THEIR PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
Knowledge of parliamentary law is, at some time or other, useful to
almost every member of an American community, yet few ever get more than
a confused and mistaken idea of its principles.
Absolute equality of rights and privileges among the members of an
assembly, the right to a full and free debate of every proposition
offered, the rule of the majority, and the limitation of consideration to
one thing at a time, are the cardinal principles upon which the rules of
order rest. To enforce them, a chairman or moderator must be chosen. He
always speaks of himself as “the chair.”
All the proceedings of an organized assembly, whatever its purpose or
composition, are founded upon the motion, which is really the form in
which action is proposed. Besides the main or principal motion, which is
the proposition in its original and simple form, there are subsidiary,
incidental, and privileged motions. They will be explained later.
A member who wishes to make a motion must rise in his place, and address
the chair—“Mr. Chairman” or “Mr. President,” as the case may be. He is
not to speak further until the chair has “recognized” him by pronouncing
his name.
Having been recognized, he proceeds to make his motion after this form:
“I move that this society attend in a body the Fourth of July exercises
at Riverside Park.”
In Congress, motions are not, as a rule, seconded; but in most voluntary
organizations, the chairman—except in matters of routine business—waits,
before stating the question, until some one says, “I second the motion.”
That, a member can do without rising. If no one offers to second the
motion, the chairman need not state the motion at all, and often refuses
to do so.
As soon as a motion has been seconded, however, the presiding officer
repeats it verbatim, as it was made. If the motion is long and
complicated, he may call for it in writing; and it is always a good plan
for one who intends to propose a motion of importance to write it out
before he rises to offer it.
Until a motion has been seconded, the maker may withdraw it. Until it
has been stated by the chair, he may withdraw it with the consent of
the seconder; but after it has been stated, it can be withdrawn only by
formal vote of the meeting.
The question having been stated, the chairman goes on to say, “Are you
ready for the question?” That opens the floor to debate. If no one offers
to speak, the chairman calls for the vote:
“All in favor of the motion will say, ‘Aye,’ all opposed, ‘No.’ The ayes”
(or noes) “have it, and the motion is carried” (or is lost, as the case
may be).
In case of doubt, the chair may order the ayes and noes to rise in turn,
and remain standing until they are counted. And if any member does not
agree with the chair’s decision of the vote by voice, he may “doubt” it.
Then a rising vote must be taken.
In most cases, however, there will be debate. The chairman will then
recognize the first member to rise, who may speak as long as the rules
of the particular body permit. The maker of a motion has, by custom, the
first opportunity to speak to it, if he wishes to do so, and usually,
also, the right to close the debate with another speech.
While a member is speaking, no other member is allowed to stand, unless
the speaker, on being appealed to, permits an interruption for the
purpose of asking a question or making a correction. But a speaker who is
using discourteous or improper language may be “called to order,” as will
be explained later.
A member has no right to remain standing while another is speaking, with
the idea of preëmpting the next recognition from the chairman; the chair
should not recognize a member unless he rose after the preceding speaker
had finished. When a member has once spoken to a motion, he has no right
to take the floor again, as long as any other member wishes to be heard,
except to make one of the subsidiary, incidental, or privileged motions
above referred to.
Those motions all supersede the consideration of the main motion. When
a subsidiary motion is made, the main motion is laid aside until the
subsidiary has been acted upon. When one of the incidental motions is
made, the main motion or any subsidiary motions must be laid aside until
the incidental motion is disposed of. The privileged motions displace
any of the others from consideration. _Only one thing at a time_ may be
before the “house.”
A. The SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS, all concerned with perfecting or advancing the
disposition of a main motion, are these:
(=a=) =Amendment.=—Any main motion is open to amendment, and any
amendment is open to further amendment. The amendment may be by adding
words or phrases, by eliminating words or phrases, or by the substitution
of certain words for some in the original motion. Any number of
amendments may be offered; only one at a time can be considered. When an
amendment to an amendment is offered, it displaces the amendment from
consideration, just as the first amendment displaced the original motion.
