Amend (motion)

Last updated

In parliamentary procedure, the motion to amend is used to modify another motion. An amendment could itself be amended. A related procedure is filling blanks in a motion.

Contents

Explanation and use

Amend (RONR)
Class Subsidiary motion
In order when another has the floor?No
Requires second?Yes
Debatable?Yes, if motion to be amended is debatable
May be reconsidered?Yes
Amendable?Yes, if first-order
Vote required Majority

Using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), all main motions can be amended, [1] by so called "first-order" amendments. A first-order amendment can be amended, [2] by "second-order" amendments. However, the limit is that a second-order amendment may not be amended, because it would be too complicated. [2]

Secondary motions that, by their nature, include a variable element, also may be amended. [1] For example, the motion to postpone may be amended as to the length of the postponement; the motion to limit or extend limits of debate may be amended as to the number or length of speeches or the total time to be consumed; and the motion to commit or refer may be amended as to the details of the committee or the time within which the committee must report.

Forms and uses of the motion

The motion to amend takes three basic forms: [3]

A substitute amendment is an amendment that would replace existing language of a proposal or another amendment with its own. [4]

An amendment can be used to water down a motion into a form that is more likely to be accepted or to convert it into a form that is more likely to be rejected. [5]

Procedure

A proposed amendment is treated like many other motions in that it could be debated and voted on. This could be done even in the case of a friendly amendment. [6] An amendment could pass with a majority vote, regardless of the vote required to pass the main motion. [7] After passing or rejecting an amendment, the main motion would still need to be voted on. [8]

Filling blanks

A related procedure that changes the wording in a motion is the device of filling blanks. [9] A blank could be created by adopting a motion to create a blank and then members could make suggestions to fill in that blank. This procedure is useful because it allows an unlimited number of suggestions to be voted on as opposed to the limit of allowing only first-order and second-order amendments (i.e. only an amendment to a motion and an amendment to the amendment are allowed). [9] An example are nominations - they are, in effect, proposals to fill in the blank in the motion "that ________ be elected." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Roberts Rules of Order</i> Book on parliamentary procedure by Henry Martyn Robert

Robert's Rules of Order, often simply referred to as Robert's Rules, is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for which it was designed ... Where there is no law ... there is the least of real liberty." The term "Robert's Rules of Order" is also used more generically to refer to any of the more recent editions, by various editors and authors, based on any of Robert's original editions, and the term is used more generically in the United States to refer to parliamentary procedure.

An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They are often used when it is better to change the document than to write a new one. Only the legislative branch is involved in the amendment process.

In parliamentary procedure, an adjournment ends a meeting. It could be done using a motion to adjourn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minutes</span> Written details of a meeting

Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activities considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the activities.

A repeal is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law with an updated, amended, or otherwise related law, or a repeal without replacement so as to abolish its provisions altogether.

In US parliamentary procedure, the previous question is generally used as a motion to end debate on a pending proposal and bring it to an immediate vote. The meaning of this specialized motion has nothing to do with any question previously considered by the assembly.

In parliamentary procedure using Robert's Rules of Order, the wording of a motion could be changed by an amendment. This amendment is called a primary amendment, or first-degree amendment. A secondary amendment, or second-degree amendment is an amendment of an amendment. Secondary amendments are handled like other amendments in that they can be debated and voted on before moving forward.

In parliamentary procedure, an objection to the consideration of a question is a motion that is adopted to prevent an original main motion from coming before the assembly. This motion is different from an objection to a unanimous consent request.

In parliamentary procedure, the motion to postpone indefinitely is a subsidiary motion used to kill a main motion without taking a direct vote on it. This motion does not actually "postpone" it.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion to appeal from the decision of the chair is used to challenge a ruling of the chair.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. Such motions, and the form they take are specified by the deliberate assembly and/or a pre-agreed volume detailing parliamentary procedure, such as Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised; The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure; or Lord Critine's The ABC of Chairmanship. Motions are used in conducting business in almost all legislative bodies worldwide, and are used in meetings of many church vestries, corporate boards, and fraternal organizations.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion to ask a question regarding the rights of the meeting is a privileged motion that permits a request related to the rights and privileges of the assembly or any of its members to be brought up.

In parliamentary procedure in the United States, a motion to postpone to a certain time is used to delay action on a pending question until a different day, meeting, hour or until after a certain event. Then, when that time comes, the consideration of the question is picked up where it was left off when it was postponed.

In parliamentary procedure, a motion for division of a question is used to separate a motion into a set of motions.

Debate in parliamentary procedure refers to discussion on the merits of a pending question; that is, whether it should or should not be agreed to. It is also commonly referred to as "discussion".

In parliamentary procedure, using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the motion to consider by paragraph is used to consider separately the different parts of a report or long motion consisting of a series of resolutions, paragraphs, articles, or sections that are not totally separate questions.

Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies. General principles of parliamentary procedure include rule of the majority with respect for the minority.

In parliamentary procedure, the verb to table has the opposite meaning in the United States to the rest of the world:

In parliamentary procedure, a substitute amendment is an amendment that replaces a portion or all of the wording in a proposal.

References

  1. 1 2 Robert, Henry M.; et al. (2011). Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-306-82020-5.
  2. 1 2 Robert 2011 , p. 135
  3. ↑ Robert III, Henry M.; et al. (2011). Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. p. 38. ISBN   978-0-306-82019-9.
  4. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  5. ↑ Robert 2011 , p. 157
  6. ↑ Robert III, Henry M. (2011). "Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 8)". The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site. The Robert's Rules Association. Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  7. ↑ Robert 2011 , p. 133
  8. ↑ Robert III 2011 , p. 39
  9. 1 2 Robert 2011 , p. 162
  10. ↑ Robert 2011 , p. 164
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.