Chapter 62

Books and Records of a Lodge

REG. 62-1 MANDATORY BOOKS AND RECORDS.

Every lodge is required to procure and maintain a set of books of record and finance, a register of members and an account with each member, a visitor's book, and such other books as may be required by law, which shall include the following specific records. [59-16; 62-1.7].

1. A minute book to be kept by the Secretary in which shall be recorded all the transactions of the lodge. Everything done in a lodge which is proper to be written or promulgated officially shall be placed on record, and the record should show that the lodge action was in accordance with Masonic law and usage. [59-12].

A. The minutes of every communication, stated or emergent, shall be read, corrected if necessary, and approved by the lodge before it is closed, and when so approved, they cannot be altered, expurgated, erased, obliterated, or defaced. Should it appear that an error had been made in the record, a resolution explaining, repealing, rescinding, or correcting the same may be made at a subsequent stated communication by a vote of the lodge which shall be entered as a transaction of that communication, and a marginal notation shall be made on the previous minutes. The reading of the minutes at the next stated communication shall not be for approval, but to bring forward unfinished business and for the general information of the members present. [59-12.2].

B. The minutes of a communication of a lodge hosting a District Meeting may be approved only by the Grand Master, without the necessity of the minutes being read.

C. The minutes must be written in ink, typewriter, or on a computer and a marginal index may be used. They shall show the day of the month, the year, and the hour that the lodge was opened. [45-2.3, 45-3.3; 45-2.4; 62-2.6

]. (this subsection amended, effective 1/1/2010)

D. When a just and true minute of the proceedings of a lodge is recorded by the Secretary, no amendment, question, or act shall be entertained or allowed which tends to make it conform to a state of facts not existing.

E. No motion is necessary to approve the minutes. The Master asks if the minutes have been correctly recorded, and if they have been, they should be approved by the lodge without a motion.

F. Minutes shall be printed annually and kept in a proper record or minute book which may be a loose leaf binder system but not on loose and unbound sheets as memoranda, and must be signed officially by the Secretary but need not be signed by the Master. [62-2

]. (this subsection amended, effective 1/1/2010)

2. All the lodge books of records and accounts, old as well as new, shall be carefully preserved under lock and key by the Secretary as safely as possible from the hazards of fire, water, loss, or mutilation.

3. Proceedings of the Grand Lodge shall be preserved by lodges in suitable bookcases and under charge of the lodge Secretary who shall be responsible for their proper keeping. They may be loaned to members who shall return them to the lodge at or before the next succeeding stated communication.

4. A roll book in which shall be recorded, upon pages alphabetically arranged the full name of each member of the lodge, the place and date of his birth, the date of his initiation, passing, raising, and affiliation, the name, number, and location of the lodges of which those affiliated have been members, and the dates of expulsion, suspension, exclusion, demission, death, or restoration. A roster shall be printed and filed annually from MORI. (this section amended, effective 1/1/2010)

5. The Treasurer shall keep such books as are necessary to present clearly his accounts with the lodge.

6. Each lodge shall keep a record of the name of each member expelled or suspended for unmasonic conduct with the date of his expulsion or suspension. This record shall not be open to inspection by any person, except a member of the lodge, the Grand Master, the Judge Advocate, or the chairman of the Committee on Appeals of the Grand Lodge unless by order of the Grand Master.

7. A register shall be kept by the Tyler in which all visitors shall record their names and the names, numbers, and locations of their respective lodges, before entering the lodge. [59-16.1; Official Form 54].

8. The Secretary shall keep such account books as may be necessary to present clearly the account of each member with the lodge, the receipts by him, and his payments to the Treasurer, and he shall carefully preserve THE CODE and other laws of the Grand Lodge, which may from time to time be published, together with all the printed proceedings thereof as promulgated by its order.

9. Such other books and records shall be kept as may be prescribed by the lodge or the Grand Secretary.

REG. 62-2 SPECIFIC MATTERS.

The minutes of a lodge shall include the following. [59-12.1; 66-2].

1. The minutes shall include the report of a Committee of Investigation, the names in full of all applicants for affiliation, advancement, restoration, or demission, of all courtesy candidates, and of all petitioners for the degrees, of all members excluded, expelled, suspended, or restored, and of all candidates initiated, passed, or raised, and the dates any action is or was taken on any of the foregoing. [67-6].

2. The minutes shall include the names of officers, members, and visitors present.

3. The minutes shall include the special report of a Committee of Investigation when the petitioner or applicant is found to be physically, mentally, or jurisdictionally disqualified, or dead. [66-2; 67-4; 67-6].

4. The minutes shall not show the names of a Committee of Investigation, nor the details of its report, except as provided in Subdivision 3 of this regulation. The minutes shall not show the character of charges preferred against a brother, except as required by law. [67-4; 67-5; 67-6; 100-1].

5. The minutes of a lodge are to be used only for Masonic purposes and not to influence any tribunal other than Masonic. They shall be open to inspection by any member of the lodge, the District Deputy Grand Master, or the Grand Master or his representative, but not by a profane.

6. The minutes of a lodge shall show the day of the month, the year, and the hour the lodge is opened. [45-2.3, 45-3.3; 45-2.4; 62-1.1.C].