Robert's Rules of Order Revised

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by General Henry M. Robert

1915 Version -- Public Domain

[Editor's Note: The copyright on the original 1915 version has expired. However, the modifications and enhancements to this work are Copyright © 1996 Constitution Society. Permission is hereby granted to any person to copy and use this material on a non-profit basis with attribution, and in particular, with the retention of links to the site of the Constitution Society or its successors on the World Wide Web. One of the modifications made to the original document is the substitution for page numbers of section and paragraph numbers, using the format mm:nn, where mm is the section number and nn the paragraph number. Footnotes have been numbered and moved to the end of sections. The Order of Precedence of Motions and the Table of Rules Relating to Motions have also been reformatted and revised to adapt them to the needs of an online document.]


ORDER OF PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS.

The ordinary motions rank as follows, the lowest in rank being at the bottom and the highest at the top of the list. When any one of them is immediately pending the motions above it in the list are in order, and those below are out of order.

1 2 3 4 5 Motion
- X a X - Fix the Time to which to Adjourn.
- X b - - Adjourn.
- X c X - Take a Recess.
- X - - - Raise a Question of Privilege.
- X - - - Call for the Orders of the Day.
- - - - - Lay on the Table.
- - - - X Previous Question.
- - - - X Limit or Extend Limits of Debate.
X - - X - Postpone to a Certain Time.
X - - X - Commit or Refer.
X - - X - Amend.
X - - - - Postpone Indefinitely.
X - - X - A Main Motion.


Columns:
1 - Debatable
2 - Usually Privileged
3 - Not always privileged:
a - Privileged only when made while another question is pending, and in an assembly that has made no provision for another meeting on the same or the next day.
b - Loses its privileged character and is a main motion if in any way qualified, or if its effect, if adopted, is to dissolve the assembly without any provision for its meeting again.
c - Privileged only when made while other business is pending.
4 - Can be amended
5 - Require a 2/3 vote for their adoption; the others require only a majority.

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Robert's Rules of Order Revised