Parliamentary Procedures Used in the Faculty Senate
Robert's Rules of
Order, Newly Revised
shall be followed by the Senate in the conduct of its business in all cases in
which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution
and any special rules of order the Senate may adopt.
Purpose of Meetings
·
The purposes
of meetings are to share information in the form of reports (both oral and written) and to accomplish business of the Senate.
·
Members should
be able to point to the results of each meeting.
·
In
Robert’s Rules, general discussion of a topic is for "Committees of the Whole," which should be scheduled as agenda
items. The Faculty
Senate tends to use Open Hearings for this
purpose, although it is sometimes done in Senate meetings.
Motions
During Debates
All
of the motions below require seconding and voting.
·
To Amend the Day’s
Agenda
-- debatable, requires majority vote.
·
To Amend the Adopted
Agenda
-- debatable, requires 2/3 majority vote.
·
To Limit
or Extend Debate -- undebatable, requires
2/3 majority vote.
·
To Amend a Motion
-- the Senate has special rules for consideration of certain motions after the adoption
of an amendment. See below in “Modifications of Motions.”
·
To Refer to a Committee -- debatable, requires
majority vote.
·
To Postpone to a Specific
Time -- debatable, requires majority vote.
·
To Postpone
Indefinitely -- debatable, requires
majority vote. This motion
seeks to kill the main motion without
"a direct vote" on the motion. The effect is to extend debate.
·
To Table -- undebatable,
requires majority vote.
·
To Take from the Table -- undebatable,
requires majority vote. This motion
is in order if business has transpired
since the original
act of placing the motion on the table. If this motion
fails, it can be renewed at another time.
·
To Call
the Previous Question -- undebatable, requires
2/3 vote. If
the Chair sees no further requests
to speak, the Chair may ask if the members
are ready for the Question. The Chair may not call the question.
Modifications of Motions
·
The
“Friendly Amendment" -- Modifications to
the main motion may be made by the mover, unless a member objects. (Groups
frequently refer to such accepted changes as friendly amendments. Robert's
does not use this expression.)
·
To Amend a Motion (to
add or strike or substitute words or phrases) -- debatable, requires majority vote.
(A motion can be made to amend a proposed amendment.)
Debate
·
The mover of the motion
(or the committee chair if the motion comes from a committee) speaks first on a motion.
·
Members may speak only twice regarding the main motion. The second time should be after others
who have not spoken have had their turns to speak.
·
Debatable motions (listed
above) regarding a main motion open opportunities for those who have spoken
to speak again.
·
The mover may also speak last in a debate, if his
or her opportunities have not been exhausted.
·
Members may ask questions of a speaker,
if the speaker consents to take them.
Special
Senate Rules
·
New Business -- Any motion
proposed by a member during "Introduction of New Business," if
seconded and in order, usually is referred to a committee. The Senate does not
take up new business during the meeting in which it is proposed.
·
Amendments to the
Constitution and Bylaws -- The Senate can only discuss and vote on these changes
if they appear in final form on the Agenda. The impact of this rule is that if
the proposed change is successfully amended, the final vote is delayed until the
next meeting so that the new wording can appear on the Agenda.
·
Amendments to the
Faculty Handbook
-- Resolutions that propose to amend the Faculty
Handbook can be voted on only if they meet the following criteria:
o
A
proposed Resolution that changes an existing policy will have one attachment
(referred to as “Attachment 1”) that states the original policy and contains a
strikethrough of everything to be deleted from and underlines everything to be
inserted into the original policy.
Additional attachments may be provided as appropriate.
o
A
Resolution that introduces a new policy will have an “Attachment 1” that states
the proposed policy is new and not a modification of an existing policy. Attachment 1 will also contain the proposed
policy.
o
If
the proposed Resolution is amended on the Senate floor, it shall not be voted
on at that meeting unless a two-thirds majority of the Senate members present
agree to vote on the final amended Resolution.
If the two-thirds threshold is not met, it shall be placed on the agenda
of the next Faculty Senate meeting for reconsideration and will include a
modified “Attachment 1” that incorporates the changes of the amendment.