Community groups, voluntary organizations and charities all have a legal structure that corresponds to how they were established. Local governments often form committees to perform various functions on behalf of their communities. Who has the authority to form committees? What status do they have under the Open Meetings Act? Under what rules should they operate? What happens if a majority of board members attend a committee meeting – is this contrary to the Open Meeting Act? Read on for answers to these questions. The legal structures of organizations in the not-for-profit and municipal sectors fall into two main categories: unincorporated and registered. It is important to understand the differences between these and therefore the implications of your organization`s legal form, especially with regard to the potential personal liability of committee members. This section provides a brief explanation of the terms associated with your legal structure. Local government committees can take many forms, have different names and be given different responsibilities. Boards may form committees from their own members, either as standing committees to manage various aspects of governance (e.g., personnel, budget, or finance) or as ad hoc committees to deal with specific short-term tasks. Committees can be called councils, commissions, working groups or the ever-popular variant of the “blue ribbon”. These groups may be assigned a range of tasks, from the simple review of issues to the formulation of recommendations, the development of policies or plans and, in some cases, even the taking of final action on matters approved by the board of directors or provided for by legislation. Certain types of agencies or commissions are created by mandate or authority of state laws. In such cases, special membership and procedural requirements may apply. Examples include accommodation committees, planning boards, and monuments and recreation protection commissions.
Finally, committees focusing on local issues can also be set up by other organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce or jointly by several public or private bodies. For the purposes of this discussion, I will focus on committees created by local governments that are not specifically regulated by state legislation. Each committee also relies heavily on the services of its “rapporteur”. Journalists are eminent law professors who are the leading experts in their respective fields. Each was appointed by the Chief Justice. Journalists research the relevant legislation and write memoranda analyzing proposed rule changes, develop draft rules for committee consideration, review and summarize public comments on proposed amendments, and prepare committee notes and other documents documenting the work of the rules committees. Small committees must be careful not to violate the Open Meeting Act. When a local government establishes a three-member committee and one member calls another member to discuss the work of the committee, it is a formal meeting of the majority of the public body (the committee) and requires notice. Appeal, bankruptcy, civil, criminal and evidence rule advisory committees evaluate proposals (i.e., proposals) to amend the rules at first instance. When an advisory committee pursues a proposal, it may ask the standing committee for permission to publish a draft of the proposed amendment. Based on the comments of the judges, the Bar Association and the public, the Advisory Committee may then decide to reject the amendment, revise it or refer it back to the Standing Committee as scheduled.
The Standing Committee independently reviews the findings of the Advisory Committees and, if satisfied, recommends amendments to the Judicial Conference, which in turn recommends amendments to the Supreme Court. The court reviews the proposals and, if it agrees, formally announces the revised rules by executive order before May 1 to take effect no earlier than December 1 of that year, unless Congress passes a law to reject, amend, or defer the outstanding rules. A committee established by or under its supervision is itself a separate “public body” within the meaning of the Open Meeting Act and is subject to the notification and transparency requirements of that Act. There is one exception to this rule: if the committee is composed exclusively of professional employees of the local government, the Open Meeting Act does not apply. In all other cases, meetings of formal committees must be open to the public, unless the committee has the authority to make one of the exceptions to the closed by-laws. The minutes should be kept, even if the Committee`s tasks were purely advisory, although in many cases only a few specific measures had to be recorded in the minutes. The Chief Justice appoints the members of the Committee, whose term of office is limited to a maximum of six years. Committee members are not remunerated for their services. Unlike other committees of the Judicial Conference, regular committees include not only federal judges, but also practicing lawyers, law professors, state chief justices, and senior officials from the Department of Justice and federal public defense organizations.
There are no specific legal procedures under which committees must work. A good source for small panels is the publication by Fleming Bell, School of Government faculty member: Rules of Procedure for Small Local Government Councils. The management body of an entity establishing a board of directors shall be free to determine the procedural or other requirements under which the board of directors operates. The public comment period prescribed by state law does not apply to committees – only to municipal, district and school boards. Like most local governments, committee formation is generally the responsibility of the board of directors, but the board may delegate its authority to create or appoint committees to an individual or group.
