Question regarding amending Convention Standing Rules

[A Brown]

I have a question regarding amending a specific convention standing rule.

Here is the situation:   Our Standing Rules for an upcoming convention state that the only interrupting motions that will be allowed are Point of Order & Appeal.   I have sent an email to the convention parliamentarian and asked why Point of Info & Parliamentary Inquiry aren't included, but I haven't heard back yet.  If we wanted to amend the standing rule regarding interrupting motions so that it includes Point of Info & Parliamentary Inquiry, am I correct in stating that it would require a majority vote and not a 2/3rds vote?

Edited September 21, 2020 at 01:51 PM by A Brown

[Bruce Lages]

Look at RONR, 12th ed., 59:35, especially section 1 of that paragraph. The rules you cited would be considered special rules of order in an ordinary organization, and would therefore require a 2/3 vote if being adopted initially as part of the convention standing rules. If what you want to do is amend an already established convention standing rule, it will also take a 2/3 vote or a vote of a majority of all the delegates who have been registered (59:36).

 

[Dan Honemann]

9 minutes ago, A Brown said:

I have a question regarding amending a specific convention standing rule.

Here is the situation:   Our Standing Rules for an upcoming convention state that the only interrupting motions that will be allowed are Point of Order & Appeal.   I have sent an email to the convention parliamentarian and asked why Point of Info & Parliamentary Inquiry aren't included, but I haven't heard back yet.  If we wanted to amend the standing rule regarding interrupting motions so that it includes Point of Info & Parliamentary Inquiry, am I correct in stating that it would require a majority vote and not a 2/3rds vote?

You are correct if your motion to amend is made while the standing rule is pending for adoption.  After it has been adopted, a two-thirds vote or the vote of a majority of all the registered delegates will be required to amend it.

[Bruce Lages]

I stand corrected on the first part of my response. I didn't pick up on the fact that the requested rule was being offered as an amendment to the convention standing rules.

[A Brown]

Thank you.  The motion to amend would be made at the time the standing rules are pending for adoption.

[Richard Brown]

2 hours ago, A Brown said:

Thank you.  The motion to amend would be made at the time the standing rules are pending for adoption.

Are these standing rules actually proposed standing rules which will be adopted at the convention or are they convention standing rules which automatically apply to all conventions?

You might also keep in mind that the motion “point of information” has been referred to instead as a “request for information” since the 11th edition of RONR.  It is now more appropriately referred to as a “request for information”. 

[Gary Novosielski]

Never mind.

Edited September 21, 2020 at 05:00 PM by Gary Novosielski
Because delete doesn't work.

[A Brown]

They are proposed standing rules which will be adopted at the convention.  And thank you for the note about Request for Info.  Good to know.

[Bruce Lages]

13 hours ago, A Brown said:

They are proposed standing rules which will be adopted at the convention.  And thank you for the note about Request for Info.  Good to know.

In that case, then it seems to me that amending the rule that only certain motions will be permitted as 'interrupting motions' to include other motions will require a majority vote, but once this, and any other amendments to specific rules are dealt with, you will need a 2/3 vote to adopt the entire set of proposed standing rules. The 2/3 vote is required if any of the rules by themselves would require a 2/3 vote to adopt, for example any rule - such as the one in question here - that can be considered to be a special rule of order. See RONR, 12th ed., 59:30-34.