Parliamentary Procedure for Accountability

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Parliamentary Procedure for Accountability
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Chapter 1

• What is Parliamentary Law

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What is Parliamentary Law

• Rules of the game of democracy
• Rules which govern procedures by which civil and
  criminal laws are made and adopted
• Rules and customs which govern deliberative and
  decision-making assemblies and organizations

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What are Parliamentary Procedures

• Are the laws which are followed in any given
  assembly or organization, together with whatever
  rules of order the body may have adopted.

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Where are Parliamentary Procedures Used

• Government
• Congress
• State legislatures, boards, councils, committees
• Local and tribal boards, councils, committees
• Societies
• Clubs, sororities, lodges, professional
  organizations
• Unions, churches

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Fundamental Principles of Parliamentary Procedure

• Courtesy to all
• One item at a time
• Rule of the majority
• Rights of the minority
• Justice for all
• Partiality for none

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Basic Principles A Closer Look

• Order
• One piece of business at a time
• Equality
• All members have equal rights, responsibilities
• Justice
• Members have the right to be informed, ask
  questions, make motions

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Basic Principles A Closer Look

• Minority Rights
• Dissenting members have equal rights to be heard
  and be allowed to persuade with the hope of
  becoming the majority
• Will of Majority Prevails
• Power and authority of the organization is vested
  in its members. Non individual has right to
  control decisions. Majority prevails and members
  are expected to accept the will of the majority.

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Procedural Rules as Tools

• Tools facilitate and improve situations
• Procedural rules provide for
• Basic Rules and Principles

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Rules of Debate

• How many times can each speaker talk on each
  debatable motion?
• What is the length of speech?
• What are the limitations?
• Procedures are controlled by?

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Chapter 2

• Your Constitution and Bylaws

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Contents of Bylaws

• Article 1 Name
• Article 2 Purpose (or Object)
• Article 3 Membership
• Article 4 Officers
• Article 5 Meetings
• Article 6 Executive Board or Board of Directors
• Article 7 Committees
• Article 8 Parliamentary Authority
• Article 9 Amendment

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Standing Rules

• These rules are adopted by an organization as the
  needs arise to provide procedures unique to the
  organization. Standing rules are kept separate
  from bylaws so that any one of them can be
  suspended by a two-thirds vote for the duration
  of a meeting but no longer.

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Documents of Authority

• Charter
• Bylaws
• Standing Rules
• Special Orders
• Customs
• Policies
• Precedents

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Chapter 3

• Role of the Presiding Officer

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Chair Responsibilities

• Calls meeting to order
• Helps rephrase confusing motions
• State motions clearly
• Repeats motion before putting it to a vote
• Rules on procedural matters
• Pays attention to the discussion
• Clarifies and explains obscure points
• Takes the vote correctly
• Announces results of vote
• Appoints committee members with discretion

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What Can the Chairperson Do To Increase Respect
and Give Guidance?
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Dos and Donts for Chairmen

• Do
• Preserve order
• Insist that rules are followed
• Insure full and free discussion
• Protect rights of minority
• Encourage members to participate
• Keep your temper
• Insist that the rules of debate be preserved

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Dos and Donts for Chairmen

• Dont
• Do all the talking
• Impose your will
• Use your office for personal gain
• Change everything because youre the boss
• Refer to My club, my board say, Our club, our
  board
• Permit exceptions to bylaws
• Let the meeting drag

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Chapter 4

• Methods of Voting

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Voting

• Voting is a privilege and an obligation.
• No member may be compelled to vote
• No member may have more than one vote
• Non member may explain their vote and no
  debating is allowed after debate has closed
• Assembly makes final decision of votes were
  questioned
• When a vote is taken a 2nd time debate cant be
  resumed except by unanimous consent

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Forms of Voting

• Voice Vote
• Shoe of Hands
• Rising
• Unanimous/general consent
• Ballot
• Roll Call
• Mail
• Proxy
• Cumulative

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Announcing the Vote

• Chair announces vote
• State if motion was carried/lost
• What is the effect/result
• What is the immediately pending question or
  business
• This helps to keep everyone informed and on task

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Chapter 5

• Order of Business

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Conducting a Meeting

• Four Essentials
• Call to Order
• Minutes
• New Business
• Adjournment
• Parts to a Meeting
• Opening
• Business
• Closing

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Order of Business

• Established sequence of topics to be considered
  at any meeting of the organization
• Order of business often needs adjustments or
  change, easily accomplished by moving to Suspend
  the Rules.

