(To demand to take up the proper business in order)
18:1 A Call for the Orders of the Day is a privileged motion by which a member can require the assembly to conform to its agenda, program, or order of business, or to take up a general or special order that is due to come up at the time (14, 41), unless two thirds of those voting wish to do otherwise.
18:2 Taking up business in the prescribed order is of substantial importance, especially in conventions—which must follow a closely regulated schedule with much of the underlying work taking place off the convention floor in conferences and committees. For business to receive proper consideration, officers, committee members, and the delegates who are principally involved in major questions must be able to know the approximate times at which subjects will come up.
18:3 If the presiding officer consistently performs his duty of announcing the business to come before the assembly in its proper order, there will be no occasion for calling for the orders of the day. But the chair may fail to notice that the time assigned for a general or special order has arrived, or he may skip an item in the order of business by mistake, or delay announcing a special order set for that time because he thinks the assembly is so interested in the pending question that it does not yet wish to take up the special order. In these cases, any member has the right to call for the orders of the day.1 The call must be simply “for the orders of the day” and not for a specified one, as this motion is only a demand that the proper schedule of business—whatever it is—be followed. In other words, while the member may remind the chair of what is scheduled, he cannot by this call obtain consideration of an order of the day that does not have first priority for consideration at that time.
18:4 The privileged Call for the Orders of the Day:
1. Takes precedence over all motions except (a) other privileged motions and (b) a motion to Suspend the Rules (25) that relates to the priority of business—although it can interrupt a pending question only if the neglect of a special order is involved (see below). It yields to all other privileged motions, and to any applicable incidental motions that may arise and that must be disposed of before it is disposed of. Except when a special order must be taken up, this call also yields to a motion to Reconsider or to the calling up (37) of a motion to Reconsider that has been made previously.
2. Is not applied to any motion, but is applicable as follows: (a) when the agenda, program, or order of business is being varied from; (b) when a general order that is in order at the time is not being taken up; or (c) when the time for considering a special order has arrived or passed and it is not being taken up. (For a statement of the precise times at which a Call for the Orders of the Day is in order, see below.) No subsidiary motion can be applied to this call.
3. If in order at the time, is in order when another has the floor, even if it interrupts a person speaking.
4. Does not require a second.
5. Is not debatable. (But the member making the call can remind the chair of the matter that is required to be taken up at the time.)
6. Is not amendable.
7. Upon a call by a single member the orders of the day must be enforced, except that a two-thirds vote can set them aside. (That is, the orders of the day can be set aside: either by a vote of two thirds in the negative on a question put by the chair as to the assembly’s desire to proceed to the orders of the day; or by a vote of two thirds in the affirmative on a motion by a member to extend the time for considering the pending question, or to suspend the rules and take up the desired question; see below.)
8. Cannot be reconsidered.
18:5 Times When a Call for the Orders of the Day Is in Order. The particular conditions under which a Call for the Orders of the Day is in order are as follows:
• Referring to cases (a) and (b) under Standard Characteristic 2, which do not involve the neglect of a special order: As soon as it is evident that the agenda, program, or order of business is being varied from, or that the time for the consideration of a postponed motion has arrived or passed, a Call for the Orders of the Day is in order whenever no question is pending. In such a case where no special order is involved, if a member starts to make a motion departing from the correct order of business, or if the chair announces a wrong item, the call must be made before any motion is stated by the chair; otherwise, it cannot be made until after the motion has been disposed of.
• Referring, on the other hand, to case (c) under Standard Characteristic 2: If the chair does not immediately announce a special order when the time set for its consideration has arrived, a Call for the Orders of the Day can be made at once—even while another question is pending, unless the pending question is itself a special order that was made before the one set for the present time was made (see 14, 41). From the time when a particular special order becomes the proper order of business and until it is announced, a Call for the Orders of the Day is in order.
18:6 A Call for the Orders of the Day cannot be made in a committee of the whole (see 52).
18:7 Status of an Order of the Day as a Main Motion. In contrast to the privileged Call for the Orders of the Day, an order of the day which such a call may bring before the assembly is itself invariably a main motion, and when it is announced and pending, it is debatable and amendable, and all of the other rules governing main motions apply to it. The orders of the day as a whole cannot be laid on the table or postponed, but an individual order of the day when actually pending can be so disposed of. As soon as the orders of the day that have interrupted business that was pending are completed, the interrupted business is taken up again at the point at which it was discontinued.
