Parliamentary Procedure

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**"RONR" is the accepted abbreviation for the current edition (10th) of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.

**Log on to the California FFA Web site for all earlier E Bulletins(1 9):
www.calaged.org/students/parliamentary
(The author suggests that you set up a permanent link to them on your state or chapter web site.)

**L@@K==>> REPEAT OFFER!! SIX FREE PARLI PRO
MOTION CARDS

Each wallet sized card features the basic rules for 25 motions (including the permissible motions
for the FFA Parliamentary Procedure CDE). E mail your name, subject taught, school, and address to parli pro@northwest.net.
D E A D L I N E F O R R E Q U E S T S IS 6-14-03.

**Friendly amendment

A "friendly amendment," when it is made after a motion has been stated by the chair, is a request that the motion be amended by unanimous consent.


**Legal FFA Meeting

To hold an FFA "legal meeting," there must be a presiding officer who conducts the meeting and sees that the rules are followed, a secretary who makes a written record of what is done, and a quorum of the members present.


**The FFA presiding officer makes rulings. The Parliamentarian is an advisor.


**Important Points for Nominating FFA Officers

The motion to close nominations requires a two thirds vote to adopt.
The motion to reopen nominations requires a majority vote to adopt.
It is better to allow the presiding officer to close nominations using Unanimous Consent.


**Brainteaser (from www.jimslaughter.com/)

Question: The new Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) describes a situation in which the chair, without objection, simply permits a brief pause, without a declaration of a recess. What is the term describing such action?

Answer: Listed at the end of this E Bulletin


**From the National FFA Parliamentary Procedure CDE
Superintendent (Dr. Jim Connors: connors.49@osu.edu)

A new organization, The Society for Agricultural Education Parliamentarians, is now open for enrollment. The object of the organization is to promote the study and use of parliamentary procedure in agricultural education programs. There is currently no membership fee to join the society. Contact Dr. Connors at connors.49@osu.edu for details on joining.

You can become an "Accredited Parliamentarian" if you are a member of the the Society for Agricultural Education Parliamentarians. Contact dunbar@northwest.net for information that will be forwarded by email.

Two, new references have been added for the National CDE: "Parliamentary Procedure Oral Questions" and "Dunbar's Manual of Parliamentary Procedure Test Questions." Order through the national FFA at http://www.ffaunlimited.org/parprocteacm.html

The National FFA is starting the preliminary revision of the Parliamentary Procedure CDE. If any agriculture teacher has any comments or suggested changes to the format for the National FFA Parliamentary Procedure CDE, please contact Dr. Jim Connors, Superintendent, at (614) 292-3386 or by email at connors.49@osu.edu.


PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE SITES WORTH VISITING:

http://www.robertsrules.com/history.html  (Short history of Robert's Rules)
http://www.osa.org/golocal/groupleaders/managing/parliament.cfm  (Chart showing common rules for basic motions)
http://www.ffaunlimited.org/parprocteacm.html  (Parliamentary procedure instructional materials from the national FFA)


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Two questions are answered on each E Bulletin. Send them to dunbar@northwest.net. If questions that were submitted do not appear on an E Bulletin, they will be answered personally by E-mail. All answers are based on the 10th edition (October, 2000) of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR).

Q: At a recent FFA Chapter meeting, a motion to recess was made while no other motion was pending. Our president said it was a main motion and could be debated. Is this true?

A: A motion to recess made while no question is pending is an incidental main motion. It is debatable, amendable, and requires a majority vote. RONR (10th ed.), p. 233, l. 6 8.


Q: I am a member of an FFA Chapter and have been asked by the president, and encouraged by my advisor, to serve as parliamentarian. Our advisor informed us that a chapter parliamentarian cannot participate fully at meetings. Are there any rights as an FFA member that I will have to give up if I accept this position?

A: "A member of an assembly who acts as its parliamentarian has the same duty as the presiding officer to maintain a position of impartiality, and therefore does not make motions, participate in debate, or vote on any question except in the case of a ballot vote." RONR (10th ed.), p. 451, l. 4 8.


TIP ON TRAINING A TEAM FROM A NATIONAL WINNER

**Make certain that FFA members use parliamentary procedure at Chapter meetings.


Answer to brainteaser:

To "stand at ease." RONR (10th ed.), p. 80, l. 29 31.