Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies/Article 3

by Henry M. Robert

Layout 2

 

Art. III. Motions and their Order of Precedence.^[1]

[§§ 10–27.]

Privileged Motions.

[§§ 10–13; see § 9.]

10. To fix the time to which the Assembly shall Adjourn. This motion takes precedence of all others, and is in order even after the assembly has voted to adjourn, provided the Chairman has not announced the result of the vote. If made when another question is before thet assembly, it is undebatable [§ 35]; it can be amended by altering the time. If made when no other question is before the assembly, it stands as any other principal motion, and is debatable.^[2] The Form of this motion is, “When this assembly adjourns, it adjourns to meet at such a time.”

11. To Adjourn. This motion (when unqualified) takes precedence of all others, except to “fix the time to which to adjourn,” to which it yields. It is not debatable, it cannot be amended or have any other subsidiary motion [§ 7] applied to it; nor can a vote on it be reconsidered. If qualified in any way, it loses its privileged character, and stands as any other principal motion. The motion to adjourn can be repeated if there has been any intervening business, though it be simply progress in debate [§ 26]. When a committee is through with any business referred to it, and prepared to report, instead of adjourning, a motion should be made “to rise,” which motion, in committee, has the same privileges as to adjourn in the assembly [§ 32].

The Effect upon Unfinished Business of an adjournment is as follows^[3] [see Session, § 42]:

(a) When it does not close the session, the business interrupted by the adjournment is the first in order after the reading of the minutes at the next meeting, and is treated the same as if there had been no adjournment; an adjourned meeting being legally the continuation of the meeting of which it is an adjournment.

(b) When it closes a session in an assembly which has more than one regular session each year, then the unfinished business shall be taken up at the next succeeding session previous to new business, and treated the same as if there had been no adjournment [see § 44 for its place in the order of business]. Provided that, in a body elected for a definite time (as a board of directors elected for one year), unfinished business shall fall to the ground with the expiration of the term for which the board or any portion of them were elected.

(c) When the adjournment closes a session in an assembly which does not meet more frequently than once a year, or when the assembly is an elective body, and this session ends the term of a portion of the members, the adjournment shall put an end to all business unfinished at the close of the session. The business can be introduced at the next session, the same as if it had never been before the assembly.

12. Questions of Privilege.^[4] Questions relating to the rights and privileges of the assembly, or any of its members, take precedence of all other questions, except the two preceding, to which they yield. If the question is one requiring immediate action it can Interrupt a member’s speech. When such a question is raised the Chairman decides whether it is a question of privilege or not, from which decision an appeal [§ 14] can be taken by any two members.

It is not necessary that the assembly take final action upon the question of privilege when it is raised—it may be referred to a committee [§ 22], or laid on the table [§ 19], or it may have any other subsidiary [§ 7] motion applied to it, and in such case the subsidlary motion is exhausted on it without affecting the question interrupted by the question of privilege. As soon as the latter is disposed of, the assembly resumes the consideration of the question which it interrupted.

13. Orders of the Day. A call for the Orders of the Day takes precedence of every other motion, excepting to Reconsider [§ 27], and the three preceding, to which latter three it yields, and is not debatable, nor can it be amended. It does not require to be seconded, and it is in order when another member has the floor.^[5]

When one or more subjects have been assigned to a particular day or hour, they become the Orders of the Day for that day or hour, and they cannot be considered before that time, except by a two-thirds vote [§ 39]. And when that day or hour arrives, if called up, they take precedence of all but the three preceding questions [§§ 10, 11, 12] and a reconsideration [§ 27]. Instead of considering them, the assembly may appoint another time for their consideration. If not taken up on the day specified, the order falls to the ground.

The orders of the day are divided into two classes,—Special Orders and General Orders,—the first class always taking precedence of the latter. General Orders can be made by a majority, by postponing questions to certain times, or by adopting a programme or order of business for the day or session; these General Orders cannot interfere with the established rules of the assembly. A Special Order suspends all the rules of the assembly that interfere with its consideration at the time specified,^[6] and it therefore requires a two-thirds vote to make any question a Special Order. [This motion is in order whenever a motion to Suspend the Rules [§ 18] is in order]. After one Special Order is made for a certain time, it is not in order to make another Special Order to precede or interfere with it, but a Special Order can interfere with General Orders. When the Orders of the Day are taken up, it is necessary to take up first the Special Orders, if there are any, and then the General Orders; in each class the separate questions must be taken up in their exact order, the one first assigned to the day or hour taking precedence of one afterwards assigned to the same day or hour. (A motion to take up a particular part of the Orders of the Day, or a certain question, is not a privileged motion). Any of the subjects, when taken up, instead of being then considered, can be assigned to some other time, a majority being competent to postpone even a Special Order.