18:8 Setting Aside the Orders of the Day. When the orders of the day are called for, the chair can, and ordinarily should, immediately either interrupt or conclude consideration of the pending question (in accordance with the rules in 41) and proceed to take up the business prescribed for the present time. But sometimes the chair or a member may sense that the assembly would prefer to continue consideration of the presently pending question or take up another matter first. In such cases, the assembly by a two-thirds vote can set aside the orders of the day, as follows:
a) At the initiative of the chair: Instead of announcing the orders of the day when they are called for, the chair can put the question on proceeding to them: “The orders of the day are called for. The orders of the day are [identifying the business that is in order]. The question is: Will the assembly proceed to the orders of the day? As many as are in favor of proceeding to the orders of the day… [and so on, taking a rising vote].” Since to refuse to proceed to the orders of the day is an interference with the order of business similar to suspending the rules, two thirds in the negative are required to vote down this question and refuse to take up the orders of the day. Once the assembly has refused to proceed to the orders of the day, they cannot be called for again until the pending business is disposed of.
b) At the initiative of a member: When the orders of the day are called for or announced, a member can move (depending on the case) “that the time for considering the pending question be extended” a certain number of minutes, or “that the rules be suspended and” the desired question be taken up (see 25). These motions require a two-thirds vote in the affirmative for their adoption, since they change the order of business, agenda, or program.
18:9 The form of the motion is as follows: To call for the orders of the day, a member rises and, addressing the chair without waiting for recognition, says, “Mr. President, I call for the orders of the day,” or “Madam President, I demand the regular order.” The member can, if necessary, remind the chair of the matter set for that time.
18:10 Assume that at yesterday’s meeting of a convention, a resolution was postponed and made a special order for 11:30 A.M. today. That time has now arrived, but a member is speaking on a pending question.
MEMBER A (rising and addressing the chair): Madam President, I call for the orders of the day.
CHAIR: The orders of the day are called for. Yesterday the convention postponed the resolution relating to tax reform to 11:30 A.M. today, and made it a special order. It is now 11:30. The question is on the resolution, “Resolved, That…”
18:11 After consideration of the resolution is completed, the former business is resumed where it was left off:
CHAIR: When the orders of the day were called for, the convention was considering the resolution “Resolved, That…” Mr. Henley had the floor at that time. The chair recognizes Mr. Henley.
19:1 To Raise a Question of Privilege is a device that permits a request or main motion relating to the rights and privileges of the assembly or any of its members to be brought up for possible immediate consideration because of its urgency, while business is pending and the request or motion would otherwise not be in order. (For types and examples of questions of privilege,2 see 19:7–17.)
19:2 This device operates as follows: A member rises and addresses the chair saying that he “rises to a question of privilege…” (as explained in 19:8), and the chair immediately directs the member to state his question of privilege; the chair must then rule (subject to appeal, 24) whether the request or motion is in fact a question of privilege and, if so, whether it is urgent enough to interrupt the pending business.
19:3 It is important to understand the distinction between the device Raise a Question of Privilege and the question of privilege itself. The point to be decided in connection with the former is whether a certain question shall be admitted for consideration with the status and priority of the latter. The “raising” of a question of privilege is governed by rules appropriate to the device’s high rank in the order of precedence of motions. When a question of privilege is taken up after it has been raised and has been admitted by the chair, however, depending on the form in which it was introduced, it is handled as a request (32, 33), or it is treated as a main motion and is debatable and amendable and can have any subsidiary motion applied to it—regardless of whether it interrupted, or awaited the disposal of, the pending business. Questions of privilege can also be introduced while no motion is pending, either as requests or by being moved and seconded just as any other main motion; in that case, the device of “raising” a question of privilege does not enter in.
19:4 Questions of privilege or motions growing out of them should not be confused with “privileged motions” (or “privileged questions”). The latter comprise the five highest-ranking motions in the order of precedence, among which Raise a Question of Privilege is assigned a position.
19:5 The eight characteristics below apply only to the device of raising a question of privilege; that is, to a member’s obtaining recognition to state his urgent motion or request while business is pending, and to the chair’s ruling on the question’s admissibility as noted above (and described in 19:8–10).
19:6 The privileged device Raise a Question of Privilege:
1. Takes precedence over all other motions except the three higher-ranking privileged motions to Recess, to Adjourn, and to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn. It yields to these three privileged motions, and to any applicable incidental motions that may arise and that must be disposed of before it is disposed of.
2. Cannot be applied to any other motion, and no subsidiary motion can be applied to it.
3. Is in order when another has the floor if warranted by the urgency of the situation. (In such cases, the raising of a question of privilege is in order after another has been assigned the floor and before he has begun to speak; it cannot interrupt a member who is actually speaking unless the object of the question of privilege would otherwise be defeated—as it would be, however, in each of the two examples at the end of this section, 19:11–17. The raising of a question of privilege cannot interrupt voting or verifying a vote.)
