Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Quorum Was Not Present
Contrary to popular belief, this blog has not died (yet). There just really hasn't been much of note to discuss. (The less the ASUN is doing or screwing up, the less we have to write about.) We do have a quick note about a meeting today that sort of happened.
The Senate's Academics Committee was scheduled to meet this morning. Setting aside the legislation they were supposed to hear, it is noted that the meeting was canceled because a quorum--the minimum number of members to be present to conduct business--didn't bother to show. For committees, that number is a majority of the membership. That means at least half of the members couldn't be bothered with doing their duty.
Procedurally, a meeting isn't canceled because a quorum is not present; it just doesn't go anywhere. The proper thing to do would have been for the chair of the committee to call the meeting to order at the scheduled time, take attendance, note the absence of a quorum, take public comment, if any, and adjourn. Here's why the "meeting" still should happen. If the meeting is canceled, the meeting never took place for the purposes of recording attendance. Thus, while several members may have been absent, since the meeting was "canceled," the absence could never have occurred in the first place. You can't be absent from something that didn't happen.
To recap, the absence of a quorum only prevents deliberation and action from being taken at a meeting. It doesn't prevent the meeting from being called to order, attendance noted, and a determination as to whether a quorum is present from happening. The record (the minutes) must show the absence of a quorum, and that only happens when the meeting is held. You cancel a meeting, and you just give your derelict colleagues a free pass.
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