assigning replacements for vacant officer positions. They provide us with a definition for the word "quorum." The new, improved (but not yet adopted) bylaws release us from both electing a Nominating Committee and voting annually on a standing committee's charge. These amputations were performed under strong urgings of the TLA Bylaws Committee, by the way. Our proposed bylaws don't require the Councilor-Alternate to attend every Council meeting; however, that officer does get to wave the yellow paddle in the Councilor's absence. And, if we vote to adopt the proposed bylaws at our annual meeting next spring, we will conduct our business under the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
Want more information? I was hoping you would ask. Both bylaws documents, the standing and proposed, are available at the TLA Reference Round Table's web page at http://www .txla.org/groups/rrt/rrthome.html. But wait, there's more. You can read both documents, print on paper, in the next issue of the RRT newsletter. Direct any comments or questions to Susan E. Beck, at 505-646-6171 or send me an e-mail message at: susabeck@lib.nmsu.edu.
Current Reference Round Table Bylaws
Proposed Reference Round Table Bylaws
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