CHAPTER
III

DESCRIPTION OF MOTIONS IN ALL CLASSIFICATIONS

§5. BASIC CLASSIFICATIONS; ORDER OF PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS

Classes of Motions

5:1      As noted in Chapter II, the word motion refers to a formal proposal by a member, in a meeting, that the assembly take certain action. Before a subject can be considered, it must be placed before the assembly in the form of a motion. From the basic type of motion known as the main motion, as also noted in the preceding chapter, many other specific motions have been derived and have become defined under parliamentary law.

5:2      For convenience in description, motions may be classified as shown in the following list. (As indicated to the right of the list, the motions in the second, third, and fourth classes—subsidiary, privileged, and incidental motions taken together—are also called “secondary motions.”)1

image

Secondary Motions as an Underlying Concept

5:3  Nature of Secondary Motions. The concept of secondary motions serves as a starting point for the division of motions into the classes shown. It also throws light on the order of precedence of motions, which, as explained below, is a basic element of the rules under which these motions are used in the transaction of business.

5:4      Secondary motions may be seen as related to the following fundamental principle of parliamentary law: Only one question can be considered at a time; once a motion is before the assembly, it must be adopted or rejected by a vote, or the assembly must take action disposing of the question in some other way, before any other business (except certain matters called “privileged questions”) can be introduced. By this principle, a main motion can be made only when no other motion is pending. Thus, however, the need for a number of particular secondary motions arises.

5:5      A secondary motion is one whose relationship to the main question, or whose procedural character or urgency, is such that:

1) it can be made and considered while a main motion is pending (or, occasionally, it is applicable just before or after a related main question is pending)—without violating the principle of taking up only one question at a time; and

2) when the secondary motion has been made and has been admitted by the chair as in order (that is, as being legitimately able to come before the assembly at the time according to the rules affecting its use), it must be acted upon or disposed of before direct consideration of the main question can be continued.

5:6      Secondary motions generally are made and seconded and are stated by the chair, as a main motion would be—except that certain of them are in order while another member has the floor, and most of the motions in this latter group do not require a second (see pages t44–t45).

5:7      When a secondary motion is placed before the assembly, it becomes the immediately pending question; the main motion remains pending while the secondary motion is also pending. A main motion is the immediately pending question whenever it is pending with no secondary motion. Whenever the chair has occasion to inform the assembly as to what is the immediately pending question, however, he does not use this phrase, but employs the parliamentary form, “The question is on the motion to…” The latter form is used even when more than one motion is pending.

5:8  Taking of Precedence by One Motion over Another. If two motions “A” and “B” are related under rules of parliamentary procedure in such a way that motion “B” can be made while motion “A” is pending and, when stated by the chair, can thus temporarily replace “A” as the immediately pending question, motion “B” takes precedence2 over (or takes precedence of) motion “A,” and motion “A” yields to3 motion “B.” A secondary motion thus takes precedence over the main motion; and a main motion takes precedence over nothing and yields to all applicable secondary motions.

5:9      Certain secondary motions also take precedence over others, so that it is possible for more than one secondary motion to be pending at a time (together with the main motion). In such a case, the motion most recently stated by the chair (among those that have not been voted on) is the immediately pending question.

5:10 Order of Precedence of Motions; Rank. The rules under which secondary motions take precedence over one another have been gradually evolved through experience. While these rules are proper to each of the specific motions, they follow patterns that are related to the division of secondary motions into the classes of subsidiary, privileged, and incidental motions.

5:11      Viewed apart from incidental motions and with modifications under particular conditions explained in 6:7, the main motion, the seven subsidiary motions, and the five privileged motions fall into a definite order of precedence, which gives a particular rank to each of these thirteen motions. The main motion—which does not take precedence over anything—ranks lowest. Each of the other twelve motions has its proper position in the order, taking precedence over the motions that rank below it and yielding to those that rank above it. The privileged motions rank above all other motions. The manner in which the order of precedence of motions operates is illustrated in the summaries of subsidiary and privileged motions given in the next section (see also the chart pages t3–t5).

