Chair's participation

[rhammar]

I will serving as parliamentarian for a large convention this summer with 5,000 or so voting delegates. The agenda will include a very important and somewhat technical item. The chairman is highly respected, and probably has more knowledge and insight regarding this item than anyone. Many if not most of the delegates will want to hear from him. I spoke with him recently, and he posed the following two questions:

1. Is there any way for him to participate in the debate on this item? RONR (p. 382-383) clearly prohibits a chairperson’s participation in debate (in order to maintain his impartiality) except in very limited circumstances in which case he or she must relinquish the chair until the pending motion has been disposed of. Am I missing something here? Is there some way for him to share his unique and specialized expertise?

2. He also asked if it would be possible to have a one-hour segment in the agenda devoted to the sharing of information about this item, which would include responses to questions from the delegates, with the understanding that formal debate would begin following the conclusion of this information session. Could such an information session be included in the agenda? Could it occur during a formal recess?

I appreciate any input on either or both of these issues, which are novel in my experience.

[George Mervosh]

1) He would need to relinquish the chair for the duration of the pending question.

2) Yes, it can be part of the adopted program.

Perhaps it's better to schedule something in the nature of a hearing, outside of the actual meeting setting. Similar to what bylaw committees or other important committee's do prior to the main meeting(s).

[Josh Martin]

1. Is there some way for him to share his unique and specialized expertise?

The chairman may respond to a Point of Information. While it is not proper for the chairman to debate the motion while presiding, he is free to answer questions. Of course, he should be careful to answer such questions impartially. If he wishes to actually enter debate he would need to relinquish the chair until the pending main question is disposed of.

2. Could such an information session be included in the agenda? Could it occur during a formal recess?

Yes, such a session could be included in the agenda. It could occur during a recess, and I think this would be preferable.