Council on Legislation 2016

 
Rotary International provides clubs with required guidelines for rules and administration of how the clubs are operated. Once every three years, every district in the Rotary world (currently 535 districts) sends a Past District Governor as a representative to a meeting in Chicago which discusses and approves changes in the documents which govern how Rotary operates for the ensuing three years.
 
During the 2016 session several key proposals were passed and integrated into the Rotary Standard Club Constitution which dictates a number of key parameters for membership qualifications, meeting frequency and makeup requirements.
 
The documents which accompany this page (left) include:
  • Summary 2016 Report - Summary of 2016 changes to club meetings, membership, makeups and membership types as well as other significant changes to Rotary governance documents as reported by Council rep Dennis.
  • Essential Changes - Summary of 2016 updates as reported by Rotary International.
  • Membership Changes 2016 - Memo from RI summarizing changes to membership rules.
  • COL Report of Action - Detailed legislative actions including specific wording changes to Rotary International Constitution, RI Bylaws and Standard Club Constitution.
  • 2016 Manual of Procedure - Complete MOP including the following 4 documents.
  • RI Constitution - Establishes the Rotary Organization, not generally of much attention by clubs.
  • RI Bylaws - Critical document which details much of the rules and regulations for the operation of Rotary Clubs. This is the key reference document to review to ensure that the club is in compliance with Rotary Bylaws.
  • Standard Club Constitution - Revised constitution document to take effect 1 July, 2016. Clubs must accept this constitution as written. This doc is in MS Word format allowing clubs to download and fill in the blanks.
  • Recommended Club Bylaws - Club bylaws recommended by RI. Clubs are free to alter these bylaws as long as changes do not contradict the Standard Club Constitution. This doc is in MS Word format allowing a club to download and add wording as necessary to update its bylaws to comply with the intent of Rotary.
 
If a club wishes to change its meeting frequency and/or conditions for makeups,as well as any new provisions of the RI Bylaws, it must change its bylaws. Any club wishing to make bylaws changes may contact Council on Legislation representative PDG Dennis Dinsmore for guidance.