Giving Good Meeting: Robert’s Rules and Efficient Meetings

1. Giving Good Meeting: Robert’s Rules andEfficient Meetings

2. Overview • The Basics • Aims of the Rules • Moving Things Along • Kinds of Motions • Rules of Debate • ABC’s of Motions • Voting and Disposing

3. The Basics: Aims • Enough members present to make a decision • Everybody’s equal • Protected if absent • One thing at a time • One time per meeting • One person at a time • Silence = Consent

4. Moving Things Along: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Things Done

5. Moving Things Along: • Kinds of Motions • Rules of Debate • Motion Procedures • Voting Procedures

6. Making Motions The Presiding officer establishes that a quorum is present and that it is proper for the meeting to proceed. One aim of Robert’s Rules is to protect the rights of those members absent from the meeting

7. Kinds of Motions Two types of motions can be made: • Main Motions • Secondary Motions

8. Kinds of Motions Main Motions… • Bring before the assembly a new subject which requires the assembly to take some action • Allow the group to get things done • Express the actions of the group

9. Main Motions For example “I move that SGO buy new computers for the professors in the Political Science Department”

10. Kinds of Motions Secondary Motions • Privileged: Motions that don’t relate to the main motion or pending business, but to the members and the organization. • Subsidiary: Motions that help the assembly treat or dispose of a main motion • Incidental: Motions incidental to the conduct of the meeting, rather than to a main motion

11. Kinds of Motion • Motions are arranged in a hierarchy, denoting which have precedence over which • That ordering allows for efficiency and clarity as we always know which motions are in order when

12. Highest level 13. Fix the time to adjourn12. Adjourn11. Recess10. Raise a question of privilege 9. Call for orders of the day 8. Lay on the table 7. Previous question 6. Limit or extend limits of debate 5. Postpone to a certain time 4. Commit or refer to committee 3. Amend 2. Postpone indefinitely 1. Main motion Lowest level

13. Kinds of Motions • During the meeting, motions higher on the list are always in order over those lower on the list; not in the order in which they were made • Vote on higher ranking motions before lower ranking ones • Work way “up” and “down” the ladder

14. Ground Rules going, we first need to review some basic ground rules for how to debate and discuss. To get all that motion and ladder stuff

15. Rules of Debate • Need a motion in order to have a debate; no motion, no debate • One person speaks at a time, anyone who wants to speak must be recognized by the presiding officer • Debate is limited to the motion pending • The maker of the motion has the right to speak first on the motion • The maker of the motion cannot speak against the motion.

16. Rules of Debate Speaking Order: • People speak in order of recognition by the chair • Mover of the motion has first priority whether or not recognized first by chair • New speakers have precedence over people who have already spoken • Chair should try when possible to alternate speakers for and against the motion

17. Rules of Debate Speaking Time: • No member may speak more than twice on any one motion in any one meeting • Speech is limited to 10 minutes (unless modified by a motion concerning debate)

18. Rules of Debate Debate Manners: • Only speak when called upon • Direct all comments to the chair • When addressing the chair (and by extension the assembly) rise to speak. • Don’t be disruptive • You can make corrections • The chair can interrupt you (not vice-versa)

19. Debates and the Chair • The role of the chair during debate is to ensure that the debate is fair • Chair has same rights as other members in participating in debate; however, as the arbiter of the rules, the chair should limit participation in debate

20. Debates and the Chair • If chair does join debate, he/she abdicates the position of chair and transfers power to the next highest ranking officer who has not spoken on the motion. • If all officers have spoken on the motion, the chair asks permission from the members to appoint a temporary chair.

21. Tips for Effective Debates • When you get the floor, begin by stating which side of the motion you support • Organize your thoughts before you seek the recognition of the chair • Conclude your remarks by restating your position on the motion

22. The ABC’s of Motions

23. ABC’s of Motions • Make a motion • Second the motion • Chair states the motion • Debate the motion • Take the vote • Announce results

24. ABC’s of Motions • Make a Motion • Secure the recognition of the chair • Be precise • Begin with “I move that…”

25. ABC’s of Motions • Second the Motion • A voting member of the body must express support for consideration of the motion (“seconding” the motion) • Seconding insures that at least two members think the issue is important enough to take up the membership’s time • The person seconding the motion need not agree with the motion, only with the idea that the issue should be addressed by the group

26. ABC’s of Motions • Second the Motion (continued) • Committee recommendations do not need seconds (since the members constituting the committee effectively act as seconds in approving the committee recommendation) • Co-sponsored resolutions do not need seconds, again for the obvious reason that co-sponsors satisfy the reasons for requiring a second.