The Form of this question, as put by the Chair when the proper time arrives, or on the call of a member, is, “Shall the Orders of the Day be taken up?” or, “Will the assembly now proceed to the Orders of the Day?”

The Effect of an affirmative vote, on a call for the Orders of the Day, is to remove the question under consideration from before the assembly, the same as if it had been interrupted by an adjournment [§ 11].

The Effect of a negative vote is to dispense with the orders merely so far as they interfere with the consideration of the question then before the assembly.

A common case of Orders of the Day is where an assembly has adopted an order of business for the day, specifying the hour at which each question shall be considered. When the hour appointed for taking up the second question has arrived, the Chairman should announce that fact, and, if no one objects, immediately put to vote the questions before the assembly, and state the question next to be considered. Should any member object to this, the Chairman should at once submit to the assembly a question like this: “Will the assembly now proceed to consider [here state the subject], which was assigned to this hour?” While a programme, as here supposed, does not state the fact, yet its very form implies that at the expiration of the time allowed any subject, all the questions then pending shall be put to vote. Still, as it takes a formal vote, except by unanimous consent, to proceed originally to the Orders of the Day, so a formal vote is necessary if any one objects, to take up the next order, and close discussion on the one pending.

Incidental Motions.

[§§ 14-18; see § 8.]

14. Appeal [Questions of Order]. A Question of Order takes precedence of the question giving rise to it, and must be decided by the presiding officer without debate. If a member objects to the decision, he says, “I appeal from the decision of the Chair.” If the Appeal is seconded, the Chairman immediately states the question as follows: “Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the assembly?”^[7] If there is a tie vote the decision of the Chair is sustained.

This Appeal yields to Privileged Questions [§ 9]. It cannot be amended; it cannot be debated when it relates simply to indecorum [§ 36], or to transgressions of the rules of speaking, or to the priority of business, or if it is made while the previous question [§ 20] is pending. When debatable, no member is allowed to speak but once, and, whether debatable or not, the presiding officer, without leaving the chair, can state the reasons upon which he bases his decision. The motion to Lie on the Tablet^[8] [§ 19], and the Previous Question [§ 20] if the Appeal is debatable, can be applied to an Appeal, and when adopted they affect nothing but the Appeal. The vote on an Appeal may also be reconsidered [§ 27]. An Appeal is not in order when another Appeal is pending.

It is the duty of the presiding officer to enforce the rules and orders of the assembly, without debate or delay. It is also the right of every member, who notices a breach of a tule, to insist upon its enforcement. In such cases he shall rise from his seat, and say, “Mr. Chairman, I rise to a point of order.” The speaker should immediately take his seat, and the Chairman requests the member to state his point of order, which he does, and resumes his seat. The Chair decides the point, and then, if no appeal is taken, permits the first member to resume his speech. If the member’s remarks are decided to be improper, and any one objects to his continuing his speech, he cannot continue it without a vote of the assembly to that effect.

Instead of the method just described, it is usual, when it is simply a case of improper language used in debate, for a member to say, “I call the gentleman to order;” the Chairman decides whether the speaker is in or out of order, and proceeds as before. The Chairman can ask the advice of members when he has to decide questions of order, but the advice must be given sitting, to avoid the appearance of debate; or the Chair, when unable to decide the question, may at once submit it to the assembly.

15. Objection to the Consideration of a Question. An objection can be made to the consideration of any principal motion [§ 6], but only when it is first introduced, before it has been debated. It is similar to a question of order [§ 14], in that it can be made while another member has the floor, and does not require a second; and as the Chairman can call a member to order, so can he put this question, if he deems it necessary, upon his own responsibility. It cannot be debated [§ 35], or amended [§ 23], or have any other subsidiary motion [§ 7] applied to it. When a motion is made and any member “objects to its consideration,” the Chairman shall immediately put the question, “Will the assembly consider it?” or, “Shall the question be considered [or discussed]?” If decided in the negative by a two-thirds vote [§ 39], the whole matter is dismissed for that session [§ 42]; otherwise the discussion continues as if this question had never been made.

The Object of this motion is not to cut off debate, (for which other motions are provided, see § 37,) but to enable the assembly to avoid altogether any question which it may deem irrelevant, unprofitable or contentious.^[9]

16. Reading Papers. [For the order of precedence, see § 8.] Where papers are laid before the assembly, every member has a right to have them once read before he can be compelled to vote on them, and whenever a member asks for the reading of any such paper, evidently for information, and not for delay, the Chair should direct it to be read, if no one objects. But a member has not the right to have anything read (excepting as stated above) without getting permission from the assembly. The question upon granting such permission cannot be debated or amended.

