Debate

[Quietstorm]

Good day and Happy Holidays. I am wondering if both a Motion and an Amendment can be debated. I understand that a debate is limited to the merits of a specific motion, but was wondering if there are any guidelines that determine exactly what is and what is not debateable.  I'm asking because the organizations Bylaws Committee will be presenting several "proposed changes" to our bylaws and wanted to find out the correct way to deal with it. Thanks in advance.

[Joshua Katz]

On 12/19/2023 at 2:36 PM, Quietstorm said:

I understand that a debate is limited to the merits of a specific motion, but was wondering if there are any guidelines that determine exactly what is and what is not debateable.

Yes. There is a table in the book which indicates if each motion is debatable. In general, if a motion is amendable and debatable, an amendment to it will be debatable most of the time. 

When the amendment is pending, debate is, as you note, limited to its merits, not to the merits of the underlying motion. So if the motion is to paint the clubhouse red, and the amendment strikes red and inserts green, debate is now only on whether, if the clubhouse is to be painted, whether it should be red or green. It is not proper at that time to debate whether to paint it at all.

[Rob Elsman]

Standard Descriptive Characteristic 5 of each motion descibes whether debate is allowed. RONR (12th ed.) 7:2, item 5.