The 2016 Council on Legislation voted to hold a separate,
annual Council on Resolutions. This council will meet online
every year to vote on proposed resolutions, which express
opinions and make recommendations to the Board. Learn
more about the Council on Resolutions, and what it will look
like.
1. Welcome to
the Council on
Resolutions
Duane Benton, Michael F. Webb,
and Maureen Ninneman
Tuesday 13 June 2017
2. • How did the Council on Resolutions (COR)
come about?
• Review resolutions
• Key information about the COR
• Preview of the COR website
• Important dates
• Resources
Agenda
3. • Suggested by the Council on Legislation (COL)
Review Committee
• Adopted at the 2016 COL
• The Council on Resolutions (COR) removes
resolutions from the COL
Council on Resolutions
4. Resolutions
Requests of
the RI Board
or Trustees
Do not
change RI’s
constitutional
documents
May be
submitted
directly to
the Board as
petitions
What is a Resolution?
5. How to Read Resolutions
A brief title
describing the
resolution
The names of
the proposing
club or district
Proposer’s
supporting
Whereas
statements
Financial impact
that the
resolution could
have on RI
Statement as to
why the
proposer
submitted the
resolution and
what they hope
to change
(optional).
It is Resolved
clause stating
the action the
proposer wishes
the Board to take
7. The first COR will
take place from
15 October to
15 November 2017
Resolutions
published on 15
October 2017
Council on Resolutions
8. Online each year
Training materials
•“How to” guide
•FAQs
•Representative handbook
Flexible Voting Time
•Voting begins as soon as
resolutions are published
•Sign in to vote when you are
ready
All Rotarians can view
resolutions
•But no delegation
No debate
•Email questions about
resolutions to Council Services
•Use COL workgroup site for
any discussions
Features
9. • Council RepresentativesVoting Members
• Chair
• Vice chair
• Parliamentarian
• Constitution and Bylaws Committee
• RI president
• President-elect
• RI Board of Directors
• Rotary Foundation Trustee
• Past RI presidents
• General Secretary
• Secretary
Non-voting
Members
Members of the COR
10. Review COR training materials
Read the Rules of Procedure
Make sure you have a MyRotary account
Read resolutions
Talk to Rotarians and clubs in your district, but
keep an open mind as you read the resolutions
Remember to ask yourself:
Is the resolution’s purpose clear?
What is best for Rotary as a whole?
Vote!
What Should Representatives Do?
11. Council on Resolutions
Resources
for the COR
Click for
PDFs of
resolutions
Representatives
sign in with their
My Rotary account
Resolutions
list and
voting
period
19. After you Submit Your Votes
Confirmation
that you voted
Access to resolution PDFs
Click to access
your voting
record
20. Voting Record
Record of how you
voted on each item
The date you voted
The COR dates
Access to resolution PDFs
21. Results
Result of voting
Total yes and
no votes
Item that was
withdrawn during
the voting period
Click to access
your voting
record
22. Key Points for the COR
Representatives must be signed in to
MyRotary in order to vote
Once you submit your votes, you cannot
change them, including abstentions
Make sure to submit your votes, saved votes
will not count
Your voting record will be available after you
submit your votes
23. After the Council on Resolutions
Inform clubs in your district
• Tell clubs about the results
• All Rotarians can view the results on MyRotary
Report of Action
• All clubs, districts, and representatives receive
report of action within two months
Get ready for the next Council on Resolutions
24. COR Dates to Remember
30 June 2017 Representatives and alternates due to
Rotary
Resolutions for 2017 COR due to Rotary
1 October 2017 Confirmation of participating
representatives
15 October 2017 2017 Council on Resolutions begins
Resolutions published
15 November 2017 2017 Council on Resolutions ends
By 20 November 2017 Results posted
31 December 2017 Enactments for 2019 COL due to Rotary
25. Resources
Articles 7, 8, and 9 of the RI Bylaws
The Councils page on Rotary’s website, with links to:
How to Propose Resolutions
Online resolution certification form
How to Propose Enactments
Online legislation certification form
How to Propose Legislation and Representative
Training courses in the Learning Center
Council on Legislation workgroup, accessed through
your profile on rotary.org
Email: council_services@rotary.org
27. This presentation and others
from throughout the convention
are available through the
convention mobile app and on
SlideShare at
www.SlideShare.net/Rotary_International.
