Table of Contents:

Parliamentary Procedure
   Tips for the Presiding Officer
   How to Manage Meetings
   Methods of Voting
   Adjournment
   Parliamentary Procedures at a Glance

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Parliamentary procedure is of great importance to service organizations and to many volunteers as well. For one thing, parliamentary procedure helps make every moment productive. It encourages getting to the heart of the matter under consideration. Parliamentary law is simply the courteous way of discouraging the irrelevant while giving everyone the opportunity to be heard. There are three basic reasons for parliamentary rules:

In Sertoma, the immediate past president is chairman of the board and typically presides at board of directors meetings, and the president presides at club meetings. Since most of the club's business is transacted at board meetings, parliamentary procedure should be studied with board meetings in mind. By using parliamentary procedures, the presiding officer will have more efficient and productive meetings.

View/print Parliamentary procudures in PDF format here.

Tips for the Presiding Officer
The presiding officer should not debate motions while presiding; he or she should preside with impartiality.

The ability of the chairman to vote should be defined in the bylaws. If not other wise restricted, the chairman can vote with the assembly when a vote is determined by ballot. The chair must vote at the same time as the rest of the assembly unless otherwise approved by the voting members of the assembly. In all other cases, the chair may vote when his or her vote would change the result.

At board meetings, a member may remain seated and raise his or her hand to be recognized. At other times, the member must stand and identify himself or herself to be recognized. It is the chairman's responsibility to recognize those who wish to address the group. The chair does this by saying, "The chairman recognizes (name)," or something like, "The chairman recognizes the member in the first row." The chairman repeats a motion that has been made and seconded. This helps assure that the motion is understood and properly recorded. Debatable motions may be debated only after having been made, seconded and stated (repeated) by the chairman.

The chairman is responsible for maintaining order and conducting meetings with proper decorum. The chairman may remain seated at board meetings; otherwise he or she should stand when:

The gavel should be used sparingly (one rap at a time) and only to:
a. Call a meeting to order
b. Maintain or restore order
c. Give to someone temporarily acting as chairman
d. Give to his or her successor in office

How to Manage Meetings
The use of parliamentary procedures in a meeting can significantly reduce the length of the meeting, as well as the degree of friction associated with meetings that encounter strong minority opinions. If implemented correctly, the following principles based on Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, should significantly increase the productivity of your meetings.

Motions
Members never "make a motion." A motion begins with a member moving that something be done. If the motion is recorded and the chairman repeats the motion, then the assembly has a motion to consider. The assembly has technically "made a motion." A member can only offer an item of business – he or she cannot make a motion.

How many motions can be on the floor at the same time? If you said one, you obviously have some knowledge of parliamentary law, but you didn't read the question carefully enough. Although there can only be one main motion on the floor at one time, there are almost limitless possibilities to having several privileged, subsidiary or incidental motions on the floor at the same time as long as they follow the order of precedence (pronounced pre-ceed-ence).

Seconding the Motion
The purpose of seconding a motion is to ensure to the body or assembly that at least two people believe the action should be considered. It is improper to second a motion if you don't agree with what is being offered. Let the motion die unless you want a vote recorded on the issue. According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, once a member has debated the motion, the member has in effect seconded the motion. It would then be improper for the chairman to rule the motion out of order.

Results of a Vote
It's not uncommon, particularly in committee meetings, for the presiding officer to announce, "All those in favor of the motion, say 'aye.' All those opposed, same sign." This is, however, an incorrect usage. The chairperson is required to announce the results of the vote. This is possible only when he or she takes the vote in a method that clearly distinguishes the affirmation vote from the opposition vote, such as "yes" and "no" or "aye" and "nay."

Stopping Debate
What does it mean when someone in the assembly or body shouts out "question" or "call for the question?" All it means is that the person who shouts "question" is ready to vote. The chairman does not have to recognize the member, who is actually out of order. If the member obtains the floor properly and then moves the previous question and the motion is seconded, then the chairman has a properly constituted motion that is not debatable under parliamentary procedure, and the presiding officer is required to take a vote.

To actually adopt or pass a motion to cease debate, the motion must receive a two-thirds vote. Stopping debate removes a right reserved to the members and, therefore, requires more than just a majority. If two thirds of the members are either finished debating or do not want to hear further debate, then they can cease debate with the adoption of the motion. The presiding officer, however, can offer that he or she believes members are ready to vote and, without objection by the members, can proceed with taking a vote. Proper sensitivity by the presiding officer to when it is time to take a vote can help shorten meetings.

