Rules of Procedure for Resolutions – Approved 6/13/2017

(Section 4b was approved by the Executive Council on July 20, 2022)

Annual Resolutions Cycle

Tier 1

1. A Resolutions Committee and Chair shall be appointed by the President, with the concurrence of the Administrative Committee, at the beginning of the President’s term. The committee and Chair shall serve for a one year term, preferably to be renewed for the second year of the President’s term.

2. Resolutions will be accepted from Nov. 15. The deadline will be Dec. 31. Resolutions will be voted on by March 31. *(See sample calendar below). If March 31 (or any other benchmarks below) falls on a Shabbat the voting deadline would be the next day, Sunday.

3. Process for Submitting Resolutions

a.  The Resolutions Committee will consider suggestions and submissions from RA Committees and from individual members in good standing.  The resolutions covered by this procedure are limited to matters of public policy and general good and welfare. Consistent with our Constitution, this procedure does not include resolutions related to RA governance or organizational policy. Proposed resolutions should be sent via e-mail to Resolutions Committee chair at resolutions@rabbinicalassembly.org. However, the Committee has the right to accept or reject submissions, combine proposals and /or edit submissions as it deems appropriate.

b.  The Committee will notify those who submit proposals which are not accepted. Any resolutions pertaining to public policy or good and welfare that are not accepted by the Committee or that were proposed after the deadline may be submitted via electronic petition, as outlined in 3.c. Resolutions that are not accepted because the resolutions committee ruled them “out of order” cannot be submitted via petition. Questions regarding decisions by the resolutions committee on whether the resolution meets these criteria can be appealed to the RA Administrative committee.

c. Resolutions submitted by electronic petition must be submitted with at least 50 electronic signatures by RA members in good standing at least 20 days in advance of the voting period to be considered by the membership. Members wishing to submit a resolution by petition must do so through the members’ only section of the RA website, which will also allow members to sign the petition. The Resolutions committee will not accept resolutions or signatures for petitions submitted via any other medium.

4. Resolutions Review Period

a. Instructions for access to all resolutions proposed by the Resolutions Committee will be distributed electronically to the membership at least 28 days in advance of the voting period.

b. Proposed resolutions are confidential and may only be shared and discussed with members of the Rabbinical Assembly. Once approved, the final text of resolutions may be shared with the public.

5. Commenting on and Amending Resolutions

a.  Resolutions will be posted on the RA website for 7 days for general comments and suggested amendments. The Resolutions Committee will review and vote to accept, reject or modify those amendments. The Committee will send out instructions for access to a revised version of the resolutions online 5 days before the interactive virtual meeting.

b.  At least 5 days and up to 14 days prior to the final voting period, there will be an interactive virtual meeting for final discussion on and amendments to the revised resolutions.

c.  Amendments may be proposed at the interactive meeting only by sending the amendment to the meeting coordinator who will make the text available on screen. Those amendments will be considered and voted upon by the participants in the meeting. This will be the final opportunity to consider amendments to a resolution.

6. At the virtual meeting, Robert’s Rules of Order, as interpreted by the Chair on the advice of the RA parlimentarian, will be the final authority on procedure.

a.  Discussion of resolutions will start with the “Therefore be it resolved…” so the plenum is clear about the action being proposed, prior to reviewing the “Whereas…” clauses.

b.  The chair will accept only amendments submitted using procedure in #5 above. The address for submitting changes will appear on screen during the meeting.

c.  A time limit of no more than two minutes will be imposed on all speakers.

d.  The chair will attempt to recognize speakers on an alternating basis between pro and con.

e.  The Chair may limit or cut off further debate when the Chair determines that the discussion is one-sided, or after 3 persons have discussed each side of the question on the floor.

f.  Since derekh eretz and kavod ha-rav are more important than any resolution, the chair has the authority to cut off someone being inappropriate (such as addressing an individual’s intent, rather than content of remarks)

7. Amendments to resolutions not acted upon at the virtual meeting due to time constraints shall be considered and voted upon by the Resolutions Committee.

8. Voting: Following the virtual meeting, final versions of the resolutions will be posted on the RA Members’ Only site for voting. The voting period will be open for 72 hours. Only RA members in good standing are eligible to vote.

9. For purposes of voting on proposed resolutions, a quorum shall be defined as voting participation of at least 5% of RA members in good standing.

  • *Sample calendar for the resolutions process, based on March 31 deadline.
  • By Feb 28 (29 in leap year) at the latest, all resolutions will be posted online.
  • From March 1 to March 7 comments may be made and amendments suggested.
  • Then the Resolutions Committee will review the comments and proposed amendments, and will make available any revised resolutions online 5 days before the interactive virtual meeting. Notification will take place on March 9th at the earliest and March 18th at the latest.
  • March 9 is the deadline to submit resolutions by petition (of 50 electronic signatures).
  • The interactive virtual meeting will be held no earlier than March 14 and no later than March 23.
  • Voting will be open for 72 hours from 5pm March 28 through 5pm March 31.

Resolutions off-cycle – or for special need/occasion

Tier 2  

The resolutions covered by this procedure are limited to matters of public policy and general good and welfare. Consistent with our Constitution, this resolutions procedure does not include resolutions related to RA governance or organizational policy. Proposed resolutions should be sent via e-mail to Resolutions Committee chair at resolutions@rabbinicalassembly.org. However, the Committee has the right to accept or reject submissions, combine proposals and /or edit submissions as it deems appropriate. The Committee will inform those who submit proposals which are not accepted. Questions regarding decisions by the resolutions committee on whether the resolution meets these criteria can be appealed to the RA Administrative committee.

1. A resolution by any RA member may be brought outside the annual process described above, from April 1 through Nov. 14, as follows. 50 signatures of RA members in good standing are required for this resolution to be considered. 

2. Members must do so through the members’ only section of the RA website, which will also allow members to sign the petition. The Resolutions committee will not accept resolutions or signatures for petitions submitted via any other medium.

3. The resolution must be reviewed by the Resolutions Committee within 2 weeks. If the Resolutions Committee does not accept the resolution, the rabbi submitting the resolution would be able to re-submit the resolution during the regular Resolutions Process. If the Committee accepts the resolution, there will be an interactive online discussion of it within 2 weeks. Voting would then take place beginning on the following day, for a period of 72 hours.  (See section 9 above for voting requirements.)

Tier 3

The resolutions covered by this procedure are limited to matters of public policy and general good and welfare. Consistent with our Constitution, this resolutions procedure does not include resolutions related to RA governance or organizational policy.

Under special circumstances, for example in an emergent situation, a resolution may be brought to the Administrative Committee (by RA senior staff, an officer or Administrative Committee member or Committee Chair), which would require a ⅔ vote of the Administrative Committee to pass. This resolution should be discussed and voted on by the Administrative Committee within one week.