Parliamentary Procedure

WHAT IS PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE?

Parliamentary Procedure refers to the set of rules for conduct at meetings that allows everyone to be heard and to make decisions without confusion.

Today, Robert's Rules of Order newly revised (l970), is the basic handbook of operation for most clubs, organizations and other groups, including our Toastmasters Club. Robert's Rules of Order was written by General Henry M. Robert, a U.S. Army engineer, and published in 1876. His work is still regarded as the basic authority on the subject of parliamentary law.

PRINCIPLES OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

Every member of an organization should be familiar with the following simple rules and customs:

• All members have equal rights, privileges, and obligations; rules must be administered impartially.
• The minority has rights which must be protected.
• Full and free discussion of all motions, reports, and other items of business is a right of all members.
• In doing business the simplest and most direct procedure should be used.
• Logical precedence governs introduction and disposition of motions.
• Only one question can be considered at a time.
• Members may not make a motion or speak in debate until they have risen and been recognized by the chair and thus have obtained the floor.
• No one may speak more than twice on the same question on the same day without permission of the assembly. No member may speak a second time on the same question if anyone who has not spoken on that question wishes to do so.
• Members must not attack or question the motives of other members. Customarily, all remarks are addressed to the presiding officer.
• In voting, members have the right to know at all times what motion is before the assembly and what affirmative and negative votes mean. 

METHODS FOR SUCCESS

• Use the rules to accomplish the organizations goals, not obstruct them
• Use the rules to ensure that the will of the participants are correctly expressed
• Make sure each member is treated fairly
• Maintain order. Otherwise the rules are not going to help

Based on these principles and methods for success, it is clear that parliamentary procedure can be used to help a large group of people accomplish a large amount of work in as short a time as possible.

PLAYERS

Chairman

• The chairman ensures the rules of order are followed and members remain focused on the business at hand.
• The chairman acts as the focus of all discussion during the meeting.
• The chairman ensures that all members have equal opportunity to participate. The chairman may be a member of the group, but should refrain from taking sides in a discussion Impartiality is crucial

Secretary

• keeps track of the motions and records the ones that pass.
• The Secretary keeps a record of the progress of the meeting.
  This function is needed to keep track of the motions passed so that at future meetings, the members of the group can determinate past business transacted by the group.

Parliamentarian

• A Parliamentarian is someone knowledgeable in the art of parliamentary procedure.
• A Parliamentarian is there to assist the chairman. As such, they should not interfere but be ready to provide input when asked

Participant

• usually someone with voting rights. But others can participate, if invited.

Mover

• a participant with voting privileges who makes a motion.

Second

• another participant with voting privileges that agrees a motion has merit to be discussed. 

Terms used

PARLIAMENTARY TERMS

Standard Agenda

STANDARD AGENDA

If an organization's established rules do not specify an order of business, parliamentary law provides the following standard agenda for a meeting:

• Chairman checks for quorum,
• Chairman calls meeting to order
• Chairman asks secretary to read minutes of previously conducted meeting. MOM are approved.
• Reports from officers, boards and standing committees (those listed in bylaws) are read and discussed
• Reports from special committees are read and discussed (If any)
• Special orders are presented
• Unfinished business and general orders are discussed
• New business is proposed and discussed
• Meeting is adjourned

Chairman is responsible to keep business meeting flowing. Often, time constraints are palced on the business meeting. It is the responsibility of the Chairman to enforce time constraints. The key is to the best to deal with business in an orderly fashion. Remember to keep in mind the rights of all members, but keep the meeting flowing as smoothly as possible.

TRANSACTING BUSINESS AT A MEETING

Quorum:

• A quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present at a meeting for business to be legally transacted.(1/3rd for all District Executive and District Council Meetings) 
• An organization, in its established rules, may define its own quorum.
• In the absence of such a provision, the quorum is a majority of the entire membership.

Obtaining the Floor:

• Before a member in an assembly can make a motion or speak in debate, he or she must obtain the floor; that is, the member must be recognized by the chair as having the exclusive right to be heard at that time.
• If two or more members rise to seek recognition at the same time, the member who rose and addressed the chair first after the floor was yielded is usually entitled to be recognized. A member cannot establish "prior claim" to the floor by rising before it has been yielded.

Introducing Business (Making Motions):

• Business may be introduced by an individual member or by a committee.
• Business is always introduced in the form of a motion.

