Life Span of a Motion

Lorenzo R. Cuesta, PRP

The beauty of Robert’s Rules of Order is that every motion can be proposed, handled, and disposed of swiftly . The member’s rights are protected and the will of the majority rules as each motion is handled through this life span of development . However, most motions and procedures have a life span that may limit or expand on this simple description of handling a motion . Let us ignore the motions that clearly reverse, renew, or amend finalized decisions such as the motion to Reconsider, to Rescind, and to Discharge a Committee . Also, let us ignore the rules in the bylaws that allow for their own suspension .

Let us review some neglected facts about the life span and limitations on the handling and the execution of a motion:

1 . Quarterly Time Period

Unless a motion is referred to a committee, all business not completed within a quarterly time period must be reintroduced as a new proposal at the next quarterly time period . For example, an annual convention may not approve the minutes of the previous annual convention . However, those minutes can be approved if the minutes are presented by a minutes approval committee . RONR (12th ed .)

21:7(c) . Life span impacted!

2 . Election Process

Any business that has not been completed or is not in the hands of a committee when a board, or a part of a board, is replaced by the election process, must be reintroduced as a new proposal after the election . RONR (12th ed .)

21:7(c), 49:22 . Life span impacted!

3 . Life Span of Two Sessions

Some motions, if not fully executed by the end of the next session in a quarterly time period, cease to be in force . For example, if a motion that is Laid on the Table is not Taken from the Table by the end of the next session in a quarterly time interval, the motion to Lay on the Table dies . RONR (12th ed .) 17:8 . Similarly, if a Motion to Reconsider is not called up by the end of the next session in a quarterly time interval, the motion to Reconsider falls to the ground . RONR (12th ed .) 21:7n6 . Additionally, a voting body may order a recount only before the end of the next session in a quarterly time interval . RONR (12th ed .) 45:41 . Life span impacted!

4 . Demands

Some motions are so powerful that they are referred to as Demands .

These motions may interrupt a speaker, do not need a second, are neither amendable nor debatable, and do not need a vote for approval . For example, unless the chair rules as dilatory a call for Division, the chair is obligated to retake a vote in a more accurate manner . Similarly, a Call for the Orders of the Day is just as powerful . The adopted agenda must be followed, unless a 2/3 negative vote rejects the question calling for proceeding to the orders of the day, RONR (12th ed .) 18:8(a), or a 2/3 affirmative vote Suspends the Rules or adopts an extension on the Limits of Debate, RONR (12th ed .)

18:8(b) . Life span impacted!

5 . The Lesser Forms of the Motion to Refer

If a motion is referred to a Committee of the Whole or a Quasi Committee of the Whole, the resulting vote is reported and has the status of a recommendation which the assembly has the opportunity to consider . These recommendations are not the final decision of the assembly until the assembly votes on them . On the other hand, if a motion is referred to Informal Consideration, the votes taken under Informal Consideration are the votes of the assembly and need not be taken again . RONR (12th ed .) 52:2 . Additionally, speeches made in either of these versions of refer do not count against the member’s right to debate the same question later at the assembly . RONR (12th ed .)

13:21 . Life span impacted!

6 . Consequences of Discharging a Committee

If a committee is discharged, the life span of the referred motion is affected depending on whether the motion was referred by a Subsidiary Motion or by an Incidental Main Motion . If a Subsidiary Motion referred the motion, then the motion simply becomes immediately pending . However, if an Incidental Main Motion referred the motion, then the motion dies when the committee is discharged .

RONR (12th ed .) 36:10-11 .

Life span impacted!

7 . Object to the Consideration of a Question

The motion to Object to the Consideration of a Question may be raised only for new motions . It may not be raised if any debate or subsidiary motion (except Lay on the Table) has been introduced . RONR (12th ed .) 26:2(2) . However, an Incidental Main Motion does not mark the beginning of a particular involvement of the assembly, as a Main Motion does . It implies that it relates to business already introduced . So, Object to Consideration of an Incidental Main Motion may not be raised at all . RONR (12th ed .) 10:4 . Life span impacted!

