Formula Used To Create Policy

Parliamentarian:​Harold G. reported that our Chair asked and we’ve done this on other occasions, since there are a number of newcomers to our Area Assemblies who may not be familiar with the process that we use to make policy for Alcoholics Anonymous. So I will give a brief overview of the Robert’s Rules of Order. I have a book that has 199 different procedures which I’m not about to do this morning. What I would like to do is to just give you a sense of how it works. The question is “Why are Robert’s Rules and why do we need them”? “Robert’s rules apply to the procedure of Alcoholics Anonymous perform as a guiding light in order to facilitate the business of Alcoholics Anonymous. It insures that the business of Alcoholics Anonymous is conducted in a fair and responsible way.” I’d like to talk briefly on what the General Service Conference is and why we need it. The former Chair of the General Service Conference and an influence to Bill Wilson was an Attorney named Barnard Smith. His influence on Bill initiated the importance that began the General Service Conference, the design and its function. And this is what Barnard Smith said and it is a brief quote: “We need it to insure the recovery of a child being born tonight, destined to alcoholism. We need it to provide, in keeping with our Twelfth Step, a permanent haven for all alcoholics who, in the ages ahead, can find in A.A. that rebirth which brought us back to life.” “We need it because we, more than all others, are conscious of the devastating effect of the human urge for power and prestige which we must insure can never invade A.A. We need it to insure A.A. against government, while insulating it against anarchy; we need it to protect A.A. against disintegration while preventing over integration. We need it so that Alcoholics Anonymous, and Alcoholics Anonymous alone, is the ultimate repository of its Twelve Steps, its Twelve Traditions, and all of its services.” “We need it to insure that changes within A.A. come only as a response to the needs and the wants of all A.A. and not of any few. We need it to insure that the doors of the halls of A.A. never have locks on them, so that all people for all time who have an alcoholic problem may enter these halls unasked and feel welcome. We need it to insure that Alcoholics Anonymous never asks of anyone who needs us what his or her race is, what his or her creed is, what his or her social position is.”

Just this morning we took two motions that were allowed to create the atmosphere for the policies of Alcoholics Anonymous through our committee reports. So we took a motion to accept the reports which gave everybody an opportunity to either agree or not agree. As it turned out we had an almost unanimous decision for both motions. But that’s how policies are established. Someone will make a motion, they will ask for a second, and then the entire body gets to vote. That is simply used as the process in order to move the policy forward. In each of those instances, there may be someone who disagrees with what the motion is or the motion outcome. And it’s called a “Minority Opinion.” And it is very very important that the Minority Opinion insures us that if someone disagrees have an opportunity to voice it. So a Minority Opinion can be established when there is someone who disagrees can stand up and ask for a revote or to review the motion that was approved. We have several other kinds of motions called tabling a motion and tabling a motion means that if a motion is disputed in anyway that the body can not agree on the Chair has the option of tabling it for another part or another instance to bring it back to the floor at another time. If a motion is

made and for what ever reason it’s not voted on, it can be reconsidered simply by making a motion from anybody on the floor. Floor actions are simply actions that can be induced at any time during the conference except during sharing sessions. A floor action can be proposed on the floor, it still has to be approved by a motion and approved by the body. So generally speaking what the process of Robert’s Rules is to establish a procedure where everyone has a fair opportunity to participate in that process. The Parliamentarian’s role is to insure that the ideas, the policies all meet the rules and standards set by Robert’s Rules. And that is what we will attempt to do during the next number of Assemblies that come forth. I would like to conclude that Robert’s Rules as modified to provide the procedures of business for Alcoholics Anonymous. The intent is always to invite an open forum where every individual is heard. I would encourage everyone here to review our General Service Manual which gives a detailed outline of these procedures.