Read Ebook: Robert's Rules of Order Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies by Robert Henry M Henry Martyn

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Exceptions: If the Previous Question is carried while a motion to Postpone is pending, its effect is only to bring the assembly to a vote on that motion; if it is voted not to postpone, the subject is again open for debate. So if an Appeal or a motion to Reconsider is pending when the Previous Question is ordered, it applies only to them and is exhausted by the vote on them.

An affirmative vote on the motion to Commit exhausts the Previous Question, and if the vote is reconsidered, it is divested of the Previous Question.

The Form of this motion is "to refer the subject to a committee." When different committees are proposed they should he voted in the following order: Committee the whole , a standing committee, and a special committee. The number of a committee is usually decided without the formality of a motion, as in filling blanks : the Chairman asks "of how many shall the committee consist?" and a question is then put upon each number suggested, beginning with the largest. The number and kind of the committee need not be decided till after it has been voted to refer the subject to a committee. If the committee is a select one, and the motion does not include the method of appointing it, and there is no standing rule on the subject, the Chairman inquires how the committee shall be appointed, and this is usually decided informally. Sometimes the Chair "appoints," in which case he names the members of the committee and no vote is taken upon them; or the committee is "nominated" either by the Chair or members of the assembly , and then they are all voted upon together, except where more nominations are made than the number of the committee, when they shall be voted upon singly.

Where a committee is one for action , it should generally be small, and no one placed upon it who is not favorable to the proposed action; and if any such should be appointed he should ask to be excused. But when the committee is for deliberation or investigation, it is of the utmost importance that all parties be represented on it, so that in committee the fullest discussion may take place, and thus diminish the chances of unpleasant debates in the assembly.

In ordinary assemblies, by judicious appointment of committees, debates upon delicate and troublesome questions can be mostly confined to the committees, which will contain the representative members of all parties.

An Amendment may be in any of the following forms: to "add or insert" certain words or paragraphs; to "strike out" certain words or paragraphs, the question, however, being stated by the Chair thus: "Shall these words stand as a part of the resolution?" and if this is adopted it does not preclude either amendment or a motion to "strike out and insert;" "to strike certain words and insert others," which motion is indivisible, and if lost does not preclude another motion to strike out the same words and insert different ones; to "substitute" another motion on the same subject for the one pending; to "divide the question" into two or more questions, as the mover specifies, so as to get a separate vote on any particular point or points .

If a paragraph is inserted it should be perfected by its friends previous to voting on it, as when once inserted it cannot be struck out or amended except by adding to it. The same is true in regard to words to be inserted in a resolution, as when once inserted they cannot be struck out, except by a motion to strike out the paragraph, or such a portion of it as shall make the question an entirely different one from that of inserting the particular words. The principle involved is that when the assembly has voted that certain words shall form a part of a resolution, it is not in order to make another motion which involves exactly the same question as the one they have decided. The only way to bring it up again is to move a Reconsideration of the vote by which the words were inserted.

In stating the question on an Amendment the Chairman should read the passage to be amended; the words to be struck out, if any; the words to be inserted, if any; and the whole passage as it will stand if the amendment is adopted.

The numbers prefixed to paragraphs are only marginal indications, and should be corrected, if necessary, by the clerk, without any motion to amend.

The following motions cannot be amended:

To Adjourn ............................ See ? 11. For the Orders of the Day ................................ " ? 12. All Incidental Questions ................................. " ? 8. To Lie on the Table ...................................... " ? 19. For the Previous Question ................................ " ? 20. An Amendment of an Amendment ............................. " ? 23. To Postpone Indefinitely ................................. " ? 24. Reconsider ............................................... " ? 27.

An Amendment to Rules of Order, By-Laws or a Constitution shall require previous notice and a two-thirds vote for its adoption .

The Previous Question , if ordered when this motion is pending, applies only to it without affecting the main question.

Miscellaneous Motions.

Nominations are treated in a similar manner, so that the second nomination, instead of being an amendment to the first, is an independent motion, which, if the first fails, is to be immediately voted upon. Any number of nominations can be made, the Chairman announcing each name as he hears it, and they should be voted upon in the order announced, until one receives a vote sufficient for an election.

To illustrate: a motion that a question lie on the table having failed, suppose afterwards it be moved to refer the matter to a committee, it is now in order to move again that the subject lie on the table; but such a motion would not be in order, if it were not made till after the failure of the motion to commit, as the question then resumes its previous condition.

When a subject has been referred to a committee which reports at the same meeting, the matter stands before the assembly as if it had been introduced for the first time. A motion which has been withdrawn has not been acted upon, and therefore can be renewed.

A motion to reconsider the vote on a Subsidiary motion takes precedence of the main question. It yields to Privileged questions , and Incidental questions.