28. Rate this session in the
Rotary Events app,
available in your Apple or
Android app store.
Editor's Notes
MAUREEN
Welcome everyone! My name is Maureen Ninneman and I am the Deputy General Counsel with Rotary International. One of my responsibilities is to manage the Council on Legislation and the Council on Resolutions.
I am very happy to welcome you here today to help introduce the Council on Resolutions to you. I have with me the Council on Resolutions Chair and Vice Chair, Judge Duane Benton and Trustee-elect Mike Webb.
MAUREEN
We are going to provide you information on the upcoming Council on Resolutions or COR and will cover:
How the Council on Resolutions (COR) came about?
Review what a resolution is and how to read it
We will also go over key information that representatives should know about the COR
Then we will give you a preview of the COR site
Lastly, we will go over some important dates and resources
We will also provide some time at the end if you have any questions. However, if you think of any questions after this session, please Council Services and they will be happy to help you.
DUANE
The 2016 Council on Legislation representatives voted to split the Council into two separate meetings, one to consider enactments and position statements, and another to consider resolutions online each year. The idea was that by removing resolutions from the Council on Legislation, that members of the Council will be able to focus on carefully considering enactments that impact Rotary’s constitutional documents at the Council on Legislation. In addition, the length of the COL could be decreased, thus decreasing the overall cost to Rotary.
In addition, it would simplify the process for considering resolutions, by getting adopted resolutions to the Board faster.
DUANE
First, let’s start out with the basics. What is a resolution? A resolution is a request to the Board or the Trustees to take an action that is outside the purview of the constitutional documents. For example, asking the Board to change the age requirements for Interact.
Keep in mind that clubs can also submit resolutions directly to the RI Board as petitions. This is an alternative method to have your club’s idea considered by the Board than submitting a resolution to the Council.
Let’s look at an example of a resolution from 2016.
DUANE
Each resolution includes a brief descriptive title, the proposing club or district, plus where and when it was endorsed by the district. Next come the resolution text. This typically includes the whereas clauses, which is information that makes the argument in favor of the resolution. There can be any number or none of these clauses. However, every resolutions has one resolved clause. The resolved clause states the action that the proposer wishes the RI Board or TRF Trustees to consider.
After the text of the resolution, proposers have the option of including a purpose and effect statement, but these are not required in resolutions. The purpose and effect statement would identify the issue or problem that the resolution seeks to address and explain how the it addresses or resolves the problem or issue. However, this information is often covered in the whereas clauses and does not need to be repeated.
Finally, after Rotary receives a resolution, our finance area reviews it and writes a financial impact statement, letting representatives know the financial impact that the resolution could have on Rotary International.
Resolutions have previously been considered as part of the Council on Legislation, Rotary’s legislative body, but that changed in 2016.
DUANE
An important deadline is coming up in a couple of weeks. June 30th.
If your club or district is submitting a resolution, make sure it is submitted by 30 June with your governor’s confirmation that the district endorsed it. If it comes in after 30 June, it will go to the 2018 COR.
Second, make sure your district has selected its 2017-20 Council representative. Representative, and alternate if you are selecting one, selections are due to Council Services by 30 June. We want to make sure that every district representative participates in the COR.
(However, to make sure that every district can participate in the COR, if your district does not have its representative reported by 1 October, your representative from the 2016 Council will continue to serve as your district’s representative until the 2017 COR is complete. )
Online forms are available to submit both of these. A link is available at the end of this presentation for submitting enactments. Representative submission links have been sent to DGs, but let us know if you need it again.