5:12      The incidental motions each have a certain relationship to the order of precedence of motions; but this relationship can be fully discussed only in terms of the rules governing the individual motions. Other factors also affect the conditions under which these motions are in order, as described in 6:15–6:24. When a particular incidental motion is in order, it takes precedence over the main motion and any other motions that may be pending. Incidental motions have no rank among themselves, and none of them can be assigned a position in the order of precedence of motions.

5:13      The rank of the motions in the fifth classification as listed at the beginning of this chapter—that is, the motions that bring a question again before the assembly—is discussed in the description of these motions beginning in 6:25.

§6. DESCRIPTION OF CLASSES AND INDIVIDUAL MOTIONS

Main Motions

6:1      A main motion is a motion whose introduction brings business before the assembly. As already noted, a main motion can be made only when no other motion is pending, and it ranks lowest in the order of precedence of motions.

6:2      It is usual to distinguish between original main motions and incidental main motions—which differ principally in the nature of their subject matter. The difference in the rules governing the use of main motions in these two subclasses is only slight. It should be noted that incidental main motions form a category completely separate from incidental motions—the fourth general class of motions. (The distinction between original main motions and incidental main motions is fully discussed in 10:2–7.)

Subsidiary Motions

6:3      Subsidiary motions assist the assembly in treating or disposing of a main motion (and sometimes other motions).

6:4  Manner of Listing the Motions. Each of the subsidiary motions is briefly described below in terms of the type of situation where it is of use, in a manner that may convey a suggestion of how the order of precedence of motions was arrived at. In the case of the subsidiary motions only, their distinguishing characteristics as a class are explained after this description of the individual motions, since these characteristics will be more easily understood if the material is read in that order. The subsidiary motions are listed below in reverse order of rank—which is the chronological order in which they would be moved if all of them became pending at one time. Each of the motions listed takes precedence over—that is, ranks above—the main motion, and also any or all of the motions listed before it.

6:5  Listing of Individual Subsidiary Motions. The subsidiary motions, briefly described by function, are as follows:

1) If an embarrassing main motion has been brought before the assembly, a member can propose to dispose of this question without bringing it to a direct vote, by moving to Postpone Indefinitely (11).

2) If a main motion might be more suitable or acceptable in an altered form, a proposal to change its wording (either to clarify or, within limits, to modify the meaning) before the main motion is voted on can be introduced by moving to Amend (12).

3) But it may be that much time would be required to amend the main motion properly, or that additional information is needed, so that it would be better to turn the motion or resolution over to a committee for study or redrafting before the assembly considers it further. Such action can be proposed by moving to Commit the main question—or Refer it to a committee (13).

4) If the assembly might prefer to consider the main motion later in the same meeting or at another meeting, this can be proposed by moving to Postpone to a Certain Time—also called the motion to Postpone Definitely, or simply to Postpone (14).

5) If it is desired to continue consideration of a motion but debate is consuming too much time, a member can move to place a limit on the debate; on the other hand, if special circumstances make it advisable to permit more or longer speeches than under the usual rules, a motion to do so can be made; or, it may sometimes be desirable to combine the elements of limitation and extension, as in limiting the length of speeches but allowing more speeches per member. All such modifications of the normal limits of debate on a pending motion are proposed by means of the motion to Limit or Extend Limits of Debate (15).

6) If it is desired to close debate and amendment of a pending motion so that it will come to an immediate vote, this can be proposed by moving the Previous Question (16).

7) If there is reason for the assembly to lay the main motion aside temporarily without setting a time for resuming its consideration, but with the provision that it can be taken up again whenever a majority so decides, this can be proposed by the motion to Lay on the Table (17).

6:6  Characteristics of Subsidiary Motions as a Class. Subsidiary motions as a class are distinguished by having all five of the following characteristics: (1) They are always applied to another motion while it is pending, to aid in treating or disposing of it; the adoption of one of them always does something to this other motion—that is, changes its status in some way—without adopting or expressly rejecting it. (2) They can be applied to any main motion. (Regarding other applications, see below.) (3) They fit into an order of precedence, as already explained, so that no subsidiary motion can be moved when a motion of higher rank is already pending. (4) They are out of order when another member has the floor. (5) They are in order during the entire time that a motion to which they can be applied is pending, except as may be precluded by a previously adopted motion to Limit or Extend Limits of Debate or for the Previous Question that is in effect. (In this respect, they differ from the incidental motions; cf. 6:16 and 16:2.)