4. Does not require a second, as relates to raising the question of privilege; that is, no second is required at any step in the process unless (after the chair has directed the member to state his question of privilege) the member states it in the form of a motion; such a motion must be seconded.
5. Is not debatable; that is, there can be no debate as to admitting the request or motion that has been raised as a question of privilege. (See, however, 19:9, allowing a brief description of the situation.) In contrast, a main motion that is pending after having been admitted as a question of privilege is debatable.
6. Is not amendable; that is, the motion to Amend is not applicable to the process of raising a question of privilege. (But a main motion that is pending after having been admitted as a question of privilege can be amended.)
7. Is ruled upon by the chair. No vote on the question’s admissibility is taken unless the chair’s ruling is appealed (24).
8. The chair’s ruling on whether to admit the request or motion that has been raised as a question of privilege cannot be reconsidered.
19:7 Types of Questions of Privilege. Questions of privilege are of two types: (1) those relating to the privileges of the assembly as a whole; and (2) questions of personal privilege. If the two come into competition, the former take precedence over the latter. Questions of the privileges of the assembly may relate to its organization or existence; to the comfort of its members with respect to heating, ventilation, lighting, and noise or other disturbance; to the conduct of its officers and employees, or of visitors; to the punishment of its members; or to the accuracy of published reports of its proceedings; etc. A motion to go into executive session (9) is a question of the privileges of the assembly. Questions of personal privilege—which seldom arise in ordinary societies and even more rarely justify interruption of pending business—may relate, for example, to an incorrect record of a member’s participation in a meeting contained in minutes approved in his absence, or to charges circulated against a member’s character.
19:8 Steps in Raising and Disposing of a Question of Privilege. In raising a question of privilege, a member rises, addresses the chair without waiting for recognition, and says, “I rise to a question of privilege affecting the assembly,” or “… to a question of personal privilege.”
19:9 The chair, even if he has assigned the floor to another person, directs the member to state his question of privilege. Depending on the case, the member then either (a) describes the situation briefly and asks that it be remedied, or (b) if he believes that the matter will require formal action by the assembly, makes a motion covering his question of privilege, and another member seconds it. The chair at his discretion can ask a member to put into the form of a motion a question of privilege that the member has stated as a request. Unless the point is simple enough to be promptly adjusted (as in the first example, below) or unless it is in the form of a motion and is not seconded, the chair rules whether the question is a question of privilege, and, if so, whether it is of sufficient urgency to warrant interruption of the existing parliamentary situation. From this ruling an undebatable appeal can be taken.
19:10 If the motion made as a question of privilege is seconded, and if the chair admits it as such and decides that it should be entertained immediately, he states the question on it and proceeds as with any other main motion. When the question of privilege has been disposed of, business is resumed at exactly the point at which it was interrupted. If a member had the floor when the question of privilege was raised, the chair assigns him the floor again.
19:11 The forms used in raising a question of privilege include: “I rise to a question of privilege affecting [or “relating to”] the assembly” (or “to a question of the privileges of the assembly”), and “I rise to a question of personal privilege.” The preceding forms should always be adhered to in cases where it is necessary to interrupt a person speaking. When a question of the privileges of the assembly is raised in a small meeting without interrupting a speaker, a variation such as “A question of privilege, Mr. President!” is permissible.
19:12 The following is an example of a question relating to the privileges of the assembly that can be stated as an informal request and that can be routinely adjusted by the chair:
19:13 Assume that, while an important speech is in progress at a meeting in a large hall with upper windows, workmen begin to operate jackhammers in an alley beside the building. Member A rises and interrupts, addressing the chair:
MEMBER A: Mr. President, I rise to a question of privilege affecting the assembly.
CHAIR: The gentleman will state his question.
MEMBER A: Mr. President, I don’t think we’re going to be able to hear unless some of the windows are closed.
CHAIR: Will one of the ushers ask the building engineer to have the windows closed on the left side. May we have the sound turned up a little until the windows are closed.
19:14 The next example illustrates a question of the privileges of the assembly requiring a formal motion which interrupts pending business. In an ordinary society these occasions are rare, but in a convention or large assembly a situation of unforeseen complications may cause such a motion to become appropriate.
19:15 Assume that, to hear a prominent speaker, an association has opened one of its meetings to the public. Because of the speaker’s commitments at a later hour, his address was given first, preceding the business meeting—which was expected to be brief and routine. But Member X has surprised this meeting by introducing a resolution dealing with a delicate matter of obvious importance that may call for prompt action by the association.