The Effect of the adoption of this motion is to place before the assembly the original question in the exact position it occupied before it was voted upon; consequently no one can debate the question reconsidered who had previously exhausted his right of debate on that question; his only resource is to discuss the question while the motion to reconsider is before the assembly.

When a vote taken under the operation of the previous question is reconsidered, the question is then divested of the previous question, and is open to debate and amendment, provided the previous question had been exhausted by votes taken on all the questions covered by it, before the motion to reconsider was made.

A reconsideration requires only a majority vote, regardless of the vote necessary to adopt the motion reconsidered. .

Note On Reconsider.--In the English Parliament a vote once taken cannot be reconsidered, but in our Congress it is allowed to move a reconsideration of the vote on the same or succeeding day, and after the close of the last day for making the motion, any one can call up the motion to reconsider, so that this motion cannot delay action more than two days, and the effect of the motion, if not acted upon, terminates with the session. There seems to be no reason or good precedent for permitting merely two persons, by moving a reconsideration, to suspend for any length of time all action under resolutions adopted by the assembly, and yet where the delay is very short the advantages of reconsideration overbalance the evils.

Where a permanent society has meetings weekly or monthly, and usually only a small proportion of the society is present, it seems best to allow a reconsideration to hold over to another meeting, so that the society may have notice of what action is about to be taken. To prevent the motion being used to defeat a measure that cannot be deferred till the next regular meeting, it is provided that in case the society adjourn, to meet the next day for instance, then the reconsideration will not hold over beyond that session; this allows sufficient delay to notify the society, while, if the question is one requiring immediate action, the delay cannot extend beyond the day to which they adjourn. Where the meetings are only quarterly or annual, the society should be properly represented at each meeting, and their best interests are subserved by following the practice of Congress, and letting the effect of the reconsideration terminate with the session.

If the committee originate the resolutions, they vote, in the same way, on amendments to each paragraph of the draft of the resolutions, ; they do not vote on the separate paragraphs, but having completed the amendments, they vote on the adoption of the entire report. When there is a preamble, it is considered last. If the report originates with the committee, all amendments are to be incorporated in the report; but, if the resolutions were referred, the committee cannot alter the text, but must submit the original paper intact, with their amendments written on a separate sheet.

The committee has no power to punish its members for disorderly conduct, its resource being to report the facts to the assembly. No allusion can be made in the assembly to what has occurred in committee, except it be by a report of the committee, or by general consent. It is the duty of a committee to meet on the call of any two its of members, if the chairman be absent or decline to appoint such meeting. When a committee adjourns without appointing a time for the next meeting, it is called together in the same way as at its first meeting. When a committee adjourns to meet at another time, it is not necessary that absent members should be notified of the adjourned meeting.

A standing committee reports thus: "The committee on respectfully report," etc., letting the report follow.

A select or special committee reports as follows: "The committee to which was referred having considered the same respectfully report," etc. Or for "The committee" is sometimes written "Your committee," or "The undersigned, a committee."

When a minority report is submitted, it should be in this form : "The undersigned, a minority of a committee to which was referred," etc. The majority report is the report of the committee, and should never be made out as the report of the majority.

All reports conclude with, "All of which is respectfully submitted." They are sometimes signed only by the chairman of the committee, but if the matter is of much importance, it is better that the report be signed by every member who concurs. The report is not usually dated, or addressed, but can he headed, as for example, "Report of the Finance Committee of the Y. P. A., on Renting a Hall."

Usually the formality of a vote on the reception of a report of a committee is dispensed with, the time being settled by general consent. Should any one object, a formal motion becomes necessary. When the time arrives for the assembly to receive the report, the chairman of the committee reads it in his place, and then delivers it to the clerk, when it lies on the table till the assembly sees fit to consider it. If the report consists of a paper with amendments, the chairman of the committee reads the amendments with the coherence in the paper, explaining the alterations and reasons of the committee for the amendments, till he has gone through the whole. If the report is very long, it is not usually read until the assembly is ready to consider it .

When the report has been received, whether it has been read or not, the committee is thereby dissolved, and can act no more without it is revived by a vote to recommit. If the report is recommitted, all the parts of the report that have not been agreed to by the assembly, are ignored by the committee as if the report had never been made.

If it is desired to consider the question at once, the motion is made, "That the assembly do now resolve itself into a committee of the whole to take under consideration," etc., specifying the subject. This is really a motion to "commit" If adopted, the Chairman immediately calls another member to the chair, and takes his place as a member of the committee. The committee is under the rules of the assembly, excepting as stated hereafter in this section.

If no limit is prescribed, any member may speak as often as he can get the floor, and as long each time as allowed in debate in the assembly, provided no one wishes the floor who has not spoken on that particular question. Debate having been closed at a particular time by order of the assembly, it is not competent for the committee, even by unanimous consent, to extend the time. The committee cannot refer the subject to another committee. Like other committees , it cannot alter the text of any resolution referred to it; but if the resolution originated in the committee, then all the amendments are incorporated in it.