8

. An Ex-Officio Member’s Rights in a Committee or Board

There is some confusion common to board members that affects the life span of a motion related to the vote and the quorum . If an ex officio is under the authority of the society (i .e ., member, employee, or officer), that member has the same rights and obligations as any other member and is counted towards the quorum . On the other hand, if an ex officio is not under the authority of the society, that individual has the same rights to participate as any other member, but none of the obligations . An ex officio who is not under the authority of the society does not count towards the quorum . RONR (12th ed .)

49:8 . [Ex officio = noun; Ex-officio = adjective, per RONR usage .] Life span impacted!

motion . RONR (12th ed .) 4:12 .

Once debate or subsidiary motions are introduced, it is clear that more than one individual wishes the assembly to handle the motion . The lack of a second is then immaterial . RONR (12th ed .) 4:13 . The lack of a second is never considered a breach of a continuing nature, so a Point of Order would not be in order once debate has begun . RONR (12th ed .) 23:6 . Life span impacted!

11 . Right to Abstain from Abstaining

9

. Member Changes their Vote

Except for ballot voting or other secret voting, RONR (12th ed .) 45 .8), or when some electronic equipment makes it impossible to change one’s vote, RONR (12th ed .) 45:50, a member may change their vote up to the time that the result is announced . Life span impacted!

No member can be compelled to vote . RONR (12th ed .) 45:3 . However, no member may be prohibited from voting even if the member has a direct personal or pecuniary interest not common with the other members . RONR (12th ed .) 45:4 . The right to vote may be denied only through disciplinary proceedings . RONR (12th ed .) 45:1 . However, the society’s bylaws typically place a fiduciary duty on board members to be the voice of their constituents . Abstaining violates the objective of most society’s bylaws . Life span impacted!

10

. Lack of a Second

The purpose of the requirement for a second is to prevent time from being wasted when only one member wishes to introduce a

12

. Delegation of Board Authority

It is typical for a society’s bylaws to allow a board to act in the name of the society between the meetings of the membership and to assign duties to committees it may create and supervise . However, as a general principle, the board may not delegate its authority to a subordinate group . In other words, the board cannot empower a committee to act independently in the name of the board . RONR (12th ed .) 49:12 .

Life span impacted!

13 . Exhausted Limits of Debate

The right to debate a motion is an essential element in the making of rational decisions in a deliberative assembly under Robert’s Rules of Order . So any rule that affects debate must be well understood by the participants in a meeting .

• Let us look at a simple situation . Assume that neither Previous Question nor Limit or Extend Limits of Debate is in force .

• Assume that a Main Motion is temporarily disposed of either by a motion to Refer, to Postpone to a Certain Time, to Lay on the Table, or to Reconsider, as is common in meetings .

• Assume that later the Main Motion is brought back to the assembly, but either in a different meeting, or day, or session .

• The life span of a member’s right to debate is impacted according to when the Main Motion comes back .

a . Main Motion comes back on the same day: b . Main Motion comes back on a different day or at the next session:

If a member has spoken or has exhausted their rights to debate, their rights to debate are still reduced or exhausted when the motion comes back . RONR (12th ed .)

13:21, 14:19, 34:6, 37:21 .

If a member has spoken or has exhausted their rights to debate, their rights to debate are restored as if the member had not yet spoken . RONR (12th ed .)

13:21, 14:19, 34:6, 37:22 .

Conclusion

A motion’s life span of development follows the same six steps each time— proposed, seconded, stated, debated, voted upon, and announced results . This consistency assures that the members’ rights, and the will of the majority are respected . Nevertheless, every motion has unique properties which result in advantageous or disadvantageous variations on the expected life span of a motion’s development . The better-informed participants are, the more likely they will win . NP