19:16 Member Y, sensing that consideration of this question should be kept within the organization, interrupts Member X’s speech on the pending resolution by rising “to a question of privilege relating to the assembly.” As directed by the president, he states the question of privilege:
MEMBER Y: Mr. President, I believe this is a question we should consider privately. With apologies to our guests, I move to go into executive session. (Second.)
CHAIR: The chair rules that the question is one of privilege to be entertained immediately. It is moved and seconded to go into executive session.
19:17 Debate or amendment follows, if needed; then the question is put to a vote. If the motion is adopted, the president expresses appreciation to guests. As soon as they have left, he states the resolution that was interrupted by the question of privilege, and recognizes Member X, who had the floor.
20:1 A recess is a short intermission in the assembly’s proceedings, commonly of only a few minutes, which does not close the meeting and after which business will immediately be resumed at exactly the point where it was interrupted.3 A recess may be taken, for example, to count ballots, to secure information, or to allow for informal consultation.
20:2 The privileged motion to Recess (or to Take a Recess) is a motion that a recess begin immediately, made while another question is pending.
20:3 A motion to recess that is made when no question is pending (whether the recess is to begin immediately or at a future time) is a main motion, and the eight characteristics given below do not apply to it. Consequently, a motion to recess is privileged only when another question is pending; and a motion to take a recess at a future time is in order only when no question is pending.
20:4 The eight characteristics below apply only to the privileged motion to Recess.
20:5 The privileged motion to Recess:
1. Takes precedence over the main motion, over all subsidiary and incidental motions, and over all privileged motions except those to Adjourn and to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn. It yields to motions to Amend or for the Previous Question that are applied to it, and it yields to the privileged motions to Adjourn and to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn (but in the cases where motions to adjourn or to set a time for meeting again are “not privileged”—that is, are main motions—it takes precedence over these motions; see 21 and 22). It also yields to any applicable incidental motions that may arise and that must be disposed of before the motion to Recess is voted on.
2. Is not applied to any motion. Motions to Amend can be applied to it. The Previous Question can also be applied to it to prevent amendments being moved, although this situation rarely arises in ordinary societies. No other subsidiary motion can be applied to it.
3. Is out of order when another has the floor.
4. Must be seconded.
5. Is not debatable. (But see 43:31–32 regarding allowable explanation of an undebatable motion.)
6. Is amendable as to the length of the recess; any such amendment is undebatable.
7. Requires a majority vote.
8. Cannot be reconsidered.
20:6 Declaring a Recess When It Has Been Provided For in the Agenda or Program. If a recess is provided for in the adopted agenda or program of a convention or other meeting, the chair, without further action by the assembly, announces the fact and simply declares the assembly in recess when the specified time arrives. If the chair does not announce the recess at the scheduled time, a member can call for the orders of the day (18), thereby demanding that the recess be declared.
20:7 Postponing the Time for Taking a Scheduled Recess. The time for taking a scheduled recess can be postponed by a two-thirds vote if, when that time arrives, the assembly does not wish to recess. In the latter event, the taking of the recess is treated just as any other order of the day that is due to be taken up, and it can be set aside by any of the procedures described in 18:8.
20:8 Forms in which this motion may be made are: “I move that the meeting recess [or “take a recess”] until 2 P.M.”; “I move to recess for ten minutes”; or “I move to recess until called to order by the chair.”
20:9 If such a motion is adopted, the chair announces the result as follows:
CHAIR: The ayes have it and the meeting stands recessed [or, “in recess”] for fifteen minutes [rapping once with the gavel, if desired].
20:10 At the end of the specified time, the chair gains the attention of the assembly and begins:
CHAIR: The convention [or “meeting”] will come to order. The time of recess has expired. The question is on the resolution… [Or, if the recess was taken following the vote on a question or an election but before the result had been announced, the first business would be the announcement of the vote.]
21:1 To adjourn means to close the meeting (8). A motion to adjourn may be a privileged or a main motion depending on a number of conditions. The motion to adjourn that commonly occurs in meetings of ordinary societies is the privileged motion. The adoption of any motion to adjourn closes the meeting immediately unless the motion specifies a later time for adjourning (but if it does specify such a time it is not a privileged motion).
