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Brainteaser Archive 2002 |
January 7, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what are the notice and vote requirements to adopt a standing rule which is not related to a convention?
Answer: "A standing rule can be adopted by a majority vote and any business meeting without previous notice." RONR (10th ed.) § 2 (p. 18). (NOTE: The rules governing standing rules in conventions differ from ordinary standing rules.)
January 14, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Ed.), can an officer be a candidate for another office without resigning the first office?
Answer: "Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a member who holds an office may be a candidate for another office, but if the member is elected to and accepts an incompatible office, the former office is forfeited." The Standard Code (p.154).
January 21, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: You are a member of a ten person board with a parliamentary authority of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). Three members have left the board and replacements have not yet been named. If all rules of the organization are silent as to quorum, how many individuals must be present at a meeting to transact business?
Answer: Four. "In any other deliberative assembly with enrolled membership whose bylaws do not specify a quorum, the quorum is a majority of all the members." RONR (10th ed.) § 40, p. 335. At present, the total membership of the board is seven (and four is a majority of seven).
January 28, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: You are attending the monthly meeting of an organization that follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). A motion is made to "purchase a new office desk at a cost not to exceed $1,500." An amendment is proposed to strike the number "$1,500" and to insert "$1,000." A secondary amendment is proposed to strike "$1,000" and to insert "$750." At this point, a member gains the floor and moves "to create a blank by striking out of the pending motion the dollar figure." Another member immediately raises a point of order that there cannot be three amendments on the floor at the same time. Is the point of order well taken?
Answer: No. "Although the motion to create a blank may appear to resemble a motion to amend by striking out and inserting, it is in fact an incidental motion (see pp. 66-67. The motion to create a blank . . . can also be made and voted on while a primary or a secondary amendment relating to the subject specification is pending." RONR (10th ed.) § 12, p. 156.
February 4, 2002 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: What is a "Texas ballot" and which parliamentary authority describes it?
Answer: "A Texas ballot is a method of plurality voting in which voters indicate the candidate that they do not wish to be elected." This method of voting is described in The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, p. 247.
February 14, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: The phrase, "The next order of business is . . .," should never be used, according to Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law. Why?
Answer: "The phrase 'the next business in order' is correct; the phrase 'the next order of business' is incorrect."
"Note: To say 'the first order of business,' or 'the next [or, the third] order of business,' is like saying 'the first week of the day,' or 'the next [or, the third] year of the month,' or 'the next [or, the third] ball game of the inning.' The assembly has but one order of business--the various categories or items of business as listed under an order of business are to be acted on in that scheduled business order. Hence say: 'the first business in order,' 'the next business in order,' 'the last business in order,' and not 'the first order of business,' or 'the second order of business,' etc. It is a gross error to say 'the first order of business,' and the like." Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law, p. 15.
February 20, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: The board of an association is required by its bylaws to meet the first Thursday of each month. At this month's meeting, a quorum is not present prior to the start of the meeting. The officers attempt to obtain a quorum, but are not successful. As a result, no business is transacted. Must another meeting on another day in the same month be held to comply with the bylaws requirement, if the organization's parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition)?
Answer: No. "But if a quorum fails to appear at a regular or properly called meeting, the inability to transact business does not detract from the fact that the society's rules requiring the meeting to be held were complied with and the meeting was convened--even though it had to adjourn immediately." RONR (10th ed.) § 40, p. 336.
February 27, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: A homeowners association holds one meeting (the "Annual Meeting") a year. Can the motion to Postpone to a Certain Time be adopted by such a group, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition)?
Answer: Yes, but only if the motion does not postpone the matter beyond the current session. "In a case where more than a quarterly time interval (see p. 88) will elapse between meetings (for example in an annual convention of delegates or in a local society that holds only an annual meeting), a question cannot be postponed beyond the end of the present session." RONR (10th ed.) § 14, p. 175.
March 6, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law suggests the mnemonic S-H-I-P for remembering the subjects upon which a question of privilege may be raised. What does each letter represent?
Answer: "Question of privilege relates in a broad interpretation to the following subjects: the members' Safety, Health, or Integrity, or protection of their Property (catchword: S-H-I-P). When a member rises to a question of privilege or personal privilege and is asked to state it, he is expected to reveal or point out something concerning these four subjects; namely, the subjects S-H-I-P." Demeter, p. 106.
