A Deep Dive into Week Five!

Welcome to a review of week five! This week we talked a lot about voting and motions! 

Beginning with a review, what are the five methods of voting that were discussed in the lecture and last week's blog?

🔹Precedence - refers to right of order and consideration of one motion over another, or the priority of a motion

Order of Precedence:                            

Privileged Motions:  

                           Fix Time to Which to Adjourn

Adjourn         

Recess           

            Question of Privilege

                          Call for the Orders of the Day

Subsidiary Motions:  

     Lay on the Table

                    Call for Previous Question

                            Limit/Extend Limits of Debate

          Postpone Definitely

             Refer to a Committee

Amend          

              Postpone Indefinitely 

Main Motion           

                                    Motions that Bring Matter Back Before the Assembly                

          Take from the Table

Reconsider   

Rescind        

Original and Incidental Main Motions:

🔹 Original Main Motion - Introduces a new subject of substantive matter

🔹Incidental Main Motion - Proposes action or a procedure incidental to, or related to the business of an assembly or its past or future actions     

      *Most closely correspond to secondary         motions 

Four Classes of Secondary Motions:

🐣  Privileged Motions 

🐣  Incidental Motions

🐣  Subsidiary Motions

🐣  Motions that Bring Matter Back Before the Assembly

8 Standard Characteristics of all Motions:

Second - is the motion secondable? 

Amend - is the motion amendable?

Debate - is the motion debatable?

Majority - is there a vote? if so is it a majority vote or 2/3?

Reconsider - can the motion be reconsidered? 

Interrupt - can this motion be made while somebody else has the floor?

Precedence - where does this motion rank?

Applicability - to what can this motion be applied to?

Presenting a Main Motion:

   🌵Step 1: Member Rises and Addresses the Chair

   🌵Step 2: Chair Recognizes the Member

   🍄Step 1: Member Makes a Motion

   🍄Step 2: Another Member Seconds the Motion

   🍄Step 3: Chair Restates the Motion

   🍄Step 4: Members Debate (if Debatable) 

    🍄Step 5: Chair Puts Questions & Members Vote

   🍄Step 6: Chair Announces Results of Vote

🌵 Two Steps to Obtaining the Floor 🌵

🍄 Six Steps to Making a Motion 🍄

Thank you for sticking with us! We did cover the subsidiary motions in class this week, but I wanted to do a separate blog for them! Check back in soon!! 

Session 3 - In Depth with Subsidiary Motions - January 29

Responses from your Tickets Out from Session 3!

What are you curious about?

• How often some organizations move to limit debate
• Depends on the organization
• Why did this class start?
• You should ask Dr. Foster!
• Subsidiary motions and what they are all about
• They Assist, Postpone, Modify, and Dispose of the Main Motion
• RONR, p. 62-66
• Better ways to run committee meetings
• We’ll learn that in session #12
• See RONR, p. 489-542 if you want information before then
• Best way to deal with people who don’t see the value of Parli Pro
• Talk to them and explain why it’s so useful! Anyone have any other ideas??
• Can you reconsider the motion to postpone indefinitely?
• An affirmative vote is reconsiderable RONR, p. 127, l. 17-20
• Still a bit confused about the difference between Lay on the Table and Postpone Definitely
• Lay on the Table is meant to put something aside for a short time because there is something more urgent that needs to happen right now. It doesn’t set a certain time to take the item up again (need to use Take from the Table). It is also not debatable or amendable. Postpone definitely just puts it off until a certain time (or another meeting).  This may be because you need to hold off on making a decision or because it needs to be decided at a more convenient time. It is debatable and amendable. RONR, p. 209-218 and RONR, p. 179-191
• The order of precedence
• For what we have learned so far: Lay on the Table, Call the Previous Question, Limit or Extend Limits of Debate, Postpone Definitely, Refer/Commit, Amend, Postpone Indefinitely, Main Motion
• How difficult the Parli Pro exam is
• If you study and practice, you should be ok! Below is some basic information and example questions
• All AP tests will use the same references and will consist of two parts: PART I: Five (5) open book parliamentary procedure research questions using the 2011 edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (to be provided by the taker of the test).
• Example: List the page and beginning line number of the following statement: “Until the chair states the question, the maker has the right to modify his motion as he pleases or to withdraw it entirely.” 
• Answer: Page 40 Beginning line number: 8
• PART II: Forty-five (45) multiple choice questions taken from Dunbar’s Manual of Parliamentary Test Questions and the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
• Example: Which of the following motions can the Previous Question be applied to?
• A. Adjourn
• B. Limit or Extend Limits of Debate
• C. Raise a Question of Privilege
• D. Lay on the Table
• Answer: B
• SAEP-Accredited Parliamentarian Credential has more information about the accreditation exam if you’re interested.
• When incidental motions take priority over subsidiary motions
• Incidental motions rank higher when they are actually applicable to the motion that is pending and need to be taken care of immediately RONR, p. 72, l. 24-36
• How do you properly suspend the rules?
• Next Week!
• More about previous question
• See RONR, p. 197-209
• How does the chair keep it all in line?
• Taking notes or asking for the secretary’s help

What did you learn?

• You can amend an amendment
• Characteristics of the seven subsidiary motions
1. Lay on the Table
2. Call the Previous Question
3. Limit of Extend Limits of Debate
4. Postpone Definitely
5. Refer/Commit
6. Amend
7. Postpone Indefinitely
• Subsidiary motions are third in precedence compared to privileged motions
• How to properly use the previous question
• All about motions :)
• The specifics of subsidiary motions and the ins and outs of them
• Call the previous question is not debatable
• How to make subsidiary motions properly 
• Gavel Taps
• There are many ways to use the subsidiary motions to your advantage and ultimately get your way
• The proper use of a lot of the motions I had sort of known about
• There are four types of committees
• Applying the motions to real scenarios

What do you want to learn more about?

• Why would you use postpone indefinitely instead of just voting it down?
• Postpone indefinitely is used when you can’t adopt or reject the motion without undesirable consequences. It kills the motion without taking a direct vote on the motion. RONR, p. 126, l. 7-9
• Also for strategy purposes (the Parliamentarian’s Motion) RONR, p. 128, l. 17-33
• A way to speak properly during a meeting
• We’ll go over debate later on. But until then try RONR, p. 385-399
• Committee of the Whole
• RONR, p. 529-542
• Looking forward to running through more practice session
• Yay!
• If the chairman makes a significant mistake, how is that corrected or brought to attention?
• Point of Order…we’ll learn about that next week!
• How to become more fluent in my Parli Pro
• Read and Practice!
• Incidental Motions
• That’s next week!
• How reconsider works
• We’ll learn about that in session #6
• Example of debating the motion to postpone indefinitely
• The following video has this motion starting at 5:10  
• Meridian FFA-2012 National FFA Convention Parli Pro Finals