RI Council on Legislation

 

Rotary is a bottom-up organization with the club playing the key role. This structure and culture is also reflected in Rotary International’s Council on Legislation. Every three years, each district around the world elects a Council on Legislation (COL) representative to serve a three-year term. Collectively, these representatives are charged with studying, deliberating and voting on proposals to change Rotary’s basic governing rules and documents.

 

The Council must act on two types of proposals: resolutions, asking the RI Board of Directors to make changes in the rules the Board has authority over, and enactments, which directly change the RI Constitution, Bylaws, and recommended Club Bylaws. Interestingly, the RI Board of Directors has no power themselves to change these three governing documents, only the Council can do that.

 

 

Proposed resolutions and enactments can come directly from clubs and districts. In fact, this year, one of the proposed enactments has come from the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club with endorsement by the District. If passed, it will provide a new alternative method of selecting the district delegate to the RI Director nominating committee. The Council will meet in Chicago in April 2019 to consider and act on proposed enactments. I will provide more information on proposed enactments in a later issue of the district Newsletter.

 

Meanwhile the COL representatives will be voting electronically on proposed resolutions between October 15 and November 15, 2018. You can access the proposed resolutions for 2018 on the RI website with the 55 proposed resolutions. I urge you to take a few minutes and visit this page to get a taste of Rotary democracy in action. If any of you have pro or con views on any of these resolutions, please let me know by November 10th. I would be interested in your opinions.

Peter E. Simonsen, PDG
Council of Legislation Representative District 7930