An amendment ought not to be offered in a negative form; it is a good
plan, when that is done, to amend it at once to a positive form, so
that there shall be no misunderstanding when it comes to a vote. It is
confusing when the vote “Aye” means not to do a certain thing, and the
vote “No” means to do it.
The amendment must also conform to the subject-matter of the main
motion. The chairman must rule “out of order” an amendment that tries to
introduce an entirely different subject. The question on an amendment is
put just as it is on a main motion, but the chairman should be careful to
repeat the whole motion, _with the proposed amendment_, so that all may
understand what they are voting on.
(=b=) =Indefinite Postponement.=—At any time when the main motion
alone is before the assembly, a motion to postpone its consideration
indefinitely is in order. This motion is open to debate, and if carried,
makes any further discussion of the main motion impossible at that
session; and at a later session it can be brought in only as “new
business,” as if it had never been proposed before.
(=c=) =To Commit.=—At any time when a motion or an amendment is under
discussion, a motion to refer to a committee may be made. In most
legislative bodies this is the immediate fate of almost every motion of
importance; in clubs and similar organizations, matters that require
investigation and special information are properly referred to a
committee. The motion is debatable and open to amendment—usually as to
the number of the committee, or the time when a report shall be made.
If the reference is to a special, and not a “standing” committee, the
chairman, when the choice is left to him, often appoints the member who
proposed the reference, chairman, although he need not do so unless he
chooses.
When a committee has prepared and presented its report, the
chairman moves its adoption—if it makes any specific proposition or
recommendation. Reports which merely state facts or “report progress” are
“accepted,” not “adopted.” A committee, after making its final report,
is _ipso facto_ discharged. But a formal motion to discharge a committee
may be made and entertained at its own request, or in case of a partial
report or unsatisfactory performance of its duties.
Sometimes committees disagree, and majority and minority reports are
presented. In such a case the first motion to be made is usually for the
adoption of the majority report. Then an amendment to substitute for
it the minority report often follows, and after debate, the vote comes
on the question of substitution. If that fails, the vote recurs on the
adoption of the majority report.
(=d=) =Postponement.=—A motion to postpone consideration to a definite
time is in order while any of the motions already described are under
discussion. It is debatable, but the chairman should not let the debate
extend beyond the proper time of postponement. If carried, the main
motion cannot again be considered before the specified time, except
by a two-thirds vote. But when that time has arrived, if a certain
hour was named, the postponed motion takes precedence of any other
business, except the privileged questions later to be described. If
the postponement was to a certain day only, the motion comes up when
“unfinished business” is reached.
Any of the motions already named will yield to a motion for
(=e=) =The Previous Question.=—That, if carried, closes all debate,
and puts the matter at once to a vote. It is in order only when there
has been a fair amount of discussion. It is not itself debatable, and
requires a two-thirds vote to pass. If amendments are pending when the
previous question is ordered, they must be voted on one after another;
then the main motion must be put, without further debate. But a member
may, if he please, move the previous question on an amendment only—in
which case the main motion will still be open to debate.
Finally, a motion
(=f=) =To Lay on the Table= takes precedence of any of the other motions
enumerated. It is not debatable. Its effect is to postpone action on
a motion, but it permits the reintroduction of the motion at any time
during that or the next following session. Its proper use is to lay
aside a motion until further information can be obtained, or until a
more favorable time for its consideration; but since the enemies of a
motion, if they are strong enough to lay a motion on the table, are often
strong enough to prevent its being taken from the table, this motion
often serves to suppress a question without actually voting it down. A
motion to take a motion from the table is in order at any time when other
business is not before the house, during the same or the next following
session.
