Felt’s Parliamentary Procedure/To Amend

by Orson B. Felt

Layout 2

TO AMEND.

106. If a motion or a resolution is not satisfactory, or if not in the best form to express the judgement, or carry out the will of the assembly, it may in most cases be amended so as to modify the meaning, or to change the meaning entirely, even if such a change defeats the meaning entirely, even if such a change defeats the original purpose of the motion. An amendment must be germane to the question; that is, it must have a direct bearing on the subject. While to amend means strictly to put into a better or more perfect form, to change or modify in any way, be it for better or worse, is called an amendment; therefore amendments may be used as a means of defeating a proposition by making it so different from what the mover originally intended—as making praise out of censure or by so changing it that friends of the original question may be forced to vote against the motion in its amended form.

107. There are five forms of amendment:

1. To insert or add certain words, Sec. 113.

2. To strike out certain words, Sec. 113.

3. To strike out certain words, and insert, or add certain other words, Sec. 117.

4. To divide the question into two or more questions, Sec. 128.

5. To substitute another proposition on the same subject for the one under consideration, Sec. 141.

108. Any proposition which seeks to merely change the vote from the affirmative to the negative, or vice versa, or to simply reverse the meaning of the proposition, would not be a proper amendment; for example, if it be moved that the assembly do a certain thing, it would not be in order to amend by inserting the word “not”, or by striking out a word or words and to insert others so that the effect would be exactly to deny the proposition—for example, to strike out the word approve, and insert disapprove—because the question before the assembly is not changed and the object of such amendment is merely to reverse the vote; since a negative vote in one case being equivalent to an affirmative vote in the other, a decision of one decides the other without further action. Changes in words, which do not affect the sense or meaning of the proposition are not, properly speaking, amendments, and if such action is necessary they do not require a motion, though such motion is not prohibited.

The motion to amend takes precedence of nothing but the question it is proposed to amend. The mover of a motion may offer an amendment to his motion, but he cannot speak against his motion.

109. Amendments are often offered which the mover of the original motion is willing to accept. This he may do provided there is no objection. In this case the amendment so accepted becomes a part of the original motion without a separate vote being taken upon it; but this acceptance is understood to be with the consent of the entire assembly, as it can be prevented by the objection of any member. If objected to the amendment must go before the assembly for its adoption or rejection. When an amendment is pending the main question cannot be debated except so far as the amendment necessarily involves the main question, or in so far as debate is necessary in order to show the propriety of impropriety of adopting the amendment, and such debate should be limited in its scope to that portion of the main question which is involved.

110. While an amendment is pending all other amendments must apply to that. Therefore, it would not be in order to offer an amendment to a different part of the proposition; the one first offered must be disposed of before the second would be in order. A member may, however, give notice of his intent to offer an amendment (stating its meaning) when the opportunity offers, as in such case the members may vote differently upon the one before them, but the member who thus gives notice will have no prior right to the floor for the purpose of presenting the proposed amendment; he must get the floor regularly when the time comes for the amendment to be in order.

111. When noticed has been given that a proposed amendment to the constitution or by-laws will be acted upon at another meeting, it should be taken up under the order of “new business,” and if the proposed amendment to be a constitution or by-law already in force, it should be treated as a principal or independent motion, instead of as a subsidiary motion, as in case of an amendment to a proposed by-law not yet in force. When there is a series of propositions to be amended, as the constitution or by-laws of a society, the hole should be read first to give the members a general idea of its scope, then they should be considered section by section, amending each section if necessary in its order, but any section should not be adopted until all amendments necessary have been made, since it might become necessary to further amend an adopted section and since constitutions, by-laws, resolutions, etc., usually have a preamble setting forth the objects of the society or reasons for the action; the preamble should be acted upon last, because amendments to the constitution, by-laws or resolutions may require a corresponding alteration in the preamble. Finally, the subject should be adopted as a whole.