17. Withdrawal of a Motion. [For order of precedence, see § 8.] When a question is before the assembly and the mover wishes to withdraw or modify it, or substitute a different one in its place, if no one objects, the presiding officer grants the permission; if any objection is made, it will be necessary to obtain leave to withdraw,^[10] etc., on a motion for that purpose. This motion cannot be debated or amended. When a motion is withdrawn, the effect is the same as if it had never been made.

18. Suspension of the Rules. [For the order of precedence, see § 8.] This motion is not debatable, and cannot be amended, nor can any subsidiary [§ 7] motion be applied to it, nor a vote on it be reconsidered [§ 27], nor a motion to suspend the rules for the same purpose be renewed [§ 26] at the same meeting, though it may be renewed after an adjournment, though the next meeting be held the same day.^[11] The rules of the assembly shall not be suspended except for a definite purpose, and by a two-thirds vote; nor shall any rule be suspended, unless by unanimous consent, that gives any right to a minority as small as one-third.t^[12]

The Form of this motion is, “to suspend the rules which interfere with,” etc., specifying the object of the suspension.

Subsidiary Motions.

[§§ 19–24; see § 7.]

19. To Lie on the Table. This motion takes precedence of all other Subsidiary Questions [§ 7], and yields to any Privileged [§ 9] or Incidental [§ 8] Question. It is not debatable, and cannot be amended or have any other subsidiary motion [§ 7] applied to it, nor can an affirmative vote on it be reconsidered [§ 27]. It removes the subject from consideration till the assembly vote to take it from the table.

The Form of this motion is, “I move that the question lie on the table,” or, “that it be laid on the table,” or, “to lay the question on the table.” When it is desired to take the question up again, a motion is made, either “to take the question from the table,” or “to now consider such and such a question;” which motion is undebatable, and cannot have any subsidiary motion applied to it.

The Object of this motion is to postpone the subject in such a way that at any time it can be taken up, either at the same or some future meeting, which could not be accomplished by a motion to postpone, either definitely or indefinitely. It is also frequently used to suppress a question [§ 59], which it does, provided a majority vote can never be obtained to take it from the table during that session [§ 42].

The Effect of this motion is in general to place on the table everything that adheres to the subject;^[13] so that if an amendment be ordered to lie on the table, the subject which it is proposed to amend goes there with it. The following cases are exceptional: (a) An appeal [§ 14] being laid on the table, has the effect of sustaining, at least for the time, the decision of the Chair, and does not carry the original subject to the table. (b) So when a motion to reconsider [§ 27] a question is laid on the table, the original question is left just where it was before the reconsideration was moved. (c) An amendment to the minutes being laid on the table does not carry the minutes with it. Even after the ordering of the Previous Question up to the moment of taking the last vote under it, it is in order to lay upon the table the questions still before the assembly.

20. The Previous Question^[14] takes precedence of every debatable question [§ 35], and yields to Privileged [§ 9] and Incidental [§ 8] Questions, and to the motion to Lie on the Table [§ 19]. It is not debatable, and cannot be amended or have any other subsidiary [$ 7] motion applied to it. It applies to questions of privilege [§ 12] as well as to any other debatable questions. It is allowable for a member to submit a resolution and at the same time move the previous question thereon. It shall require a two-thirds^[15] vote for its adoption.

When a member calls for the previous question, and the call is seconded, the presiding officer must immediately put the question, “Shall the main question be now put?” If it fails, the discussion continues as if this motion had not been made.

If adopted, its Effect is as follows: [See the illustrations near the close of this section.]

(1) Its effect [excepting when to Amend or to Commit is pending] is to instantly close debate,^[16] and bring the assembly to a vote upon the pending question. This vote being taken, the effect of the previous question is exhausted, and the business before the assembly stands exactly as if the vote on the pending motion had been taken in the usual way, without having been forced to it by the previous question; so if this vote is reconsidered [§ 27] the question is divested of the previous question, and is again open to debate.

(2) Its effect when either of the motions to Amend [§ 23] or to Commit [§ 22] is pending, is to cut off debate, and to force a vote, not only upon the motions to amend and to commit, but also upon the question to be amended or committed.^[17] The Chairman puts to vote all these questions in their order of precedence, beginning with the one last moved [see illustrations further on]. The previous question is not exhausted until votes have been taken on all these questions, or else it has been voted to refer the subject to a committee. If one of these votes is reconsidered before the previous question is exhausted, the pendency of the previous question precludes debate upon the motion reconsidered.

The previous question can be moved on a pending amendment, and if adopted, debate is closed on the amendment only. After the amendment is voted on, the main question is again open to debate and amendments. [In this case the form of the question would be similar to this, “Shall the amendment be now put to the question?”] So in the same manner it can be moved on an amendment of an amendment.