March 13, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what information should be contained in the first paragraph of the minutes of a meeting?
Answer:
"(1) the kind of meeting: regular, special, adjourned regular, or adjourned
special;
(2) the name of the society or assembly;
(3) the date and time of the meeting, and the place, if it is not always the
same;
(4) the fact that the regular chairman and secretary were present or, in their
absence, the names of the persons who substituted for them; and
(5) whether the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved--as read,
or as corrected--and the date of that meeting if it was other than a regular
business meeting. Any correction is made in the text of the minutes being
approved; the minutes of the meeting making the correction merely state that the
minutes were approved 'as corrected' (see form, p. 454, l. 34-35)." RONR (10th ed.)
§ 48, p. 452.
March 20, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), an affirmative vote on a motion to Commit (or Refer) cannot be reconsidered if the committee has begun consideration of the question. Why?
Answer: Because the motion to Discharge a Committee (see section 36) must be used. RONR (10th ed.) § 13, p. 163.
April 3, 2002 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: You are attending a convention that follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). A resolution was introduced during the morning session to hold the annual banquet on Friday evening this year. An amendment to change the night to Saturday was adopted (and you supported the amendment). Everyone now realizes that the Saturday banquet conflicts with the largest social event of the year. The entire banquet issue needs to be revisited. How do you word your motion to bring back up for discussion and vote both the amendment and the main motion?
Answer: "I move to reconsider the votes on the resolution relating to the annual banquet and on the amendment to strike out 'Friday' and insert 'Saturday." I voted for the amendment." RONR (10th ed.) § 37, p. 319-320.
April 10, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: You are a member of a five person board of directors that follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) to the letter. (The board does not have any adopted procedural rules, other than RONR (10th ed.).) A resolution is being discussed concerning holding the annual general membership meeting in Chicago, IL. A motion is made to postpone the discussion and vote on the resolution until the next board meeting. Does the motion to postpone to a certain time need a second to be considered?
Answer: No. "In a board meeting where there are not more than about a dozen members present, . . . [m]otions need not be seconded." RONR (10th ed.) § 49, p. 470.
April 17, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), the seconder of a motion can speak against (if the motion is debatable) or vote against the motion he seconded. What can the maker of the motion NOT do?
Answer: "In debate, the maker of a motion, while he can vote against it, is not allowed to speak against his own motion. He need not speak at all, but if he does he is obliged to take a favorable position. If he changes his mind while the motion he made is pending, he can, in effect, advise the assembly of this by asking permission to withdraw the motion (pp. 283-86)." RONR (10th ed.) § 43, p. 381.
April 25, 2002 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), is the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn in order if there is a meeting scheduled for later within the same session?
Answer: No. "A motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn is in order only if at the time it is offered there is no meeting scheduled for later within the same session. If there is such a meeting, additional meetings within the same session may be set by a motion either to Suspend the Rules (25) or to Amend Something Previously Adopted (35), namely, the previously adopted agenda or program for the session." RONR (10th ed.) § 22, p. 234.
May 1, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what types of meetings (other than those operating under the lodge system or those relating to discipline) are customarily held in executive session?
Answer: Board and committee meetings. "In most organizations, except those operating under the lodge system, by practice or sometimes by rule, membership meetings are open to the public, but board or committee meetings are customarily held in executive session. In the latter case, members of the organization who are not members of the board or committee, and sometimes nonmembers, may be invited to attend, perhaps to give a report, but they are not entitled to attend." RONR (10th ed.) § 9, p. 92-93.
May 8, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: You are at a meeting that is considering a particularly contentious main motion. After approximately one hour of heated debate, a motion was made and adopted to limit debate to one additional hour. There are five minutes of debate remaining before the end of the one-hour limit. You wish to to postpone the main motion to another time. Given the current parliamentary situation, is the motion to postpone in order?
Answer: No. "It [the motion to Postpone To A Certain Time] cannot be moved after the adoption of a motion to close debate on the main question at a definite hour or of a motion to limit the total time allowed for debate; but it remains in order if only a limitation on the length of speeches is in order (see 15)." RONR (10th ed.) § 14, p. 174.
May 15, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.) and no state statutes govern your organization. Under what circumstances can a member examine the minutes of the society? Can the member also examine the minutes of the society's board of directors, if she is not a member of the board?
