Legal Definitions - hostile amendment

A hostile amendment is a proposed change to a bill, motion, or other legal document that is introduced by an opponent with the intention of significantly altering its original purpose, undermining its effectiveness, or making it unacceptable to its original proponents. Unlike a friendly amendment that seeks to improve or clarify, a hostile amendment aims to defeat the original measure by changing its fundamental character or adding provisions that are contrary to its spirit.

Here are some examples illustrating a hostile amendment:

• Legislative Context: Imagine a national legislature is debating a bill designed to increase funding for public education, specifically targeting improvements in science and technology programs. A legislator from an opposing party, who believes the government should not increase spending on education, proposes an amendment. This amendment would redirect 90% of the proposed education funds to a tax cut for corporations, leaving only a minimal amount for the original educational initiatives.

  This illustrates a hostile amendment because it fundamentally alters the original bill's purpose from enhancing public education to providing corporate tax relief. The amendment is designed to make the bill unrecognizable to its original sponsors and effectively defeats its primary objective.

• Corporate Governance Context: A group of activist shareholders proposes a motion at a company's annual general meeting to adopt a new policy requiring the company to source 100% renewable energy for all its operations within five years. A rival group of shareholders, concerned about the immediate costs, proposes an amendment to the motion. Their amendment states that the company should instead conduct a ten-year study on the feasibility of renewable energy, with no commitment to implementation.

  This demonstrates a hostile amendment because it completely negates the original motion's intent to commit to renewable energy adoption. The amendment replaces a concrete action plan with a prolonged study, effectively delaying and potentially preventing the environmental initiative the original shareholders sought.

• Organizational Meeting Context: During a city council meeting, a council member introduces a motion to allocate a specific budget for the construction of a new community arts center. Another council member, who prefers to prioritize infrastructure projects, proposes an amendment to the motion. This amendment suggests that the entire budget earmarked for the arts center should instead be used for repairing potholes and upgrading city roads.

  This is an example of a hostile amendment because it completely reallocates the funds away from the proposed arts center, changing the core purpose of the original motion. The amendment is intended to defeat the arts center project by substituting it with a different, unrelated priority.