The Object of the previous question is to bring the assembly to a vote on the question before it without further debate.^[18]

An Appeal [§ 14] from the decision of the Chair is undebatable [§ 35] if made after the previous question has been moved, and while it is still pending.

To Illustrate the Effect of the previous question under all kinds of circumstances, take the following examples:

(a) Suppose a question is before the assembly, and an amendment to it offered, and then it is moved to postpone [§ 21] the question to another time: the previous question now being ordered stops the debate and forces a vote on the pending question—the postponement. When that vote is taken the effect of the previous question is exhausted. If the assembly refuses to postpone the subject, the debate is resumed upon the pending amendment.

(b) Suppose the subject under consideration is interrupted by a question of privilege [§ 12], and it hasbeen moved to refer this latter question to a committee: the previous question being now ordered brings the assembly to a vote first on the motion to commit, and, if that motion fails, next on the privileged question. After the privileged question is voted on, the previous question is exhausted, and the consideration of the subject which was interrupted is resumed.

(c) Suppose, again, that, while an amendment to the question is pending, a motion is made to refer the subject to a committee, and some one moves to amend this last motion by giving the committee instructions: in addition to the main question we have here only the motions to amend and to commit, and therefore the previous question, if ordered, applies to them all as one question. The Chairman immediately puts the question (1) on the committee’s instructions, (2) on the motion to commit, and if this is adopted the subject is referred to the committee and the effect of the previous question is exhausted; but if it fails, next (3) on the amendment, and finally (4) on the main question.

Note on the Previous Question.—Much of the confusion heretofore existing in regard to the Previous Question has arisen from the great changes which this motion has undergone. As originally designed, and at present used in the English Parliament, the previous question was not intended to suppress debate, but to suppress the main question, and therefore, in England, it is always moved by the enemies of the measure, who then vote in the negative. It was first used in 1604, and was intended to be applied only to delicate questions; it was put in this form, “Shall the main question be put?” and being negatived, the main question was dismissed for that session. Its form was afterwards changed to this, which is used at present, “Shall the main question be now put?” and if negatived the question was dismissed, at first only until after the ensuing debate was over, but now, for that day. The motion for the previous question could be debated; when once put to vote, whether decided affirmatively or negatively, it prevented any discussion of the main question, for, if decided affirmatively, the main question was immediately put, and if decided negatively (that is, that the main question be not now put), it was dismissed for the day.

Our Congress has gradually changed the English Previous Question into an entirely ditferent motion, so that, while in England the mover of the previous question votes against it, in this country he votes for it. At first the previous question was debatable, and if it was negatived the main question was dismissed for the day, as in England. Congress, in 1805, made it undebatable, and in 1860 caused the consideration of the subject to be resumed if the previous question was negatived, thus completely changing it from the English motion. At first its effect was to cut off all motions except the main question, upon which a vote was immediately taken. This was changed in 1840 so as to bring the House to a vote first upon pending amendments, and then upon the main question. In 1848 its effect was changed again so as to bring the House to a vote upon the motion to commit if it had been made, then upon amendments reported by a committee, if any, then upon pending amendments, and finally upon the main question. In 1860 Congress decided that the only effect of the previous question, if the motion to postpone were pending, should be to bring the House to a direct vote on the postponement—thus preventing the previous question from cutting off any pending motion, and completing the change this motion had been gradually undergoing. The previous question is now a simple motion to close debate and proceed to voting as described in the above section.

[To prevent the introduction of any improper or useless subject in an ordinary assembly in this country, the proper course is to “object to its consideration” [§ 15] when it is first introduced, which is very similar to the English previous question. ]

21. To Postpone to a Certain Day. This motion takes precedence of a motion to Commit, or Amend, or Indefinitely Postpone, and yields to any Privileged [§ 9] or Incidental [§ 8] Question, and to the motion to Lie on the Table, or for the Previous Question. It can be amended by altering the time, and the Previous Question can be applied to it without: affecting any other motions pending. It allows of very limited debate [§ 35], and that must not go into the merits of the subject matter any further than is necessary to enable the assembly to judge of the propriety of the postponement.

The Effect of this motion is to postpone the entire subject to the time specified, until which time it cannot be taken up except by a two-thirds vote [§ 13]. When that time arrives it is entitled to be taken up in preference to everything except Privileged Questions. Where several questions are postponed to different times and are not reached then, they shall be considered in the order of the times to which they were postponed. It is not in order to postpone to a time beyond that session [§ 42] of the assembly, except^[19] to the day of the next session, when it comes up with the unfinished business, and consequently takes precedence of new business [§ 44]. If it is desired to hold an adjourned meeting to consider a special subject, the time to which the assembly shall adjourn [§ 10] should be first fixed before making the motion to postpone the subject to that day.

