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Motions The Kinds of Motions That Are Used to Have an Effective Meeting African Methodist Episcopal Church Fifth District Lay Organization Annual Meeting June 27, 2019 Motions are the mechanism used in parliamentary procedure to get things done. Every action requested by a member will start with some kind of motion and debate is focused on the merits and weakness of each motion. Since some things are more important than others and some things are more immediately pressing than others, it is important that motions be given priority in a systematic manner.
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Agenda What is a motion Kinds of motions Ranking motions
Non-ranking motion How to use motions
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What is a motion A motion is… a formal proposal by a member
in a meeting that the assembly take a certain action Example: “That the organization purchase a new laptop for the secretary.”
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Major Kinds of Motions Main motion Subsidiary motions
Privileged motions Incidental motions Motions that bring a question again before the assembly Students of parliamentary procedure can find this topic intimidating because of the many categories of motions and the ranking of motions within some of these categories. This presentation will try to create a systematic look at the variety of motions by considering the structure under which they are arranged.
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Characteristics of Motions
Precedence Applicable Is it in order when another member has the floor Requires a second Debatable Amendable Vote required for adoption Reconsidered
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13 Ranking Motions Privileged Motions Subsidiary Motions
Fix the time to which to adjourn Adjourn Recess Raise a Question of Privilege Call for the Orders of the Day Lay on the Table Previous Question Limit or Extend the Limits of Debate Postpone to a Time Certain Commit or Refer Amend Postpose Indefinitely Main
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Kinds of Main Motions The lowest ranking motion is the main motion
Original main motion Introduces substantive question as a new subject Incidental main motion Relates to business of the assembly or its past or future action The main motion is the lowest ranking of all the ranked motions because other motions that relate to it will be considered before the main motion itself is finalized. The original main motion is how new business is introduced to the assembly. Other main motions that are about the business of the assembly but do not introduce new business (that is, that are incidental to the business) are called incidental main motions. A main motion occurs when no other business is currently pending.
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How To Introduce New Business To The Assembly
If you want to introduce a subject, make a Main motion by saying, “I move to (that)…” or “Resolved, that…” This is how a member introduces new business. All the details about main motions can be found in RONR p
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Subsidiary Motions May be applied to a main motion by: modifying it
delaying action on it disposing of it Take precedence over the main motion Take precedence over lower ranking subsidiary motions These are the ranking motions that attach to a particular main motion. They are subsidiary to it but supersede it on the chart of ranking motions. Each one has some effect on the original main motion that it adheres to. There are very useful charts in RONR that give all the details about the rules attaching to each of the motions. Please see the tinted pages in RONR for these rules and for the format to be used when making these motions. The following slides will describe each of the 12 other ranking motions in order that modify the handling of a main motion.
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The Second Ranking Motion
Postpone indefinitely Use this motion if you want to reject a main motion or “kill” it for the current session While this motion literally says that I want this to be discussed in the future but at no particular time, this is not actually what it means in practice. It is used to kill a motion. In other words, the motion says that “I don’t want this even to be discussed at all. Let’s just get rid of it.” Passing this motion means that the motion is finished for the duration of the current session. In the future, someone might want to introduce it all over again, but it would be starting from the beginning in that case.
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The Third Ranking Motion If you want to change a motion, move to
Amend in one of the following three ways: inserting or adding words or a paragraph striking out words or a paragraph striking out and inserting words or substituting a paragraph This is probably the most used ranking motion. It is how the assembly changes and perfects the main motion. Please note here that the changes do not have to be ones that the maker of the motion likes. It is no longer “his” or “her” motion once it is given to the assembly. The assembly may change it any way it pleases, and the final motion might say something very different from what the originator wanted. There are many rules relating to the making of amendments and an entire PowerPoint could easily be created on just this topic. Please see RONR for a complete discussion of these rules. (RONR pages )
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Amend Examples Main motion: That we purchase a computer and printer for the secretary. Insert: I move to amend by inserting “laptop” before computer. That we purchase a laptop computer and printer for the secretary. Add: I move to amend by adding “and treasurer” That we purchase a laptop computer and printer for the secretary and treasurer. Strike: I move to amend by striking “and printer” That we purchase a laptop computer for the secretary and treasurer. Strike and Insert: I move amend by striking “secretary” and inserting “president” That we purchase a laptop computer for the president and treasurer.