6:7  Cases Where One Subsidiary Motion Can Be Applied to Another. The subsidiary motion to Amend is applicable to many other motions in addition to the main motion. All of the subsidiary motions can be amended except Postpone Indefinitely, the Previous Question, and Lay on the Table (which, by the nature of what they propose, do not lend themselves to amendment). When the motion to Amend is applied to another subsidiary motion, its rank is modified so that it takes precedence over the motion to which it is applied, even if that motion ranks higher than Amend in the regular order of precedence of motions. For example, suppose that a motion to Postpone the main question to a certain time is immediately pending. In such a case, motions to Limit or Extend Limits of Debate, for the Previous Question, and to Lay on the Table are in order; motions to Postpone Indefinitely, to Amend, and to Commit, on the other hand, may have become pending before the motion to Postpone Definitely was moved, but none of these three motions can now be made—except that it is in order to move to amend the motion to Postpone, while it is immediately pending.

6:8      Debate can also be limited or extended on any debatable motion4 that is immediately pending (or on a specified series of pending motions including the immediately pending question, 15); and, similarly, debate and amendment can be closed on a motion or series of motions that are debatable and amendable, or amendment can be closed on motions that can be amended but not debated (16). The four lowest-ranking subsidiary motions can be debated (except that Amend is undebatable when it is applied to an undebatable motion). Debate of the three highest-ranking subsidiary motions is not permitted, since that would defeat their purpose. From these rules, it follows that the motion to Limit or Extend Limits of Debate can be applied to any of the four subsidiary motions of lower rank (but not to the two that rank above it), while the Previous Question can be applied to any of the five subsidiary motions that rank below it (but not to the one subsidiary motion that ranks above it).

6:9  Incidental Main Motions Corresponding to Subsidiary Motions. For each of the subsidiary motions Amend, Commit, Postpone Definitely, and Limit or Extend Limits of Debate, there is a corresponding incidental main motion (10:4–5) of the same name that can be made when no other motion is pending.

6:10      (Each of the subsidiary motions is fully discussed in 11–17.)

Privileged Motions

6:11 Characteristics of Privileged Motions as a Class. Unlike subsidiary or incidental motions, privileged motions do not relate to the pending business, but have to do with special matters of immediate and overriding importance which, without debate, should be allowed to interrupt the consideration of anything else. Like subsidiary motions, however, the five privileged motions fit into an order of precedence. All of them take precedence over motions of any other class (except in certain instances where the immediately pending question may be a motion to Amend, a motion for the Previous Question, or an incidental motion that was moved while a still higher-ranking privileged motion was immediately pending). The privileged motions as a class are also known as “privileged questions,” which should not be confused with “questions of privilege,” as described in connection with the second motion listed below.

6:12 Listing of Individual Privileged Motions. The privileged motions are listed below in ascending order of rank. Each of the succeeding motions takes precedence over any or all of the motions listed before it.

1) If the adopted program or order of business is not being followed, or if consideration of a question has been set for the present time and is now in order but the matter is not being taken up, a single member, by making a Call for the Orders of the Day (18), can require such a schedule to be enforced—unless the assembly decides by a two-thirds vote to set the orders of the day aside.

2) If a pressing situation is affecting a right or privilege of the assembly or of an individual member (for example, noise, inadequate ventilation, introduction of a confidential subject in the presence of guests, etc.), a member can Raise a Question of Privilege (19), which permits him to interrupt pending business to state an urgent request or motion. If the matter is not simple enough to be taken care of informally, the chair then makes a ruling as to whether it is admitted as a question of privilege and whether it requires consideration before the pending business is resumed.

3) A short intermission in a meeting, even while business is pending, can be proposed by moving to Recess (20) for a specified length of time.

4) A member can propose to close the meeting entirely by moving to Adjourn (21). This motion can be made and the assembly can adjourn even while business is pending, provided that the time for the next meeting is established by a rule of the society or has been set by the assembly. (In such a case, the pending business and any other business that is unfinished at the time of adjournment, as well as any questions that have been temporarily disposed of, either fall to the ground or are carried over to the next meeting, depending on the circumstances; see 21:7.)

