The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, latest edition, shall govern the Society at each meeting of the Council of Eight and in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and the Bylaws of the Society.

Robert's Rules: What Is It?

Robert's Rules of Order, Revised--abbreviated here as Robert's Rules--is a system of parliamentary procedures first published in 1876 by Henry Robert, an American army general. His book borrowed heavily from earlier manuals, but it gradually became the standard in the United States. This set of rules forms the basis for the Rules of the House of Representatives of Congress, and contemporary editions of Robert's Rules are tailored toward the practices of that body.

Robert's Rules were adopted by the Peucinian Society to promote orderly discourse and debate, to defend the parliamentary rights of the minority, to act on the will of the majority, and to streamline the workings of the business of the Society.

Business, Motions, Debate:

Business is conducted in the Peucinian Society by means of motions introduced by individuals present at a Council of Eight or special meeting. Business may only be conducted when a quorum--a significant minority of the membership stipulated by the Constitution--is present.

An individual is typically permitted to speak by raising his or her hand and waiting for the acting President to recognize the potential speaker by calling upon him or her. When an individual has been recognized, he or she is said to have the floor; that is, he or she has the right to offer any motion or debate that is in order at that time. A speaker may yield the floor permanently when he or she is finished speaking, or temporarily for an inquiry or for a secondary motion.

A motion that brings new business before the assembly is called a principal or original main motion, and it is submitted to consideration--debate and a vote--when it has been seconded by a show of support from some member other than the individual who proposed it. Once a main motion has been stated by the chair and has entered into debate, it is often referred to as the question. Only one main motion may be considered at a time. The assembly may bring back for further consideration a motion that has already been voted on; this is known as the reconsideration of a motion.

Common Secondary Motions:

Motions which control the flow of debate, modify the question under consideration, or are otherwise auxiliary to the main motion are distinguished in Robert's Rules by the terms procedural or secondary motion. Some, but not all, of these are undebatable. Robert's Rules divides secondary motions into subsidiary motions, those that directly impact the question on the floor; privileged motions, which maintain order in the assembly; and incidental motions, which apply directly to the parliamentary procedure of the voting body.

Certain powerful secondary motions are referred to as points, which are enumerated later in this summary. More than one secondary motion may be under consideration at the same time, as long as precedence--rules that permit or disallow the introduction of motions--is observed.

A motion may be temporarily set aside; this is called a laying the motion on the table. A tabled motion can be revived by taking the motion from the table. A motion to commit or refer will direct the deliberation of a motion to a select committee, thus ending debate on it in the assembly as a whole. In the Peucinian Society, the By-Laws require the automatic introduction and adoption of certain motions designed to structure the conduct of the business meeting; these are known as the orders of the day, and they can only be rearranged by a two-thirds vote.

Common Motions:

Associated with this document is a chart that lists all motions, in alphabetical order, and a summary of special conditions that apply to each. This section will define the most important of these motions, and it refers the reader to the appropriate section of Robert's Rules of Order, Revised. Also associated with this document is Robert's summary of precedence. In general, motions in this section are listed in increasing rank.

Basic Main Motions:

These motions apply only when no other business is pending before the Society and are used to introduce business into a meeting.
The original main motion.

This is a motion that brings new business before the Society; such a motion can be made only while no other motion is pending. A main motion is out of order when another speaker has the floor. It must be seconded; it is debatable and amendable, and it may be brought back for further consideration after it has been voted upon (subject to limitations imposed by §36 of Robert's Rules). A main motion requires a majority vote except in special cases described by Robert's Rules, such as modifying a By-Law or suspending a rule.

See §§4, 11, 33, and 40 of Robert's Rules for information on the wording of a motion, descriptions of main motions that are not in order, procedures for amendment, other uses of main motions, and a description of the proper handling of a main motion.

Take from the table:

A question that has been previously tabled may be brought up again for consideration by way of this motion. If it succeeds, debate immediately resumes on the motion that had been tabled. A motion to take from the table is in order only when its sponsor has the floor; it must be seconded, and is neither debatable nor amendable. It requires a majority vote to bring the tabled matter before the Society again. See Robert's Rules §35 for more information.

