Created and Presented by:

Steven E RichardsonResidence Housing Association MOCC/NCC

An Introduction to Robert’s RulesParliamentary Procedure:

What is “Parli-Pro”?The body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies

Five Principles:• Order

• Equality

• Justice

• Right of the minority to be heard

• Right of the majority to rule

Parliamentary Procedure is the right of the ______ to rule!

“Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is

the least of liberty.”*Henry Martyn Robert*

Types of Business MeetingsTwo main types:

Regular Meeting

Periodic business meeting

Special Meeting

Separate session held at a different time from that of the regular meeting.Convened only to consider certain, important matters between regular meetings that require urgent action.

Conduct of BusinessQuorum of Members = Minimum number of members who must be present at the meetings for business to be legally transacted.

This protects against unrepresentative action by a body

Quorum is typically 50% plus one

A type of meeting held onlyfor a specific matter of

high importance

____ is the minimum numberof members who must be

present for business to occur

Conduct of BusinessCall to Order = The presiding officer formally opens the meeting

The presiding officer says: “I call this meeting to order at ____ [time]”

Once a meeting has been called to order, only those who get recognized by the chair are allowed to speak.

Side conversations are not allowed!

Conduct of BusinessOrder of Business = The initial procedures of a meeting, usually in the form of an agenda or program.

1) Call to Order2) Roll Call/Determination of Quorum3) Reading and Approval of Minutes4) Reports of Officers5) Reports of Committees6) Special Orders7) Unfinished Business8) New Business9) Adjournment

The order of business ispresented in the form of

an _______

Conduct of BusinessMotion = A formal proposal by a member for the assembly to take certain action.

Handling of a Motion

A: “I move that…” B: “I second it!”----------------------------*If no one seconds the motion, the chair must be sure that all have heard it before moving on to other business.

C: “Is there a second to the motion?” “Since there is no second, the motion is not before this meeting.”

Voting

• Two main types: • Placard Vote• Secret Ballot

• For – Against - Abstain

What type of voting musthappen during elections?

Presenting Legislation

• Bring legislation to the floor• Motion and Second

• To waive the reading• Motion and Second

• Presentation• Q&A

• Motion and Second (object)• Discussion• Voting

When you don’t want to hearthe reading of the legislation,you can say “I move to ____

the reading.”

Suspend the RulesWhen an assembly wishes to do something that it cannot do without violating one or more of its regular rules, it can adopt a motion to Suspend the Rules.

• Only if the proposal is not in conflict with the organization’s bylaws and does not violate the basic right of an individual.

Recess• A short intermission in an assembly’s proceedings which does not close the

meeting, and after which business will immediately be resumed at exactly the point where it was interrupted.

• May be taken to count ballots, to secure information, to allow for informal consultation, etc.

• “I move that the meeting recess until __”; “I move to recess for __”; “I move to recess until called to order by the chair”

• Must be seconded• Is amendable as to the length of the recess• Requires a majority vote• Chair: “The meeting will come to order”

____ is the term used to close a meeting.

Adjourn• To close the meeting

• “I motion to adjourn the meeting”• Must be seconded • Must have a majority vote

• Chair: “If there is no objection, the meeting will now adjourn.” [Pause] “Since there is no objection, the meeting is adjourned.

After there has been a motionto adjourn a meeting, theremust be a ______ to close

the meeting.

Point of…• Personal Privilege

• Personal rights of an individual.

• Order• Used to call a violation of the rules to the chairperson.

• Inquiry• Used to ask the chair how to go about doing something properly using

Parliamentary Procedure.

• Clarification• Used when a debater does not understand something and their argument is

usually invalid.

Point of ______ is used to call a violation of the rules.

A ____ is a formal proposalto take a certain action.

When you cannot hear thespeaker, you must wait to

be called on before you say“point of personal privilege.”

(T/F)

When you cannot hear thespeaker, you must wait to

be called on before you say“point of personal privilege.”

(T/F)

When the presiding officerformally opens the meeting,

this is referred to as a_________________