Magnolia Woods - Sherman Oaks Residents Association

On the use of Robert’s Rules of Order

by Kezia Jauron

There appears to be some confusion about what exactly “Robert's Rules” are, so here is a brief overview.

Robert's Rules of Order, the country’s leading reference on parliamentary procedure, was originally published in 1876 by General Henry M. Roberts III. In a nutshell, these guidelines for conducting public meetings are intended to assure reasonable, respectful, efficient debate.

Though using pre-established rules of order may seem to be overly formal or bureaucratic, and an attempt to stifle the open exchange of ideas, the nature of public debate can quite quickly descend into chaotic, impolite, unfocused and even offensive shouting matches between a small handful of dominant personalities poorly moderated by an ineffective chair. It is this that parliamentary procedures aim to prevent – they are not followed to impose overly strict limitations on who may speak and when, they exist so that the entire membership has an equal participatory opportunity. Roberts was very keen on not just the will of the majority but also the right of a strong minority to assure “full and fair” discussion of any item of business.

Despite the best of intentions, the way our own meetings run resembles Robert’s Rules about as much as a tricycle resembles an SUV. The newly revised tenth edition is a whopping 704 pages long and contains no less than 61 chapters detailing topics from discussing items out of sequence, to how to enforce a quorum, to how to adjourn a meeting. It is safe to say no one among us wants to see all these rules followed to the letter!

Nonetheless, if anyone does wish to learn the rules of order in their entirety (not to mention complexity), recently the copyright expired on the fourth edition, released in 1915, so the full text is widely available online - though this very outdated edition is not technically considered official. Two such sites are http://www.rulesonline.com and http://www.robertsrules.org. The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site is http://www.robertsrules.com, though since its main purpose is to sell the newest edition, it contains very little reference material. This current edition is available in paperback on Amazon for $12.98.

For the purposes of most relatively informal meetings, such as ours, the following ten procedures below are offered as just enough “bureaucracy” to result in smoother, more efficient - and therefore shorter - meetings:

1. Regular business begins with a call to order and a roll call. The meeting agenda is reviewed, discussed, amended if necessary, and approved. Generally the minutes - the written record for posterity’s sake - of the previous meeting are read, amended if necessary and approved. Actual votes on these routine chores are not necessary if it appears to the chair that there is general agreement. In the interest of time, it is typical to skip the reading of the minutes if members have had ample time to read them before the meeting.

2. Officers and committee heads must write, read and enter into the minutes (by submitting to the recording secretary) any progress reports on their assigned tasks. Generally these reports should be delivered without interruption, although it is normal for these reports to spark questions. The rules of order for fielding these questions may follow the usual procedures for discussion below, or the chair may temporarily yield to the officer giving the report.

3. So that everyone has an equal chance to talk, you must be recognized by the chair before speaking. Obtain the floor (the right to speak) by raising your hand. Robert’s Rules state that you must stand, but tired people will easily dispense with that. Anyone who speaks without being recognized is “out of order.” Wait your turn.

4. No member may speak twice on the same topic until everyone else wishing to speak has spoken once. You may discover that another member expresses the same idea as you planned to say, and says it better than you could, so give them a chance.

5. All remarks must be directed to the chair, not to other members, and must be courteous. It is “out of order” to be otherwise.

6. If it’s time to propose a specific action, offer your idea as a firm “motion.” Begin with “I move that we…” or “I move to…” and state your suggestion in clear terms. You must get the support of at least one other member (a “second”) in order to start discussion of your idea. By seconding a motion, they are simply stating that they believe your idea should be discussed, but not necessarily that they agree with your idea. The chair should restate your motion to make sure the group understood what you’ve proposed.

7. At all times during the meeting, and particularly once a motion is on the floor and up for debate, discussion must be limited to the topic at hand, unless a time constraint or other unforeseen situation arises that presents an unavoidable reason to momentarily switch to another topic. Anyone who digresses from the topic at hand to discuss another item on the agenda, or worse, an item that is not on the agenda, is “out of order.”

8. Any item that is listed on the agenda as a “Special Order” is there as a guarantee that a decision will be made during that meeting. These may not be delayed until a later meeting. An item that is listed on the agenda as “Old Business” is a leftover from a previous meeting. (More accurately, these items should be called “Unfinished Business,” since “Old Business” can also refer to decisions that have already been made but need to be reconsidered.)

9. Unfinished business must be addressed before any “New Business,” but whether unfinished or new, nothing in these categories must be decided during the meeting. To put off a decision, it can be tabled or postponed. You simply say, “I move that we postpone this” or “Move to postpone,” and wait for a second to chime in. “Postpone indefinitely” means you never wish to hear or speak of this subject again, period. (In meetings like ours there is no functional difference between “tabled” and “postponed.” Sticklers may insist that “tabling” is only permitted if the group intends to continue discussion at a point later on during the same meeting, such as when one of those unforeseen time-sensitive situations necessitates a change of subject.) If a motion to postpone or table is approved, anyone attempting to continue discussing it is “out of order.”

10. Repeatedly being called “out of order” can result in being ejected from a meeting. There is simply no excuse for this, as there are many, many ways a member can legitimately, and within the rules, interrupt debate and force their agenda – while still being courteous and businesslike.

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