Friday, August 21, 2009

Restoration of a Member Previously Suspended for Nonpayment of Dues

How does a former member who was dropped for nonpayment of dues get reinstated as a member in good standing?

The general procedure for restoration is that the Brother completes a petition for restoration in his former lodge (Petition form for Affiliation, Dual Membership or Restoration, http://www.mn-masons.org/sites/mn-masons.org/files/Petition%20for%20Affiliation.pdf) and attaches his check for the current year’s dues and the total of the dues that caused him to be dropped for NPD. So if a man was dropped in 1980, he would probably owe two or three years from 1978-1980 and the current year’s dues. He does not need to pay for all intervening years while he was suspended. Then the petition follows the normal course, being read at one stated meeting for the first time and balloted on at a subsequent stated meeting. The decision as to whether or not to have the petition investigated is up to the lodge.
Should a Brother wish to be restored just so that he can affiliate with a different lodge than the one from which he was suspended, then the process can be simplified by the use of a certificate of nonaffiliation. The certificate of nonaffiliation can be obtained by the brother upon payment of the dues which caused him to be dropped from the lodge. Then with that certificate in hand, he is free to petition a new lodge for affiliation, just as any member currently in good standing would do.
Doug