two reading rule

[Guest Print]

I was at a university that adopted a two reading rule for important matters that we would ultimately vote on. Is there any official language on this topic or is this just something that can be adopted as a procedure if everyone agrees????

Thanks for any feedback

[George Mervosh]

There is no two reading rule in RONR, and a special rule of order for the consideration of certain motions requires previous notice and a 2/3 vote or a vote of a majority of the entire membership......"everyone agrees" isn't necessary.

[Guest Print]

My last university adopted this two reading rule to allow the material to be presented and discussed in one meeting and then represented, discussed, and voted upon in the following meeting. This allowed us to have time to analyze the material being presented and have more time to formulate questions and make our decision for voting. I'm interested in setting up this way of working for our governance document in my Dept. How would I go about this? The faculty feel that many issues get brought up and voted upon before we can truly understand every aspect of the motion being presented. I would love some more input on this....Thanks.

[Dan Honemann]

My last university adopted this two reading rule to allow the material to be presented and discussed in one meeting and then represented, discussed, and voted upon in the following meeting. This allowed us to have time to analyze the material being presented and have more time to formulate questions and make our decision for voting. I'm interested in setting up this way of working for our governance document in my Dept. How would I go about this? The faculty feel that many issues get brought up and voted upon before we can truly understand every aspect of the motion being presented. I would love some more input on this....Thanks.

Since not all proposals are apt to require time for further study and analysis, a blanket rule on the subject may not be the best idea. My suggestion would be that you first become more familiar with the motions to Commit and to Postpone, which are discussed in detail in Sections 13 and 14 of RONR (11^th ed.). The proper use of these motions may better serve your purposes.

[David A Foulkes]

My last university adopted this two reading rule to allow the material to be presented and discussed in one meeting and then represented, discussed, and voted upon in the following meeting. This allowed us to have time to analyze the material being presented and have more time to formulate questions and make our decision for voting. I'm interested in setting up this way of working for our governance document in my Dept. How would I go about this? The faculty feel that many issues get brought up and voted upon before we can truly understand every aspect of the motion being presented. I would love some more input on this....Thanks.

I think there are some potential problems with formally adopting such a rule. It could be that a member at the second meeting was not at the first meeting, so for this member the "reading" at the second meeting is equivalent to their first reading, and they're at the same *disadvantage* that others were at the first meeting. A member at the first meeting, who may acquire certain understanding about the issue in the interim, might not attend the second meeting and so the assembly does not have the advantage of that person's knowledge and how it may have affected voting. Also, this person would not be there for the vote. At the second meeting, amendments may be offered to the pending motion (that had not been considered at the first meeting) that would alter the outlook on the motion. In all of these scenarios, the assembly may yet be dealing with new information (or lack of) when the motion comes to a vote.

There are parliamentary options available to the assembly that would have a similar effect, such as to Postpone Definitely (to the next meeting, for example, allowing for further reflection), or Refer/Commit to send the motion to a committee to investigate and report back in the future. By not adopting the rule, the assembly retains the ability (at the first meeting) to go ahead and vote and make a decision. In some cases, this may be advantageous, when action needs to be taken promptly.

[George Mervosh]

Mr. Honemann's advice should be heeded (not just this time, either). We can't tell you how often questions pop-up here about problems with mulitple reading rules......and RONR has no answer.