By Jonathan Osterlund

 Robert’s Rules of Order are a book on how our government should be run. It includes details on General Assemblies, Motions, Officers, Minutes, Committees, Types of Deliberative Assemblies, and Additional Procedures.

 The first book on how to run a government was called A Manual of Parliamentary Practice for Use of the Senate of the United States written in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson.  In 1876, Henry M. Robert published a 176 page book on the rules of government named Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberate Assemblies. The title was later shortened to Robert’s Rules of Order. Also, later in 1876, another book under the same title was published except under the second edition. The third was made in  Robert published a revised version in Later, revised versions were created in 1943 and  Finally, a newly revised version was made in New editions were in 1981, 1990, and The 2000 edition is the one that we use today.

 An assembly of an organized society is a branch of a state, national, or international society. Only members may participate in these assemblies.  A legislative body is a society of representatives who are elected for a certain term of office.  A board is an administrative society whose members are either elected or appointed.  A Mass Meeting is an unorganized group who have a common purpose. A series of them can help organize a permanent society. Everyone has the right to participate.  A Convention is an assembly of delegates who have been appointed for one session.

 A Session may be a single meeting for one purpose or agenda.  A Regular Meeting is a periodic meeting of a permanent society.  A Special Meeting is a different meeting that is held at a different time than a regularly scheduled meeting for the only purpose that the meeting has been called for.  An Adjourned Meeting is a continuation of the regular or special meeting.  An Annual Meeting is a meeting held to receive reports of officers and committees, hold elections, or to take any actions that are in the bylaws.  An Executive Session is a meeting or portion of a meeting thats results are secret.

 Members have the right to:  Attend Meetings  Offer Motions  Participate in a Debate  Vote  Nominate other Members  Hold Office  Members have the duty to:  Attend Meetings  Obey all Rules  Participate in the purpose of the society  Insist on Enforcing the Rules  Fulfill all duties until they are excused

 A Corporate Charter is a society for government or legal purposes granted in the form of a certificate by a more authoritative person or society.  A Constitution is a document stating the rules, bylaws, and characteristics forming the society.  A Bylaw is a document that defines how a society functions. It includes rules that are difficult to change. They are adopted by majority vote, amended by two-thirds vote with a previous notice to the general membership, and suspended only if they are in the nature of Roberts Rules of Order or if the laws themselves will allow it.

 They come from the assembly’s authority.  Special Rules of Order are rules that replace in power of the society’s authority. They are Adopted, Amended, or Suspended by two- thirds vote unless protecting a minority of less that one-third.

 They are thirteen types of motions that are most commonly used in the General Assembly.  They include: Main motions, To postpone a motion indefinitely, To amend a motion, To commit or refer a motion, To postpone a motion to a certain time, To limit or extend limits of debate, To go back to the previous question, To lay a motion on a table, To call for the orders of the day, To raise a question of privilege, To recess, To adjourn, or to fix a time to adjourn.

 A Main Motion is motion relating to the assembly or a motion that introduces a new subject. Most NJHS motions will be a main motion.  A motion to Postpone Indefinitely is to postpone a motion for the another meeting.  To Amend a motion is to modify the motion by changing the wording of the motion or to lengthen or shorten it.  To Commit or Refer a motion is to send a motion to a committee or a small group of people to modify or discuss the motion before presenting it to the General Assembly.  To Postpone Definitely means to postpone the motion to later on in the meeting or to the next meeting.  To ask for Previous Question is to close debate and have the pending motion go to an immediate vote.  To Lay on the Table is to set aside a main motion temporarily to go to a more important issue.  To Call for the Orders of the Day is to have the chair recite the daily agenda.  To Raise a Question of Privilege is to interrupt the pending motion to go to an urgent subject like the noise level or to receive handout materials etc.  To Recess is to have a short intermission in the meeting.  To Adjourn is to close the meeting  To Fix a Time to Adjourn is to close the meeting at a certain time.

 Second: To have another member have the same views on the motion, to be with you on the motion.  Amendable: A motion that can be repealed, that change a vote on that motion.  Debatable: A motion that can be debated upon.  Majority Vote: To have more than 50% approval.  Two-Thirds Vote: To have more that 66% approval.  Reconsidered: To consider a vote again.  Interrupt: To interrupt the pressing motion.

MotionSecond?Amendable?Debatable?What Vote is Required? Reconsidered?Interrupt? Fix a time to adjourn Yes NoMajorityYesNo AdjournYesNo MajorityNo RecessYes NoMajorityNo Raise a question of privilege No Chair DecidesNoYes Call for the orders of the day No One MemberNoYes Lay on the Table YesNo MajorityNo Previous question YesNo Two-ThirdsYesNo Postpone definitely Yes MajorityYesNo Commit or Refer Yes MajorityYesNo AmendYes MajorityYesNo Postpone indefinitely YesNoYesMajorityYesNo Main MotionYes MajorityYesNo

 Point of Order  Appeal  Suspend the Rules  Objection to the consideration of a question  Division of a question  Consideration by paragraph or seriatim  Division of the assembly  Motion relating to methods of voting and the polls  Motion relating to nominations  Request to be excused from a duty  Request or inquiry

 The chair can make a nomination  There can be an open nomination  A committee can make a nomination  There can be a nomination by ballot  There can be a nomination by petition

 You can vote by:  Voice (saying your vote out loud)  By a show of hands  A rising vote (you stand to show your vote)  A ballot  A roll call vote  Voting cards  Machine or electronic voting  An alternative method of voting

 Two-thirds or twice in favor than opposed  Majority or more people in favor than opposed  Unanimous or everyone agreeing  Three-fourths or 90% or an unusually high number of people who agree  Plurality Vote or the largest number of votes received  Tie Vote or a lost vote since it was a tie

 The minimum number of officers are the presiding officer and a secretary.  Most organizations have a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.  However, the NJHS has a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, historian, and a parliamentarian.

 A committee is a group of one or more members that have been elected, assigned, or chosen to be in.  Standing Committees have a continuous existence. They can start and end whenever needed.  Special Committees are created for a certain need. They end after giving a final report or after they have accomplished their task that they have been assigned.  A Committee of a Whole is the general assembly acts as a committee for a purpose that should be discussed with the membership. This is usually used for very large (100+) assemblies.

 A Committee Report is when a committee explains what they has been discussed and what progress has been made in it.  In a Committee Report, the committee chair should always refer to the committee in third person and sometimes in writing.

 To amend a bylaw, the general membership has to have a previous notice and have a two-thirds vote.  If someone has committed an offense during a meeting there is written consequences.  If it is a slight offense, like talking when someone else is speaking, the speaker raps the gavel and advises them not to do it in the future.  If it is a more serious offense, like questioning someone’s vote or reasons, they should be given a warning. After that, if they have made the same offense repeatedly, they should get a penalty. They include an apology in front of the membership, the member is disapproved by the chair, the member might be required to leave the room, they could be suspended, or they could get expelled from the membership.  For an offense outside the meeting, the organization could hold a disciplinary trial where there could be an investigation and the accused member would have the right to a fair trial unless the bylaws oppose it.  A officer could get removed from office by being suspended. Unless opposed by the bylaws, the assembly would hold an election on who would take their place for the amount of time he/she is being suspended. Another election might happen after the suspension is over to determine if the officer can take their job back.

 Thank you for seeing to my presentation!  I hope now you understand more of Robert’s Rules of Order!  ©2010 Jonathan Osterlund for the Central Middle School National Honor Society