21:2 The privileged motion to Adjourn (which is always moved in an unqualified form with no mention of a time either for adjourning or for meeting again) is a motion to close the meeting immediately, made under conditions where some other provision for another meeting exists (so that the adjournment will not have the effect of dissolving the assembly), and where no time for adjourning the present meeting has already been set. In such a case, regardless of whether business is pending, a majority should not be forced to continue in session substantially longer than it desires, and even if no business is pending, a decision as to whether to close the meeting should not be allowed to consume time. For this reason, when there is provision for another meeting and no time for adjourning is already set, an unqualified motion “to adjourn” is afforded sufficiently high privilege to interrupt the pending question and, on adoption, to close the meeting before the pending business is disposed of. And for the same reason, such a motion has the unique characteristic that, even if it is made while no question is pending, it is not debatable or amendable and it remains subject to all of the rules governing the privileged motion to Adjourn (except those that relate to making the motion while business is pending; see Standard Descriptive Characteristics). Under the conditions just described, a motion to Adjourn is therefore said to be “privileged” or to be “a privileged motion” even when no question is pending.
21:3 A motion to adjourn is always a privileged motion except in the following cases:
1) When the motion is qualified in any way, as in the case of a motion to adjourn at, or to, a future time.
2) When a time for adjourning is already established, either because the assembly has adopted a motion or a program setting such a time, or because the order of business, the bylaws, or other governing rules prescribe it.
3) When the effect of the motion to adjourn, if adopted, would be to dissolve the assembly with no provision for another meeting, as is usually the case in a mass meeting or the last meeting of a convention.4
Under any of conditions (1) through (3) above, a motion to adjourn is not privileged and is treated just as any other incidental main motion. Consequently, a motion to adjourn at or to a future time is always out of order while business is pending in any assembly; and any motion to adjourn at all is out of order while business is pending under either of conditions (2) or (3)—which, however, do not commonly apply to meetings of ordinary societies.
21:4 In ordinary societies having bylaws that provide for several regular meetings during the year and having no fixed hour for adjournment, a motion “to adjourn,” when unqualified, is always a privileged motion. In meetings of these organizations, such a motion to Adjourn is in order regardless of whether business is pending; and even when business is not pending, this motion is undebatable and is subject to the rules given below.
21:5 The following eight characteristics apply only to the privileged motion to Adjourn.
21:6 The privileged motion to Adjourn:
1. Takes precedence over all motions except the privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn; but it is not in order while the assembly is engaged in voting or verifying a vote, or before the result of a vote has been announced by the chair, except that, in the case of a vote taken by ballot, a motion to Adjourn is in order after the ballots have been collected by the tellers and before the result has been announced.5 It yields to the privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn (but it takes precedence over a motion to set a time for meeting again in the cases where such a motion is “not privileged”—that is, is a main motion; see 22). It also yields to any applicable incidental motions that may arise and that must be disposed of before the motion to Adjourn is voted on; but an incidental motion that can wait may not be entertained after a motion to Adjourn has been made.
2. Is not applied to any motion, and no subsidiary motion can be applied to it.
3. Is out of order when another has the floor.
4. Must be seconded.
5. Is not debatable (see 21:10–12, however).
6. Is not amendable.
7. Requires a majority vote.
8. Cannot be reconsidered (but see 21:13 regarding its renewal).
21:7 Effect of Adjournment on Pending Business or on an Uncompleted Order of Business. Except as the assembly may have adopted rules providing otherwise, the effect of an adjournment on a pending motion or an uncompleted order of business is as follows:
a) When the adjournment does not close the session (as when an adjourned meeting (9) has been set, or in any meeting of a convention except the last one): Business is immediately resumed at the next meeting at the point where it left off, except that there may first be brief opening ceremonies or reading of the minutes (see 41).
b) When the adjournment closes the session in an assembly having its next regular business session within a quarterly time interval (see 9:7), and having no members whose terms of membership expire before the next regular session (for example, in ordinary clubs and societies that hold frequent “regular meetings”): The complete order of business is followed at the next regular session. If a question was pending at the time of adjournment, it is taken up as the first item under unfinished business (or under special orders, if it was a special order)—resuming the question at exactly where it was previously interrupted. Any general or special order that was not reached is also taken up under unfinished business or under special orders, respectively (see 41).
c) When the adjournment closes a session in a body that will not have another regular session within a quarterly time interval (see 9:7), or closes a session that ends the term of all or some of the members (as may happen in an elected legislative assembly or in a board): Matters temporarily but not finally disposed of, except those that remain in the hands of a committee to which they have been referred (see 9:8–11), fall to the ground.6 They can, however, be introduced at the next session, the same as if they had never before been brought up.