B. The INCIDENTAL MOTIONS are seven in number, and are of equal
parliamentary standing. That is to say, any of them may be introduced
while the main or a subsidiary motion is pending, but no one of them
takes precedence over any other; no second incidental motion may be
offered while one is under consideration. All of them, save only the
appeal from the decision of the chair, are peremptory motions, and not
debatable. They are as follows:
(=a=) =Suspension of the Rules.=—This is a motion to suspend the
operation of the rules of order that the particular body has adopted,
in order to permit the consideration of some pressing matter out of its
usual place. By-laws may not thus be suspended, and the rules of order
may be suspended only by a two-thirds vote. Nor can the motion, if voted
down, be renewed while the same question is under consideration; the
chairman must rule it “out of order” if the attempt is made. The motion
should be made in this form: “Mr. Chairman, I move the suspension of the
rules for the consideration of the question—” which should then be stated
in full.
(=b=) =Withdrawing a Motion.=—When a motion is fairly before the house,
the mover may withdraw it only by rising and moving its withdrawal. No
one but the maker of the original motion can move to withdraw. There can
be no debate, and a majority vote permits the withdrawal.
(=c=) =Dividing a Motion.=—If a motion contains two or more distinct
propositions, it is sometimes convenient to divide it, and vote
separately on each proposition, especially if one seems likely to
encounter more opposition than the others. The motion is not debatable.
(=d=) =To Read Papers.=—This is a motion to have the pending motion read
again for the information and guidance of members, or to have other
material read which seems likely to help in the intelligent consideration
of the question. When such a motion is made, the chairman usually says,
“If there is no objection, the paper” (or the motion) “will be read.” If
any one objects, the motion must be put to vote. A majority vote carries
it.
(=e=) =Objection to Consideration.=—Sometimes silly or needless motions
are made, or motions which are likely to stir up ill feeling. Objection
to the consideration of such business may be made by any member as soon
as the motion has been stated by the chair. No second is needed, no
debate is allowed, and a two-thirds vote is required. The proceeding is
often a useful one, but it requires quick wit to employ it; for as soon
as debate has actually begun, the objection is out of order. In such a
case the indefinite postponement already described is the best way of
suppressing the troublesome motion.
It should be noted that when the objection is put to vote, all those who
are in _favor of considering the question_ are asked to vote “Aye”; those
who oppose its consideration and sustain the objection are asked to vote
“No.”
(=f=) =Points of Order.=—The chairman is, of course, in constant charge
of the meeting, enforcing the rules of order and the principles of
parliamentary law, and calling to order members whose language is unduly
violent or discourteous. If he fails to perform any of these duties,
it is proper for a member to “rise to a point of order,” and call the
chair’s attention to the infraction of the rules.
Thus if a member moves to commit a motion while the assembly is debating
on the proposal to postpone it to a definite time, a member may say:
“Mr. Chairman, I rise to a point of order.”
The Chair: “State your point.”
“The motion to refer to a committee is not in order until the motion to
postpone has been voted on.”
“The point is well taken; the motion to refer to a committee is out of
order.”
Or the chair may decide the point “not well taken.” In that case, the
member who made it may, if he please:
(=g=) =Appeal.=—The appeal requires a second, and when made, is sometimes
open to debate. The question is put in the form:
“Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?” The ayes, therefore, vote
for the chair, and the noes in favor of the appeal. A tie vote sustains
the chair.
When an appeal has been sustained, the chair must act in accordance with
it, even though he knows he is violating the rules in doing so. He is the
servant of the house, and must take his instructions from it.
A member may also object to the language used by another member, and call
him to order. A member thus called to order must at once take his seat
until the chair has ruled on the point. If the decision is against him,
he may resume speaking only after offering an apology, and the assembly
may, if it please, deny him the right to speak further.
C. The PRIVILEGED QUESTIONS are few in number, but they displace all the
motions already described, and also have certain relative values among
themselves.
(=a=) =Orders of the Day.=—A society sometimes fixes a certain order of
business to be carried out at a particular time at each meeting; this
is the general order. When, at a previous meeting, a question has been
postponed to a particular hour of a succeeding meeting, that question
becomes a special order for that day.