27. ABC’s of Motions • Chair states the motion • This formally places the motion before the assembly; at this point, the motion belongs to the group, not the individual who moved it. • This makes sure the group has an official agreed upon wording

28. ABC’s of Motions • Debate the Motion • During debate a motion is considered “on the floor” or “pending” because we haven’t yet figured out what to do with it • When the motion is on the floor, members can: • Amend it • Postpone it • Lay it aside • Refer it to committee • This is where the “motion ladder” and rules of debate come into play

29. Highest level 13. Fix the time to adjourn12. Adjourn11. Recess10. Raise a question of privilege 9. Call for orders of the day 8. Lay on the table 7. Previous question 6. Limit or extend limits of debate 5. Postpone to a certain time 4. Commit or refer to committee 3. Amend 2. Postpone indefinitely 1. Main motion Lowest level

30. ABC’s of Motions • Debate the Motion • Remember to keep the debate focused on the motion • During debate, avoid referring to another member by name instead use: • The office/position (“the president stated…”) • “The previous speaker” • “The member who made the motion…”

31. ABC’s of Motions • Putting the Motion to a Vote • When all members who want to speak have spoken, debate ends and the motion is put to the assembly for a vote • Remember, the motions express the will of the group, so we need the approval of the membership before doing anything • Presiding officer restates the motion to remind members of the exact issue being voted on. • Presiding officer then directs the membership on the voting method to be used

32. ABC’s of Motions • Putting the Motion to a Vote • Chair calls for both those in favor (“ayes”), those opposed (“nays”) • Note: The chair should not call for abstentions, since it effectively asks a member to vote not to vote, and that’s incoherent. • The chair announces the results • The chair determines whether a motion has passed for failed • If unsure of the results, the chair can and should call for another vote to better ascertain the results

33. ABC’s of Motions • Some votes call for different calculations for the margin of victory • A plurality election is when the candidate that receives the most votes wins: For example: If 12 members, results appear as: Candidate A: 5 Candidate B: 3 Abstention: 4 Who wins?

34. ABC’s of Motions • For example: If 12 members, results appear as: Candidate A: 5 Candidate B: 3 Abstention: 4 “A” wins. Remember, silence equals consent, so the abstentions do not count as votes against the candidate Plurality votes never apply to motions and floor action. They may apply to elections for officers though, depending on the bylaws of the organization.

35. ABC’s of Motions • A majority vote election requires that the winning motion receive a majority of the votes cast • For example: If 12 members, results appear as: Ayes: 5 Nays: 3 Abstention: 4 What wins?

36. ABC’s of Motions For example: If 12 members, results appear as: Ayes: 5 Nays: 3 Abstention: 4 Ayes win. Remember, abstentions do not count as votes cast. Only 8 votes were cast, and 5 of 8 is a majority (tie plus one).

37. ABC’s of Motions • Occasionally Robert’s Rules calls for a 2/3rds majority rather than a simple majority. • The general guide for knowing when a simple majority or 2/3rds majority is required is whether the motion is going to take away rights of the members. • If the motion is taking rights away, then it requires a 2/3rds vote. For example: motions to: limit debate, postpone indefinitely, end debate, suspend the rules

38. ABC’s of Motions • Complete Announcement • Which side has the vote • Whether the motion passed or failed • The effect of the vote • The next item of business

39. Conclusion • Remember, the rights of the organization supercede the rights of individuals. You are acting as a group, • The rules are designed to balance the rights of the group as a whole, of subgroups within the group, and of individual members. • The rules should be used to help, not hinder, collective decision making.

40. Conclusion “Use your judgment: the assembly may be of such a nature through its ignorance of parliamentary usages and peaceable disposition, that a strict enforcement of the rules, instead of assisting, would greatly hinder business; but in large assemblies, where there is much work to be done, and especially where there is liability to trouble, the only safe course is to require a strict observance of the rules.”

41. Resources • Robert’s Rules of Order 10th Edition The latest update of the classic. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and in most bookstores

42. Resources • Robert’s Rules in Plain English Follows the standard Robert’s pretty closely, but tries to tone down some of the more obscure phrasing and vocabulary issues. ISBN: 978-0-06-078779-0

43. Resources yet easy to read versions of the classic. As these titles suggest, both are comprehensive

44. Resources • Online Resources • Robert’s Rules Online (http://www.rulesonline.com/start.html#rror--00.htm) • Parliamentary Procedure Online http://www.parlipro.org/

45. The End

46. Quorum Remember, unless otherwise stated in the bylaws, a quorum is defined as a majority of the membership In the absence of a quorum, the body can: • Set time for another meeting • End (adjourn) the meeting • Take a short break with hope that a quorum forms • Try to gather enough members to constitute a quorum

47. Privileged Motions These motions are of such urgency that they can interrupt any business on the floor, without debate For example: “Group privileges” like conditions in the meeting room, inability to hear, etc. “Personal privilege” like a speaker is misstating my remarks

48. Subsidiary Motions These include motions to amend the main motion, refer to committee, lay on the table, or postpone debate For example: “I move that the words ‘Apple MacBook Pro’ be inserted before ‘computers’ in the motion authorizing Local 1839 to purchase computers for the faculty in the Political Science Department.”

49. Incidental Motions Incidental secondary motions relate to the procedures of the meeting, rather than to the substance of the business For example: Challenging a ruling from the chair, to ask a question about the rules, to request voting in particular fashion (more later on that)

50. Orders of the Day • The motion to call for “orders of the day” is a call to the presiding officer to get back to the items listed on the agenda • The motion can be made at any time, by any member, and is not debatable and is not voted on. • If the membership wants to continue on the diversion, a motion can be made to extend debate (Step 8) or the issue can be taken up at the end of the meeting when the orders of the day are completed