DUANE
The first Council on Resolutions will open on 15 October. This is when the resolutions will be published and available for voting. The COR will then end on 15 November 2017, with the results posted shortly after closing.
However, there are a few steps that need to happen before the COR begins. And to detail these steps, we have a detail person, Vice Chair Mike Webb."
MIKE
We have some great features for the new COR. First, it will be held entirely online each year. From reading the resolutions to voting to seeing the results, it will all be online. Second, while there is no mandatory training for the Council on Resolutions*, we will be providing a how to guide and FAQs on the COR to help guide you through the process. We will also provide you with a representative handbook, which will guide you on your overall role as your district’s representative.
The COR is not a traditional meeting where everyone is online at the same time viewing and voting on resolutions. We understand that would be nearly impossible to do with a world wide audience. Instead, the resolutions will be published and representatives can begin reading and voting on them right away. You will have one month to submit your votes. This also allows you time to discuss resolutions with members of your district. All Rotarians will be able to view the resolutions, and eventually the results, on My Rotary. However, only representatives will be able to vote. Please note that representatives are not able to delegate their role to a different Rotarian, since the Council does not permit proxy votes (RI Bylaws 9.120.)
One last thing to note, is that debate is not included in the COR. The goal was to make the site as simple to use as possible and including debate, with real-time translation, made the process much too complicated. If you have a question about a certain resolution, you are always welcome to email Council Services staff and they will be able to help you. If you want to discuss resolutions with members of the Council, there is a discussion feature in the Council on Legislation workgroup that all voting and non-voting members of the Council will have access to once their term begins on 1 July. While staff is able to view the discussion, they are not moderating or translating it. Please keep this in mind if you choose to use this feature.
*This statement may bring up questions about the mandatory training. As a reminder, representatives have mandatory training at their Rotary Institute in 2018-19 and must complete the online training in order to be reimbursed for their expenses at the Council on Legislation. Since the COR should not incur any expenses for the representatives, the mandatory training does not apply to the COR. They are not required to undergo training to be a Council representative, only to be reimbursed for COL expenses. (There has be a little bit of confusion on this.)
MIKE
Now, who will be participating in the COR.
The representatives selected for the 2017-2020 council cycle will participate in the Council on Resolutions as the voting members. We want to make sure that every district can participate in the COR. Therefore, if for any reason your district does not have its representative reported by 1 October, your representative from the 2016 Council will continue to serve as your district’s representative until the 2017 COR is complete. The Bylaws provide that a representative's’ term lasts until the next representative is selected. That being said, we strongly encourage all districts to select their 2017-20 representative as soon as possible.
Non-voting members include myself and Chair Duane. Duane will also be serving as the parliamentarian. In the rare instance that there is a tie vote, the Chair is able to vote to break the tie.
The Constitution and Bylaws Committee reviews all the resolutions to ensure they are regular and makes their recommendation to the RI Board who then transmits all regular resolutions to the Council. The Past presidents, TRF trustee, the General Secretary are members of the Council and will be able to read the resolutions.
MIKE
A representative’s main responsibilities for the COR are to read and vote on resolutions each year. To prepare you will want to review the training materials and the Rules of Procedure, which govern the meeting, ahead of the Council on Resolutions. The COR site is designed to be simple to use and we will have a step-by-step guide on how to complete voting.
The COR will meet on the Rotary website through MyRotary. In order for representatives to be able to vote, they must have a MyRotary account. Before the COR begins, please make sure that you have set-up your MyRotary account and that you can log in.
Then once the resolutions are published, read them! All Rotarians are able to view the resolutions, so feel free to ask others in your district to read the resolutions and give you their thoughts.
When reading the resolutions, think about how clear the request is and what is best for Rotary International.
Finally, VOTE! Representatives an begin voting as soon as the resolutions are published. While all Rotarians can view the resolutions, only representatives will be able to vote on them. Your votes are anonymous and confidential. This means that we cannot see how you voted on each item, though we can check that you submitted your vote.
