CHAPTER XIIITHEIR 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. Heis 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been stated by the chair, he may withdraw it with the consent of the seconder; but after it has been stated, it can be withdrawn only by formal vote of the meeting.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 thefloor 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 timemay 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 thereshall 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 thetime 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, isipso factodischarged. 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 beconsidered 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 Tabletakes 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 ofa 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 thesuspension 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 infavor of considering the questionare 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 succeedingmeeting, 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 daymustbe 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 theofficial 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 inthe 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: