Links to Series on 2019 Council on Legislation Plus Concluding Comments

Posted by John Borst on May 21, 2019

#7 in a series.

A request to provide a compendium of links to the 2019 Council on Legislation from a PDG at District 7390 was the inspiration for this post. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the bigger picture of what happened this year which may portend future directions and trends.

But first here are links to the series: (active links exist for the Title, Picture and Read More)

COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION REJECTS ALL CHANGES TO ROTARY’S AVENUES OF SERVICE, OBJECT OF ROTARY, AND CORE VALUES

#1 in a Series

Making changes to Rotary’s CONSTITUTION and STANDARD ROTARY CLUB CONSTITUTION was impossible in 2019 as the 532 delegates rejected all 15 proposed changes while two were withdrawn.

COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION MORE ACTIVE IN ADOPTING CHANGES TO CLUBS

#2 in a series

COL approved ten changes to Clubs in the areas of Administration, Membership and Meetings and Attendance. They also rejected ten proposals. Two items were withdrawn.

COL REJECTS GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ROTARY MORE DEMOCRATIC

# 3 in a series

Enactments 19-40 to 19-55 addressed issues of elections and nominations at the President and Governor levels plus two Miscellaneous election items.

COL MOTIONS ON OUR MAGAZINES, PRIVACY AND PAST-PRESIDENTS ARE A SURPRISE

# 4 in a series

I didn’t expect subjects such as District Administration and Rotary International-General to hold anything exciting, but I was wrong as there was much to chew upon.

MEMBERSHIP, RI COMMITTEES AND DUES PROVIDED LOTS TO DEBATE BY COL DELEGATES

# 5 in a series

Rotary has shouted out loud and clear that Rotaract Clubs are now officially clubs of and in Rotary rather then clubs outside of the family of Rotary.

COL TAKES SMALL STEPS TO STREAMLINE ITS PROCEEDINGS BUT REJECTS THE BIG ONE.

RI’s tax status changed from a 501(c)4 to a section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the US Internal Revenue Code.

#6 in a series

Enactments 19-96 to 19-115 dealt with proposed changes to the before, during and after periods of the Council on Legislation itself.

General Reflection on the 2019 Council on Legislation

I doubt if the 2019 Council on Legislation will go down in memory as outstanding or setting any directions in progress.

I would think the low number of resolutions, just over 100 vs. the historical high of over 600 would be of concern to Rotary's leadership. Does it demonstrate that Rotarians are losing faith, a lack of confidence and relevance in the CoL process.

The presence of a few enactments trying to roll-back some of the 2016 initiatives demonstrates the tenacity of those who regret any changes to the Rotary Constitution or Club Bylaws which mirror the former. That they even made it to the floor speaks to the traditionalist strain within Rotary.

At the same time the presence of a few enactments pointing in the direction of a more member centric vs Club centric view was encouraging. Innovation, flexibility and liberal thought appeared frequently enough to provide encouragement to persevere.

Given the length of time to gather support for any resolution both views represent many clubs and Districts. The question remains which view is really the dominant view. Our leadership has consistently opted for change over the status-quo. In that they are out-of-sync with many influential District level Rotarians.

The best example of this came over the issue of Rotaract Clubs being designated full clubs within the Rotary family, equal in every way to Rotary Clubs as organizational entities. The first vote failed. The president then took to social media and a motion to reconsider was held at the end of the session. Eventually it passed. I had a lengthy discussion with my District representative and the degree of confusion among delegates was considerable. He admitted that he voted against on the first vote and for on the second. The significance in this case was social media's role, like so much in society, it was a game changer.

It also points to the future of what CoL could be. Delegates could be more creative in its use during the year before the actual meeting. Posting resolutions on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Groups and My Rotary is a way for a much wider swath of Rotarians to learn in a more engaged way what the resolutions are and express their view, even if it is just a "like", let alone a comment. By the time a delegate went to the CoL meeting they would know where the grassroot members stood.