Seconding a Motion:

• After a motion has been made, another member, without rising and obtaining the floor, may second the motion.
• A second merely implies that the seconder agrees that the motion should come before the assembly and not that he or she necessarily favors the motion.
• A motion made by a committee requires no second, since its introduction into the assembly has been approved by a majority of the committee.
• The purpose of a second is to prevent time from being consumed by the assembly having to dispose of a motion that only one person wants to see introduced.

Placing a Motion Before the Assembly:

• After a motion has been made and seconded, the chair repeats the motion verbatim, thus placing it before the assembly for debate and action.
• During the brief interval between the making of a motion and the time when the chair places it before the assembly by restating it, the maker of a motion may modify or withdraw it simply by stating the intention to do so; after the motion has been restated by the chair, it is officially before the assembly and must be dealt with appropriately (e.g., adopted, rejected, postponed). '

Debate:

• Every member of the assembly has the right to speak on every debatable motion before it is finally acted upon; this right cannot be interfered with except by a motion to limit debate.
• All discussion must be confined to the immediately pending question and to whether or not it should be adopted.
• While debate is in progress, amendments or other secondary motions can be introduced and disposed of accordingly.
• In an organization that has no special rule relating to the length of speeches, a member can speak no longer than 10 minutes unless he or she obtains the consent of the assembly; such permission can be given by unanimous consent or by means of a motion to extend debate. Likewise, debate may be curtailed by a motion to limit debate.
• No member may speak twice on the same motion at the same meeting as long as any other member who has not spoken on the motion desires to do so.
• Unless the rules are suspended, a member who has spoken twice on a particular question on the same day has exhausted his or her right to debate that question for that day.
• During debate, no member can attack or question the motives of another member.
• The maker of a motion, although allowed to vote against it, is not allowed to speak against it.

Amendments:

• As noted above, before a motion has been restated by the chair, the maker has the right to modify his or her motion or to withdraw it entirely. After it has been restated by the chair, however, a motion may be modified only by means of an amendment.
• There are six ways to amend a motion: a. Add words, phrases, or sentences at the end of a motion; b. Insert words, phrases, or sentences; c. Strike words, phrases, or sentences; d. Strike and insert words, phrases, or sentences; e. Strike and add words, phrases, or sentences; and f. Substitute whole paragraphs or an entire text.
• Only two amendments (primary and secondary) may be pending on a main motion at any time.
• Discussion of an amendment must relate only to the amendment, unless the whole motion is involved by substitution.
• An amendment must be germane to the question under consideration.

Voting:

• Unless special rules apply, a majority decides. A majority is more than half of the votes cast by persons legally entitled to vote, excluding blank ballots or abstentions.
• Unless otherwise provided for, voting is by voice vote.
• If the presiding officer is a member of the assembly, he or she can vote as any other member does when the vote is by ballot. In other cases, the presiding officer, if a member of the assembly, can ( but is not obliged to ) vote whenever his or her vote will affect the result; i.e., he or she can vote either to break or to create a tie.
• A member has no right to explain his or her vote" during voting since that would be the same as debate at such a time.
• Any member may request a division of the assembly if there is uncertainty as to the true result of the vote.

Announcing a Vote:

• In announcing the vote on a motion, the chair should: a. report on the voting itself, stating which side has prevailed; 1~. declare that the motion is adopted or lost; and c. state the effect of the vote or order its execution.
• For a voice or rising vote in which no exact count is taken, the chair might say, for example, "The ayes have it, the motion carries, and the brochure will be published." For a vote in which an exact count is taken, the chair might say, "There are 14 in the affirmative and 15 in the negative. The negative has it and the motion is lost. No additional funds will be spent on publicity this semester."

Adjournment:

• A motion to adjourn may be made by any member. It may be made during the consideration of other business, although it may not interrupt a speaker.
• A motion to adjourn is not in order when the assembly is engaged in voting or verifying a vote.
• If the motion to adjourn is voted down, it may be made again only after the disposition of some business.
• The motion to adjourn is out of order when the assembly is arranging for the time and place of the next meeting.
• When it appears that there is no further business to be brought before the assembly, the chair, instead of waiting for a motion, may simply adjourn the meeting. 

Basic Motions

MAKING A MOTION

1. A member rises and addresses the Chairman (presiding officer).
2. The Chairman recognizes the member.
3. The member states the motion. (Make Your Motion in the affirmative. "I move that we ..." rather than, "I move that we do not ...")
4. The motion is seconded by another member "I second the motion."  (Wait for a Second. If there is no second to your motion it is lost)
5. The Chair restates the motion, (The motion has been made and seconded that ...." ) thus placing it before the assembly for consideration.
6. The assembly may discuss the motion if it is debatable and amend the motion if it is amendable or may move directly to a vote.
7. Expanding on the Motion - The mover is given first opportunity followed by second.(The time for you to speak in favor of your motion is at this point in time, rather than at the time you present it.)
8. Membership Debate - The membership is then able to speak for or against the motion or to make a subsidiary, privileged or incidental motion.
9. Chair ensures balanced discussion.
10. Chair conducts a vote by asking for all those in favor and all those opposed.
11. The presiding officer announces the result.

