The official site of the Phillipine Nurses Association of America
The official site of the Phillipine Nurses Association of America
Excerpts from Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised
With Guidance and Practical Applications from "Robert's Rules of Order, Simplified and Applied" and "The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure"
a. Equality of Rights
All members have equal rights, privileges and obligations. Every member has an equal right to propose a motion,
speak, ask questions, nominate, be a candidate for office, vote, or exercise any other privilege of a member.
Every member also has equal obligations.The presiding officer should be strictly impartial and should act
promptly to protect the equality of members in the exercise of their rights and privileges.
b. Majority Decision
The majority vote decides. The ultimate authority of an organization is vested in the majority of its members.
The primary purpose of parliamentary procedure is to determine the will of the majority and see that is carried out.
By the act of joining a group, a member agrees to be governed by the vote of its majority. Until the vote on a question
is announced, every member has an equal right to voice opposition or approval and to seek to persuade others.
After the vote is announced, the decision of the majority is the decision of every member. It is the duty of
every member to accept and abide by this decision.
c. Minority Rights
The rights of the minority must be protected. The members who are in the minority on a question are entitled to the same
consideration and respect as members of the majority. The rights of absentees must also be protected.
d. The Right of Discussion
Full and free discussion of every proposition presented for discussion is an established right of members. Each member of
the assembly has the right to speak freely without interruption or interference provided that the rules are observed. The
right of members to "have their say" is as important as their right to vote.
e. The Right to Information
Every member has the right to know the meaning of the question before the assembly and what its effect will be. The presiding
officer should keep the pending motion clearly before the assembly at all times and when necessary should explain it or call on
a member to do so. Members have the right to request information so that they may vote intelligently.
f. Fairness and Good Faith
All meetings must be characterized by fairness and by good faith. Trickery, overemphasis on minor technicalities,
indulgence in personalities and railroading threaten the spirit and practice of fairness and good faith. Parliamentary
strategy is constructive when it uses legitimate parliamentary principles, rules and motions to support or defeat a proposal.
However, if it involves deceit, misrepresentation, intimidation, railroading or denial of the fights of members, it is destructive.
g. Balance Between the Leadership and Members
Checks and balances between the leadership and the members are established in the governing documents. As an example of checks and balances,
officers and boards of directors have only the power that the governing documents assign to them. Another check and balance that the bylaws
give is the right of the membership to remove ineffective leaders from office.
ORDER OF BUSINESS
A business meeting provides members with the opportunity to propose ideas and to participate in forming the plans and actions
of the organization. To do this in an orderly fashion, the business of the meeting is conducted according to the first principle
of parliamentary procedure which states that business is taken up one item at a time. An order of business is a blueprint for meetings.
It lists the different divisions of business in the order in which they will be called for at the business meeting.
When the time of the meeting has arrived, the presiding officer opens it after determining that a quorum is present.
(Quorum is the required minimum number of members needed to have a meeting. According to PNAA bylaws, the quorum
for Executive Board meeting is fifty percent (50%) plus one; the quorum for General Assembly is twenty percent (20%)
of the members registered at the conference).
The meeting starts with the presiding officer taking the chair,
(that is, occupies the presiding officer's station in the meeting hall),
waits or signals for quiet, and while standing, announces in a clear voice,
"The meeting will come to order". The following outlines the commonly used order of the agenda.
PRESENTING BUSINESS TO THE ASSEMBLY
Presenting a Motion
Business is brought before an assembly by the motion of a member.
A motion is a formal statement of a proposal by a member addressed to an assembly for consideration or action.
A motion may itself bring its subject to the assembly's attention, or the motion may follow upon the presentation
of a report or other communication. Presenting a motion requires the following steps:
Statement of the Motion by the Presiding Officer
When a motion has been properly moved and seconded, it is the duty of the presiding officer to state it as correctly and clearly as possible even though
it may be necessary to change the wording of the motion. The meaning of the main motion however, cannot be changed. If there is a change in the meaning
of the main motion, a subsidiary motion to amend must be introduced.
Subsidiary Motion to Adopt a Main Motion
Any member can make a motion to amend. The subsidiary motion changes the main motion by inserting, adding or striking words. A subsidiary motion
to amend need to be seconded, debated, and voted on. If adopted, the proposed change becomes the motion to be acted upon.
Discussing a Motion
Immediately after stating the motion the presiding officer should turn toward the maker of the motion to see if he wishes to be
assigned the first floor to debate. The maker of the motion has the first right to speak to the motion. To do that, the member rises,
addresses the presiding officer, obtains the floor, and speaks to the motion. After the maker is done, he sits down, and someone else
can speak for or against the motion.
The presiding officer cannot close the debate so long as any member who has not exhausted his right to debate desires the floor.
In the debate or discussion, a member has the right to speak twice on the same motion on the same day, but cannot make a second speech
on the same motion so long as any member who has not spoken on that motion desires the floor.
Taking the Vote
When no one else rises to speak, the presiding officer once more asks, "Is there any further discussion?", pauses and looks around,
and hearing none, re-states the motion and calls for a vote. The votes may be taken by a show of hands, by rising, by voice vote saying
"aye" or "no", or by ballots. In putting the question in any of these methods, the presiding officer calls for affirmative votes first,
then for the negative vote. The negative votes must be called no matter how nearly unanimous the affirmative vote may appear.
The presiding officer always announces the result of the vote. If the affirmative wins by voice vote, he announces: "The ayes have
it and the motion is carried." If the negative wins, the presiding officer announces: "The No's have it and the motion is lost."
If the vote is taken by show of hands, the presiding officer announces the vote: "The affirmative has it, and the motion is carried";
or "The negative has it and the motion is lost".
The majority vote means that more than half of those eligible to vote approve a motion. If there is a tie vote, i.e. 50% in favor
and 50% opposed, then no one receives a majority vote. If there is no way to break the tie vote, the motion is lost.
RULES GOVENING DEBATE
"Debate" applies to a discussion on the merits of a pending motion, that is, whether the proposal under consideration should or should not
be agreed to. Until a matter has been brought before the assembly in the form of a motion proposing a specific action, it can not be debated
Modification of General Limits of a Debate
The rule allowing each member two speeches of ten minutes length on each debatable question can be made restrictive or more liberal by adopting a
special rule of order after notice, or by majority vote of the entire membership.