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Brainteaser Archive 2004 |
January 1, 2004 (Difficulty level = 1)
Question: What is the name of the form of amendment that seeks to strike out an entire paragraph, section, or article--or a complete main motion or resolution--and insert a different paragraph or other unit in its place, according to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition)?
Answer: A "substitute." RONR (10th ed.) § 12, p. 146.
January 14, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) as your parliamentary authority, which is the only subsidiary motion in which debate on the motion can go fully into the merits of the main question?
Answer: Postpone Indefinitely. RONR (10th Ed.) § 11, p. 122.
January 21, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the effect of adopting a motion that conflicts with a motion that has been adopted by the society and has neither been rescinded, nor reconsidered and rejected after adoption?
Answer: "Such conflicting motions, if adopted, are null and void unless adopted by the vote required to rescind or amend the motion previously adopted." RONR (10th Ed.) § 39, p. 332.
January 28, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Ed.)("Sturgis"), is the motion to refer to committee fully debatable?
Answer: No. "Debate restricted to brief discussion on the selection, membership, or duties of the committee, or instructions to it." The Standard Code, p. 58.
January 28, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Ed.)("Sturgis"), is the motion to refer to committee fully debatable?
Answer: No. "Debate restricted to brief discussion on the selection, membership, or duties of the committee, or instructions to it." The Standard Code, p. 58.
February 11, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), can the vote on a motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted be reconsidered?
Answer: "A negative vote on these motions can be reconsidered, but not an affirmative vote." RONR (10th Ed.) § 35, p. 296.
February 25, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), by what method can a member of an organization speak during a meeting and criticize a prior act that is not pending at that time?
Answer: "In debate, a member cannot reflect adversely on any prior act of the society that is not then pending, unless a motion to reconsider, rescind, or amend it is pending, or unless he intends to conclude his remarks by making or giving notice of one of these motions." RONR (10th Ed.) § 43, p. 381.
March 3, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the effect of adopting a motion that conflicts with a motion that has been previously adopted by the society, and has been neither rescinded, nor reconsidered and rejected after adoption?
Answer: "Such conflicting motions, if adopted, are null and void unless adopted by the vote required to rescind or amend the motion previously adopted." RONR (10th Ed.) § 39, p. 332.
March 17, 2004 (Difficulty level = 2)
Question: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) has a motion by which a motion relating to a single subject containing several parts, each of which is capable of standing as a complete proposition, can be separated to be considered and voted on as if they were distinct questions. What is the name of the motion with this purpose?
Answer: "Division of the Question." RONR (10th Ed.) § 27, p. 261.
March 24, 2004 (Difficulty level = 2)
Question: The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition)("Sturgis") does not recognize the motion Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn. If a privileged motion to adjourn is pending under the Standard Code, how can another meeting be established?
Answer: "Under the Standard Code, if the privileged motion to adjourn is pending, it can be amended to specify when the meeting is to be resumed. The amendment is also privileged, meaning that because of its urgency it may interrupt for immediate consideration." Standard Code, p. 233.
March 31, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what motion and vote are required in order to make the assembly conform to an adopted agenda, program, or order of business?
Answer: The motion Call for the Orders of the Day is a privileged motion by which a single member can require the assembly to conform to its agenda, program, or order of business, unless two thirds of those voting wish to do otherwise." RONR (10th Ed.) § 18, p. 211.
April 21, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), at what point does an election to an office become final?
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 dos not immediately decline." RONR (10th Ed.) § 46, p. 430.
May 12, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is necessary following a ballot election to hear the actual number of votes cast for each candidate (instead of just who won)?
Answer: Nothing. The actual number of votes cast for each candidate is a part of the tellers' report (see RONR (10th Ed.) § 45, p. 403). "The tellers' report is entered in full in the minutes, becoming a part of the official records of the organization. Under no circumstances should this be omitted in an election or in a vote on a critical motion out of a mistaken deference to the feelings of unsuccessful candidates or members of the losing side." RONR (10th Ed.) § 45, p. 403.
June 2, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Your organization, which follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), has a Bylaws provision that prohibits officers from serving consecutive terms in the same office. Jane was recently appointed by the Board to fill out the remaining nine months of the Vice President's 2-year term. Can Jane be elected to the office of Vice President in the upcoming election to serve for two more years?
Answer: Yes, Jane can be elected, in that she has not served a "full term" in office. "In filling vacancies for unexpired terms, an officer who has served more than half a term in an office is considered to have served a full term." RONR (10th Ed.) § 47, p. 432.
June 16, 2004 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: If you are following Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is typically the first item of business immediately following the call to order of a mass meeting?
Answer: "A chairman and a secretary are in general the only officers required by a mass meeting. Their election takes place immediately after the meeting is called to order, a convenient method of electing them being by voice vote." RONR (10th Ed.) § 53, p. 530.
June 24, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) states that with respect to board or committee reports, the terms "adopt," "accept," and "agree to" are equivalent. However, which term is the recommended choice in RONR?
Answer: "It is usually best to use the word adopt, however, since it is the least likely to be misunderstood." RONR (10th Ed.) § 51, p. 490.
July 14, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the maximum amount of time that a member can speak at one time on a debatable motion?
Answer: 10 minutes. "In a non-legislative body or organization that has no special rule relating to the length of speeches (2), a member, having obtained the floor while a debatable motion is immediately pending, can speak no longer than ten minutes unless he obtains the consent of the assembly." RONR (10th Ed.) § 43, p. 375.
