Appropriate Use of Recess

[tctheatc]

I was at a meeting today. One of the items on the order of business was an informational presentation. The chair declared a recess for this purpose when we got to that point.

OK, so now I'm reading and trying to learn. It appears to me that this was not a correct use of recess, based on my reading of RONR pp 222-225.

Is it necessary that no business be conducted during a recess? Seems to me this is so. But is an informational presentation business? It seems to me that it is not, but it is part of the order of business, and as such, I believe it would have been better to simply declare it time for the presentation, no recess. RONR mentions recess may be used to "secure information" but I don't think this is what it refers to.

Am I on the right track?

[Rob Elsman]

I was at a meeting today. One of the items on the order of business was an informational presentation. The chair declared a recess for this purpose when we got to that point.

OK, so now I'm reading and trying to learn. It appears to me that this was not a correct use of recess, based on my reading of RONR pp 222-225.

Is it necessary that no business be conducted during a recess? Seems to me this is so. But is an informational presentation business? It seems to me that it is not, but it is part of the order of business, and as such, I believe it would have been better to simply declare it time for the presentation, no recess. RONR mentions recess may be used to "secure information" but I don't think this is what it refers to.

Am I on the right track?

The fact that the presentation was listed as an item of business on the order of business indicates to me that the intention was to have the presentation during the meeting. There is no need to recess for such a presentation. At any rate, the presiding officer has no power to "...declare[] a recess for this purpose...".

[Josh Martin]

Is it necessary that no business be conducted during a recess?

Yes.

But is an informational presentation business?

No.

Am I on the right track?

The bottom line is that there's no reason the informational presentation couldn't be done in a recess, but there's also no reason it had to be. It seems that in this particular case the intent was to have it during the meeting.