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] 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

Congress can impose on one of its own .

Although the U .S . Constitution grants impeachment and conviction powers, and the power to expel members to the House of Representatives and Senate, the document does not mention censure . Each of those bodies is able to adopt its own rules allowing resolutions that provide for a “rebuke,” “condemnation,” “denouncement” or censure of members .

There are no legal or financial consequences that come with a censure, but members of Congress who have been censured are required to give up any committee chairs they hold . Like a reprimand, a censure does not remove a member from their office so they retain their title, stature, and power to vote . The main difference is that a reprimand is considered a “slap on the wrist” and can be given in private and even in a letter . A censure, on the other hand, is a form of public shaming in which the politician must stand before his or her peers to listen to the censure resolution . It relies on the target’s sense of shame or their constituents’ subsequent disapproval, without which it has little practical effect except possibly that it could tarnish the member’s reputation so badly that they might not be re-elected or choose to run again .

Only nine U .S . Senators have ever been censured (including two in 1902 who were called out for physically fighting in the Senate chambers!) . David Durenburger (R-MN) is the most recent Senator censured (in 1990) for unethical conduct in personal business dealings, Senate reimbursements, and using campaign contributions for personal use . He was denounced by a vote of 96-0 .

Twenty-four House of Representatives members have been censured . In 2010, former Rep . Charles Rangel (D-NY), was censured by a vote of 333-79 for eleven ethics violations including improper solicitation of campaign funds and failure to pay federal taxes . And more recently Rep . Paul Gozar (R-AZ), in 2021, was censured by a vote of 223-207 for posting a manipulated video on his social media accounts depicting himself killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joseph Biden .

This author’s guess is that censure is probably never used as a reprimand in an NAP parliamentary study unit—and rarely used in the non-parliamentary world . Have you actually seen it used in person? If it is used and you are sought as a parliamentary consultant, remember that a resolution to censure someone is just that—a motion to reprimand or admonish a member . It is open to debate, amendment, and majority vote . If passed, it becomes an oral or written rebuke or harsh criticism of the offending member, tantamount to an expression of disapproval without any further disciplinary action attached to it . Are you sure you want to censure? NP

David Mezzera, PRP, is a past president of the California State Association of Parliamentarians and past District 8 Director.