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Typical Order of Business

• Reading/Approval of Minutes
• Reports of Officers
• Reports of Boards
• Reports of Standing Committees
• Reports of Special Committees
• Special Orders
• Unfinished Business
• New Business

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Chapter 6

• Quorum or No Quorum

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Defining a Quorum

• Minimum number that needs to be present in order
  for a parliamentary body to transact legally
  binding business
• Action taken while no quorum was present is
  invalid
• According to common law, a quorum is a majority
  of those eligible to vote, unless rules have been
  adopted to the contrary

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Special Rules Defining a Quorum

• In organizations with large memberships, it is
  advisable to adopt special rules defining a
  quorum
• For Example
• 1/3 of eligible voters for committees
• 10 of eligible voters for general membership
  meetings
• Dont make quorum too large

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More Special Rules

• Number present shall constitute a quorum
• 40 shall constitute a quorum
• 5 members shall constitute a quorum if the
  membership is less than 25
• A majority of the outstanding shares..
• Three lords constitute a quorum
• No rule or policy may be adopted, amended, or
  suspended without previous notice nor by an
  affirmative vote or less than a quorum.
• Other examples

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Determining the Presence of A Quorum

• This should be done before the meeting is called
  to order
• The Chair should also announce if quorum has been
  reached before every vote
• President and secretary should have up to date
  rules with them at every meeting. If any
  questions arise about what constitutes a quorum
  you will be able to answer them

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Determining the Presence of A Quorum cont.

• Roll call
• Counted vote

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Business that Doesnt Need A Quorum

• Raise the question of a quorum
• Appeal from the decision of the chair
• Request for information
• Parliamentary inquiry
• Question of Privilege
• Request for permission to withdraw ones motion
• Recess
• Adjourn
• Others

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Action for No Quorum

• Wait a few minutes before calling the meeting to
  order
• Scheduled meeting should be held even if no
  quorum is present
• Minutes should be kept
• Record probable causes for poor attendance
• Without quorum those present decide how to
  proceed
• Adjourn/recess meeting
• Take care of emergency business
• Receive reports w/o taking action
• Take informal action on how to secure quorum

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No Quorum cont.

• If continually a problem
• Take action and amend rules to lower size of
  quorum
• Send notices of meetings
• Make meetings more attractive
• Hold meetings at more convenient times and places

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Disappearing Quorum

• Common law rules that if the minutes show that a
  quorum attended the meeting the presumption is
  that they were there throughout the meeting.
• We know this isnt true
• Duty of the Chair to keep members informed on
  quorum status
• Duty of each individual member to uphold the
  rights of all and call a Point of Order if they
  notice a disappearing quorum
• If doing this to stall a vote, Chair may call Out
  of Order

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Chapter 7

• Motions

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Eight Steps in Processing a Motion

• Obtain the Floor
• Address the Chair
• Assign the floor handling the motion
• Make the motion
• Second to the motion
• State the motion
• Debate the motion
• Put the question up for vote
• Announce the vote

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Basic Chart of Motions

• 5 Privileged Motions
• Fix time to adjourn
• Adjourn
• Recess
• Question of Privilege
• Call for Order of the Day

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Basic Chart of Motions

• 8 Subsidiary Motions
• Lay on the table
• Previous question
• Modify debate
• Postpone definitely
• Commit
• Amend
• Postpone indefinitely
• Main Motion

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Main Motion

• Brings business before the assembly
• Can be made only while no other motion is pending
• Can be written in the form of a resolution
• Two kinds
• Original
• Incidental
• Requires a 2nd
• Is debatable
• Can be amended
• Requires majority vote

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Resolution

• Are written main motions to request action, seek
  support on action taken by others, seek
  legislation, or establish a policy.
• By individual member or committee
• Many resolutions may be numbered and considered
  at the same time or one at a time
• Identical to main motion, but written in form
  established by custom

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Resolutions cont.