21:8 Adjournment of Bodies Without Regularly Scheduled Meetings. The adjournment of a mass meeting or the last meeting of a convention dissolves the assembly unless provision has been made whereby it will, or may, be later reconvened. When adjournment would dissolve an assembly, the motion to adjourn is a main motion. A motion to close the session in an assembly that will thereby be dissolved, or will not meet again for a long time unless called into authorized special session under the bylaws or other governing rule, is often referred to as a motion to “adjourn sine die,” which means to “adjourn without day” (see also 8:2(6)). If the bylaws of an organization provide for the calling of a special convention after the regular convention session has been held, this assembly should meet as a distinct session with a body of delegates and alternates that must be chosen anew under provisions established in the bylaws. However, program items normally associated with conventions of the organization need not be provided for.
21:9 If a board or committee meeting is adjourned without any provision having been made for future meetings, the next meeting is held at the call of the chairman (see also 50:21–22). Consequently, since there usually is no fixed hour for adjournment, the unqualified motion to adjourn is usually privileged in boards or committees. When a special committee has completed the business referred to it, however, it “rises” and reports, which is equivalent to the main motion to adjourn sine die (or without day).
21:10 Parliamentary Steps That Are in Order While the Privileged Motion to Adjourn Is Pending, or After the Assembly Has Voted to Adjourn. Although the privileged motion to Adjourn is undebatable, the following parliamentary steps are in order while it is pending:
• to inform the assembly of business requiring attention before adjournment;
• to make important announcements;
• to make (but not to take up7) a motion to reconsider a previous vote;
• to make a motion to Reconsider and Enter on the Minutes (37:46–52);
• to give notice of a motion to be made at the next meeting (or on the next day, in a session consisting of daily meetings) where the motion requires previous notice (see 10:44–51); and
• to move to set a time for an adjourned meeting (9, 22) if there is no meeting scheduled for later within the same session.
21:11 Any of the above steps that are desired should be taken care of earlier, if possible; but there may sometimes be no such opportunity, particularly in a convention or a session of several meetings that is following an adopted agenda or program (41), or in cases where a meeting of an ordinary society adjourns before completing its regular order of business. If any matters of the types listed above arise after it has been moved to adjourn, the chair should state the facts briefly, or a member who rises and addresses the chair for the purpose may do so—or make the necessary motion or give the desired notice—before the vote is taken on the motion to Adjourn. If something requires action before adjournment, the member who moved to adjourn can be requested to withdraw his motion.
21:12 Regardless of the type of motion by which it is voted to adjourn, the meeting is not closed until the chair has declared that the meeting “is adjourned” (or “stands adjourned”), and members should not leave their seats until this declaration has been made. After it has been voted to adjourn but before the chair has declared the meeting adjourned, it is still in order to take any of the steps listed above (in 21:10), if necessary. In announcing an affirmative vote on a motion to adjourn, the chair should usually pause before declaring the meeting adjourned, saying: “The ayes seem to have it. [Pausing and resuming slowly:] The ayes have it, and the meeting is adjourned.” The pause affords time for members to demand a division (29) on the vote to adjourn, or to take any of the other steps just described. If the chair learns, immediately after declaring the assembly adjourned, that a member seeking the floor for one of these purposes had risen and addressed the chair before the adjournment was declared, then, since the adjournment was improper and this breach was promptly noted, the chair must call the meeting back to order—but only long enough for the purpose for which the member legitimately sought the floor.
21:13 Legitimate Renewal of the Privileged Motion and Its Abuses. Since a motion to Adjourn may be voted down because a majority wish to hear one speech or take one vote, this motion must be renewable as soon as there has been any progress in business or even material progress in debate. But this privilege of renewal and the high rank of the motion are sometimes abused to the annoyance of the assembly. The chair should therefore refuse to entertain a motion to Adjourn that is obviously made for obstructive purposes—for example, when a motion to Adjourn has just been voted down and nothing has taken place since to indicate that the assembly may now wish to close the meeting. If a member who has not properly obtained the floor calls out, “I move to adjourn,” such a call cannot be entertained as a motion except by unanimous consent (see Dilatory Motions, 39).
21:14 Cases Where the Assembly Can Adjourn Without a Motion. If an hour for adjourning a meeting within a convention or other session of more than one meeting has been scheduled—either in an agenda or program or by the adoption of a motion setting a time—no motion to adjourn is necessary when that hour arrives. The chair simply announces the fact and declares the meeting adjourned, as described for a recess in 20:6. If the assembly does not then wish to adjourn, the matter is handled as a case of setting aside the orders of the day, as explained in 18:8 (see also 41:56). If such a meeting wishes to adjourn earlier, it is done by a main motion, which, however, can be adopted by a majority vote (see 21:3). The rules stated above regarding parliamentary steps that are in order after it has been voted to adjourn are applicable in this case also.