22. To Commit or Recommit, as it is called when the subject has been previously committed]. This motion takes precedence of the motions to Amend or Indefinitely Postpone, and yields to any Privileged [§ 9] or Incidental [§ 8] Question, and also to the motion to Lie on the Table, or for the Previous Question, or to Postpone to a certain day. It can be amended by altering the committee, or giving it instructions. It is debatable, and opens to debate [§ 35] the merits of the question it is proposed to commit.

The Form of this motion is, “to refer the subject to a committee.” When different committees are proposed they should be voted on in the following order: (1) Committee of the whole [§ 32], (2) a standing committee, and (3) a special (or select) committee. The number of a committee is usually decided without the formality of a motion, as in filling blanks [§ 25]: the Chairman asks “Of how many shall the committee consist?” and a question is then put upon each number suggested, beginning with the largest. The number and kind of the committee need not be decided till after it has been voted to refer the subject to a committee.

If the committee is a select one, and the motion does not include the method of appointing it, and there is no standing rule on the subject, the Chairman inquires how the committee shall be appointed, and this is usually decided informally. Sometimes the Chair “appoints,” in which case he names the members of the committee and no vote is taken upon them; or the committee is “nominated” either by the Chair or members of the assembly (no member nominating more than one except by general consent), and then they are all voted upon together, except where more nominations are made than the number of the committee, when they shall be voted upon singly.

Where a committee is one for action (a committee of arrangements for holding a public meeting, for example), it should generally be small, and no one placed upon it who is not favorable to the proposed action; and if any such should be appointed, he should ask to be excused. But when the committee is for deliberation or investigation, it is of the utmost importance that all parties be represented on it, so that in committee the fullest discussion may take place, and thus diminish the chances of unpleasant debates in the assembly.

In ordinary assemblies, by judicious appointment of committees, debates upon delicate and troublesome questions can be mostly confined to the committees, which will contain the representative members of all parties. [See Committees, § 28. ]

23. To Amend. This motion takes precedence of nothing but the question which it is proposed to amend, and yields to any Privileged [§ 9], Incidental [§ 8], or Subsidiary [§ 7] Question, except to Indefinitely Postpone. It can be amended itself, but this “amendment of an amendment” cannot be amended.

An Amendment may be inconsistent with one already adopted, or may directly conflict with the spirit of the original motion, but it must have a direct bearing upon the subject of that motion. To illustrate: a motion for a vote of thanks could be amended by substituting for “thanks” the word “censure;” or one condemning certain customs could be amended by adding other customs.

An Amendment may be in any of the following forms: (a) to “add” or “insert” certain words or paragraphs; (b) to “strike out” certain words or paragraphs, the question, however, being stated by the Chair thus: “Shall these words [or paragraphs] stand as a part of the resolution?”^[20] and if this is adopted, (that is, the motion to “strike out” fails,) it does not preclude either amendment or a motion to “strike out and insert;” (c) “to strike out certain words and insert others,” which motion is indivisible, and if lost does not preclude another motion to strike out the same words and insert different ones; (d) to “substitute” another motion on the same subject for the one pending; (e) to “divide the question” into two or more questions as the mover specifies, so as to get a separate vote on any particular point or points [see § 4].

If a paragraph is inserted it should be perfected by its friends previous to voting on it, as when once inserted it cannot be struck out or amended except by adding toit. The same is true in regard to words to be inserted ina resolution, as when once inserted they cannot be struck out, except by a motion to strike out the paragraph, or such a portion of it as shall make the question an entirely different one from that of inserting the particular words. The principle involved is, that when the assembly has voted that certain words shall form a part of a resolution, it is not in order to make another motion which involves exactly the same question as the one they have decided. The only way to bring it up again is to move a Reconsideration [§ 27] of the vote by which the words were inserted.

The numbers prefixed to paragraphs are only marginal indications, and should be corrected, if necessary, by the clerk, without any motion to amend.

An Amendment to Rules of Order, By-Laws or a Constitution shall require previous notice, and a two-thirds vote for its adoption [see § 45].

[For amending reports of Committees and propositions containing several paragraphs, see § 44; for the proper form of stating the question on an amendment, see § 65.]

