§ 8.20 Meetings.
§ 8.21 Action without meeting.
§ 8.22 Call and notice of meeting.
§ 8.23 Waiver of notice.
§ 8.24 Quorum and voting.
§ 8.25 Board and advisory committees.
§ 8.20. MEETINGS
(a) The board of directors may hold regular or special meetings in or out of this state.
(b) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, the board of directors may permit any or all directors to participate in a regular or special meeting by, or conduct the meeting through the use of, any means of communication by which all directors participating may simultaneously hear each other during the meeting. A director participating in a meeting by this means is considered to be present in person at the meeting.
§ 8.21. ACTION WITHOUT MEETING
(a) Except to the extent that the articles of incorporation or bylaws require that action by the board of directors be taken at a meeting, action required or permitted by this [act] to be taken by the board of directors may be taken without a meeting if each director signs a consent in the form of a record describing the action to be taken and delivers it to the nonprofit corporation.
(b) Action taken under this section is the act of the board of directors when one or more consents signed by all the directors are delivered to the nonprofit corporation. The consent may specify the time at which the action taken in the consent is to be effective.
A director’s consent may be withdrawn by a revocation in the form of a record signed by the director and delivered to the corporation prior to delivery to the corporation of unrevoked consents signed by all the directors.
(c) A consent signed under this section has the effect of action taken at a meeting of the board of directors and may be described as such in any document.
§ 8.22. CALL AND NOTICE OF MEETING
(a) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, regular meetings of the board of directors may be held without notice of the date, time, place, or purpose of the meeting.
(b) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide for a longer or shorter period, special meetings of the board of directors must be preceded by at least two days’ notice of the date, time, and place of the meeting. The notice need not describe the purpose of the special meeting unless required by the articles of incorporation or bylaws.
(c) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, the chair of the board, the highest ranking officer of the corporation, or 20% of the directors then in office may call and give notice of a meeting of the board of directors.
(d) The articles of incorporation or bylaws may authorize oral notice of meetings of the board of directors.
§ 8.23. WAIVER OF NOTICE
(a) A director may waive any notice required by this [act], the articles of incorporation, or the bylaws before or after the date and time stated in the notice. Except as provided by subsection (b), the waiver must be in the form of a record, signed by the director entitled to the notice, and filed with the minutes or corporate records.
(b) A director’s attendance at or participation in a meeting waives any required notice to the director of the meeting, unless the director at the beginning of the meeting (or promptly upon arrival) objects to holding the meeting or transacting business at the meeting and does not thereafter vote for or assent to action taken at the meeting.
§ 8.24. QUORUM AND VOTING
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the articles of incorporation, or the bylaws, a quorum of the board of directors consists of a majority of the directors in office before a meeting begins.
(b) The articles of incorporation or bylaws may authorize a quorum of the board of directors to consist of no fewer than the greater of one-third of the number of directors in office or two directors.
(c) If a quorum is present when a vote is taken, the affirmative vote of a majority of directors present is the act of the board of directors unless a greater vote is required by the articles of incorporation or bylaws.
(d) A director who is present at a meeting of the board of directors when corporate action is taken is considered to have assented to the action taken unless one of the following
applies:
(1) The director objects at the beginning of the meeting (or promptly upon arrival) to holding it or transacting business at the meeting.
(2) The director dissents or abstains from the action and:
(i) the dissent or abstention is entered in the minutes of the meeting; or
(ii) the director delivers notice in the form of a record of the director’s dissent or abstention to the presiding officer of the meeting before its adjournment or to the corporation promptly after adjournment of the meeting.
(e) The right of dissent or abstention is not available to a director who votes in favor of the action taken.
§ 8.25. BOARD AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES
(a) Unless this [act], the articles of incorporation, or the bylaws provide otherwise, a board of directors may create one or more committees of the board that consist of one or more directors.
(b) Unless this [act] otherwise provides, the creation of a committee and appointment of directors to it must be approved by the greater of:
(1) a majority of all the directors in office when the action is taken; or
(2) the number of directors required by the articles of incorporation or bylaws to take action under Section 8.24.
(c) Sections 8.20 through 8.24 apply both to committees of the board and to their members.
(d) To the extent specified by the board of directors or in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, each committee may exercise the powers of the board of directors under Section 8.01 except as limited by subsection (e).
(e) A committee may not, however:
(1) authorize distributions;
(2) in the case of a membership corporation, approve or propose to members action that this [act] requires be approved by members;
(3) fill vacancies on the board of directors or, subject to subsection (g), on any of its committees; or
(4) adopt, amend, or repeal bylaws.
(f) The creation of, delegation of authority to, or action by a committee does not alone constitute compliance by a director with the standards of conduct described in Section 8.30.
(g) The board of directors may appoint one or more directors as alternate members of any committee to replace any absent or disqualified member during the member’s absence or disqualification.
(h) A nonprofit corporation may create or authorize the creation of one or more advisory committees whose members need not be directors. An advisory committee:
(1) is not a committee of the board; and
(2) may not exercise any of the powers of the board.
[Subchapter] C DIRECTORS
§ 8.30 Standards of conduct for directors.
§ 8.31 Standards of liability for directors.
§ 8.32 Loans to or guarantees for directors and officers. [Optional]
§ 8.33 Directors’ liability for unlawful distributions.
§ 8.30. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR DIRECTORS
(a) Each member of the board of directors, when discharging the duties of a director, shall act:
(1) in good faith, and
(2) in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the nonprofit corporation.
(b) The members of the board of directors or a committee of the board, when becoming informed in connection with their decision-making function or devoting attention to their oversight function, must discharge their duties with the care that a person in a like
position would reasonably believe appropriate under similar circumstances.
(c) In discharging board or committee duties a director must disclose, or cause to be disclosed, to the other board or committee members information not already known by them but known by the director to be material to the discharge of their decision-making or oversight functions, except that disclosure is not required to the extent that the director reasonably believes that doing so would violate a duty imposed by law, a legally
enforceable obligation of confidentiality, or a professional ethics rule.
(d) In discharging board or committee duties a director who does not have knowledge that makes reliance unwarranted may rely on the performance by any of the persons specified in subsection (f)(1), (3), or (4) to whom the board may have delegated, formally or informally by course of conduct, the authority or duty to perform one or more of the board’s functions that are delegable under applicable law.
(e) In discharging board or committee duties, a director who does not have knowledge that makes reliance unwarranted may rely on information, opinions, reports, or statements, including financial statements and other financial data, prepared or presented by any of the persons specified in subsection (f).
(f) A director may rely, in accordance with subsection (d) or (e), on:
(1) one or more officers, employees, or volunteers of the nonprofit corporation whom the director reasonably believes to be reliable and competent in the functions performed or the information, opinions, reports, or statements provided;
(2) legal counsel, public accountants, or other persons retained by the corporation as to matters involving skills or expertise the director reasonably believes are matters:
(i) within the particular person’s professional or expert competence, or (ii) as to which the particular person merits confidence;
(3) a committee of the board of directors of which the director is not a member if the director reasonably believes the committee merits confidence; or
(4) in the case of a corporation engaged in religious activity, religious authorities and ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, or other persons whose positions or duties the director reasonably believes justify reliance and confidence and whom the director believes to be reliable and competent in the matters presented.
(g) A director is not a trustee with respect to the nonprofit corporation or with respect to any property held or administered by the corporation, including property that may be subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or transferor of the property.