CHPPD’s Sept. 10 Webinar on "Using Robert’s Rules Successfully" was based on the information and tips below, provided by semi-professional Parliamentarian Karen Valenzuela, who, while not a formally certified parliamentarian, serves as parliamentarian to two organizations in her community, including her state affiliate.
"Basically," she said, "I wanted to speak to any of our Governing 
Councilors who were feeling somewhat befuddled or intimidated by the rules, motions, amendments and voting that go on at Governing Council — and at other meetings they attend, for that matter. People shouldn’t feel constrained to participate in the proceedings of a meeting because of lack of familiarity with Robert’s Rules of Order, which really are just a lot of common sense and not that complicated." Instead, she says, they’re a great set of rules which, when used appropriately, contribute to the smooth and orderly running of a meeting. Her reference for the course was "Robert's Rules for Dummies," by C. Alan Jennings.
The Basics:
- Motions: These should be brief, single topic statements, as in: "Mr. Chair, I move that we send $1,000 to assist the victims of Katrina," and then pause while the Chair awaits a second. If there is no second, the motion dies. If the motion is seconded, the Chair will intone, "It has been moved and seconded that we send $1,000 to assist the victims of Katrina." The Chair will then acknowledge the maker of the motion as the first speaker in favor of the motion. If the Chair fails to do this, it is always in order for the maker of the motion to gently remind the Chair: "Madame Chair, if I may, speaking briefly to my motion, the intent here is to…"
- Discussion: Rise only to speak for or against the motion under consideration, not to ‘wonder about the wisdom of the idea’ or otherwise wander in the weeds, as it were. Finish your discussion by saying something like: "…and for all these reasons, I will be supporting this motion," so that none of the listeners are left wondering about your intent. An attentive Chair will then say, "Speaking in favor of the motion before us. Further discussion?" while looking around expectantly.
- Amendments: Rise to move that the main motion be amended, for example, this way: "Mr. Chair, while I agree that we should send money to the victims of Katrina, I believe the proposed amount would be of little help, so I move that we amend the main motion to send $10,000 to help the victims of Katrina rather than $1,000." When the motion to amend has been seconded, discussion then ensues on the merits of sending $10,000 rather than $1000 — that is, only on the amendment itself. An amendment must be germane to the main motion. Following discussion on the amendment, the Chair will call for a vote on the amendment, then return to discussion of and voting on the main motion to send money (now $10,000, if the amendment passes) to help the victims of Katrina.
- Voting: In the above example, if you favored sending $1,000 to Katrina victims, not $10,000, you would not only speak and vote against the amendment, you could then also vote against the main motion if the amendment passed, since the effect of the amendment would be to send $10,000 rather than $1,000 to Katrina victims. If you felt strongly, however, that some money should be sent to Katrina victims, immediately on failure of the main motion to send $10,000 to Katrina victims, you could raise your hand and, upon being acknowledged by the Chair, may say: "Madame Chair, while I spoke against and voted against sending $10,000 to Katrina victims, I did so on the basis that sending that much would deplete our bank account completely. Because I believe that most of us in this room feel strongly that we would like to help in some way, I move that we consider sending $2,000 to help Katrina victims." After a second, discussion would then ensue on sending $2,000. Finally, an important aspect of voting is, of course, the outcome: if a voice vote on a motion has been taken and it’s not immediately clear which side prevailed, it’s always in order for any voting member present to request a ‘Division,’ which compels the Chair to ask for a hand vote to verify the original vote.
More information about Robert’s Rules: Understanding the Basics is available on the section Web site, including a list of Karen’s pet peeves and how the process works at APHA’s Governing Council.
By Karen Valenzuela, CHPPD Governing Councilor, karen.valenzuela@doh.wa.gov.