Felt’s Parliamentary Procedure/Duties of a Presiding Officer

by Orson B. Felt

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DUTIES OF A PRESIDING OFFICER.

15. It is the duty of the presiding officer of an assembly to call the meeting to order promptly at the proper time, ascertain if a quorum (45) is present, announce the business in its order before the assembly, receive and submit all motions or business regularly presented by the members, put to vote and announce the result on all questions before the assembly, and conduct the proceedings in accordance with parliamentary procedure and its own rules. While being careful not to be too strict, he should require that the rules of the society be complied with; that all debate be confined to the question before the assembly and he should be ready at all times to interfere for the preservation of order.

16. As the order and decorum of an assembly often depends more upon the conduct of the presiding officer than upon any other condition, it therefore follows that in order to have perfect control of the assembly he should be able to control himself, pay strict attention to all debate, be ready to answer all parliamentary inquiries and to explain the parliamentary effect of proposed acts of the assembly. Remembering always that he is not the autocrat, but the servant of the assembly, subject always to its control, and he should be ready at all times to obey its commands, since if he abuses his authority the assembly has power to censure, reprimand or, (unless the term of office be fixed by higher authority) to remove him from office for violation of the rules or for misconduct while in office.

17. When a motion has been made and seconded it is the duty of the presiding officer (of the motion is in order) to state the question so that the members may know what question is before them. The question should be stated in the form in which it will appear in the minutes (21) if it passes in the affirmative. The chair should state the motion in language as near to the original as possible; he may, however, suggest any necessary correction in its wording before stating it to the assembly.

18. While the presiding officer unquestionably has the right to participate in debate (after first calling a member to the chair) he should rarely exercise that right, because by virtue of his position he has great power over the assembly and great influence in debate, and when he takes the floor he cannot divest himself of that power or influence. Therefore, after having taken part in debate, common courtesy to the assembly requires that he do not resumes the chair until the question to which he has spoken is disposed of.