<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div>As Nick mentioned, there's an approaching deadline on Sept 6 for providing previous notice for the upcoming LNC meeting.<br><br></div>For those of you who may not be quite as familiar with some of the nuances of Robert's Rules, I thought it might be helpful for me to give a brief explanation of the effect of previous notice.<br>
<br></div><div>As the name implies, previous notice is letting voting members know in advance that you intend to make a particular motion. Policy Manual Section 1.02.1 explains how one can give previous notice (overriding the default rule in Robert's). The policy says that you can give previous notice by announcing it at the previous LNC meeting, or sending the <u>complete language</u> of the motion to the <u>entire</u> LNC by email at least 14 days prior to the session, or conducting the vote by email ballot.<br>
</div><div><br></div>For many of the things we do (new business on a non-parliamentary subject) giving previous notice often makes no difference in terms of parliamentary procedure, and the motions only require a majority vote to adopt.<br>
<br></div><div>Our bylaws create an exception for the case of public policy resolutions. If you want the LNC to adopt a public policy resolution (Joshua, your Common Core resolution would be subject to this), previous notice makes a big difference. LP Bylaws Article 8.11 says that the LNC can adopt public policy resolutions by a 3/4 vote with previous notice or by unanimous consent without previous notice.<br>
</div><div><br></div><div>SIDE NOTE: The rationale for adopting that bylaw was to encourage the LNC to focus on party management duties rather than spending our limited time together writing essays which likely will have little actual impact on public policy.<br>
</div><div><br></div>Even if previous notice isn't required, it may be a good idea to do it anyway, as Norm has done with his proposal regarding the 2018 convention. Depending on the subject matter or the complexity of it, it may increase the chances for passage if you show people the motion in advance and give them time to think about it. Some people don't like to be rushed into quick decisions. Giving previous notice also means that people have time to gather any facts/questions needed for the discussion so we can have meatier debate and make better decisions. Sometimes the feedback you get in advance can help us get through the subject faster, agree on amendments faster, etc. once we get into the in-person meeting.<br>
<br></div>What does require previous notice? Motions that have the effect of changing or nullifying previous action of the assembly - such as the motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted are the things we most commonly encounter that require previous notice <u>if they are to be adopted by only a majority vote.</u><br>
<div><br>Failure to provide previous notice doesn't mean you can't make the motion at all during the meeting, but it MAY result in a higher vote threshold being required for it to pass, depending on what it is you want to change, how many people have attended the meeting, and how many of those present choose to vote.<br>
<br></div><div>To pass a motion to amend something we have previously adopted (in general), we need one of the following vote results:<br></div><div>a) majority vote with previous notice, or<br></div><div>b) two-thirds of those present and voting, or<br>
</div><div>c) a majority of all the members of the board. With 17 LNC members, it would take 9 affirmative votes to meet this threshold, even if only 12 are attending, even if a large number of people abstain. 9 votes. <br>
</div><div><br></div><div>If you want to amend the Policy Manual, make sure you reference the intro to that section of the manual to see what the rules are for amendment. As explained before, the policy manual is divided into sections based on what type of rule it is, and different types of rules have different requirements for adoption/amendment. If it's in the special rule of order section, amendment requires:<br>
a) previous notice AND a two-thirds vote, or<br></div><div>b) majority of all the members of the board (so 9 votes).<br><br></div><div>There are logical reasons behind the previous notice requirements, but I'll spare you the theory lecture.<br>
<br></div><div>This is not complete coverage of the topic of previous notice, but it's a decent intro to the things you'll typically encounter with the LNC.<br><br></div><div>-Alicia<br><br></div></div>