2010 legislation
Both clubs and districts are entitled to submit legislation to the Council on Legislation. There are two types of legislation: enactments, which seek to change the constitutional documents (the RI Constitution, the RI Bylaws, and the Standard Rotary Club Constitution); and resolutions, which do not seek to change the constitutional documents. (Please note, the Recommended Rotary Club Bylaws are not considered part of the constitutional documents, and may only be changed by RI Board action.)
Detailed information on proposing legislation can be found in article 7 of the RI Bylaws and in Chapter 10 of the 2007 Manual of Procedure and in How to Propose Legislation.
What’s new for the 2010 Council?
The 2007 Council made a number of changes to the legislative process for the 2010 Council, including changing the deadline to receive legislation (31 December 2008), the deadline for amendments, the definition of defective legislation, and the number of recommended legislative items per district. Further information on these changes can be found below and in What’s New for the 2010 Council.
Deadline for submitting legislation to the 2010 Council
Legislation from clubs and districts for the 2010 Council must be received at RI Headquarters on or before 31 December 2008. If the legislation is from a club, the form certifying district endorsement must also be received by the deadline. There are no exceptions to this deadline. Each Council there are several districts whose legislation is not submitted to the Council because it arrives at RI Headquarters shortly after the deadline. Please do not allow your district’s legislation to suffer this fate.
In addition, all districts should forward to RI Headquarters all legislation proposed by or endorsed at a district conference within 45 days of the conclusion of the conference or the date fixed by the governor for receipt of the ballots for a ballot-by-mail.
Enactments
Enactments should be carefully developed. Proposers may wish to seek the assistance of their district’s Council representative in drafting legislation. For samples of enactments, proposers may wish to examine the 2007 Report of Action. In addition, an enactment template has been provided.
To prepare the enactment for submission to RI, proposers should copy and paste the relevant section(s) of the constitutional documents, strike through any portions that are to be deleted, and underline any new text that is to be added. Proposers should also carefully determine whether the section they have elected to change is the only section that requires changing, or if other parts of the constitutional documents also need to be changed to give effect to what they are proposing.
Resolutions
Resolutions are typically easier to draft than enactments, as they are requesting action from the RI Board. Resolutions do not seek to change the RI constitutional documents. When considering a resolution, determine whether the issue involved affects Rotarians on a global level, or is more local in scope. Also, determine if the resolution would require or request an administrative act that is within the discretion of the RI Board or the general secretary; if so, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee may determine that it is defective and, therefore, recommend that it not be transmitted to the Council. If any of these situations apply, perhaps the issue may be better handled through a memorial to the Board. The RI Board hears memorials at every meeting, and there may be a more rapid response through this action than by submitting a resolution.
A memorial to the Board is a petition to the Board for action on a specific matter. In many cases where amending the constitutional documents is not necessary, the proposer’s purpose can be more efficiently and quickly accomplished by a memorial. Memorials to the Board should be clearly labeled as such and sent to RI Headquarters in Evanston. See Bringing matters to the RI Board for more information.
Finally, a resolution should not be used as a vehicle to avoid drafting an enactment. If the action a proposer desires requires an amendment to the RI constitutional documents, then the proposer should submit an enactment, not a resolution. A resolution template has also been provided.
How to submit legislation
Clubs and districts are both eligible to submit legislation to the Council. Detailed information can be found in both Chapter 10 of the Manual of Procedure and in article 7 of the RI Bylaws and in How to Propose Legislation.
Club proposed legislation
When a club proposes legislation, the club’s board of directors must first submit the legislation to the membership for adoption at a regular club meeting. If adopted, the proposal must then be forwarded to the district with a letter signed by the club president and secretary certifying that it has been adopted.
The next step is for the district conference to vote on the piece. If the piece receives the conference’s endorsement, the governor completes the certification form that verifies this and sends both items to RI Headquarters in time to meet the 31 December 2008 deadline. If there is not time for the district conference to consider a piece, the governor may alternatively conduct a ballot-by-mail of the clubs in the district.
The Council will consider only those club pieces that receive district endorsement.
District proposed legislation
A district conference (district council in RIBI) may also propose legislation. When this occurs, the governor should submit the piece, along with the form certifying that the conference/council proposed it, to RI Headquarters in time to meet the 31 December 2008 deadline. The legislation may either be submitted with your district conference report, or sent separately to the Council Services Section. If submitted with a district report, please be sure to check the appropriate box on the conference report form.
Legislative limit
The RI Bylaws encourage districts to propose or endorse no more than five pieces of legislation in total. It is hoped that if there is less legislation, the Council will have more time for in depth examination of legislation.
Contact information
The general secretary
c/o Council Services Section
Rotary International
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201 USA
Fax: 847-556-2123
E-mail: councilservices@rotary.org