Posts from Tommy

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/types-of-voting.html

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/quorum.html

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/recess.html

Accredited Parliamentarian--- SAY WHAT?!

Background:

First semester at University Park campus. 

First class with Dr. Foster as the professor. 

Anxiety level-- at an all time high. 

I have never encountered parliamentary procedure in a formal sense until AEE 216 was introduced to me. My FFA chapter used parliamentary procedure, as well as my volunteer fire company; however, I had no idea what this whole concept of parliamentary procedure was coming from in relation to my degree in Agricultural and Extension Education or in relation to FFA. 

Dr. Foster is slightly intimidating on certain days, and intimidating professors paired with an intimidating topic is not exactly the ideal combination to enter one of the most intimidating semesters during your college career (aside from student teaching--YIKES). 

One quote kept me going throughout this semester, this quote kept me going and prevented me from giving up and not reaching my full potential.

My entire life, there have been people doubting me, and for the longest time I chose to let those individuals get to me and allowed myself to give up on my dreams. There have been times where my self confidence has diminished due to the people that want to see me fail getting inside my head and I began to make those comments and discussions true for my life. The quote, "There will be haters, there will be doubters, there will be non-believers, and then there will be you, PROVING THEM WRONG," has kept me humble and confident throughout this semester of my college career.

Enough about me... let's talk Parli!

Parliamentary procedure at the beginning of this semester, was the most boring class that I had ever heard of. I was preparing myself for the worst semester of my college career. However, from the moment that I walked into Ferguson 214 on day 1 of fall semester, my entire attitude towards parliamentary procedure changed. I realized that I know a lot more about parliamentary procedure than I could ever imagine. I also learned not only the basic facts about parliamentary procedure but how the concepts relate to real life and just how valuable the lessons and concepts are. 

What I've Learned About Parli:

1) Historical Development of Parliamentary Procedure

2) Deliberative Assemblies & Rules

3) Proper Conduct of Meetings

4) 25 Different Motions

5) 4 Classifications of Motions (and Main Motions), and their precedence (rank or order)

6) Parliamentary Procedure in Societies (FFA- National FFA Convention)

7) Nominations

8) Officer Duties and Elections

9) Committees

10) So much more!

What I've Learned About Myself:

1) Challenge yourself!

2) You are capable of doing anything that you put your mind to!

3) There will always be someone that is better than you- learn from it. 

4) You are not as unintelligent as you make yourself out to be. 

5) Application is everything. 

I am pleased to announce:

Although the class is intimidating and may be a step outside of your comfort zone, the course load is very manageable; and Dr. Foster is not as intimidating as you may think! 

I declare this blog post- Adjourned!

-Kayla R. Stauffer

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Agricultural and Extension Education-- Class of 2019 

Accredited Parliamentarian

Officers- The President!

Presidential Duties!

There are four constitutional officer positions that are typical for organizations. The four officers include the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The Chairman is also the President of an organization and has multiple duties, which is why a vice president is necessary in order to assist the president in maintaining order!

The duties of the President include:
1) To open the meeting at the appointed time by taking the chair and calling the meeting to order, having ascertained that a quorum is present. [RONR 11th ed. pg. 449, l. 24-26]
2) To announce in proper sequence the business that comes before the assembly or becomes in order in accordance with the prescribed order of business, agenda, or program, and with existing orders of the day. [RONR 11th ed. pg. 449, l.27-30]
3) To recognize members who are entitled to the floor. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 449, l. 31-32]
4) To state and to put to vote all questions that legitimately come before the assembly as motions or that otherwise arise in the course of proceedings (except questions that relate to the presiding officer himself in the manner noted below, and to announce the result of each vote; or if a motion that is not in order is made, to rule it out of order. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 449-450, l.33-4]
5)  To protect the assembly from annoyance from evidently frivolous or dilatory motions by refusing to recognize them. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 7-8]
6) To enforce the rules relating to debate and those relating to order and decorum within the assembly. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 9-11]
7) To expedite business in every way compatible with the rights of members. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 12-13]
8) To decide all questions of order, subject to appeal- unless, when in doubt, the presiding officer prefers initially to submit such a question to the assembly for decision. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 14-17]
9) To respond to inquiries of members relating to parliamentary procedure or factual information bearing on the business of the assembly. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 18-21]
10)  To authenticate by his or her signature, when necessary, all acts, orders, and proceedings of the assembly. [RONR 11th ed. pg. 450, l. 22-23]
11) To declare the meeting adjourned when the assembly so votes or- where applicable- at the time prescribed in the program, or at any time in the event of a sudden emergency affecting the safety of those present. [RONR 11th. ed. pg. 450, l. 24-27]

WOAH! That's a LOT of responsibility! 

But wait... there's more!

Additional Responsibilities include:

1) providing a copy of the bylaws and other rules of the organization

2) providing a copy of the organizations parliamentary authority

3) providing a list of all standing and special committees as well as the members of each

4) providing a memorandum of the complete order of business listing all known matters that are expected to come up throughout the meeting, provided in the proper sequence and under the proper headings.  

[RONR 11th. ed. pg.450-451, l.33-6]

Fun Fact/ Question:

Q1:
Is it true that the president can vote only to break a tie?

