Parliamentary Procedure for the Purposes of FLCNAfME

What is Parliamentary Procedure?

 Based on Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th edition (RONR)
 A form of holding meetings in a professional and organized manner
 Includes specific instructions for how to ask questions, give opinions, make comments,
and introduce new topics to the group

Principles of Parliamentary Procedure

 All members are equal in their rights to question, motion, discuss, and vote.
 Quorum must be reached in order for the organization to conduct business
o Quorum can either be defined by the organization’s Standing Rules, or can just
mean a majority of the organization’s membership.
 FLCNAfME’s Bylaws state that Quorum for General Business Meetings is
51% of the collegiate NAfME chapters in the state of Florida.
 FLCNAfME’s Bylaws state that Quorum for an Executive Board meeting is
a simple majority of the members of the current Executive Board.
 Order will be kept at all times by ensuring:
o That only one person has the floor at any time
o That only one question is discussed at any time
o That only a person acknowledged by the chair is speaking at any time

How Meetings Are Structured

 Meetings should be structured as follows to ensure that meetings run efficiently, do not
deprive anyone of their right to discuss or question any topic brought up:
1. Call to Order: opening the meeting with the official time.
2. Opening Exercises, if applicable: not always applicable to FLCNAfME, unless there
are opening remarks.
3. Roll Call/Determination of Quorum: important in order to conduct business, as
mentioned above.
4. Adoption of the Agenda: members have the right to vote to accept or decline the
agenda presented by the Executive Board for the meeting at hand.
a. This step can be skipped by motioning to accept the agenda without reading
them. This motion must be seconded and voted on.
5. Reading and Approval of the Minutes from the Previous Meeting: members have
the right to vote to accept or decline the minutes from the last meeting
a. This step can be skipped by motioning to accept the minutes without reading
them. This motion must be seconded and voted on.
6. Reports of Officers: during this time, the Officers or Executive Board will present
updates to the chapter outlining the projects they have been working on between
the last general business meeting and the current general business meeting.
7. Reports of Standing Committees: during this time, the Chairs of the Standing
Committees, or a delegate, will present updates to the chapter outlining the projects
 their committees have been working on between the last general business meeting
and the current general business meeting.
a. Not always necessary for FLCNAfME unless there are Standing Committees at
the time.
8. Reports of Special (Ad hoc) Committees: during this time, the Chairs of the Special
Committees, or a delegate, will present updates to the chapter outlining the projects
their committees have been working on between the last general business meeting
and the current general business meeting.
a. Not always necessary for FLCNAfME unless there are Special Committees at
the time.
9. Special Orders: during this time, new and time sensitive topics are brought to the
table for discussion and voting; special orders are considered of high importance.
10. Unfinished Business and General Orders: during this time, topics that were brought
up in past meetings but were never decided on are discussed and hopefully resolved.
11. New Business: during this time, members of the general membership can propose
new topics for discussion and/or voting that have yet to be discussed during the
meeting.
12. Announcements: during this time, reminders and/or final statements are made to
review what was covered during the meeting, especially if there were important
deadlines or dates discussed.
13. “Good of the Order:” a “last-call” of sorts, this time allows any member of the
general assembly to make announcements or bring up a last-minute comment or
point that did not fit in anywhere else or was not relevant earlier.
14. Adjournment: closing the meeting with the official time.

Who Runs the Meeting?

 Meetings are overseen by the Presiding Officer
o Usually the President
o Can be another Officer appointed by the President in their absence or at their
discretion
 They have very specific responsibilities:
1. Remain impartial during debate
a. In order to have any opinion on the topic at hand, they must give up their
seat as Presiding Officer
2. Vote only in the case of a tie
a. Or to break a 2/3rds vote, in those cases
3. Determine that the general assembly has met quorum before conducting business
4. Introduce business based on the agenda
5. Recognize speakers as necessary
6. Determine whether a motion has passed or failed
7. Keep discussion on topic
8. Maintain order in the general assembly

All About Motions

  Motions are used in order to make things happen during a meeting, in the following
way:
o Member must obtain the floor by being acknowledged by the Presiding Officer
o Member then makes a motion (e.g. “I motion to open the floor for discussion.”)
o The motion must be seconded by another member of the assembly.
o If seconded, the motion is then put to a vote by the general assembly.
 This is a majority vote, not 2/3rds
 Frequently used motions include:
o Motion to open/close the floor for discussion
o Motion to extend discussion
 A specific amount of time no greater than five (5) minutes must be
provided (i.e. two minutes)
o Point of Order: used when a member feels that rules of the assembly are not
being followed.
 Can interrupt the person who currently holds the floor, without being
acknowledged by the Presiding Officer
o Point of Clarification: used when a member has information to clarify a specific
point being made.
 Can interrupt the person who currently holds the floor, without being
acknowledged by the Presiding Officer

Rules of Debate
 No members speak without being recognized by the Presiding Officer.
 All discussion must be relevant to the most recently asked question.
 If a member wishes to speak twice during discussion, they must wait until anyone who
wishes to speak has spoken once before being granted the floor.
 Discussion will start with a time limit of five (5) minutes.
o If after five (5) minutes of discussion, the general assembly would like to
continue discussion, a motion must be made to extend discussion time up to five
(5) extra minutes.
 The Presiding Officer must relinquish their seat in order to participate in discussion or
debate.