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The Fourth Ranking Motion
Use the motion to Commit or Refer to a Committee when you want to send a pending question to a small group for further study and/or recommendation. What committee What is the Composition Who do they report to When do they report This motion is used when the assembly needs more information before making a decision or when the issues are too complex for a large group to work with efficiently. This motion may also be used when there is a need to postpone a decision beyond the next meeting or a quarterly time interval which is usually not allowed. The motion can still be referred to a committee which will report back to the assembly at the assigned time.
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The Fifth Ranking Motion
Postpone to a certain time (or definitely) Use it if you want to: delay taking action or making a decision until later in the same meeting or to the next meeting This motion is useful when the motion needs more work than the assembly has time to do during this meeting or when there is more information needed before an action is taken. The purpose of this motion is to allow time to work on the motion during the delayed time.
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The Sixth Ranking Motion
Limit or extend limits of debate Use when you want to change the rules of debate to allow more time or to allow less time for the assembly to debate a particular issue In order to get all the business done that needs to happen during a meeting, many organizations will set time limits on debate as part of their standing rules. This motion allows the assembly to over-ride this rule for this one particular debate because they recognize that it needs to be an exception. Sometimes this motion is used to impose a restriction on debate when the membership realizes that the debate on this issue will simply take longer than they are willing to allow. Since this motion interferes with a basic member right of debating, it requires a 2/3 vote to pass. (RONR p )
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The Seventh Ranking Motion
The Previous Question Use when debate is continuing and you think the assembly is ready to vote now. Passing this motion ends debate on the current issue and brings an immediate vote. This motion is used when the member making the motion believes that debate should simply end NOW. This motion is frequently used incorrectly. The maker must be recognized by the presider using the regular procedures for being recognized. It is not correct for a member to simply shout out “Question!” and thus end the debate. If this happens, the chair should ask that the member to wait to be recognized. And this motion is not one of the ones that can be created just by one person. Once the motion is made and seconded, there must be an immediate vote on whether the debate should be immediately ended. Again, since members will lose their right to continue debating, a 2/3 vote is required to pass this motion. If it fails, then debate on the immediately pending motion simply continues. If it passes, then debate ends, and the presider should immediately take a vote on the issue to which the motion adheres. When making the motion for the previous question, the maker should be careful to specify which motions will be affected. There is a difference between the simple motion that only applies to the motion under discussion or the motion to call the previous question on that motion and all pending questions which would require a vote without further debate on everything being considered at that time.
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The Eighth Ranking Motion
Lay on the Table Use when you want to set aside the pending question temporarily because something more important needs to be addressed right now. This is probably the most frequently misused motion. Many people seem to think it sounds more “parliamentary” than saying “I move to postpone….” which is usually what is actually desired. This motion should only be used in the extraordinary circumstance where something pressing has come up that can’t wait until the business currently being considered is disposed of. Placing something on the table means to put it aside temporarily in order to deal with the more pressing issue right now. Many presiders will ask a member who moves to table if in fact he/she really just wants to postpone. Why does this matter? There are different rules attached to the two motions, and if the wrong name is used, the wrong rules will apply. For example, the motion to table is not debatable (we are in a hurry because of something pressing) but the motion to postpone is debatable. Please read RONR p
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Privileged Motions Deal with matters of immediate and overriding importance Do not relate to the pending business Take precedence over the main motion, all subsidiary motions, and lower ranking privileged motions The highest category of ranking motions are called privileged motions. They will take precedence over all the other ranking motions because they are important to handle now. But they do not directly relate to the main motion being considered. Some of these motions will also appear as incidental main motions when there is no business being considered that they are interrupting.
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Ninth Ranking and Privileged Motion
Call for the orders of the day In order to require that the adopted program or agenda be followed When the agenda has specified a particular time for a particular event or issue, and the presider is continuing with some other business, a member can rise and ask that the agenda be followed. This motion can be important in a long convention where members may be coming and going from a lengthy meeting and have arrived because the item that was set to be considered at a particular time is something they care deeply about. These members then have the right to ask that the agreed upon agenda be followed as written.