The following motions cannot be amended:

To Adjourn (when unqualified)	See § 11
For the Orders of the Day	See„ § 13
All Incidental Questions	See„ § 8
To Lie on the Table	See„ § 19
For the Previous Question	See„ § 20
An Amendment of an Amendment	See„ § 23
To Postpone Indefinitely	See„ § 24
To Reconsider	See„ § 27

24. To Postpone Indefinitely. This motion takes precedence of nothing except the Principal Question [§ 6], and yields to any Privileged [§ 9], Incidental [§ 8] or Subsidiary [§ 7] Motion, except to Amend. It cannot be amended; it opens to debate the entire question which it is proposed to postpone. Its effect is to entirely remove the question from before the assembly for that session [§ 42]. The Previous Question [§ 20], if ordered when this motion is pending, applies only to it without affecting the main question.

Miscellaneous Motions.

[§§ 25–27]

25. Filling Blanks. In filling blanks the largest sum and the longest time proposed shall be first put to the question. Sometimes the most convenient way of amending a resolution is to create a blank by moving to strike out a certain number or time. It is customary for any number of members to propose numbers to fill a blank without the formality of a motion, these different propositions not being regarded in the light of amendments.

Nominations are treated in a similar manner, so that the second nomination, instead of being an amendment to the first, is an independent motion, which, if the first fails, is to be immediately voted upon. Any number of nominations can be made, the Chairman announcing each name as he hears it, and they should be voted upon in the order announced, until one receives a vote sufficient for an election.

26. Renewal of a Motion. When any Principal Question [§ 6] or Amendment has been once acted upon by the assembly, it cannot be taken up again at the same session [§ 42] except by a motion to Reconsider [§ 27]. The motion to Adjourn [§ 11] can be renewed if there has been progress in debate, or any business transacted. As a general rule the introduction of any motion that alters the state of affairs makes it admissible to renew any Privileged or Incidental Motion, (excepting a motion for the Orders of the Day or for the Suspension of the Rules as provided in §§ 13, 18,) or Subsidiary Motion (excepting an Amendment), as in such a case the real question before the assembly is a different one.

To illustrate: a motion that a question lie on the table having failed, suppose afterwards it be moved to refer the matter to a committee, it is now in order to move again that the subject lie on the table; but such a motion would not be in order if it were not made till after the failure of the motion to commit, as the question then resumes its previous condition.

When a subject has been referred to a committee which reports at the same meeting, the matter stands before the assembly as if it had been introduced for the first time. A motion which has been withdrawn has not been acted upon, and therefore can be renewed.

27. Reconsider. It is in order at any time, even when another member has the floor, or while the assembly is voting on the motion to Adjourn, during the day^[21] on which a motion has been acted upon, to move to “Reconsider the vote “and have such motion “entered on the record,” but it cannot be considered while another question is before the assembly. It must be made, excepting when the vote is by ballot, by a member who voted with the prevailing side; for instance, in case a motion fails to pass for lack of a two-thirds vote, a reconsideration must be moved by one who voted against the motion.

A motion to reconsider the vote on a Subsidiary [§ 7] Motion takes precedence of the main question. It yields to Privileged [§ 9] Questions (except for the Orders of the Day) and Incidental [§ 8] Questions.

This motion can be applied^[22] to the vote on every other question, except to Adjourn and to Suspend the Rules, and an affirmative vote on to Lie on the Table or to Take from the Table [§ 19]. No question can be twice reconsidered. This motion cannot be amended; it is debatable or not, just as the question to be reconsidered is debatable or undebatable [§ 35]; when debatable, it opens up for discussion the entire subject to be reconsidered, and the Previous Question [§ 20], if ordered while it is pending, affects only the motion to reconsider. It can be laid on the table [§ 19], and in such cases the last motion cannot be reconsidered; it is quite common and allowable to combine these two motions (though they must be voted on separately). In this case, the reconsideration, like any other question, can be taken from the table, but possesses no privilege.^[23] The motion to reconsider being laid on the table does not carry with it the pending measure. If an amendment to a motion has been either adopted or rejected, and then a vote taken on the motion as amended, it is not in order to reconsider the vote on the amendment until after the vote on the original motion has been reconsidered. If the Previous Question [§ 20] has been partly executed, it cannot be reconsidered. If anything which the assembly cannot reverse has been done as the result of a vote, then that vote cannot be reconsidered.

The Effect of making this motion is to suspend all action that the original motion would have required until the reconsideration is acted upon; but if it is not called up, its effect terminates with the session [§ 42], provided,^[24] that in an assembly having regular meetings as often as monthly, if there is not held upon another day an adjourned meeting of the one at which the reconsideration was moved, its effect shall not terminate till the close of the next succeeding session [see note at end of this section]. But the reconsideration of an Incidental [§ 8] or Subsidiary [§ 7] Motion (except where the vote to be reconsidered had the effect to remove the whole subject from before the assembly) shall be immediately acted upon, as otherwise it would prevent action on the main question.^[25]

While this motion is so highly privileged as far as relates to having it entered on the minutes, yet the reconsideration of another question cannot be made to interfere with the discussion of a question before the assembly, but as soon as that subject is disposed of, the reconsideration, if called up, takes precedence of everything except the motions to adjourn, and to fix the time to which to adjourn. As long as its effect lasts (as shown above), any one can call up the motion to reconsider, and have it acted upon—excepting that when its effect extends beyond the meeting at which the motion was made, no one but the mover can call it up at that meeting.

