Committees & Volunteers

What a committee actually is

A committee is a small group the board creates to take on focused work, reviewing architectural applications, planning a social event, studying the budget, so the full board does not have to do everything itself. On its own, a committee has no power at all. Committee authority is described in Robert's Rules of Order as subordinate to the body that created it, with its duties defined by that body, which states plainly that "the subordinate body cannot modify any action taken by its superior." That rule only governs an association if its bylaws have actually adopted Robert's Rules or another parliamentary authority; many never do, and the real answer always starts with the bylaws themselves.

Robert's Rules also draws a line HOA practice repeats. A committee is either a standing committee, named in the bylaws to run indefinitely, or a special committee, formed for one task that dissolves once the work is reported back. See Standing vs ad-hoc committees. Layered on top of that is a second split: most committees are advisory, meaning they can only recommend, while a small number are decision-making committees the board has specifically handed its own authority to, an executive committee, or an architectural committee empowered to approve or deny applications on the board's behalf. See Advisory vs decision-making committees.

"Committees research and recommend. The board reviews and decides."

Source: How to Build Effective HOA Committees That Strengthen Your Community, Kuester Management Group

Where a committee's authority comes from

Every question about what a committee may do, who sits on it, and how it must operate has the same answer: check these layers, in order, and stop at the first one that speaks to your question.

1. Statute, when one applies to this specific point. Whether committee meetings must be open, when formal minutes become mandatory, and how election oversight works vary by state; California and Florida each set their own rules. See Committee meetings and Committee minutes.
2. The declaration or CC&Rs, which is usually where authority for a standing committee like an architectural review committee is granted. See Architectural committees.
3. The bylaws, which typically say who appoints committees and members, the board itself or an officer. See Selecting committee members.
4. A board resolution or committee charter, which sets a specific committee's mission, scope, membership, and reporting line where the bylaws leave room for the board to define it. See Committee charters.
5. A parliamentary authority, if the association has adopted one, which fills gaps in meeting procedure that nothing above already answers.

Nothing lower on this list can override something set above it: bylaws cannot contradict statute, and a charter cannot expand what the bylaws or declaration allow.

What most boards get wrong

An architectural committee cannot require whatever a member thinks looks good. Where a governing statute applies, its power is limited to what the declaration actually states or reasonably implies, and it must be applied the same way to every owner. See Architectural committees.

A committee's vote is not the end of the story. Under ordinary parliamentary practice, a committee's report has to be formally taken up by the body that created the committee before it means anything; a committee recommends, and unless the board delegated final authority, the board decides. See Committee recommendations.

And committee members are not automatically covered the way directors are. State liability statutes and the federal Volunteer Protection Act name specific categories of person and specific kinds of organization; whether an ordinary committee volunteer is covered depends on your state's statute and your association's insurance, not on the fact of volunteering. See Volunteer liability.