Business during "Good of the Order"

[Jari Honora]

I have been in several meetings where during the open discussion that takes place under "Good of the Order" a new business item (motion) will emerge. It has been said that an original main motion cannot be made within the "Good of the Order" section. I cannot find in RONR where handling business under "Good of the Order" is precluded.  

[Weldon Merritt]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:00 PM, Jari Honora said:

I cannot find in RONR where handling business under "Good of the Order" is precluded. 

That's because RONR contains no such prohibition. While new business typically is not brought up under Good of the Order, there is no reason it could not be if it is otherwise in order.

[Gary Novosielski]

RONR notes [41:34] that motions under this heading are not typical, but they are not prohibited. RONR notes that in some societies, matters of discipline (for offenses occurring outside of a meeting) are routinely placed here.

One might well ask why motions made under this heading were not made during New Business, but if the motion arose out of a discussion that occurred under Good of the Order, and the assembly wished to take immediate action, there is no reason it could not act on such a motion.

This is the sort of question that is often influenced greatly by custom (i.e., past practice).

[Jari Honora]

Gary and Weldon,

Your understanding of this is the same as mine. And as you said Gary, "This is the sort of question that is often influenced greatly by custom (i.e., past practice)." It's unfortunate that I have seen very widely-favored motions ruled out by the presider because "We're at Good of the Order ..." As is often the case, the body has never challenged for lack of knowledge.