Motions Procedures
All motions to amend a draft that members intend to make at the Meeting must be submitted in writing before the Meeting. Motions from the floor will not be permitted.
For projects on the agenda for May 17 or 18, members must submit written motions by no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) on Monday, May 10. For projects on the agenda for June 7 or 8, members must submit written motions by no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) on Monday, May 31.
This will give the Reporters and members an opportunity to consider the motions carefully. Members should review the Submission Instructions and Deadlines.
Motions to amend a motion may be made from the floor; however, the chair has discretion to rule a motion to amend a motion out of order if the proposed amendment should have been submitted as a motion to amend the draft before the Meeting in order to provide an opportunity for careful consideration.
The manner in which motions to amend black letter or comments will be handled depends on the number of motions submitted.
Five or fewer motions
If there are five or fewer written motions to amend the draft for the project, motions will be handled in the traditional way:
- Motions to amend black letter or comments will be considered section by section, starting with the first section in the draft. The chair has discretion to announce a different order.
- A movant of a motion to amend the draft may speak for up to four minutes and the Reporters may respond for up to four minutes. The chair will allow members to make an equal number of comments in favor of and comments opposed to the motion (two minutes per person and alternating between pro and con). The movant and the Reporters each may speak for one minute in closing.
- Notwithstanding these time limits, the chair has discretion to allow more or less time.
- A vote on any motion to amend a motion will be taken before the vote on the motion to amend the draft.
More than five motions
If there are more than five written motions to amend the draft for the project:
- The President, in consultation with the Director and chair, will determine and announce in advance, to the extent possible:
- whether motions to amend black letter or comments will be considered section by section, starting with the first section in the draft, or whether a different order will be followed;
- which motions on a section are essentially the same and which motions will be considered first; and
- whether any motions will be divided into separate parts or issues.
- If a motion is divided prior to the start of the Meeting, the staff will display a revised document showing the division. Otherwise, the chair will read into the record the language resulting from the division.
- The chair will allow the movant to speak for up to three minutes; the Reporters to respond for up to three minutes; and members to make an equal number of comments in favor of and comments opposed to the motion (one minute per person and alternating between pro and con). The chair then will call for a vote on the motion.
- A vote on any motion to amend a motion will be taken before the vote on the motion to amend the draft.
Friendly amendments
If the Reporters accept a motion to substantively amend the draft as a friendly amendment during the discussion at the Meeting, without a vote on the motion, the amendment will be submitted for approval by the Council after the Meeting, just as an amendment to the draft by membership approval of a motion is submitted for approval by the Council after the Meeting.