Unfinished Business And Postponing to Another Meeting

[alondonb]

A motion was moved and seconded, but no discussion was had because the meeting ran out of time. The motion was left on "Unfinished Business" to be addressed at July's meeting. Now the chair has been informed that the mover of the motion will not be able to attend July's meeting.

How is this motion handled according to Robert's Rules? Does the motion get postponed until the mover is able to attend? If so, who moves this postponement if the mover of the motion is unable to attend?

[Richard Brown]

On 7/5/2024 at 5:37 PM, alondonb said:

A motion was moved and seconded, but no discussion was had because the meeting ran out of time. The motion was left on "Unfinished Business" to be addressed at July's meeting. Now the chair has been informed that the mover of the motion will not be able to attend July's meeting.

How is this motion handled according to Robert's Rules? Does the motion get postponed until the mover is able to attend? If so, who moves this postponement if the mover of the motion is unable to attend?

No, the motion does not automatically get postponed. The member who made the motion need not be present. When the assembly reaches unfinished business in the order of business, the chair should announce that the next item of Business is the motion to do XYZ that was postponed from the last meeting (or that was pending when the meeting adjourned).. The motion was made at the last meeting and does not need to be made again, but rather the chair will state the motion as the  pending business before the assembly. The secretary can read the motion if necessary. The motion can be debated and amended just as it could have on the day it was introduced. The only difference is that the member who made the motion will not be there to speak on its behalf, but other members can.

[Rob Elsman]

The motion comes up as Unfinished Business and is handled whether the maker is present or not. If the assembly is not satisfied with this, it can often postpone again, or the main motion can be renewed if it has fallen to the ground under the rules.

[Atul Kapur]

The motion has already been moved and seconded and, apparently, was on the floor when the meeting adjourned.

At the July meeting, it does not need to be moved and seconded again. When Unfinished Business comes up, the chair says “Under Unfinished Business and General Orders, the first item of business is the motion relating to [topic], which was pending when the last meeting adjourned. The question is on the adoption of the motion ‘That … [stating the motion].’ ”

RONR (12th ed.) 41:24

So the presence of the mover is immaterial. If the mover prefers that discussion be postponed until the next regular meeting so that the mover can be there to speak to it, then they will have to arrange for someone who will be attending the July meeting to make a motion to Postpone it to the next meeting.

Remember, once the motion has been stated by the chair, it now belongs to the meeting, not the mover. The mover no longer controls its fate.

[alondonb]

On 7/5/2024 at 3:55 PM, Atul Kapur said:

So the presence of the mover is immaterial. If the mover prefers that discussion be postponed until the next regular meeting so that the mover can be there to speak to it, then they will have to arrange for someone who will be attending the July meeting to make a motion to Postpone it to the next meeting.

If someone who is attending the July meeting makes a motion to postpone it, can the motion to postpone go further than the following month (Aug) if the meetings are held monthly? Meaning, can they move for it to be postponed beyond the next regular meeting so long as it is not beyond the third month (Oct) from the present month?

OR, if they move to postpone it to the next meeting (Aug) and it passes, and they are once again unable to show up in Aug, can someone appear at the meeting in Aug and move for it to be postponed again?

[Richard Brown]

A motion cannot be postponed beyond the next meeting, but at that meeting can again be postponed till the next meeting. That can be done at meeting after meeting if the assembly keeps voting to do so.