Committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly or organization sends matters to a committee as a way to explore them more fully than would be possible if the whole assembly or organization were considering them. Committees may have different functions and their types of work differ depending on the type of organization and its needs.
A member of a legislature may be delegated a committee assignment, which gives them the right to serve on a certain committee.
Purpose
A deliberative assembly or other organization may form a committee consisting of one or more persons to assist with the work of the assembly. For larger organizations, much work is done in committees. They can be a way to formally draw together people of relevant expertise from different parts of an organization who otherwise would not have a good way to share information and coordinate actions. They may have the advantage of widening viewpoints and sharing out responsibilities. They can also be appointed with experts to recommend actions in matters that require specialized knowledge or technical judgment.Functions
Committees can serve several different functions:;Governance: In organizations considered too large for all the members to participate in decisions affecting the organization as a whole, a smaller body, such as a board of directors, is given the power to make decisions, spend money, or take actions. A governance committee is formed as a separate committee to review the performance of the board and board policy as well as nominate candidates for the board.
; Coordination and administration: A large body may have smaller committees with more specialized functions. Examples are an audit committee, an elections committee, a finance committee, a fundraising committee, and a program committee. Large conventions or academic conferences are usually organized by a coordinating committee drawn from the membership of the organization.
; Research and recommendations: Committees may be formed to do research and make recommendations on a potential or planned project or change. For example, an organization considering a major capital investment might create a temporary working committee of several people to review options and make recommendations to upper management or the board of directors.
;Discipline:A committee on discipline may be used to handle disciplinary procedures for members of the organization.
;As a tactic for indecision: As a means of public relations by sending sensitive, inconvenient, or irrelevant matters to committees, organizations may bypass, stall, or disacknowledge matters without declaring a formal policy of inaction or indifference. However, this could be considered a dilatory tactic.
Power and authority
Generally, committees are required to report to their parent body. They do not usually have the power to act independently unless the body that created it gives it such power. Electoral accountability can affect committee activity.Formal procedures
When a committee is formed in a formal situation, such as committees in legislatures or for corporate bodies with by-laws, a chairman is designated for the committee. Sometimes a vice-chairman is also appointed. It is common for the committee chairman to organize its meetings. Sometimes these meetings are held through videoconferencing or other means if committee members are not able to attend in person, as may be the case if they are in different parts of the country or the world.The chairman is responsible for running meetings. Duties include keeping the discussion on the appropriate subject, recognizing members to speak, and confirming what the committee has decided. Using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, committees may follow informal procedures. The level of formality depends on the size and type of committee, in which sometimes larger committees considering crucial issues may require more formal processes.
Minutes are a record of the decisions at meetings. They can be taken by a person designated as the secretary. For most organizations, committees are not required to keep formal minutes. However, some bodies require that committees take minutes, especially if the committees are public ones subject to open meeting laws.
Committees may meet on a regular basis, such as weekly or more often, or meetings may be called irregularly as the need arises. The frequency of the meetings depends on the work of the committee and the needs of the parent body.
When the committee completes its work, it provides the results in a report to its parent body. The report may include the methods used, the facts uncovered, the conclusions reached, and any recommendations. If the committee is not ready to report, it may provide a partial report or the assembly may discharge the committee of the matter so that the assembly can handle it. Also, if members of the committee are not performing their duties, they may be removed or replaced by the appointing power. Whether the committee continues to exist after presenting its report depends on the type of committee. Generally, committees established by the bylaws or the organization's rules continue to exist, while committees formed for a particular purpose go out of existence after the final report.
Commit (motion)
In parliamentary procedure, the motion to commit is used to refer another motion—usually a main motion—to a committee.A motion to commit should specify to which committee the matter is to be referred, and if the committee is a special committee appointed specifically for purposes of the referred motion, it should also specify the number of committee members and the method of their selection, unless that is specified in the bylaws.
Any proposed amendments to the main motion that are pending at the time the motion is referred to a committee go to the committee as well.
Once referred, but before the committee reports its recommendations back to the assembly, the referred motion may be removed from the committee's consideration by the motion to discharge a committee.
Recommit
In the United States House of Representatives, a motion to recommit can be made with or without instructions. If the motion is made without instructions, the bill or resolution is simply sent back to the committee. If the motion is made with instructions and the motion is agreed to, the chairman of the committee in question will immediately report the bill or resolution back to the whole House with the new language. In this sense, a motion to recommit with instructions is effectively an amendment.Variations for full assembly consideration
In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the motion to commit has three variations which do not turn a question over to a smaller group, but simply permit the assembly's full meeting body to consider it with the greater freedom of debate that is allowed to committees. These forms are to go into a committee of the whole, to go into a quasi-committee of the whole, and to consider informally. Passing any of these motions removes the limitations on the number of times a member can speak. The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure has informal consideration, but does not have "committee of the whole" or "quasi committee of the whole".Discharge a committee
In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the motion to discharge a committee is used to take a matter out of a committee's hands before the committee has made a final report on it. A committee can use this motion to discharge a subcommittee.The vote required is a majority vote, if the committee has failed to report at the prescribed time or if the assembly is considering a partial report of the committee. Otherwise, it requires a majority vote with previous notice; a two-thirds vote; or a majority of the entire membership.
Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, the assembly that has referred a motion or a matter to a committee may, by a majority vote, withdraw it at any time from the committee, refer it to another committee, or decide the question itself.
Types
Executive committee
Organizations with a large board of directors may have a smaller body of the board, called an executive committee, to handle its business. The executive committee may function more like a board than an actual committee. In any case, an executive committee can only be established through a specific provision in the charter or bylaws of the entity. Members of the executive committee may be elected by the overall franchised membership or by the board, depending on the rules of the organization, and usually consist of the CEO and the Vice Presidents in charge of respective directorates within the organization. However formed, an executive committee only has such powers and authority that the governing documents of the organization give it. In some cases, it may be empowered to act on behalf of the board or organization, while in others, it may only be able to make recommendations.Conference committee
Governments at the national level may have a conference committee. A conference committee in a bicameral legislature is responsible for creating a compromise version of a particular bill when each house has passed a different version.A conference committee in the United States Congress is a temporary panel of negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate. Unless one chamber decides to accept the other's original bill, the compromise version must pass both chambers after leaving the conference committee. This committee is usually composed of the senior members of the standing committees that originally considered the legislation in each chamber.
Other countries that use conference committees include France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. In Canada, conference committees have been unused since 1947. In the European Union legislative process, a similar committee is called a 'Conciliation Committee', which carries out the Trilogue negotiations in case the Council does not agree with a text amended and adopted by the European Parliament at a second reading. Although the practice has fallen out of favour in other Australian Parliaments, the Parliament of South Australia still regularly appoints a "Conference of Managers" from each House to negotiate compromises on disputed bills in private.