There are two incidental motions that are commonly used that relate to voting.

• Motion to Table - This motion is often used in the attempt to "kill" a motion.
• Motion to Postpone Indefinitely - This is often used as a means of parliamentary strategy and allows opponents of motion to test their strength without an actual vote being taken.

PURPOSE OF MOTIONS

Classes of Motion:

Several classes of motions can be a part of the business meeting of an organization: 

Main Motion: 

• Most common type of motion - the basis of all parliamentary procedure.  All business to be considered by an organization is introduced by a main motion.
• Places an item of business on the floor to be discussed.
• Requires a second
• Once restated by the chairman, the motion becomes the property of the assembly
• Is open to discussion
• Chair controls the discussion
• A simple majority vote is required to adopt the motion  

Main Motion – Example

• I move that the club spend up to $50 to procure a new lectern.
• I move that the all members who arrive late be fined $1.    

Subsidiary Motions 

• Motions that deal directly with the matter currently on the floor for discussion for the purpose of modifying it, delaying action on it, or entirely disposing of it.
• An amendment is one type of subsidiary motion.
• Others Include:
  
  • Refer
  • Postpone to a certain time
  • Limit Debate
  • Lay on the table
  • Take from the table 

Amendments

• An Amendment is the second most common motion used.
• Used to make changes to the motion to which it is being applied.
•  Common wording will add, delete or substitute words from the motion being amended
• Amendments must be germane to the motion
• Just like a motion it must be made, seconded, discussed and voted on before discussion of the item it interrupted can continue.
• Basic formats include:
  
  • to add words
  • to delete words
  • to substitute words
• Only two active amendments are allowed at any time.
• A simple majority vote is required to adopt the amendment 

Amendments – Examples 

• I move to amend the motion by adding the words “by the time of our next business meeting.”
• I move to amend the motion by deleting the word “red” that appears before “wagon”.
• I move to amend the motion by substituting the word “dragon” for “horse”.   

Incidental Motions 

• Motions are related to, or incidental to, the business being considered, but do not directly modify the pending motion.
• Includes:
  
  • Objection to consideration
  • Withdrawal of a motion
  • Suspend the rules
  • Appeal a decision of the chair  

Privileged Motions 

• Motions that do not relate to the motion on the floor, but deal with important procedural matters that must be dealt with immediately. These motions are related to members, the organization, and meeting procedure rather than the item of business being considered.
• Includes:
  
  • Fix time of next meeting
  • Adjourn the meeting
  • Question of Privilege
  • Orders of the day
  • Rise to Point of Order   

Bring-back Motions - these motions bring a question back before the organization. They are motions are a special type of main motion that permit the assembly to consider business that was previously disposed of.

Miscellanious Motions:

Call the Question – If debate seems at an end or nothing new is being added, any voting member may “call the question”. This motion ends debate and moves the process directly to a vote. No second is needed but any voting member may object to the call. An objection counters the call and debate continues as normal.

Point of Order – If parliamentary procedure is not being followed, any voting member may interrupt and present a correct parliamentary course of action.

PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS

Since only one question may be considered at a time, the sequence in which motions may be taken up is fixed by parliamentary law.

The main motion is the basic motion and all other legitimate motions are taken up and acted upon before the main motion is finally disposed of. Any privileged motions introduced are of such urgency or importance that they must be promptly acted upon. Subsidiary and incidental motions which are introduced must be given priority so that the action finally taken on the main motion will accurately reflect the will of the assembly.

Motions that bring a question again before the assembly are similar in status to main motions in that they can be considered only when no other business is pending.

Privileged and subsidiary motions have the highest status and are arranged in an explicit order of precedence. Privileged motions come first in the order of precedence and among themselves have the following ranking: (1) adjourn, (2) recess, (3) raise a question of privilege, and (4) call for the orders of the day. Subsidiary motions follow in the order of precedence and have the following ranking among themselves: (5) lay on the table, (6) previous question, (7) limit or extend debate, (8) postpone to a certain time, (9) refer to a committee, (l0) amend, and (11) postpone indefinitely.

