Could an appointed board member change draft meeting minutes before the board approved them?

Plain-English summary

The Attorney General concluded that, for an appointed body using Robert's Rules of Order, a member should wait until the prior meeting's minutes were presented for approval to propose an official correction. The body would decide the correction by vote or general consent, and the approved version would become the official record.

Draft minutes could be circulated before the approval meeting so members could review and mark proposed changes. Those personal marked copies were not authoritative. The opinion assumed the body had adopted Robert's Rules as its parliamentary authority and did not claim South Carolina law universally imposed that procedure on every board.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could one member make an official change to draft minutes before the approval meeting? A: The opinion said no under the assumed rules. The member could propose the correction when the body considered the prior minutes.

Q: Could members review a draft before the meeting?
A: Yes. The opinion described advance circulation for review while distinguishing marked copies from the approved official record.

Q: Who decided whether a correction became part of the minutes? A: The body did, by vote or general consent when it considered corrections and approval.

Background and statutory framework

A legislator asked whether a member of an appointed body could edit the secretary's draft before the body approved it. The office assumed adoption of Robert's Rules and applied the procedure for reading, correcting, and approving prior minutes.

Citations and references

The original text below quotes Robert's Rules of Order, Tenth Edition, on approval and correction of minutes.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/april-7-2010/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/miller-v-o-os-9040-4-7-10-roberts-rules-of-order-minutes-of-meeting.pdf

Original opinion text

HENRY MCMASTER
AITORNEY GENERAL

April 7, 2010

The Honorable Vida 0. Miller
South Carolina House of Representatives
District No. 108
P. 0 . Box 3157
Pawleys Island, South Carolina 29585
Dear Representative Miller:
We received your letter requesting an opinion of this Office concerning Robert's Rules of Order. You asked whether, "a member of an appointed body [can] change minutes of a meeting as written by the secretary of that body before the minutes are brought before the membership for approval." We assume herein that th_e body in question has adopted Robert's Rules of Order as the parliamentary authority which guides its decisions. This Office has addressed questions surrounding Robert's Rules of Order; however, the specific question of approving minutes has not been addressed. Therefore, this opinion will directly interpret Robert's Rules of Order as related to the specific situation at hand. Law/Analysis

Robert's Rules of Order bas never been codified in the South Carolina Code of Laws of 1976. However, many times throughout, the S.C. Code states that various boards, committees, and departments are to be governed by Robert's Rules of Order. Robert's Rules of Order is a well-known parliamentary authority. The most recent edition is the Tenth (10th) Edition. t Minutes and Reports of Officers, specifically the Reading and Approval of Minutes are explained in § 48 as follows: When the next regular business session will be held within a quarterly time interval (seep. 88), when the session does not last Longer than one day, and when there will be no change

1 The Tenth Edition supersedes all previous editions and is intended automatically to become

the parliamentary authority in organizations whose bylaws prescribe "Robert's Rules of Order," "Robert's Rules of Order Revised," or the like ... [unless] the bylaws specifically identify one of the nine previous editions. RONR (10111 ed.). REMBERT c. DENNIS BUILDING • POST OFFICE Box l1549

• COLUMBIA, SC 29211-1549 • 'I'ELBPHONE 803-734-3970 • FAC~IMILE 803-253-6283

The Honorable Vida 0. Miller
Page2
April 7, 2010

or replacement of a portion of the membership before the next session, procedures relative to the reading and approval of minutes are as follows:

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The minutes of the meeting are normally read and approved at the beginning of the next regular meeting, immediately after the call to order and any opening ceremonies. An adjourned meeting of an ordinary society approves the minutes ofthe meeting that established the adjourned meeting; its own minutes are approved at the next adjourned or regular meeting, whichever occurs first. A special meeting does not approve minutes; its minutes should be approved at the next regular meeting. Corrections, if any, and approval of minutes are normally done by unanimous consent. The chair calls for the reading of the minutes, asks for any corrections, then declares the minutes approved, as shown on pages 343-44. By a majority vote without debate, the reading of the minutes can be "dispensed with" - that is, not carried out at the regular time. If the reading of the minutes is dispensed with, it can be ordered (by majority vote without debate) at any later time during the meeting while no business is pending; and if it is not thus taken up before adjournment, these minutes must be read at the following meeting before the reading of the later minutes. If it is desired to approve the minutes without having them read, it is necessary to suspend the rules for this purpose. A draft of the minutes of the preceding meeting can be sent to all members in advance, usually with the notice. In such case, it is presumed that the members have used this opportunity to review them, and they are not read unless this is requested. Correction of them and approval, however, is handled in the usual way. It must be understood in such a case that the formal copy placed in the minute book contains all corrections that were made and that none of the many copies circulated to members and marked by them is authoritative (see also p. 344).

RONR (10th ed.). p. 456-57, 1. 10-19 (emphasis added).
If an organization has a meeting (Meeting A), the minutes from Meeting A will not be approved until the following regularly scheduled meeting (Meeting B). The minutes from Meeting A will either be read at the start of Meeting Bora draft of the minutes from Meeting A will be sent to all members in advance of Meeting B. 2 If the minutes are sent out in advance, the actual reading of the minutes at Meeting B can be waived if no member objects. In either case, unanimous consent must be given for approval of the minutes. RONR (10th ed.). p. 456-57, 1. 10-19.

2

"It is natural for the members to prefer to study the minutes beforehand to be better prepared to offer corrections; and this procedure generally saves time when the minutes come up for approval. On the other hand, the minutes do not become the minutes and assume their essential status as the official record of the proceedings of the society until they have been approved." RONR (10th ed.), p. 343-44, 1. 3-11.

The Honorable Vida 0. Miller
Page 3
April 7, 2010

At the beginning of Meeting B, the Secretary will ask if any corrections need to be made to the minutes from Meeting A. At this time, members may speak and propose any corrections to the minutes. Ifthere are no corrections, or no further corrections, the Secretary will state that the minutes stand approved or are approved as corrected. The corrections are made in the text of the minutes, the minutes of Meeting B would simply state that "a correction was made to the minutes of the prior meeting." RONR (101h ed.), p. 343-44, 1. 10-18.

Conclusion
Pursuant to the rules as set forth in Robert's Rules of Order, a member of an appointed body must refrain from making official corrections to meeting minutes until asked by the Secretary, during a regularly scheduled meeting, if corrections to minutes from the past meeting need to be made. At that time, the member may propose his or her corrections and the body will vote, or by general consent determine, whether or not the corrections should be made. Once corrections are made, the presiding officer may deem the minutes "approved as corrected." Sincerely, Henry McMaster Attorney General

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By:

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

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Robert D. Cook
Deputy Attorney General

Leigha Blackwell
Assistant Attorney General