Committee of the Whole

[MadamMember]

What is the purpose of going into a Committee of a Whole? 

[Josh Martin]

15 minutes ago, MadamMember said:

What is the purpose of going into a Committee of a Whole? 

“The committee of the whole and its two alternate forms, the quasi committee of the whole (or consideration as if in committee of the whole) and informal consideration, are devices that enable the full assembly to give detailed consideration to a matter under conditions of freedom approximating those of a committee. Under each of these three procedures, any member can speak in debate on the main question or any amendment—for the same length of time as allowed by the assembly's rules—as often as he is able to get the floor. As under the regular rules of debate, however, he cannot speak another time on the same question so long as a member who has not spoken on it is seeking the floor.” (RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 529-530)

The first two forms also permit the assembly to discuss a subject when no motion is pending, if desired. Of the three forms, committee of the whole is recommended for large assemblies (100 or more members), quasi-committee of the whole is recommended for medium sized assemblies (50-100 members), and informal consideration is recommended for smaller assemblies (50 or fewer members).

In committees or small boards (not more than about a dozen members present), or in small societies which have adopted the small board rules, there would be no point in using these procedures, since the small board rules already permit even greater freedom than any of them.

[MadamMember]

Thank you, Josh. I don't understand Quasi Committee of the whole. Is it just the size as you detailed?

 

[Josh Martin]

If you’re interested in the fine details of the differences between the three, I suggest reading RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 531-542 for more information.

[J. J.]

One advantage of the Committee of the Whole (COW) is that a particular issue can be referred to it without a specific main motion being pending.  The COW then drafts a motion on the subject and recommends that back to the assembly. 

Example:  "I move that the assembly goes into a committee of the whole to discuss fund raising methods."  The COW could then draft the motion and report the motion back to the assembly.

[jstackpo]

47 minutes ago, J. J. said:

The COW then drafts a motion on the subject and recommends that back to the assembly. 

Which is what folks tend to do a lot of the time in a less formal manner, anyway.  Much of Parl-Proc just amounts to doing what a reasonable group would do anyway but within a more formalized structure.  It's "Common Sense and Fair Play Codified", a phrase I use when coaching newbies in "good" procedure.