5) Under certain conditions while business is pending, the assembly—before adjourning or postponing the pending business—may wish to fix a date and hour, and sometimes the place, for another meeting, or (in an established society) for another meeting before the next regular meeting. In cases of this kind, the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn (22) can be made—even while a matter is pending—unless another meeting is already scheduled for later within the same session. This is the highest-ranking of all motions.

6:13 Incidental Main Motions Corresponding to Privileged Motions. For the motions to Recess, to Adjourn,5 and to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn, there are corresponding incidental main motions of the same names (10:4–5). Questions of privilege can also be brought up while no motion is pending, and at such times they are moved just as any main motion.

6:14      (Each of the privileged motions is fully discussed in 18–22.)

Incidental Motions

6:15 Characteristics of Incidental Motions as a Class. Incidental motions relate, in different ways, to the pending business or to business otherwise at hand—some of them with varying degrees of resemblance to subsidiary motions, but none of them possessing all five of the characteristics listed in 6:6. As a class, incidental motions deal with questions of procedure arising out of: (1) commonly, another pending motion; but also (2) sometimes, another motion or item of business

a) that it is desired to introduce,

b) that has been made but has not yet been stated by the chair, or

c) that has just been pending.

An incidental motion is said to be incidental to the other motion or matter out of which it arises. With but few exceptions, incidental motions are related to the main question in such a way that they must be decided immediately, before business can proceed. Most incidental motions are undebatable.

6:16      Each of the incidental motions is applicable only in its own type of special circumstance—which may be a particular characteristic present in the motion to which it is incidental, or a particular point in time or possible occurrence during the assembly’s involvement with the other motion or matter. This is an important respect in which incidental motions differ from subsidiary motions, since subsidiary motions—in principle and with certain qualifications already noted (6:6)—are applicable to any main motion over the entire time that it is pending.

6:17 Listing of Individual Incidental Motions. The order in which the incidental motions are listed below, unlike that in which the subsidiary and privileged motions are presented above, has no relation to what other motions they may take precedence over or yield to (see discussion beginning in 6:18). The incidental motions arise as follows:

1) Although the presiding officer has the responsibility of enforcing the rules, any member who believes he has noticed a case where the chair is failing to do so can, at the time the breach occurs, call attention to it by making a Point of Order (23); the effect is to require the chair to make a ruling on the question involved.

2) Although the duty of ruling on all questions of parliamentary procedure affecting the assembly’s proceedings rests with the chair, any two members, by moving and seconding an Appeal (24) immediately after the chair has made such a ruling, can require him to submit the matter to a vote of the assembly.

3) When it is desired that the assembly take up a question or do something that would be in violation of a rule that applies, it can be proposed in some cases to Suspend the Rules (25) to permit accomplishment of the desired purpose.

4) If an original main motion has been made and a member believes that it would do harm for the motion even to be discussed in the meeting, he can raise an Objection to the Consideration of the Question (26), provided he does so before debate has begun or any subsidiary motion (other than a motion to Lay on the Table) has been stated; the assembly then votes on whether the main motion shall be considered (and if there is a two-thirds vote against consideration, the motion is dropped).

5) If a pending main motion (or a pending amendment) contains two or more parts capable of standing as separate questions, the assembly can vote to treat each part accordingly in succession; such a course is proposed by the motion for Division of a Question (27).

6) If the main motion is in the form of a resolution or document containing several paragraphs or sections which (although not separate questions) could be most efficiently handled by opening each paragraph or section to amendment one at a time (before the whole is finally voted on), such a procedure can be proposed by the motion for Consideration by Paragraph or Seriatim (28).

7) If a member doubts the accuracy of the chair’s announcement of the result of a voice vote (or even a vote by show of hands)—or doubts that a representative number of persons voted—he can demand a Division of the Assembly (29); a single member thus has the power to require a standing vote, but not to order a count, which only the chair or the assembly can do (see next item).

8) A member can move that a vote be taken (a) by ballot, (b) by roll call, or (c) by a counted standing vote, especially if a division of the assembly has appeared inconclusive and the chair neglects to order a count. This grouping also includes a motion (d) that the polls be closed or reopened in a ballot vote. All these motions are grouped under the heading of Motions Relating to Methods of Voting and the Polls (30).