When it is through with the consideration of the subject referred to it, or if it wishes to adjourn, or to have the assembly limit debate, a motion is made that "the committee rise and report," etc., specifying the result of its proceedings.

This motion "to rise" is equivalent to the motion to adjourn, in the assembly, and is always in order , and is undebatable. As soon as this motion is adopted, the presiding officer takes the chair, and the chairman of the committee, having resumed his place in the assembly, arises and informs him, that "the committee have gone through the business referred to them, and that he is ready to make the report, when the assembly is ready to receive it;" or he will make such other report as will suit the case.

The clerk does not record the proceedings of the committee on the minutes, but should keep a memorandum of the proceedings for the use of the committee. In large assemblies the clerk vacates his chair, which is occupied by the chairman of the committee, and the assistant clerk acts as clerk of the committee. Should the committee get disorderly, and the chairman be unable to preserve order, the presiding officer can take the chair, and declare the committee dissolved. The quorum of the committee of the whole is the same as that of the assembly . If the committee finds itself without a quorum, it can only rise and report the fact to the assembly, which in such a case would have to adjourn.

While acting informally, every member can speak as many times as he pleases, and as long each time as permitted in the assembly , and the informal action may be rejected or altered by the assembly. While the clerk should keep a memorandum of the informal proceedings, it should not be entered on the minutes, being only for temporary use. The Chairman's report to the assembly of the informal action, should be entered on the minutes, as it belongs to the assembly's proceedings.

If greater freedom is desired, the proper course is to refer the subject to the committee of the whole , or to consider it informally . No member can speak the second time to a question, until every member choosing to speak has spoken. But an amendment, or any other motion being offered, makes the real question before the assembly a different one, and, in regard to the right to debate, is treated as a new question. Merely asking a question, or making a suggestion, is not considered as speaking.

--To Fix the Time to which the Assembly shall Adjourn . --To Adjourn , . --For the Orders of the Day , and questions relating to the priority of business. --An Appeal when made while the Previous Question is pending, or when simply relating to indecorum or transgressions of the rules of speaking, or to the priority of business. --Objection to the Consideration of a Question . --Questions relating to Reading of Papers , or Withdrawing a Motion , or Suspending the Rules , or extending the limits of debate , or limiting or closing debate, or granting leave to continue his speech to one who has been guilty of indecorum in debate . --To Lie on the Table or to Take from the Table . --The Previous Question . --To Reconsider a question which is itself undebatable.

The motion to Postpone to a certain time allows of but very limited debate, which must be confined to the propriety of the postponement; but to Reconsider a debatable question , or to Commit , or Indefinitely Postpone , opens the main question to debate. To Amend opens the main question to debate only so far as it is necessarily involved in the amendment.

The distinction between debate and making suggestions or asking a question, should always be kept in view, and when the latter will assist the assembly in determining the question, is allowed to a limited extent, even though the question before the assembly is undebatable.

Note On Undebatable Questions.--The English common parliamentary law makes all motions debatable, without there is a rule adopted limiting debate ; but every assembly is obliged to restrict debate upon certain motions. The restrictions to debate prescribed in this section conform to the practice of Congress, where, however, it is very common to allow of brief remarks upon the most undebatable questions, sometimes five or six members speaking; this of course is allowed only when no one objects.

Highly privileged questions, as a rule, should not be debated, as in that case they could be used to prevent the assembly from coming to a vote on the main question; . High privilege is, as a rule, incompatible with the right of debate on the privileged question.

A motion that has the effect to suppress a question before the assembly, so that it cannot again be taken up that session , allows of free debate. And a subsidiary motion is debatable to just the extent that it interferes with the right of the assembly to take up the original question at its pleasure.

To "Postpone to a certain time" prevents the assembly taking up the question till the specified time, and therefore allows of limited debate upon the propriety of the postponement.

To "Lie on the Table" leaves the question so that the assembly can at any time consider it, and therefore should not be, and is not debatable.

To "Commit" would not be very debatable, according to this rule, but it is an exception, because it is often important that the committee should know the views of the assembly on the question, and it therefore is not only debatable, but opens to debate the whole question which it is proposed to refer to the committee.

An objection to the consideration of a question , which, if sustained, not only stops debate, but also throws the subject out of the assembly for that session ; which latter effect is the one for which it was designed.

To lie on the table , which, if adopted, carries the question to the table, from which it cannot be taken without a majority favors such action.

The previous question , which has the effect of requiring all the questions before the assembly to be put to vote at once without further debate. It may be applied merely to an amendment or to an amendment of an amendment.

For the assembly to adopt an order limiting debate upon a special subject, either as to the number or length of the speeches; or closing debate upon the subject at a stated time, when all pending questions shall be put to vote without further debate. Either of these two measures may be applied only to a pending amendment, or an amendment thereto, and when this is voted upon, the original question is still open to debate and amendment.

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