The Effect of the adoption of this motion is to place before the assembly the original question in the exact position it occupied before it was voted upon; consequently no one can debate the question reconsidered who had previously exhausted his right of debate [§ 34] on that question; his only resource is to discuss the question while the motion to reconsider is before the assembly. When a vote taken under the operation of the previous question is reconsidered, the question is then divested of the previous question, and is open to debate and amendment, provided the previous question had been exhausted [see § 20] by votes taken on all the questions covered by it, before the motion to reconsider was made.

A reconsideration requires only a majority vote, regardless of the vote necessary to adopt the motion reconsidered. [For reconsidering in committee see § 28.]

Note on Reconsider.—In the English Parliament a vote once taken cannot be reconsidered, but in our Congress it is allowed to move a reconsideration of the vote on the same or succeeding day, and after the close of the last day for making the motion, any one can call up the motion to reconsider, so that this motion cannot delay action more than two days, and the effect of the motion, if not acted upon, terminates with the session. There seems to be no reason or good precedent for permitting merely two persons, by moving a reconsideration, to suspend for any length of time all action under resolutions adopted by the assembly, and yet where the delay is very short the advantages of reconsideration overbalance the evils.

Where a permanent society has meetings weekly or monthly, and usually only a small proportion of the society is present, it seems best to allow a reconsideration to hold over to another meeting, so that the society may have notice of what action is about to be taken. To prevent the motion being used to defeat a measure that cannot be deferred till the next regular meeting, it is provided that in case the society adjourn, to meet on a different day, then the reconsideration will not hold over beyond that session; this allows sufficient delay to notify the society, while, if the question is one requiring immediate action, the delay cannot extend beyond the day to which they adjourn. The rule provides that the adjourned meeting must be held on another day, in order to prevent the whole object of the reconsideration being defeated by an immediate adjournment to meet again in a few minutes. Where the meetings are only quarterly or annual the society should be properly represented at each meeting, and their best interests are subserved by following the practice of Congress, and letting the effect of the reconsideration terminate with the session.

1. For a list of all the ordinary motions, arranged in their order of precedence, see the Table of Rules, page 10. All the Privileged and Subsidiary ones in this Article are so arranged.
2. In ordinary societies it is better to follow the common parliamentary law, and permit this question to be introduced as a principal question, when it can be debated and suppressed [§§ 58, 59] like other questions. In Congress it is never debatable, and has entirely superseded the unprivileged and inferior motion to ‘‘adjourn to a particular time.”
3. “After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all bills, resolutions and reports which originated in the House, and at the close of the next preceding session remained undetermined, shall be resumed, and acted on in the same manner as if an adjournment had not taken place.”,—Rule 136 H. R. But unfinished business does not go over from one Congress to another Congress. Any ordinary society that meets as seldom as once each year, is apt to be composed of as different membership at its successive meetings as any two successive Congresses, and only trouble would result from allowing unfinished business to hold over to the next yearly meeting.
4. Questions of Privilege must not be confounded with Privileged Questions [§ 9]. Disorder in the gallery, one member opening a window so as to cause a draft, endangering the health of others, charges made against the official character of a member, etc., are examples of questions of privilege.
5. Rule 54 H. R. provides that at the close of the morning hour (which is devoted to reports from committees and resolutions) a motion is in order to proceed to “the business on the Speaker’s table, and to the orders of the day;” it then specifies the order in which the business on the Speaker’s table shall be considered, and closes thus: ‘‘The messages, communications and bills on his table having been disposed of, the Speaker shall then proceed to call the orders of the day.” While in Congress it is not in order to interrupt a member to call for the orders of the day, yet it is the practice to permit a member, at the close of the morning hour, even though another member has the floor, to move to proceed to “the business on the Speaker’s table, and to the orders of the day.” To apply the above principle to ordinary assemblies, it is necessary to allow a motion for the orders of the day to interrupt a member who may have the floor, after the time has arrived for their consideration.
6. Thus, if an assembly had a rule like that in § 44 for the order of business, when the time appointed for the Special Order arrived, any one could call for the Special Orders, even though a Committee were reporting at the time; but the orders of the day in general could not be called for until all the Committees’ reports had been acted upon.
7. The word Assembly can be replaced by Society, Convention, Board, etc., according to the name of the organization. See § 65 for a fuller explanation of the method of stating the question on an Appeal.
8. In Congress, the usual course in case of an Appeal is to lay it on the table, as this practically kills it and sustains the Chair.
9. In Congress, the introduction of such questions could be temporarily prevented by a majority vote under the 41st Rule of the House of Representatives, which is as follows: ‘‘Where any motion or proposition is made, the question, ‘Will the House now consider it?’ shall not be put unless it is demanded by some member, or is deemed necessary by the Speaker.” [See note at close of § 39.] The English use the ‘‘Previous Question’’ for a similar purpose [see note at close of § 20].