9) If the bylaws or rules of the organization do not prescribe how nominations are to be made, and if the assembly has taken no action to do so prior to an election, any member can move while the election is pending (a) to specify one of various methods by which the candidates shall be nominated; or, if the need arises, (b) to close nominations, or (c) to reopen them; these are the Motions Relating to Nominations (31).

10) A member may Request to Be Excused from a Duty (32) if he wishes to be relieved from an obligation imposed upon him by the bylaws or by virtue of some position or office he holds.

11) There are several other types of Requests and Inquiries (33) which a member can make in connection with business that someone desires to introduce, or which is pending or has just been pending. These include:

a) Parliamentary Inquiry (a request for the chair’s opinion on a matter of parliamentary procedure as it relates to the business at hand—not involving a ruling).

b) Request for Information or, as it is also called, Point of Information (an inquiry as to facts affecting the business at hand—directed to the chair or, through the chair, to a member).

c) Request for Permission (or Leave) to Withdraw or Modify a Motion (after it has been stated by the chair).

d) Request to Read Papers.

e) Request for Any Other Privilege.

The first two types of inquiry are responded to by the chair, or by a member at the direction of the chair; the other requests can be granted only by the assembly.

6:18 Conditions Under Which Incidental Motions Take Precedence over, or Yield to, Other Motions. Incidental motions take precedence over other motions according to the following principle: An incidental motion is in order only when it is legitimately incidental to another pending motion, or when it is legitimately incidental in some other way to business at hand (see 6:15); it then takes precedence over any other motions that are pending. Each incidental motion has its own rules that determine the conditions under which it is incidental—that is, the motions or situations to which it can be applied, and the circumstances or stage of consideration at which this can be done. Usually, but not always, an incidental motion is legitimately incidental to another pending motion only while the other motion is immediately pending.

6:19      As stated above, incidental motions have no rank among themselves and cannot be assigned positions within the order of precedence of motions, although they have individual relationships to that order which are described in the sections dealing with these motions (23–33). With the exception of a Division of the Assembly, incidental motions yield to the privileged motions and generally yield to the motion to Lay on the Table, unless the incidental motion arose out of a motion of higher rank than the one to which it would otherwise yield (see also second paragraph below). By the principle stated in the preceding paragraph, an incidental motion yields to any motion legitimately incidental to itself—as all motions do. For example, a motion for a Division of a Question, or one to Suspend the Rules, would yield to a Point of Order arising in connection with itself.

6:20      Whenever it is stated in this book that “incidental motions” or “all incidental motions” take precedence over a certain motion, or that a certain motion yields to “all applicable incidental motions,” it must be understood that the incidental motions referred to are only those that are legitimately incidental at the time they are made. For example, “Incidental motions always take precedence over the main motion”; but an Objection to the Consideration of a Question is legitimate only against an original main motion, and the objection is no longer in order after consideration of the question has begun—even though an original main motion is immediately pending (26). Similarly, “A Point of Order takes precedence over any pending question (of no matter how high a rank) out of which it arises”—but it does so only at the time the breach of order occurs.

6:21      In connection with motions that can be incidental to motions of any rank (such as Point of Order, Appeal, Suspend the Rules, Motions Relating to Voting, and certain types of Requests and Inquiries), whenever it is stated that one of these motions yields to “all motions” above a certain rank, the incidental motion nevertheless does not yield to any motion ranking below the one out of which it arises. For example, “A Point of Order yields to the motion to Lay on the Table, and to all privileged motions.” This statement is true without qualification if the point of order is in connection with a motion ranking lower than Lay on the Table (that is, a main motion or any other subsidiary motion); but a point of order arising from a motion to Recess would yield only to the two higher-ranking privileged motions—to Adjourn and to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn.

6:22      While a series consisting of a main motion and a number of subsidiary or privileged motions is being considered, it is possible for some of the incidental motions—such as a Point of Order, an Appeal, or a Division of the Assembly—to arise more than once, in connection with different motions in the series.

6:23 Incidental Main Motions Corresponding to Incidental Motions. Counterparts of some of the incidental motions may occur as incidental main motions. For example, a standing rule (2) can be suspended for the duration of a session (8); and a motion for such a suspension, made when no business is pending, is an incidental main motion. Similarly, a motion prescribing how nominations shall be made is an incidental main motion if it is moved while no election is pending.