Answer: "Any member has a right to examine the minutes of the society at a reasonable time and place, but this privilege must not be abused to the annoyance of the secretary. The same principle applies to the minutes of boards and committees, their records being accessible to members of the boards or committees but to no others." RONR (10th ed.) § 47, p. 444.
May 22, 2002 (Difficulty level = 2)
Question: Your organization follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.). After being recognized, a member moves "that five delegates be sent to the national convention." The motion is seconded. What should you say as presiding officer to "state the question on the motion" prior to debate?
Answer: "It is moved and seconded that five delegates be sent to the national convention." RONR (10th ed.) § 4, p. 36.
June 5, 2002 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), what must be done if the assembly is to elect a chairman pro tem to hold office beyond the current session (in the event of illness or disability of both the regular presiding officer and his alternate)?
Answer: "Notice must be given at the preceding meeting or in the call of the meeting that elects him. "One session cannot interfere with the freedom of each new session to choose its own chairman pro tem except by an election held with previous notice (pp. 116-118)." RONR (10th ed.) § 8, p. 87.
June 12, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: An organization's bylaws provide for a parliamentary authority of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), but no method for amending the bylaws. How can the bylaws be amended and by what vote?
Answer: "If the bylaws contain no provision for their amendment, they can be amended at any business meeting by a two-thirds vote, provided that previous notice (in the sense defined on p. 116) has been given; or, without notice, they can be amended at any regular meeting by a vote of a majority of the entire membership." RONR (10th ed.) § 56 p. 562.
June 19, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), what is the proper form for making a point of information when information is desired of another member who is speaking?
Answer: "Madam President, will the member
yield for a question?"
or
"Mr. President, I would like to ask the gentlemen [or 'the member'] a question."
"If the speaker consents to the interruption, the time consumed will be taken out of his allowed time." RONR (10th ed.) § 33, p. 283.
July 3, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), which incidental motion does NOT require a second, but does require a vote?
Answer: Objection to Consideration. RONR (10th ed.) § 26, p. 258.
July 10, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.) provides that an Appeal is debatable EXCEPT in three instances. What are they?
Answer: An appeal "[i]s debatable, unless it (a) relates to indecorum or a transgression of the rules of speaking; (b) relates to the priority of business; or (c) is made while the immediately pending question is undebatable. RONR (10th ed.) § 24, p. 249.
July 17, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: You are attending a meeting that follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.) to the letter. A member moves to reconsider an earlier vote on an objection to the consideration of a resolution. Another member raises a point of order that it is out of order to reconsider the vote on an objection to consideration. Who is right?
Answer: Not enough information to answer because we don't if the objection to consideration passed or failed. "A negative vote--that is, a vote sustaining the objection--can be reconsidered, but not an affirmative vote." RONR (10th ed.) § 26, p. 259.
July 31, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), at what time does an election take effect?
Answer: "An election to an office becomes final immediately if the candidate is present and does not decline, or if he is absent but has consented to his candidacy. If he is absent and has not consented to his candidacy, the election becomes final when he is notified of his election, provided that he does not immediately decline." RONR (10th ed.) § 46, p. 430.
August 21, 2002 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: Your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.). RONR states that during a vote the chair must always call for the negative vote except for two possible exceptions. What are these exceptions?
Answer: "The chair must always call for the negative vote, no matter how nearly unanimous the affirmative vote may appear, except that this rule is commonly relaxed in the case of noncontroversial motions of a complimentary or courtesy nature; but even in such a case, if any member objects, the chair must call for the negative vote. A further exception arises when the negative vote is intrinsically irrelevant, as, for example, when 'a vote of one fifth of the members present' is required, and the number who have voted in the affirmative is clearly greater than one fifth of those present (see p. 390)." RONR (10th ed.) § 4, p. 43.
August 28, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: The motion to Lay on the Table is commonly misused in organizations that follow Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.). In fact, RONR goes so far as to state the following: "In ordinary assemblies, the motion to Lay on the Table is out of order if the evident intent is to ____ or _____ dealing with a measure." What words are missing?
Answer: "In ordinary assemblies, the motion to Lay on the Table is out of order if the evident intent is to kill or avoid dealing with a measure." RONR (10th ed.) § 17, p. 202.
September 4, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Name at least two parliamentary steps that are in order even after an assembly has voted to adjourn, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.).
Answer:
- To inform the assembly of business requiring attention before adjournment.
- To make important announcements.