Let’s take a look at the new Council on Resolutions. Maureen, please lead us through the very-electronic Council on Resolutions.
MAUREEN
Anyone can view the opening page of the Council on Resolutions.
This page lists all of the resolutions being considered in the voting period, it also includes the dates of the COR.
If you click on the PDF link, it will open the resolution in a new page or tab, depending on your browser.
There is a sidebar with resources that will help you, such as the how to guide and FAQs. This will be available on each of the Council on Resolution pages.
If you are a representative, you will want to sign-in to your My Rotary account.
MAUREEN
Once a representative is signed in during a voting period for the Council on Resolutions, they will be able to vote.
Each resolution has a drop down that allows you to vote yes or no.
MAUREEN
If you do not wish to vote on a certain resolution,
you can abstain by leaving the dashes in the drop down.
If you are not yet ready to submit your votes, you can click the save for later button.
MAUREEN
A pop-up window will confirm that your votes have been saved, plus include a reminder to submit your votes. When you click close…
MAUREEN
You will see that a date is next to your save button.
Once you are ready to submit your vote, you scroll to the bottom of the screen and check the box that you understand that once you submit your votes, they cannot be changed. We set this up as a two step process because submitting your votes is final and we did not want representatives to accidentally submit their votes, thinking they could go back later and change them.
MAUREEN
If you forget to check the box,
you will receive an error message
and the agreement language will turn red.
MAUREEN
Make sure to check the box when you are ready and click submit my votes.
MAUREEN
You will then see a confirmation screen thanking you for submitting your votes. When you close the pop-up…
MAUREEN
You will be brought back to the opening view of the resolutions page, which no longer includes the voting buttons.
There is a confirmation at the top with when you voted and when the results will be posted, this will go away after the results are posted.
You can also still access the PDFs of the resolutions, if needed.
Lastly, you can access your voting record here.
MAUREEN
Your voting record shows
when you voted,
the dates of the COR,
links to the PDFs,
and your vote selections.
You will also be able to print this page for your records. Please note that your voting record will be available until the next voting period begins. It will disappear when the next voting period begins.
MAUREEN
After the voting period ends the results page will be displayed. This page will be available to all Rotarians until the next COR and you can print it using the print function on your web browser.
Each resolution will have the action taken on the resolution.
Along with the total yes and no votes next to it.
If an item is withdrawn during the voting period, it will be shown as withdrawn and will not include the vote counts if any votes were submitted. If you see a withdrawn item during the voting period, you will not be able to vote on it.
You are also still able to access your voting record from this page and will be able to do so until the next voting period begins. Now that we’ve looked at the site, Mike has a few key points to remember.
MIKE
Now that you’ve seen the COR site, there are a couple of Key Points to remember:
Representatives must be signed in to MyRotary in order to vote.
Once you submit your votes you cannot make any changes to any of your votes or non-votes. This means that any resolutions you chose not to vote on cannot later be voted on.
But please remember to submit your vote. Your votes are only counted when you submit them. If you save them and forget to submit, they will not be included in the final vote tally.
A voting record will be available to you after you submit your votes. You can print your record to paper or PDF by using the print function on the website. Your record will be available until the start of the next Council on Resolutions, so about 11 months. Once the next COR begins, your previous record is no longer available. Rotary staff cannot access voting records for representatives.
MIKE
Once the Council on Resolutions is over, please share the results with the clubs in your district. You can also invite them to view the resolutions and the results on MyRoary. Results are available to all Rotarians.
A Report of Action will also be sent to all clubs, districts, and Council representatives within two months of the end of the COR.
Lastly, get ready for the next COR. Help your district decide if it will submit resolutions to the 2018 COR. The link for submitting 2018 resolutions will be available in July 2017.
And now back to Duane.
DUANE
DUANE
DUANE
DUANE
[Keep this slide at the end, and read this suggested text]
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