6:24      (Each of the incidental motions is fully discussed in 23–33.)

Motions That Bring a Question Again Before the Assembly

6:25 Basis of This Classification. Four motions are grouped in this book as motions that bring a question again before the assembly since, either by their adoption or by their introduction, they allow the assembly to consider again the merits of a question that has previously been disposed of in some way. All of the motions that bring a question again before the assembly are usually made—and, like main motions, three of them can only be made—while no business is pending. The existence of these motions as a separate category may be seen as related to the following principles of parliamentary law:

a) During the meeting or series of connected meetings (called a “session,” 8) in which the assembly has decided a question, the same or substantially the same question cannot be brought up again, except through special procedures.

b) While a question is temporarily disposed of (by any of several methods described in this and later chapters) but is not finally settled, no similar or conflicting motion whose adoption would restrict the assembly in acting on the first question can be introduced.

c) To change what the assembly has adopted requires something more (in the way of a vote or previous notice to the members) than was necessary to adopt it in the first place.

The motions that bring a question again before the assembly enable the assembly, without violating the above principles, to reopen a completed question during the same session, or to take up one that has been temporarily disposed of, or to change something previously adopted and still in force.

6:26 Listing of Individual Motions in This Class. The order in which these motions are listed below has no relation to the order of precedence of motions. The first three of these motions are either main motions or have the same low rank as main motions, and the fourth has special characteristics relating to rank (see 6:27(5), 37:9(1)). The motions that bring a question again before the assembly, briefly described by function, are as follows:

1) If it is desired to resume consideration of a main motion (along with any series of motions that may be adhering to it—see 10:35) which lies on the table, it can be proposed by means of the motion to Take from the Table (34) that the motion or series become pending again. (A main motion is said to lie on the table if it was laid on the table earlier in the present session, or in the last previous session with no more than a quarterly time interval having intervened (see 9:7), and it has not yet been finally disposed of.)

2) If it is desired to cancel or countermand an entire main motion, resolution, order, or rule that has been adopted and that has continuing force and effect, such action can be proposed by means of the motion to Rescind (or Repeal, or Annul, 35); and by another form of the same parliamentary motion—that is, the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted (35)—it can be proposed to modify the wording or text previously adopted, or to substitute a different version.

3) If a question has been referred, or a task has been assigned, to a committee that has not yet made its final report, and it is desired to take the matter out of the committee’s hands, either so that the assembly itself can consider or act upon it or so that it can be dropped, such action can be proposed by means of the motion to Discharge a Committee (36).

4) If, in the same session that a motion has been voted on but no later than the same day or the next day on which a business meeting is held, new information or a changed situation makes it appear that a different result might reflect the true will of the assembly, a member who voted with the prevailing side can, by moving to Reconsider (37) the vote, propose that the question come before the assembly again as if it had not previously been voted on.

6:27 Relationships Among Motions in This Class. The motions that bring a question again before the assembly have a number of differences among themselves, and they may be variously subgrouped depending on the point of view, as follows:

1) The motions to Take from the Table and to Reconsider—and the motion to Discharge a Committee, in certain applications—are classed only with the motions that bring a question again before the assembly and cannot be satisfactorily placed in any other class. The motion that takes the form either to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted—and the motion to Discharge a Committee, in its other applications—are incidental main motions having special characteristics, as explained in the next item below.

2) The motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted is an incidental main motion because (a) it brings business before the assembly by its introduction and (b) when it is voted on, business thereby ceases to be pending. By contrast, two other motions in this class—Take from the Table and Reconsider (as applied to a main motion)—do not bring a question again before the assembly by their introduction, but by their adoption, which automatically causes a main question to become pending. The remaining motion, Discharge a Committee, either shares this same characteristic with the motions to Take from the Table and to Reconsider, or else it is in effect a particular case of the incidental main motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted—depending on whether the matter to be taken out of the committee’s hands was in the form of a pending motion referred by means of the subsidiary motion to Commit, or was a task assigned to the committee by means of a main motion (see 13:6, 36:10–11).

3) From another point of view, the motion to Discharge a Committee—even when applied to cause a previously referred motion to become pending again—is similar to the motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted in regard to the rules governing its use. Both of these motions have special requirements for their adoption—that is, both require either notice or more than a majority vote (see 35:2(7), 36:4(7)).