July 28, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) emphasizes that the use of members' names should be avoided. Does this mean that a speaker should refer to himself in the third person, such as "this member"?
Answer: "There is no need, however, to refer to oneself in debate in the third person as by the use of such expressions as 'this member.' A member's debate is expected and intended to be partial, and the first person is quite acceptable." RONR (10th Ed.) § 43, p. 380.
August 18, 2004 (Difficulty level = 2)
Question: What is the name given to a deliberative assembly that Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) defines as follows: "[A] meeting of an unorganized group that is announced as open to everyone (or everyone within a specified sector of the population) interested in a particular problem or purpose defined by the meeting's sponsors, and that is called with a view to appropriate action to be decided on and taken by the meeting body"?
Answer: A mass meeting. RONR (10th Ed.) § 1, p. 5.
August 25, 2004 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: In a disciplinary trial held pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the title given to the members of the society who have the task of presenting the evidence against the accused?
Answer: "Managers." RONR (10th Ed.) § 61, p. 636.
September 1, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what standing rule of a convention cannot be suspended?
Answer: "[N]o standing rule which has only a single application can be suspended, since this would be equivalent to rescinding the rule, and the case would have to be treated accordingly." RONR (10th Ed.) § 59, p. 602.
September 15, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: A voice vote is taken at a meeting following Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), followed by a standing uncounted vote (division). A member doubts the result as announced by the Chairman. Can the member demand a counted vote?
Answer: No, but the member can move that the standing vote be counted. Such a motion is not debatable and requires a majority vote. RONR (10th Ed.) § 30, p. 273.
September 22, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), is it appropriate to seek recognition from the presiding officer to seek the floor for discussion, and then make a motion following your remarks?
Answer: Yes. "When assigned the floor, a member may use it for any proper purpose, or a combination of purposes; for example, although a member may have begun by debating a pending motion, he may conclude by moving any secondary motion, including the Previous Question (16), that is in order at the time. RONR (10th Ed.) § 30, p. 273.
September 29, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). If an upcoming election for office is by ballot (and the Bylaws are silent on the matter), do you have to be nominated to be elected to office?
Answer: No. "Strictly speaking, nominations are not necessary when an election is by ballot or roll call, since each member is free to vote for any eligible person, whether he has been nominated or not. In most societies, however, it is impractical to proceed to an election without first making nominations." RONR (10th Ed.) § 46, p. 416-417.
October 6, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: After some debate on a resolution at a club meeting, a member asks if there is a method by which the discussion and meeting can be continued to another time and place, but before the next monthly meeting. The President responds that Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) has a means of continuing the meeting to another convenient time before the next regular meeting. What is the name for such a meeting?
Answer: An adjourned meeting. RONR (10th Ed.) § 2, p. 90-91.
October 13, 2004 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: You are attending a national convention that operates under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition)("Sturgis"). A Bylaws amendment which required previous notice of 60 days is under discussion. During debate, a member states that several other articles and sections need to be amended to comply with the noticed amendment under discussion. He then makes an amendment to amend these other sections. Does Sturgis allow such amendments to other parts of the Bylaws not specified in the notice?
Answer: "An amendment to another part of the bylaws not specified in the notice is admissible only if it is reasonably implied by the amendment as stated in the notice. Using the same example, if the original amendment provided for the creation of an associate membership class, the necessity of fixing the dues for associate members would reasonably be implied, although the subject of dues is covered in another part of the bylaws and might have been omitted unintentionally in the proposed amendment. An amendment providing the dues for associate members would therefore be admissible." The Standard Code, p. 208.
October 27, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (4th Edition)("Sturgis"), can a member discuss a motion and then move to close debate?
Answer: No. "[I]t is out of order for a member to debate the issue and end the remarks with a motion to close debate." The Standard Code, p. 66.
November 3, 2004 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law places the motions Reconsider, Reconsider and Enter, Rescind, Expunge, Ratify, and Take from the Table into a class of their own, like the subsidiary, privileged, and incidental classes of motions. What is the name for this class of motions?
Answer: Restoratory Motions. Demeter's, p. 152.
November 17, 2004 (Difficulty level = 1)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the name of the motion that allows a short intermission in the assembly's proceedings, commonly of only a few minutes, which does not close the meeting and after which business will immediately be resumed at exactly the point where it was interrupted?
Answer: Recess. RONR (10th Ed.) § 20, p. 222.
November 24, 2004 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), to be in order, an amendment must in some way involve the same question that is raised by the motion to which it is applied. What is the name given to this principle?
Answer: "Germane" or "germaneness." RONR (10th Ed.) § 12, p. 130.
December 15, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), should a motion that is later withdrawn by the maker show in the minutes?
Answer: "The body of the minutes should contain a separate paragraph for each subject matter, giving, in the case of all important motions, the name of the mover, and should show: 6) all main motions (10) or motions to bring a main question again before the assembly (pp. 72-76; 34-36)--except, normally, any that were withdrawn . . . ." [Instances in which a main motion that is withdrawn might require mention in the minutes are shown at the bottom of p. 452] RONR (10th Ed.) § 48, p. 452.
December 29, 2004 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), what is the name given to "written rules of parliamentary procedure formally adopted by an assembly or an organization" which "relate to the orderly transaction of business in meetings and to the duties of officers in that connection"?
Answer: Rules of order. RONR (10th Ed.) § 2, p. 15.