City Attorney Issues Correction on 'Call'

Dunedin's city attorney publicly corrected his May 2 ruling on proper parliamentary procedure Thursday.

One commissioner's use of the oft-used phrase in a long-established, uniform set of procedures for public meetings called Robert's Rules of Order — the "call the question," meant to silence debate — resulted in a confusing, Abbott-and-Costello-like dialogue among city leaders. 

When the mayor asked Tom Trask, city attorney, for clarity, he told the mayor that an invocation of "call the question" meant debate must halt and leaders must vote on the issue being discussed immediately.

Trask corrected his stance in a memo to city commissioners four days later, the same day Dunedin Patch published an article reporting on the dialogue. He also verbally corrected his stance during the May 16 public meeting.

The following his Trask's May 6 memo to city commissioners:

During the May 2, 2013, Commission meeting, a situation arose in which a commissioner sought to close debate on a motion to approve a contract by "calling the question." It has since come to my attention that the procedure followed during that meeting was incorrect.

During the meeting, I incorrectly stated that once the question was called, the vote needed to be taken.

As you are all aware, the City has adopted Robert's Rules of Order. Under those rules, a motion to "call the question" is considered a motion for the Previous Question made in non­ standard form.

For future reference, I have detailed below the correct procedure to be followed where there is a motion to call the question, or, more properly titled, a motion for the Previous Question.

A motion for the Previous Question is used to bring the assembly to immediate vote on one or more pending questions? "Ordering" or "adopting" the previous question closes debate and stops amendment on the immediately pending question or questions.

A motion for the Previous Question is a subsidiary motion. The order for the Previous Question prevents any other subsidiary motions but does not prevent a motion to Lay on the Table or any  privileged or incidental motions as applicable. A motion for the Previous Question can be applied to any immediately pending debatable or amendable motion, to an entire series of motions, or to any part of a series beginning with the last immediately pending question.

A motion for the Previous Question is out of order when another has the floor, must be seconded, and may not be debated or amended. Thus, during Thursday's meeting, I should have instructed that the motion to call the question was out of order until the Commissioner making the motion had the floor. I also should have indicated that the motion to call the question required a second.

Furthermore, a motion for the Previous Question requires a two-thirds vote? If such a motion does not receive a second, or does not gain the required two-thirds vote, debate continues as if the motion had never been made. In the future, when such a motion is made, the mayor might consider seeking unanimous consent to end the debate. If even one commissioner objects to ending the debate, the motion for the Previous Question must be seconded and a obtain a two-thirds vote in order to end debate. 

Interestingly, because the motion for the Previous Question can be applied to a series of motions beginning with the immediately pending question, Robert's Rules sets forth the order of consideration where a series of motions is at issue. There might be, for example, (a) a resolution, (b) an amendment thereto, (c) a motion to refer the resolution to committee and (d) a motion to postpone all consideration. In that case, a motion for the Previous Question made when considering (d), results in consideration of the motions by rank. That is, they are considered  in the reverse of the order in which they were made. Where a motion to postpone or commit a motion is adopted and other motions were also remaining in the order for the Previous Question, further voting stops, and execution of the order is interrupted.

When all motions subject to the order on the motion for the Previous Question have been disposed of, the Previous Question is exhausted, and debate continues normally.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Respectfully submitted.

TJT/fe

Previous Coverage:

• Is Commissioner's 'Call the Question' Out of Order?

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