Incidental motions are not ranked in the formal order of precedence. Since they arise out of--are "incidental" to--some other pending question, the incidental motions are decided as they arise. An incidental motion would be out of order, however, if it were not legitimately related to the business at hand.

Rules Governing the Motions

OTHER RULES GOVERNING THE CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS

Not all motions require recognition or a second. Not all motions are debatable or amendable. Some motions do not require a vote or permit reconsideration. The following table summaries the rules related to each of the types of motions defined in Part VII.

RULES GOVERNING THE CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS

       Note 1:   In order of precedence.
       Note 2:   Must be enforced on the demand of one member unless it is set aside by a two- 
                       thirds vote. 
       Note 3:   Only an affirmative vote may be reconsidered.
       Note 4:  The motion to reconsider is debatable only if the motion to be reconsidered is itself 
                      debatable. 
       Note 5:  Requires either a simple majority (with prior notice), or a two-thirds vote, or a majority 
                      of the entire membership. 
       Note 6:  Only a negative vote may be reconsidered.

TIPS ON PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

• Since the secretary is responsible for keeping accurate records of business transacted, the chair may require that main motions, amendments, or instructions to a committee be in writing.
• It is a general rule that no member should be present in the assembly when any matter relating to himself or herself is under consideration.
• A question cannot be postponed beyond the next regular meeting.
• Calls of "Question! Question!" by members from their seats are not motions for the previous question and are simply informal expressions of individual members' desires to proceed to a vote; these calls are disorderly if made while another member is speaking or seeking recognition.
• A question laid on the table remains there until taken from the table or until the close of the next regular meeting. If not taken up by that time, the question dies.
• Abstentions do not count in tallying the vote; when members abstain, they are in effect only attending the meeting to aid in constituting a quorum.
• Working as a committee of the whole enables the full assembly to give detailed consideration to a matter under conditions of freedom approximating those of an ad hoc committee. In such a committee, the results of votes taken are not final decisions of the assembly but are taken up by the assembly as committee recommendations. The proceedings of a committee of the whole are not entered in the minutes of the assembly.
• Motions are out of order that present essentially the same question as a motion already considered at the same meeting.
• All persons present at a meeting have an obligation to obey the legitimate orders of the presiding officer. Members, however, can appeal from the decision of the chair, move to suspend the rules, or move a reconsideration- depending on the circumstances of the chair's ruling. A member can make such an appeal or motion whether or not the order involved applies to him or her personally.

Elections

ELECTIONS

An organization's established rules normally set forth the date for elections, the method of nominating candidates, the procedure for voting, the votes required to elect, and the terms of office. In general, however, the following procedures are accepted:

• Nominations may be offered from the chair, from the floor, by a committee, or by write-in ballot. Even when a nominating committee is used, nominations may be made by members when the floor is open for further nominations.
• To offer a nomination, after the floor is open for such, a member obtains the floor and states, "I nominate  _____ for __________ ." The Chair then asks for further nominations. If there are none, nominations are closed and the vote is taken. Candidates are voted upon in the order in which they were nominated.
• Closing nominations - Nominations may be closed by the chair when it appears that no more nominations will be offered, or they may be closed by a two-thirds majority vote or by general consent. A motion to close nominations is in order only after a reasonable opportunity to make nominations has been given.
• Making nominations and holding elections - The motion to close nominations requires a second, is undebatable, and can be amended as to time only.  A majority vote is required to elect. After the Chair has asked for further nominations for an office and none are presented, a member may obtain the floor and state:
  Member: "I move that nominations cease."
  Member: "Mr. /Ms Chair, I second the motion."
  Chair: "It has been moved and seconded that nominations be closed. This motion is undebatable, amendable as to time only and requires a two-thirds vote. Are you ready for the question? Those supporting the motion that we close nominations, please rise. There being a two-thirds majority, the motion carried and nominations are closed." (Proceed to vote on the candidates in the same order they were nominated.)
• Re-opening nominations - The motion to re-open nominations requires a majority vote. A second is required. It is undebatable, can be amended as to time only, and only the negative vote can be reconsidered.
• Electing by acclamation - An error is sometimes made by offering a motion that "we close nominations and elect by acclamation." This is not correct, since it combines two motions requiring different votes into one motion. To close nominations requires a two-thirds vote, and to elect requires a majority vote. Nominations should first be closed either by vote or by general consent, then nominations voted upon.
• Voting is usually done by voice, by roll call, by ballot, or by "acclamation" (when only one candidate has been nominated).  

Compiled by TM Subha Anupindi