Are You Sure You Want to Censure?
David Mezzera, PRP
In observing politics, or the world of finance, or your own professional organizations, chances are you have encountered situations in which someone’s actions are so egregious that there is a call to censure the offender. We certainly hear about censure in the realm of national politics, but what exactly does censure mean in such a situation? Would it help to look up the term in RONR’s Index to understand the effect of calling for a censure? Well, let’s try that. Hmmm, let’s see…page 661 in the 12th edition Index… Not much there but a couple of section:paragraph references. But let’s look at those specific citations [all taken from RONR, 12th edition, 2020] and see what we can learn about censure: Censure is a possible reaction to someone’s unfavorable or inappropriate actions. [12:20] Censure is one of four punishments that can be imposed by an organization on an offending member (the other three being a fine if allowed by the bylaws, suspension of membership, or expulsion from the organization). [61:2] An organization has some options to deal with an out-of-order member at a meeting: require an apology, censure, removal from the hall, suspending the member’s rights, or expulsion from the organization. [61:15] 12 National Parliamentarian • Summer 2022
A member may be censured even without full disciplinary procedures. [61:2n1] A motion to censure is a main motion and is debatable and amendable and requires a majority vote to adopt. [10:56-57] Unlike other proceedings, a motion to censure may include harsh language. [39:7] Interestingly, a motion to commend may be amended to become a motion to censure or vice versa. [12:20] When the chair is the subject of a motion to censure, he turns the chair over to the vice president or other appropriate temporary occupant during deliberations of the motion. [47:10] There is no explicit definition of censure in RONR; there is no specified resulting action other than announcing, “(Name) is censured.” And that’s about it in RONR. It’s still a little unclear what censure really means or its effect. But if you’re interested in this topic and its political ramifications, read on. In the United States Congress, a censure is a formal majority vote to disapprove of a member’s conduct that requires the offender to receive a verbal rebuke and a reading of the censure resolution by the Senate or House chair. It is essentially a form of public humiliation and the most serious form of punishment short of expulsion that