• Format of a Resolution
• What a well-drafted Resolution looks like
• Action on Resolutions
• Adopted
• Amended
• Rejected
• Recommitted

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Subsidiary Motions

• Aid in handling or disposing of a Main Motion
• Postpone Indefinitely
• Cant be amended
• Requires a second
• Is debatable
• To Amend
• Strike/insert words
• Add/delete words
• Requires a second
• Is debatable and amendable

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Subsidiary Motions cont.

• To Commit or to Refer
• Refers to a small group to investigate question
• Requires a second
• Is debatable
• May be amended
• Postpone to a Certain Time
• Defer action on question to a particular hour,
  day, meeting, or event
• Requires a second
• Is debatable
• Can be amended

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Subsidiary Motions cont.

• Limit or Extend Debate
• Increase or reduce length/number of speeches
• Requires a second
• Requires 2/3 vote
• Can be reconsidered
• Previous Question
• Stops debate and vote is taken
• Requires a second
• Is not debatable
• Requires 2/3 vote
• Can not be amended

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Subsidiary Motions cont.

• Lay on Table
• Lay a question aside temporarily in order to take
  care of a more urgent matter
• Requires a second
• Not debatable
• Not amendable
• Requires majority vote

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Privileged Motions

• Call for Orders of the Day
• Demand that assembly adhere to schedule
• No second
• Not Debatable
• Not amendable
• Raise a Question of Privilege
• Protect rights of individual members
• No second
• Not debatable or amendable

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Privileged Motions cont.

• To Recess
• Provide for a recess while another question is
  pending
• Requires a second
• Not debatable
• Is amendable
• Majority vote
• To Adjourn
• Close the meeting
• Requires a second
• Not Debatable or amendable
• Majority vote

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Privileged Motions cont.

• Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn
• Set up an adjourned meeting to continue the
  business of the current meeting
• Requires second
• Not debatable
• Can be amended
• Majority vote

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Incidental Motions

• Appeal
• Permits assembly to sustain or reverse the
  Chairs ruling
• Object to Consideration
• Raised against any original motion which a member
  considers to be inflammatory to the point that it
  shouldnt be discussed at all
• Suspend the Rules
• Assembly wishes to suspend an adopted rule
  temporarily in order to accomplish some specific
  goal

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Incidental Motions cont.

• Requests
• Incidental motions resolved without a vote and
  ordered by the Chair if no one objects
• Consideration by Paragraph of Seriatim
• Seeks to consider a long/complex motion in parts
• Division of a Question
• A separate vote is taken on each separate part
  unlike in Seriatim, where only discussion is
  broken into parts
• Division of Assembly
• If a member has doubt about a voice vote this
  motion is made and the vote is counted

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Incidental Motions cont.

• Point of Information
• Asks about parliamentary rules as they are
  related to the matter at hand
• Point of Order
• Member my make this motion when he or she
  believes that there has been a violation of the
  rules or an error in procedure
• Withdraw
• A member can ask to withdraw their motion or once
  motion is stated, assembly must vote to withdraw
  motion

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Incidental Motions cont.

• Motions related to voting
• Close or Reopen the Polls
• Motions related to Nominators

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Restoratory Motions

• Amend a Motion Already Adopted
• Used when intent is to alter original motion,
  restores discussion on original motion
• Discharge a Committee
• If committee has failed to report assigned tasks
  or if assembly wishes to drop matter or take
  action itself on the subject
• Rescind
• Nullifies an adopted order
• Take from the Table
• Motion that has been laid on the table remains
  there unless taken from the table by motion

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Restoratory Motions cont.