21:15 When it appears that there is no further business in a meeting of an ordinary local society that normally goes through a complete order of business (41) at each regular meeting (9), the chair, instead of waiting or calling for a motion to adjourn, can ask, “Is there any further business?” If there is no response, the chair can then say, “Since there is no further business, the meeting is adjourned.”
21:16 The following forms may be used for either a privileged or a main motion: “I move to adjourn,” or “I move that the meeting [“now”] adjourn.” Additional forms in order as a main motion are: “I move that the club now adjourn to meet at 8 P.M. on April 10,” or “I move that the convention adjourn sine die [or “adjourn without day”].”
21:17 Assume that while a resolution is pending in a regular monthly meeting of a local society, a member obtains the floor and moves to adjourn, and the motion is seconded. Since this motion is privileged and therefore undebatable, the chair immediately puts the question.
CHAIR: It is moved and seconded to adjourn. Those in favor, say aye [continuing to take the vote as described in 4:37].
21:18 If the motion is adopted, the chair announces the result and declares the meeting adjourned (first making sure that no member is seeking the floor, as described in 21:12). If the motion is lost, the chair, after announcing the result, immediately restates the resolution that was pending when the motion to Adjourn was made.
21:19 After the pending resolution has been disposed of, or if there has been sufficient debate to show that the assembly now wishes to adjourn, a new motion to adjourn is in order. If such a motion is made and seconded and there is no other business, the chair, if he senses a general desire to adjourn, can suggest unanimous consent (4:58–63), as follows:
CHAIR: If there is no objection, the meeting will now adjourn. [Pause.] Since there is no objection, the meeting is adjourned.
21:20 The adjournment may be signaled by a single rap of the gavel, if desired.
22:1 The object of the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn (also referred to as the motion to “fix the time for an adjourned meeting”) is to set the time, and sometimes the place, for another meeting to continue business of the session, with no effect on when the present meeting will adjourn.
22:2 A motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn is in order only if at the time it is offered there is no meeting scheduled for later within the same session. If there is such a meeting, additional meetings within the same session may be set by a motion either to Suspend the Rules (25) or to Amend Something Previously Adopted (35), namely, the previously adopted agenda or program for the session.
22:3 A motion to fix the time to which to adjourn is privileged only when it is made while a question is pending.
22:4 If a motion to fix the time to which to adjourn is made in any assembly when no question is pending, it is in order and is debatable and subject to all of the other rules applicable to main motions. If feasible, any desired motion to fix the time to which to adjourn should be made while no other question is pending. But situations may arise in which immediate establishment of the time for an adjourned meeting is important, yet there is no opportunity to make a main motion. The privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn can then be used.
22:5 The following eight characteristics apply only to the privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn.
22:6 The privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn:
1. Takes precedence over all other motions. It yields to motions to Amend or for the Previous Question that are applied to it and yields to any applicable incidental motions that may arise and that must be disposed of before the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn is voted on. The privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn can be moved even after the assembly has voted to adjourn, provided that the chair has not yet declared the assembly adjourned.
2. Is not applied to any motion. Motions to Amend can be applied to it. The Previous Question can also be moved on it to prevent amendments, although this seldom serves a useful purpose.
3. Is out of order when another has the floor.
4. Must be seconded.
5. Is not debatable. (But see 43:31–32 regarding allowable explanation of an undebatable motion, as in the example beginning 22:14.)
6. Is amendable as to the date, hour, or place; such amendments are undebatable.
7. Requires a majority vote.
8. Can be reconsidered.
22:7 Provisions as to Time and Place. In an organized society, the adjourned meeting scheduled by adoption of this motion (privileged or main) must be set for a time before that of the next regular meeting. When the assembly has no fixed place for its meetings, the motion should include the place as well as the time of the adjourned meeting.
22:8 If an assembly holding regularly scheduled business meetings adjourns to meet “at the call of the chair,” an adjourned meeting called accordingly is a continuation of the same session; but, if no such meeting is held before the next regular session, the adjournment of the previous session becomes final retrospectively as of the date the last meeting adjourned, and the chair’s authority to call an adjourned meeting expires.
22:9 Effect of the Motion. Whether introduced as a privileged or a main motion, the effect of this motion is to establish an adjourned meeting—that is, another meeting that will be a continuation of the session at which the motion is adopted. Unlike a special meeting, an adjourned meeting does not require notice, although it is desirable to give such notice if feasible. An adjourned meeting should not be confused with a special meeting, which is a separate session called, in ordinary societies, as prescribed by the bylaws.