- To make (but not to take up) a motion to reconsider a previous vote.
- To make a motion to Reconsider and Enter on the Minutes.
- To give notice of a motion to be made at the next meeting (or on the next day, in a session consisting of daily meetings) where the motion requires previous notice.
- To move to set a time for an adjourned meeting if there is no meeting scheduled for later within the same session.
RONR (10th ed.) § 21, p. 230.
September 25, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: What are the rights of the presiding officer to vote in the event of a ballot vote, according to The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition)?
Answer: Ballot Voting. When vote is by ballot, the presiding officer (if a member of the organization) votes the same as anyone else. But in such cases if a tie results, the chair cannot break the tie by voting a second time unless the bylaws provide that this may be done in case of a deadlock tie vote. The Standard Code, page 137.
October 2, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: There are two types of questions of privilege. What are they and which has priority over the other, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.)?
Answer: "Questions of privilege are of two types: (1) those relating to the privileges of the assembly as a whole; and (2) questions of personal privilege. If the two come into competition, the former take precedence over the latter." RONR (10th ed.) § 19 (p. 219).
October 16, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: The current "Mission Statement" of an organization is amended during a meeting using the motion to Rescind/Amend Something Previously Adopted. Later in the meeting, it is realized that a single word change would make the Statement more grammatically correct. Can the motion to Reconsider be used at the same meeting to revisit this issue, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.)?
Answer: No, not through the motion to Reconsider. "A negative vote on these motions [Rescind/Amend Something Previously Adopted] can be reconsidered, but not an affirmative vote." RONR (10th ed.) § 35 (p. 296). It is simpler to just make another motion to Rescind/Amend Something Previously Adopted as to new word change (which, without previous notice, will require a higher vote requirement as detailed in RONR (10th ed.).
October 23, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.), the official organization of a convention is brought about by the separate consideration and adoption of the reports of what three committees in what order?
Answer: The Credentials Committee, the Committee on Standing Rules, and the Program Committee. RONR (10th ed.) § 59, p. 591.
October 30, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: An organization wishes to have as its elected treasurer a well-known accountant, who is not eligible for membership in the organization. The bylaws have no provisions on qualifications for office. Can a non-member be elected as an officer, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Ed.)?
Answer: "In most societies it is usual to elect the officers from among the members; but in all except secret societies, unless the bylaws or an established practice provide otherwise, it is possible for an organization to choose its officers from outside its membership." RONR (10th ed.) § 47, p. 431.
November 6, 2002 (Difficulty level = 2)
Question: The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition) notes that members of an organization may be unaware of related motions previously adopted or may overlook them. What is the Standard Code's name for the process by which an earlier motion is repealed when a later motion is adopted that conflicts in whole or in part with the motion or motions previously adopted?
Answer: Repeal by implication. The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition), p. 30.
November 13, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), how should an adjourned meeting begin?
Answer: "An adjourned meeting takes up its work at the point where it was interrupted in the order of business or in the consideration of the question that was postponed to the adjourned meeting, except that the minutes of the preceding meeting are first read." RONR (10th ed.) § 9, p. 91.
November 20, 2002 (Difficulty level = 1)
Question: An ordinary society proceeds through different headings in the order of business, such as "Reading and Approval of Minutes." One heading is often incorrectly referred to as "Old Business" and refers to questions that have come over from the previous meeting. According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the correct title for this part of the order of business?
Answer: "Unfinished Business" or "Unfinished Business and General Orders." RONR (10th ed.) § 41, p. 346.
December 4, 2002 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: You are in the second day of a four day convention. The parliamentary authority for the organization is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). Yesterday, a motion to build a new national headquarters was defeated. Can the motion to build a new national headquarters be reintroduced ("renewed") today?
Answer: No, the proper way to revisit the motion today would be through the motion to Reconsider. "No motion can be renewed so long as the vote on it can be reconsidered." RONR (10th ed.) § 38, p. 327.
December 11, 2002 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: A school board meets monthly with a parliamentary authority of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). Using the motion to Postpone to a Certain Time, how long can a matter be postponed?
Answer: "In cases where no more than a quarterly time interval will elapse between sessions, a question can be postponed until, but not beyond, the next regular business session. For example, in a society that holds regular business meetings on the same day of each week, a question cannot, at one meeting, be postponed for longer than a week." RONR (10th ed.) § 14, p. 175.
