Parliamentary Procedures

Here are common parliamentary procedures used for GSRC meetings.

Types of Motions:

1. Main Motion: Introduce a new item

2. Subsidiary Motion: Change or affect how to handle a main motion (vote on this before main motion)

3. Privileged Motion: Urgent or important matter unrelated to pending business

4. Incidental Motion: Questions procedure of other motions (must consider before the other motion)

5. Motion to Table: Kills a motion

6. Motion to Postpone: Delays a vote (can reopen debate on the main motion)

Requesting Points of Something

Certain situations need attention during the meeting, but they don’t require a motion, second, debate or voting. It’s permissible to state a point during a meeting where the chairperson needs to handle a situation right away. Board members can declare a Point of Order, Point of Information, Point of Inquiry or Point of Personal Privilege.

Point of Order: Draws attention to a breach of rules, improper procedure, breaching of established practices, etc.

Point of Information: A member may need to bring up an additional point or additional information (in the form of a nondebatable statement) so that the other members can make fully informed votes.

Point of Inquiry: A member may use point of inquiry to ask for clarification in a report to make better voting decisions.

Point of Personal Privilege: A member may use point of personal privilege to address the physical comfort of the setting such as temperature or noise. Members may also use it to address the accuracy of published reports or the accuracy of a member’s conduct.