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Raise a question of privilege
The Tenth Ranking and Privileged Motion Raise a question of privilege To request any privilege (usually having to do with comfort level or the ability to make an informed decision) A question of privilege must be handled immediately since sometimes it is interfering with what is happening. For example, if the sound system has gone out in the back of the room and members there can’t hear the speaker, a member should address the chair with a question of privilege that this be fixed immediately. There is no vote required for such a question, since the presider should just handle the problem.
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The Eleventh Privileged Motion to Recess
Privileged Motions Continued The Eleventh Privileged Motion to Recess Is the motion to make when you want to take a short break in the meeting To close a meeting, use the twelfth privileged motion to A recess is asked for when members simply need a short break from the meeting. The motion to adjourn is only needed when the business is not finished but the members are ready for the meeting to end anyway. When the business has been concluded, the chair does not have to ask for a motion to adjourn and then put it to a vote. He/she simply checks to see that there is no further business, and then says that, “Since there is no further business to come before this meeting, without objection, this meeting is adjourned.” He/she then waits to be sure that no one objects. If so, then he/she simply declares the meeting adjourned by unanimous consent. Adjourn
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The Highest Ranked Motion
When you want to set a time to continue the business to another day without adjourning the present meeting, move to Fix the time to which to adjourn This is a confusing motion because it sounds similar to the motion to adjourn, but it actually has the opposite effect. The motion to adjourn ends the current meeting. The motion to fix the time to which to adjourn means that the current meeting will not end when it stops for that time period but will continue again at another time that will now be selected. Please see RONR p for the details about how this is done.
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Incidental Motions Do not have rank
Must be decided immediately before business can proceed Relate to the pending business Applicable only in its own type of special circumstance This is the category of motions that is outside the hierarchy of ranking motions that we have been considering. They are not about content of the business that is currently being decided, but they are about the process or procedures that apply to the decision making about this business.
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Examples of Incidental Motions
To ask the chair to enforce the rules, rise to a Point of order There are many different motions in this category and this presentation will only include the most common ones. Asking for a point of order is how a member says to the chair, “Didn’t you see that what is currently happening should not be happening? Please fix it now.”
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Examples of Incidental Motions
When you want to reverse or question a decision of the chair, the motion that you make is to Appeal from the decision of the chair The presider has the responsibility to make the decision on all points of order, but sometimes the membership disagrees with this decision. In that case, a member can appeal the decision and ask the assembly to decide. There are many rules associated with this special motion. Please see RONR pages for some of them.
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Examples of Incidental Motions
If you question the announced result of a voice vote or a vote by show of hands and want to require a standing revote, the motion you should make is to ask for a A division of the assembly is a demand to have a new vote by rising. Please do not confuse this motion with the motion to divide the question which is used when a single motion is separated into parts that will be voted on separately. Division
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Examples of Incidental Motions
If you want to make changes in how a vote is taken or when the polls are closed, you need to make a motion about There are several motions that can be made about how the voting or the nominating processes will work. These are all incidental motions because they are about how something being considered will be done. Nominations or the Polls
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Motions that Bring a Question Again Before the Assembly
Bring business back before the assembly Sometimes called Bring Back motions Do not have rank Enable the assembly to reopen a completed question by Taking up a motion temporarily disposed of Changing something previously adopted This is another category of motions that apply to things that have already been fully decided, but that the membership wants to modify or not do. This is why they are often called the Bring Back motions since they literally bring back business that is already settled. Some things cannot be changed after being decided, but often things that have been decided can be undone or perhaps just modified. These motions allow this to happen.
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Bring Back Motions Continued
When an item was laid on the table at this meeting or a previous meeting, and you want it to be considered now, you move to Take from the table If something was Laid on the Table because another more pressing issue had to be handled at that moment, then it is sitting there undone. In order to consider it again, someone must move to take it from the table. When this happens, the motion returns in the same form it was in when it was put aside.