Rescind:
This motion provides the Society with the power to change an action ordered by a previous vote or by decision of the chair. A motion to rescind is in order only when its sponsor has the floor; it must be seconded, and is debatable and amendable, provided the amendment applies to the wording of the motion that rescinds, not to the action being rescinded. It requires a two-thirds vote. See §37 for more information.

A motion to amend something previously adopted is equivalent to a motion to rescind. See the entry titled "Amend a main motion," below.

Subsidiary and Privileged Secondary Motions:

These are motions which control the flow of debate and the subject matter being debated. They take precedence over any main motion currently on the floor. They are listed here in increasing rank; that is, each of these motions may by introduced only when any of the motions listed before it is pending.
Postpone indefinitely.

This secondary motion banishes the question under consideration for the duration of the meeting. It is used to quickly remove a badly chosen, poorly worded, or unconscionable main motion. Postponing indefinitely is out of order when another secondary motion is under consideration, or when another speaker has the floor. It must be seconded; it is debatable but not amendable. It requires a majority vote. See §34 of Robert's Rules for a detailed description of its effect and special uses.

Amend a main motion:

One of the most common secondary motions is to modify the wording of the pending question on the floor. The proposed amendment must be germane--no new subject may be introduced--and the changes to the wording of the current question are limited by Robert's Rules to certain instances of insertions, deletions, and substitutions. It is at the President's discretion to evaluate whether a proposed amendment is germane and valid. Robert's Rules §33 provides an extended explanation of the proper form of an amendment.
Amendments may be applied to main motions and to primary amendments, and to certain other secondary motions specified in Robert's Rules. The speaker must have the floor to propose an amendment, and the motion to amend must be seconded and is debatable. Debate is confined to the substance of the amendment, and may not stray into the substance of the question being amended except where it applies to the content of the amendment. An amendment to a pending motion requires a majority vote, even in cases where the question being amended requires a two-thirds vote.
An amendment to something previously adopted -- such as a change to the By-Laws -- is a main motion and is treated in the same manner as a motion to rescind. In particular, it requires a two-thirds vote, unless otherwise specified by the resolution or document being modified. The By-Laws require a two-thirds majority, while the Constitution requires a three-quarters majority, plus a one-meeting interval from its original presentation and a one-week posting period.

Commit or refer:

This dispatches a pending question (possibly with amendments) to a select committee that is charged with investigating the merits of the proposal and reporting back to the Society. If an amendment is pending on a question, a motion to commit refers both the amendment and the motion to a committee for consideration, and the committee reports on both when it is finished with its deliberation. The speaker must have the floor to commit; it must be seconded and is debatable. It may be amended to specify the composition of the committee to which the question is referred. It requires a majority vote to pass. See §32 of Robert's Rules.

Calling the question:

This motion closes debate immediately on the current main or secondary motion and brings it to a vote. If it passes, it supersedes any previous motion to limit or extend debate. It may be qualified by its sponsor to apply to all pending questions. See §29 for further clarifications.

The speaker must have the floor to initiate a calling of the question; it must be seconded and is neither debatable nor amendable. A two-thirds vote is required to call the question.

Lay on the table:

This motion enables the majority to temporarily set aside the consideration of the pending question (possibly with amendments), in such a way that there is no specified time for bringing up the matter again. Consideration of the tabled matter may be resumed at the will of the majority, whenever a motion to take from the table is in order. When a question has amendments pending, the motion as well as its amendments are tabled by this motion. The speaker must have the floor to request the pending matter be tabled; it must be seconded and is neither debatable nor amendable. A majority vote is required. See §28.

Point of personal privilege:

A member may at any time raise a point of personal privilege to make a motion related to the rights and privileges of the Society or any one of its members or guests. It was designed to provide the means to make a main motion even when another main or secondary motion is pending. §19 of Robert's Rules describes this motion.

A point of personal privilege is a very powerful motion, and it is not to be abused. Its most common use is to inform the Society of a problematic situation and to request aid from the membership. In its most formal use, a non-procedural motion is put forward, debated, voted upon, and--if it passes--is acted upon.