Answer:
No!  If the president is a member of the voting body, he or she has exactly the same rights and privileges as all other members have, including the right to make motions, to speak in debate, and to vote on all questions. (Example- small boards)

Tie Votes and Cases in Which the Chair's Vote Affects the Result:
[RONR (11th ed.), pp. 405 l. 19- pg. 406, l. 20]

Resources:
http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html
Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th. edition)

Two Very Common Misconceptions about Motions

1. All motions require a second
1. Listed below are just some of the motions that do not require a second
1. Proposals for filling blanks [RONR (11th ed.), p.164 ll. 13-15]
2. Division of the Assembly [RONR (11th ed.), p.280-282]
3. Call for a separate vote on a resolution which is one of a series on different subjects offered by a single motion [RONR (11th ed.), p.110, 274-275]
4. Request for information and parliamentary inquiry[RONR (11th ed.), p.292-295]
5. To make nominations [RONR (11th ed.), p. 430-438]
6. Objection to consideration of a question [RONR (11th ed.), p.267-270]
7. Call for the orders of the day [RONR (11th ed.), p.219-224]
8. Point of order [RONR (11th ed.), p. 247-254]
9. Reconsider [RONR (11th ed.), p. 315- 335]
2. All motions require a majority vote to be adopted
1. The vote that is required for the motion to be adopted depends on the motion. The motion will either require a majority vote or a ⅔ vote in order for it to pass. For example a majority vote is required to adopt the bylaws or constitution of a new society whereas a two-thirds vote is required in order for “previous question” to pass. Refer to table #2 in the back of RONR (11th edition) for the voting requirements of each motion.

National Convention Parliamentary Procedure

This year and last, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to assist with the Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Event. I assisted at both the novice and high school levels of the competition. For this blog post, I would like to explain what I did at both of those events!

The first event that I was exposed to was the novice event at the 2016 National FFA Convention. There, I waited with the teams in the holding room. We talked, played games, and practiced Parliamentary Procedure!

My favorite thing about this competition was talking with members from other states and getting to know them. A conversation that I remember to this day was with the members of the Texas FFA Association because they told me all about their state and they asked about Pennsylvania! It was incredible.

The next event was the high school competition at National Convention in 2017. This time, I was asked to help the judges with comment cards for the semi-final round of the competition. Helping out with comment cards meant that I would be taking notes on the teams who were competing, just like the judges were, so that we could ensure that nothing was missed.

This was an incredible opportunity because I got to put my Parliamentary Procedure knowledge to a very rapid test. The teams compete quickly, even more quickly than we held our debates in class. We had to ensure that they were using, making, and seconding all of their motions correctly, that they were using Parliamentary Procedure as outlined in Robert's Rules of Order, and that they looked good while doing so.

Once the teams were finished competing, I filled out a final comment card, which stated the pros and cons of each team and what the members could do to improve their debate.

Both of these opportunities were incredible, and I am very grateful for each of them! I learned so much, and I would urge anybody in the future to pursue them as well! Parliamentary Procedure is a skill that you have to exercise to keep it healthy! Opportunities like these are excellent ways to keep Parliamentary Procedure fresh in your mind, as well as give back to the community. You can help raise the next generation of parliamentarians. Watching a member from Puerto Rico receive their accreditation was more fulfilling than receiving my own.

Second!

Why should you second a motion? 

Every time we held a debate in class, I noticed that most people were very hesitant to second motions. I am not sure if this was because people were unsure as to whether or not motions should be seconded, or if people were just unsure of what seconding a motion means. 

Either way, fear no longer, because I am here to explain all of the above! 

The motions that require seconds are not too hard to remember. The motions that are seconded are 

Fix Time - 

Adjourn - 

Recess -  

*Question of Privilege - 

*Call for Orders - 

*Point of Order - 

*Object to the Consideration -

*Withdraw - 

*Parliamentary Inquiry - 

Appeal -

*Request for Information -

*Division of the Assembly -

Division of the Question -

Suspend the Rules -

Lay on the Table

Call for Previous Question

Limit/Extend Debate

Postpone Definitely

Refer

Amend

Postpone Indefinitely

Take From Table

Reconsider 

Rescind

Main Motion

All of the Subsidiary Motions, the Main Motion, and Motions that Bring Matter Back Before the Assembly are seconded. The only motions that are seconded in the Privileged and Incidental motion classes are the ones that require a majority vote to pass in most situations. 

Now, why second a motion? 

According to Robert's Rules of Order (11th Ed.), on page 35, a member who wishes to see a motion be considered seconds the motion. That is all there is to it. A member does not have to be in favor of the motion to second it, they simply must want to see the motion be considered. If no member wishes to see the motion be considered, the motion will die due to lack of second. 

Four Common Misconceptions: Quorum

Just in case you forgot; a quorum is defined as “the minimum number of members who must be present at the meetings of a deliberative assembly for business to be validly transacted….” [RONR (11th ed.), p. 21, ll. 2-5].

1. The number of members needed to have a quorum is the same for every organization
1. The size of a quorum is unique to every organization. The number of members required in order to have a quorum should be defined in the bylaws of the organization. Members can refer to “Article V: Meetings” in their organization's bylaws to find out what the quorum is for their organization.
2. The quorum should always be defined as a majority of all the members in the organization
1. The quorum should be defined in your organization's bylaws and is different from organization to organization.Typically the quorum of an organization (especially a voluntary organization) should be less than the majority of the membership. This is because, if you make the quorum too large then you will have issues with getting that many members to show up and productivity within the organization would be reduced.
3. We checked our bylaws and the quorum is not defined. So, that means it doesn’t matter how many member show up we can always conduct business.
1. “In any other deliberative assembly with enrolled membership whose bylaws do not specify a quorum, the quorum is a majority of all the members” [RONR (11th ed.), p.346, ll. 11-13].
4. When we fail to obtain a quorum for a regularly or properly called meeting we cannot conduct any business at all.
1. “Even in the absence of a quorum, the assembly may fix the time to which to adjourn, adjourn, recess, or take measures to obtain a quorum” [RONR (11th ed.), p. 347, ll. 30-32].

Here's one last cartoon! You might have to think about this one a little more to understand it!