Asking for the Floor

[Guest Tim]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

[Mr. J!]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

Is this a meeting of the board?

[hmtcastle]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

The short answer is, yes.

The longer answer is that, most of the time, interrupting a speaker is out of order.

So, as they say in Congress, "For what purpose does the member rise?". In other words, why do you want the floor?

And note that, if this is a meeting of the general membership, the fact that a member is also a board member is irrelevant. (And, if it's a board meeting, the fact that the member is a board member is redundant.)

[Rob Elsman]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

No.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

99% of the time, "No."

Yet there are certain motions, (e.g., Point of order, Point of Information, Parliamentary Inquiry) which can interrupt business, and thus fit your question's criteria of "anytime", almost perfectly.

So, a sound bite answer to your question might be, "It depends whether the motion to be used by the member may interrupt business."

[Rob Elsman]

99% of the time, "No."

Yet there are certain motions, (e.g., Point of order, Point of Information, Parliamentary Inquiry) which can interrupt business, and thus fit your question's criteria of "anytime", almost perfectly.

So, a sound bite answer to your question might be, "It depends whether the motion to be used by the member may interrupt business."

"It depends whether the motion to be used by the member may interrupt business."

That's part of it, certainly, but another part of it has to do with the parliamentary situation. For example, a member may not (with exceptions) interrupt the taking of a vote.

[Tim Wynn]

Can a member of a board ask for the floor at any time during a meeting?

The chair must recognize any member who seeks the floor when entitled to it. See RONR(10th ed.), p. 364-373 for assignment of the floor.