Q&A

Toolkit has Standing Rules as part of Bylaws?

I thought bylaws were considered broad/basic guiding principals and Standing Rules (aka Policies) were detailed and specific. I assumed these were 2 separate documents. The PTO Today Start Up Toolkit pg 11 suggests including a section of Standing Rules in the Bylaws. I imagine these would be really long Bylaws and would require constant amendments. Are you really suggesting putting Standing Rules in the Bylaws?
-

I think this is a matter of semantics. Bylaws and standing rules are the same in that they're rules by which your group operates. But as you suggest, bylaws are the broader principles and standing rules are more specific. More to the point, bylaws typically require a two-thirds vote to change, while standing rules can be changed by a simple majority.

Thinking about your standing rules at the same time you write your bylaws makes sense -- it's a time when you are particularly focused on how you want your group to operate. And it seems natural that you would want to keep the two documents together. But you don't, for example, need to file your standing rules along with your IRS form 1023.
- Craig
Links in this post: