Leadership Letter
July 2021
ASK COUNSELOR TARA
ASCE’s General Counsel Tara Hoke responds to legal questions posed by Sections and Branches here each month. Send Tara an email with your question.
Do you know your 13 ranking motions?
While many nonprofit boards and committees conduct their meetings in a loose approximation of parliamentary procedure, strict adherence to Robert’s Rules requires a more detailed understanding of the types of motions that can be made, and how those motions are resolved. Also known as the “order of precedence,” the list of 13 ranking motions explains the most common motions that can arise in a meeting, identifies the types of actions can be taken on these motions, and establishes when a motion can be properly made (or conversely, when the motion is “out of order”).
Lowest on the list of 13 is the so-called “main motion,” which is the motion that brings a piece of business before the board or committee and proposes some type of action (while it’s not entirely uncommon to hear someone make a motion for the board/committee to take no action, strictly speaking, motions to do nothing are not permitted under Robert’s Rules). While arguably the most important type of motion in terms of the board’s substantive business, this motion sits at the bottom of the 13 ranking motions because in a discussion on the merits of the main motion, the motion itself is the last item to be resolved.
For example, assume a board is considering a motion to hold a conference in January. Another board member wants to amend the motion to hold the meeting in February, another thinks the board shouldn’t make a decision until a committee has reviewed the business plan for the event, while yet another member is having trouble hearing the discussion at all because of construction noise in the neighboring room. Only when all these suggested amendments, postponements, or procedural questions have been resolved is it appropriate to dispose of the main motion with a yes or no vote.
At the middle of the 13 ranking motions are the so-called “subsidiary” motions, so named because they directly relate to the main motion and have the effect of changing the motion itself or impacting when (or even if!) the motion is voted on. This latter category includes motions to postpone a vote until a later time, to refer a question to a committee for further study, or even to postpone a motion “indefinitely,” in essence killing the main motion by voting not to permit the discussion or vote to proceed.
Highest on the 13 ranking motions are the privileged motions. These motions do not directly relate to the main motion, but instead involve important procedural matters or conditions that require consideration. This category includes motions ranging from the “orders of the day,” which raises a question about whether the meeting has deviated from its stated agenda, to a motion to adjourn (if a meeting is adjourned while a main motion is still pending, the default rule is that the motion becomes the first order of business at the next meeting).
While the list of 13 ranking motions does not include every type of motion that can be raised in an assembly, it is still a valuable summary to keep in hand when conducting a meeting. Here's a link to a sample chart of these motions that you can download.