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Bring Back Motions Continued
If you voted on the prevailing side and changed your mind about a vote, and would like the assembly to consider this issue over again, you can move to Reconsider Note: There is no requirement on the member that seconding the motion Sometimes an assembly makes a decision and then later in the same meeting someone thinks of something that was not considered during the original consideration of the motion. This new information may be important and even affect how individuals would have voted on the original idea. In that case, someone who voted on the prevailing side may move to reconsider the vote in order to consider this new information. The reason it must be someone from the prevailing side is that it will stop someone who lost the earlier vote from badgering everyone with continuing motions to reconsider what has already been decided not to his/her liking. There are many rules associated with this motion so that it is not abused. Please see RONR pages for all the details.
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Bring Back Motions Continued Reconsider
Effect Making the motion: Suspension of all action that depends on the results of the vote proposed to be reconsidered Adoption of the motion: Immediately places again before the assembly the question on which the vote is to be reconsidered. Note: It comes before the assembly in the exact position it was in the moment before it was originally voted upon Purpose To bring back for further consideration a motion that has been voted on Can be made only on the same day the vote to be reconsidered was taken
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Bring Back Motions Continued Reconsider
Exceptions: An affirmative vote whose provisions have been partially carried out An affirmative vote in the nature of a contract when the party to the contract has been notified of the outcome Any vote which has caused something to be done that is impossible to undo A vote on a motion to Reconsider When practically the same result as desired can be obtained by some other parliamentary motion
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Motions That Cannot Be Reconsider
Adjourn Close Nominations Close the Polls Immediately Consider by Paragraph Create a Blank Division of the Assembly Division of a Question Parliamentary Inquiry Point of Order Proceed to the Order of the Day Raise a Question of Privilege Recess Reconsider Suspend the Rules Take from the Table
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Bring Back Motions Continued
If you no longer think a motion is a good idea, and it is not impossible to undo, move to Rescind Or If you just want to change something that was decided earlier, you can move to Amend something previously adopted Note: 1. Two-thirds vote without notice 2. Majority vote with notice Sometimes you want to totally undo something or just change it. Since there was a majority vote required to do the action in the first place, you will want something more than that to make these changes. RONR has the complete rules for both of these motions.
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Bring Back Motions Continued Rescind
This motion allows the assembly to Repeal or Annul an action taken at a previous meeting The motion to Rescind had no time limit and can be made by any member, no matter how they voted on the original motion that is proposed to be rescinded If you give notice of your intent to make this motion, the vote required is a majority. Without notice, it takes a two-thirds or a majority of the entire membership
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Bring Back Motions Continued: Rescind
Limitations: This motion can be applied to any motion previously adopted provided that none of the action involved has been carried out in way that is too late to undo Negative vote on this motion can be reconsidered, but the affirmative vote cannot Not in order when the making or calling up of the motion to Reconsider is in order You cannot Rescind something that was not done! If a motion failed – the group took no action, therefore there is not action to rescind
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Bring Back Motions Continued: Amend Something Previously Adopted
This motion is governed by identical rules as the motion to Rescind If the purpose is to change (amend) the previous action that the group has taken, use Amend Something Previously Adopted When using previous notice to lower the vote requirement, make sure the amendment is within the scope of notice Use this motion to prevent the complete rejection of a motion by the motion to Rescind This motion can be used to remove someone from office
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Summary of Kinds of Motions
The ranking motions are considered in order of rank. The Incidental and Bring Back motions can be considered at any time they are appropriate. Privileged Motions Bring Back Motions Incidental Motions This chart shows the relationship between the various categories of motions. The actual business is introduced with the main motion and modified by the subsidiary motions. The privileged motions make sure that this business is properly accomplished while the bring back motions and incidental motions allow for the correct procedures to be used. Subsidiary Motions Main Motions
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Closing thought “We are here to get at the will of the assembly. This is the only valid reason for holding a meeting, and that must be the basis for all parliamentary action.” Henry M. Robert Here is a fine quote to end this presentation: We are here to get at the will of the assembly. This is the only valid reason for holding a meeting, and that must be the basis of all parliamentary action. Henry M. Robert Smedley The Great Peacemaker
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