Motion to Lay on The Table

[Guest Dave Kelly]

Is a Motion to Lay on the Table debatable

[Gary Novosielski]

5 minutes ago, Guest Dave Kelly said:

Is a Motion to Lay on the Table debatable

It is not debatable.

However, RONR does make the following point:

Quote

It is proper for, and the chair can ask, the maker of this motion to state his reason first, however, as: “Our speaker must catch an early flight,” or “Laying this question aside temporarily will ensure adequate time to consider the next item of business, which must be decided at this meeting.” (The urgency and the legitimate intent of the motion can thus be established; but mentioning its purpose imposes no requirement as to when or whether the assembly will take the question from the table. An essential feature of this motion is that it cannot be qualified in any way and that, so long as the question remains on the table, the decision as to when—or if—it will be taken up is left open. For the limitations on the length of time that a question can lie on the table, see p. 214.)

 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Also see FAQ #12 and #13 for misuses of this motion.

[Gary Novosielski]

An inquiry from the chair as to the reason for the motion can also help to weed out some of the most common misuses of the motion and allow the chair to decide whether to rule it out of order or to suggest a correct motion to achieve the desired result.

[Richard Brown]

On 1/24/2017 at 11:41 AM, Gary Novosielski said:

An inquiry from the chair as to the reason for the motion can also help to weed out some of the most common misuses of the motion and allow the chair to decide whether to rule it out of order or to suggest a correct motion to achieve the desired result.

Very good point, Gary.  The motion to lay on the table (or, as often stated, to"table") is undoubtedly one of the most misused of all motions.