• Reconsider
• Suspends all action on the main motion except on
  matters already implemented
• Ratify
• Endorses action taken at a meeting where no
  quorum was present
• Renew
• And defeated or withdrawn motion may be offered
  again usually using different language
• Rescind and Expunge from Minutes
• Records strong condemnation of that previous
  action

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Chapter 8

• Meeting Minutes

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The Recording Secretary

• Keeper of records/aide to President
• Duties defined by bylaws
• Record accurate minutes
• Outline of minutes
• Prepares the agenda
• Keeps other records
• Other duties

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Duties

• Meeting Schedule
• Essential for presiding officer
• Copies to each meeting participant
• Taking Notes
• Should have outline of items to be presented
• List of members
• Note those arriving late or leaving early
• Copies of reports to be presented
• Understand the items to be discussed

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Duties

• Taking Notes cont.
• Take in-depth notes
• Transcribe notes right away
• Keep one notebook for meetings
• Record motions verbatim
• Interrupt meeting if necessary to get exact
  wording
• Note what is done/accomplished/unfinished at
  meeting
• Minutes should be in summary

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Voting

• Secretary can vote on all motions and should vote
  by ballot no one is compelled to vote
• Secretary can not cast ballot of the assembly
• Secretary may cast elective ballot if in bylaws
• Motion to authorize secretary to cast a unanimous
  ballot is out of order

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Other Duties

• Notify membership of meetings
• Provide committees with necessary documents
• Conduct and organize the general correspondence
  of the organization
• Inform officers, committee members, delegates of
  the election or appointment
• Provide delegates with credentials
• Furnish paper for voting
• Follow up activities notifying persons, filing
  reports, etc.

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Prepare the Agenda

• Agenda is patterned after Order of Business
• Standard Agenda
• Reading/approval of minutes
• Reports of Officers, Boards, Standing Committees
• Reports of special committees
• Unfinished business
• New business
• Announcements

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Agenda cont.

• Each organization decides where ti wants to
  insert items such as
• Roll call
• Payment of bills
• Correspondence
• Initiations
• Inductions
• Term old business should never be used

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Minutes

• Record only action taken remarks and debate are
  not entered into the minutes
• Minutes should be made available to the members
  for reference
• Minutes should be written in outline form, not
  narrative
• Minutes are approved and corrected by general
  consent
• Minutes and other material should be maintained
  in a central location

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What do Minutes Contain?

• Kind of meeting
• Who presided
• Disposition of previous minutes
• Main Motions
• All other motion where a vote was taken
• Points of order and appeals
• Notice of motion to be made
• Counted votes
• Treasurer's statement

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What do Minutes Contain? cont.

• Reports of other officers
• Reports of committees
• Names of members appointed to special committees
• Important announcements
• Name of speaker
• Hour of adjournment
• Signature and title of secretary

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Content of Minutes

• First Paragraph
• Treasurer's Report
• Bills
• Correspondence
• Committee Reports
• Business transactions
• Other

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Common Mistakes

• Incomplete wording of motions
• Failure to show precise action taken on each
  motion rule
• Failure to record important rulings

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The Minute Book

• Hard copy of files
• Automated minute taking

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Chapter 9

• Effective Meetings

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What Makes a Meeting Effective?

• Sense of accomplishment
• Agenda/topics have significance
• Meeting is run smoothly through skilled
  leadership
• Meeting is characterized by participation
• Atmosphere of the meeting is one of goodwill and
  cooperation
• The group meeting feels a sense of teamwork

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Meeting Objectives

• Objectives are
• Simple
• Clear
• Concise
• Reasonable
• Attainable
• Measurable

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Meeting Structure

• Adequate time for objectives to be completed
• Develop objectives that are obtainable during
  your standard meeting time
• Dont use large blocks of meeting time for
  activities that dont require the group
• Limit time for certain agenda items i.e.
  reports/presentations
• Maintain participant interest
• Topics requiring most attention should be
  scheduled at beginning of day

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Thank You Very Much!

• Enjoy the rest of the
• 2008 Indian Board Members Conference!!