4) Again, the motion to Discharge a Committee (as applied to a motion that was referred) and the motion to Take from the Table have the common feature of proposing that the assembly take up a matter still “within its control” (see 9:7–11, 38:8) that was temporarily disposed of. On the other hand, the motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted and the motion to Reconsider are both applied to a motion that has been finally voted on. However, the latter motions differ from each other in that the motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted can be applied only to a motion on which the vote was affirmative, and it proposes a specified change in a decision that may have been made at any time previously. By contrast, the motion to Reconsider can, with certain exceptions, be applied to a vote that was either affirmative or negative, within a limited time after that vote, and it proposes no specific change in a decision but simply proposes that the original question be reopened.

5) The motion to Reconsider can be applied to several of the subsidiary, privileged, or incidental motions; and in certain cases when so applied, it assumes the character of a secondary motion—that is, a motion that can be made and considered while other motions are pending. It is the only one of the four motions in this class that can be applied to a secondary motion alone—that is, without also being applied to a related main motion. Because of the time limit on making the motion to Reconsider, the making of this motion takes precedence over all others (even the highest-ranking motion in the regular order of precedence of motions, Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn); but its consideration has only the rank of the motion proposed to be reconsidered. The motion to Reconsider thus cannot always be taken up at the time it is made. This feature of the motion is one of its unique characteristics.

6:28      (Each of the motions that bring a question again before the assembly is fully discussed in 34–37.)

§7. STANDARD DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIONS

7:1      Many of the most important rules governing the use of the individual motions described in this chapter reduce to eight standard descriptive characteristics. In addition to containing basic rules of procedure for each motion, these characteristics serve as points of comparison showing how the motion resembles or differs from a main motion.

7:2      The standard descriptive characteristics of a motion are the following:

1. Over what motions, if any, it takes precedence (that is, what motions can be pending without causing this motion to be out of order); also, to what motions it yields (that is, what motions can be made and considered while this motion is pending). (The main motion, ranking lowest, takes precedence over no other motion and yields to all subsidiary motions, all privileged motions, and all applicable incidental motions.)

2. To what motions or to what type of situation it is applicable; also, what motions, particularly subsidiary motions, are applicable to it, if any. (The main motion is applicable to no other motion; and all subsidiary motions, and certain incidental motions under various conditions, are applicable to it.)

3. Whether it is in order when another has the floor. (A main motion is not.)

4. Whether it requires a second. (A main motion does. Whenever it is stated in this book that a certain motion “must” be seconded, or “requires” a second, the precise meaning is as explained in 4:9–14, and the requirement does not apply when the motion is made by direction of a board or committee.)

5. Whether it is debatable—that is, whether debate on its merits is permitted while it is immediately pending. (A main motion is.)

6. Whether it is amendable. (A main motion is.)

7. What vote is required for its adoption. (A main motion requires a majority vote, except as noted in 10:8(7).)

8. Whether it can be reconsidered—that is, whether a motion to Reconsider (37) can be applied to the vote taken on it. (A main motion can be reconsidered.)

7:3      The standard descriptive characteristics of the main motion are more fully stated in 10, and those of the other parliamentary motions are given in 11–37. In addition, key facts with regard to Standard Descriptive Characteristics 1 and 2 are shown in Chart I, pages t3–t5, and with regard to Standard Descriptive Characteristics 3 through 8 are shown in Chart II, pages t6–t33.

7:4      Additional background for the detailed treatment of the motions in 10–37 is provided by the discussion of the topics “meeting” and “session” in 8 and 9.

Footnotes to Chapter III

1. Secondary motions must not be confused with secondary amendments, a much more specialized concept explained in 12:11–13.

2. Pronounced pree-SEED-n’s.

3. The word yield as used in this sense has no connection with yielding the floor as explained in 3:31.

4. See explanation in 7; rules governing the individual motions, 11–37; Table of Rules Relating to Motions, pages t6–t33; and lists, pages t46–t47.

5. The distinction between the main and the privileged motions to adjourn is different from any other case where an incidental main motion corresponds to a secondary motion of the same name, since a motion “to adjourn” can under certain conditions be a privileged motion rather than an incidental main motion even if made when no question is pending (see 21).