Motion to Table
One of the motions most often misused in meetings is the motion to table. A motion to table to a later time or to stop debate or to kill a motion is out of order. Remember, the motion, not the member, is out of order. The only acceptable reason to table a motion is to handle an item of business that has become more important than the motion on the floor. The proper motion to kill a motion is called postpone indefinitely. The proper motion to set something aside for a future time is the motion to postpone to a certain time. Another way to postpone a motion is to refer the action to a committee for a report back. However, there are also limitations on this action.

The complex tabling procedure could be the basis for a three-hour seminar. But to keep things simple, just remember the key points above. Chairmen who understand the proper use of the motion to table and motions to postpone will save a great deal of time in their meetings.

Withdrawing Motions
A member who has offered a motion that has been seconded and repeated by the chairperson has caused a motion to be placed before the body. It is the property of the body or assembly and does not belong to the "maker" of the motion. Therefore, the member who has offered the motion cannot withdraw the motion without permission of the assembly. While this procedure is logical, try to explain it to a member who is embarrassed when he or she tries to withdraw a motion that he or she realizes is not well conceived. However, the chairman can quickly save this member by saying, "Without objection, the motion will be withdrawn. Hearing none, the motion is withdrawn." As this example illustrates, a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure is important to the success of every chairman.

Unanimous Consent
The chairperson in the above example relied on general or unanimous consent to expedite matters. This procedure can be used in many instances to greatly speed up meetings. Approval of minutes is perhaps the best example. You've probably been in many meetings where the chairman requests a motion to approve the minutes. Not receiving a motion, he or she says, "Won't someone please make a motion to approve the minutes?" After pleading, a member will usually offer a motion to approve the minutes. Then the pleading begins again." Won't someone please second the motion to approve the minutes?" Usually, after a short period of pleading, the chair receives a second. All of this is unnecessary and wastes time. The chairperson just has to ask, "Are there any corrections to the minutes as read (written, mailed, etc.)? Hearing none, the minutes stand approved as read."

This form of voting – unanimous consent – could be used with at least 50 percent of the business appearing before most committees or assemblies. Consider this: How many times have you heard a 15-minute debate on a motion only to have it pass without a single negative vote? If the chairperson had offered the unanimous consent option, it would have saved 15 minutes of the meeting. Take that 15 minutes and multiply it by 100 members at $50 an hour (as the value of the time your members give to the organization), and you save $1,250 worth of your members' time. Plug your organization's numbers into the equation and figure the total savings.

Methods of Voting
Voice Vote
This is the most used method; note when it is not used, however. Chairman: "Those in favor of the motion will say 'aye.'" (Pause for response.) "Those opposed will say 'nay.'" (Pause for response and then announce the result.) "The 'ayes' have it; the motion is carried." Or, "The 'nays' have it; the motion is lost." A voice vote should not be used:

Hand Vote
Hand vote can be used when the vote could be close, when a member doubts a voice vote, when a two-thirds majority is required. Chairman: "Those in favor of the motion will raise their right hands." (Votes are counted, the number stated and members instructed to put hands down.) "Thirty affirmative, hands down. Those opposed will raise their right hands." (Votes are counted, the number stated and members instructed to put hands down.) "Seven negative, hands down." (The result is then announced.) "The affirmative has it; the motion is carried." Or, "The negative has it; the motion is lost." A hand vote should not be used:

Rising Vote
Rising vote may be used when a member doubts a hand vote or when a more positive display is desired. A rising vote cannot be doubted. Chairman: "Those in favor of the motion will rise." (Votes are counted, the number stated and members instructed to be seated.) "Thirty affirmative; be seated. Those opposed will rise." (Votes are counted, the number stated and members instructed to be seated.) "Seven negative; be seated." (The result is then announced.) "The affirmative has it; the motion is carried." Or, "The negative has it; the motion is lost."

Adjournment
Chairperson calls for necessary business as described above. If there is none, he or she declares the meeting adjourned. "It has been moved and seconded to adjourn. Those in favor will say 'aye.' Those opposed say 'nay.' The 'ayes' have it; the motion is carried. Is there any necessary business to come to the floor?" (Pause) "There being no further business, the meeting is adjourned."

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