This motion is in order when the President has not recognized the speaker, and it is in order even when another speaker has the floor, if the urgency of the situation warrants. It is ruled upon by the chair, who decides only whether or not the point of personal privilege is to be admitted before the Society. (A subsequent motion contained in the point of personal privilege is treated as a main motion; that is, it must be seconded, debated, and passed by a majority vote to take effect.)

Incidental Secondary Motions:

These secondary motions deal with the parliamentary procedure of the Society's meetings. They may, in general, be applied at any time, subject to limitation imposed by the motions themselves. There is no strict hierarchy among them, and each of them applies even when a privileged or subsidiary secondary motion is pending.

Point of order, and Appeal:

This motion applies when an individual believes that the parliamentary rules of the Society--including Robert's Rules of Order, Revised as well as the Constitution and By-Laws of the Peucinian Society--are being violated. This motion is in order when its sponsor does not have the floor, even when it interrupts another individual with the floor. It is normally ruled upon by the acting President, unless he or she is in doubt and requests a vote. The chair's ruling may be appealed. §21 explains this motion in greater detail.

A member of the Society may challenge a President's ruling on a procedural point by immediately calling for an appeal of his or her decision. If any new main motion is initiated following a questioned ruling, the ruling is no longer subject to appeal. A motion to appeal is in order when its sponsor does not have the floor; it must be seconded and is debatable, but not amendable. Debate is limited to one contribution per speaker, except for the President, who has no such limit. The President need not leave his or her chair, but must stand when offering debate. In Robert's Rules, a simple majority vote carries the appeal of the decision of the chair; however, the Peucinian Society By-Laws state that a two-thirds vote is required.

Suspend the rules:

This motion is used to temporarily suspend one of the Society's regular rules for the purpose of accomplishing some task that could not otherwise be performed under the guidelines imposed by parliamentary law. It cannot be used to suspend by-laws or a constitution unless the clause being suspended provides for its own suspension.

A motion to suspend the rules can be made whenever no other business is pending, or whenever the proposed suspension of the rules applies directly to a pending question. Its sponsor must have the floor, and it must be seconded; it is neither debatable nor amendable. Typically a suspension of the rules requires a two-thirds vote. §22 explains the applications and limitations of this motion.

Objection to the consideration of a motion:

When a main motion is so offensive that it would be strongly undesirable for the motion to even come up for debate, a member may object to its consideration. It is in order even when the objector does not have the floor, as long as debate on the motion to which it applies has not yet begun. Objection to consideration does not require a second, and it is not debatable or amendable. A two-thirds vote against consideration is required to sustain the objection. See §23 for further explanation.

Requests: Point of inquiry or information, or Withdraw

A member or guest of the Society may at any time ask the President for information on a matter of parliamentary procedure or on some factual matter currently before the Society. Questions of procedure are satisfied through a point of inquiry; questions of fact are made through a point of information. These questions may be raised even when the speaker does not have the floor. The answers are provided or solicited at the discretion of the chair. See §27 for more information.

Under Robert's Rules §27 there is a provision whereby the sponsor of a motion may at any time move for its withdrawal from further consideration, effectively killing it. But this motion only takes effect by unanimous consent, since once a question enters into debate it becomes the property of the Society as a whole.
Reconsider.

Any time during a meeting that a member on the prevailing side of a vote feels that his or her vote was cast incorrectly or without the benefit of all available information, he or she may move to reconsider a vote, assuming the motion being reconsidered allows it. The effect of a successful reconsideration is to open up debate again on the motion, and to call for a subsequent vote in light of the new information introduced in the debate. For a lengthier description, see §36 of Robert's Rules.

This motion can be raised at any time during the same meeting, provided that Robert's Rules allows the questioned vote to be reconsidered, and the person moving to reconsider was on the prevailing side of the vote. The motion to reconsider must be seconded. Robert's Rules states that its mover need not have the floor, and that it is debatable whenever the motion being reconsidered was debatable. However, by general consent, this motion is not debated in the Peucinian Society, and its mover must have the floor. It is not amendable. Successful reconsideration requires a majority vote, and this motion merely invalidates the previous vote and brings the matter up for further consideration by the Society.

Other rules are maintained by the Chronicler of the Society. The Chronicler is charged with the duty of supervising the Society's use of Robert's Rules.