   The question of consideration is seldom raised in Congress, but in assemblies with very short sessions, where but few questions can or should be considered, it seems a necessity that two-thirds of the assembly should be able to instantly throw out a question they do not wish to consider. A very common form, in ordinary societies, of putting this question, is, “Shall the question be discussed?’’ The form to which preference is given in the rule conforms more to the Congressional one, and is less liable to be misunderstood.

10. In Congress, a motion may be withdrawn by the mover, before a decision or amendment [Rule 40 H. R.]. Nothing would be gained in ordinary societies by varying from the old common law as stated above [See note to § 5].
11. In Congress it cannot be renewed the same day.
12. There would be no use in a rule allowing one-fifth of the members present to order the yeas and nays, for instance, if two-thirds of those present could suspend the rule [see the last notes to §§ 38, 39].
13. A question of privilege [§ 12] does not adhere to the subject it may happen to interrupt, and consequently if laid on the table does not carry with it the question pending when it was raised.
14. The Previous Question is a technical name for this motion, conveying a wrong impression of its import, as it has nothing to do with the subject previously under consideration. To demand the previous question is equivalent in effect to moving “That debate now cease, and the assembly immediately proceed to vote on the pending question” [or ‘‘questions” in some cases, as shown above under the effect of the previous question.] So when the Chairman puts the question, ‘‘Shall the main question be now put?” it means, “Shall the pending question be now put?” for “questions,” as just stated.] The origin of this question, and the changes that have taken place in its effects, are described in the note at the close of this section.
15. In the House of Representatives it must be seconded by a majority [to avoid the yeas and nays], and then it can be adopted by a majority vote; in the U. S. Senate it is not allowed. It is sometimes called the “gag law,’’ which name is deserved when a bare majority can adopt it. The right of debate should be considered as an established rule of every deliberative assembly, which cannot be interfered with excepting by a vote that is competent to suspend any other rule. [See note to § 39.]
16. After debate is closed upon a question which has been reported from a Committee, the member reporting the measure has the right to make the closing speech [see § 34].
17. If we consider the motions to amend and to commit as inseparably connected with the question to be amended or committed, so that together they constitute but one question, then it would be correct to say that the only effect of adopting the Previous Question is to cut off debate and to force the assembly to vote upon the one question pending. This will to many be the easiest way to look at this question, and it makes it as simple as adopting an order closing debate [§ 37 (d)], as the latter would have the same privileges, and therefore the same complications as the Previous Question.
18. For other methods of closing debate see §§ 37, 58.
19. In Congress a motion cannot be postponed to the next session, but it is customary in ordinary societies.
20. Whether the motion is to adopt or to strike out a paragraph, the principle is the same, the paragraph cannot stand as a part of the resolution unless a majority are in favor of it.
21. In Congress any one can move a reconsideration, excepting where the vote is taken by yeas and nays [§ 38], when the rule above applies. The motion can be made on the same or succeeding day.
22. It is not the practice to reconsider an affirmative vote on the motion to lie on the table, as the same result can be reached by the motion to take from the table. For a similar reason, an affirmative vote on a motion to take from the table cannot be reconsidered.
23. In Congres; this is a common method used by the friends of a measure to prevent its reconsideration, and is deemed a finality. In ordinary societies it can be used safely only under the circumstances described in § 59 (c).
24. In Congress the effect always terminates with the session, and it cannot be called up by any one but the mover, until the expiration of the time during which it is in order to move a reconsideration.
25. Thus, suppose the motion to Indefinitely Postpone is negatived, showing that the assembly wish to consider the subject: if it is moved to reconsider the last vote, then the reconsideration must be immediately acted upon, as otherwise the whole subject would be removed from before the assembly as shown above, without any possible benefit to the assembly. If the object is to prevent a temporary majority from adopting a resolution, the proper course is to wait until the resolution is finally acted upon, and then move the reconsideration. Ifthe motion to Indefinitely Postpone is carried, the subject is removed from before the assembly, and consequently there is no hinderance to business in permitting the reconsideration to hold over to another day.