22:10 Because of the nature of the situations that give rise to use of the privileged motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn, adoption of this motion is often followed by immediate introduction of a motion to Postpone, or of the privileged motion to Adjourn, depending on the purpose, as shown in the examples below. At the adjourned meeting, except for the reading of the minutes, business will be taken up from the point at which the previous meeting adjourned or at which questions were postponed.
22:11 It should be noted that the adoption of this motion does not adjourn the present meeting or set a time for its adjournment; thus, it has no direct effect on when the present meeting shall adjourn, and is very different from a motion to fix the time at which to adjourn (which is always a main motion).
22:12 Forms in which this motion may be made are: “I move that when this meeting adjourns, it adjourn to meet at 2:00 P.M. tomorrow”; “I move that when this meeting adjourns, it stand adjourned to meet at 8:00 P.M. on Wednesday, April 2, at the Riggs Hotel”; or “I move that on adjournment, the meeting adjourn to meet at the call of the chair.”
22:13 In announcing an affirmative result, the chair says, for instance, “The ayes have it. When the meeting adjourns this evening, it will adjourn to meet at 2 P.M. tomorrow.”
22:14 As a first example, assume that a number of members wish to set up an adjourned meeting to deal with an involved pending question, so that the remaining order of business can be completed now.
MEMBER A (obtaining the floor): Madam President, I believe the pending resolution will require longer discussion than we have time for this evening. I move that when the meeting adjourns, it adjourn to meet here next Tuesday at 8:15 P.M. (Second.)
22:15 The chair states the question on this motion. Amendment as to time and place is possible, but no debate is in order. The chair then puts to vote the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn. After announcing the result—whether adoption or rejection—she says that the question is on the resolution, which she rereads or indicates by descriptive title. If the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn has been adopted, Member A rises once more.
MEMBER A (obtaining the floor): I move to postpone the pending resolution to the adjourned meeting set for next Tuesday evening. (Second.)
22:16 The motion to postpone is considered in the usual manner. If it is adopted, the chair continues:
CHAIR: The ayes have it and the resolution is postponed to the adjourned meeting. The next item of business is…
22:17 As a second example, assume that the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn is to be made with a view to immediate adjournment to a specified time, when this purpose cannot be reached by a main motion:
22:18 At the annual meeting of a society, the hour is growing late. A controversial bylaw amendment is pending, on which a strong minority is determined to continue debate.
MEMBER X (obtaining the floor): I move that when this meeting adjourns, it adjourn to meet at the same time tomorrow evening. (Second.)
22:19 The motion is treated as in the first example. If it is adopted, Member X, after the question has been restated on the pending bylaw amendment, again rises and addresses the chair.
MEMBER X (obtaining the floor): I move that the club now adjourn. (Second.)
22:20 The chair states the question on the motion to Adjourn and immediately puts it to vote. If it is adopted, the chair announces the result, as follows:
CHAIR: The ayes have it and the club stands adjourned until eight o’clock tomorrow evening.
1. When a convention adopts a program that includes an agenda for the business session together with the times for events outside of business meetings, the events outside the business meetings are not subject to a Call for the Orders of the Day.
2. The term question of privilege is applied to any request or motion relating to the rights and privileges of the assembly or its members, whether or not it is introduced by means of the device Raise a Question of Privilege.
3. For an explanation of the distinction between recess and adjournment, see 8, especially 8:7.
4. In state or national organizations where subordinate units choose delegates each time an annual or biennial convention is held, each convention is a separate assembly, since it is made up of a different body of delegates.
5. When much time may be consumed in counting ballots, it is generally better to take a recess, but the assembly can adjourn if it has previously appointed a time for the next meeting. In any case, the result of the ballot vote should be announced as soon as business is resumed.
6. In the case of an adopted motion which is the subject of a motion to Reconsider that was not finally disposed of, it is only the motion to Reconsider that falls to the ground, and the adopted motion then goes into effect.
7. Because of time limits on moving a reconsideration, a motion to Reconsider is allowed to be made and recorded (but not to be considered) while a motion to Adjourn is pending, or even after it has been voted to adjourn and before the chair has declared the assembly adjourned. A motion to Reconsider that is made at such a time normally must wait to be called up at a later meeting, unless it is made before the motion to Adjourn is voted on and that motion is withdrawn or voted down. If the reconsideration is moved after it has been voted to adjourn and it appears to require immediate attention, however, the chair must then retake the vote on the motion to Adjourn (see unique characteristics of the motion to Reconsider, 37:8).