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Guest carley

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During a public meeting the chair suggested tabling a vote before anyone put a motion on the floor.  Someone else agreed and she never took a vote to table or postpone.  Now she wants to discuss the matter at a Community of the Whole meeting (COW) before bring it back to a public meeting for a vote.  Is this possible or should it go back before the public meeting?

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From the terms that you use, it appears that this is a city council or other public body. It also appears that you have specific rules about how business gets put on the agenda. So, likely, you need to refer to those rules for an answer.

From a RONR standpoint, it's not clear what your assembly intended by "tabling". If it was to Lay on the Table or Postpone to a Certain Time, then you should just be able to pick it up at the next meeting. If it was a way to kill the motion -- which is an improper use of Table -- then it can just be moved again at the next meeting. Again, that's according to RONR.

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Guest Carly, I think I agree with Dr. Kapur, but more information would be helpful.  I do specifically agree with him that if this is a public body of some sort (such as a school board, city council, zoning board, etc) state statutes and special rules of order adopted by the body likely control.

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If the rules in RONR are controlling, the Main Motion seems to have been improperly pending at the time of the adjournment, because:

1) there does not appear to have been a motion or vote to lay the Main Motion on the table; and,

2) there does not seem to have been an unanimous consent request, nor was unanimous consent sought or given.

If, under the rules, the Main Motion carries forward to the next meeting, it should be called up during Unfinished Business and General Orders (or, on the off-chance it was a Special Order, during Unfinished Special Orders). Motions to Take from the Table or renew the Main Motion would not be in order, since:

1) the Main Motion was never laid on the table; and,

2) a renewal of a Main Motion is never in order while substantially the same motion can be reached by other parliamentary actions.

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