When the proper time arrives, the chair may call the attention of the
meeting to the fact, or a member may rise and “call for the order of the
day.” Whatever business is pending must at once be suspended. Once before
the meeting, the question may be again postponed if the house so votes,
in which case the suspended business is resumed. Otherwise the order
passes to a decision in the regular way. The order of the day must be
called for at the proper time; if forgotten or neglected then, it loses
its privilege, and can be taken up only as unfinished business later.
When it is called for, the meeting may vote not to take it up. That means
that it prefers to dispose first of the business already before it. But
as soon as that is done with, the order of the day _must_ be taken up
next.
(=b=) =Questions of Privilege.=—These are matters affecting the rights,
dignity, or reputation of individual members or of the whole assembly,
and any business may be interrupted to state them. A member who feels
that his right to debate is infringed by the chair or by other members,
who feels that his character is assailed or his views misrepresented,
may “rise to a question of privilege.” Also unsatisfactory conditions of
light or ventilation, unseemly behavior of members or visitors, charges
against the official conduct of officers of the body, and so forth, are
suitable matters for questions of privilege. The chair need not entertain
the question if he thinks it of insufficient importance, but his decision
is subject to appeal. If the question is put as a motion, it is like any
motion subject to amendment, commitment, postponement, and so forth. All
such questions are debatable.
(=c=) =Recess.=—The motion to take a recess outranks all motions already
enumerated. It cannot be amended or debated.
(=d=) =Adjournment.=—A motion to adjourn outranks all others, and may
be made at any time except while a member is speaking, while voting is
going on, or while the chair is stating a question. It is not debatable,
and may be renewed if lost. But if repeated motions to adjourn are made
simply to obstruct business, the chair may finally refuse to entertain
them. A special form of this motion of still greater privilege is that
fixing the time and place of adjournment.
When adjournment has been carried in a body that is meeting in continuous
session, day after day, the business left unfinished comes up at once on
reassembling, unless displaced by the order of the day. When a body has
only a weekly or a monthly meeting, such business would be considered
when unfinished business was reached in the regular order.
D. There are a few other motions which do not fall under any of the heads
named. For example:
(a) A motion may be made to limit the length of time which each speaker
may occupy, or which the entire debate may occupy, or to extend the time
already decided upon, or to fix the hour when the debate shall close and
a vote be taken. These are undebatable, but may be amended, and require a
two-thirds vote to pass.
(b) After a motion has been adopted or defeated, a motion to “reconsider”
is in order, either during that meeting or the next one. _It must be
made by one who voted on the prevailing side_, whether affirmative or
negative. If it is carried, the question is again before the house for
debate and amendment, just as it stood when the vote passing or defeating
it was taken. The motion to reconsider is in order at any time, even
while other business is under consideration. When so made, however, the
fact is entered on the minutes, and the motion waits until the pending
business is disposed of.
(c) When the time has expired during which reconsideration may be moved,
a motion to rescind action already taken may be made. This may be made
when no other matter is pending, and is fully debatable.
(d) Although it is a general rule that a motion once voted down can be
taken up only through a motion to reconsider, most motions, except main
motions and amendments, may be renewed if the status of the business
before the house has been changed in the meantime. For example, a motion
to lay a question on the table is made and voted down. Then a motion to
postpone it to a certain time is made. The motion to lay on the table
may now be renewed, although it could not be renewed after the motion
to postpone was defeated, since in that case the status of the question
would again be what it was when the first motion to lay on the table was
defeated.
(e) Parliamentary inquiries are allowable at any time, when a member is
not speaking. They are questions addressed to the chair concerning the
propriety of motions that the questioner wishes to offer if they would be
in order, the meaning of rules or decisions, and the like.
=Order of Business.=—This may well be different for different bodies, but
the following is a useful form:
Meeting called to order.
Minutes of last meeting read and approved.
Communications from other bodies or persons.
Reports of any officers which are due.
Reports from standing or special committees.
Unfinished business.
New business.
Literary or other programme, if any.
Adjournment.