NAME____________________________________
IOWA MUNICIPAL PROFESSIONALS INSTITUTE
CL301MPI: Parliamentary Procedures
SUZY SCHARES
TERMS
Abstain
Adjourn
Adopt
Agenda
Bring back motions
Bylaws
Chair
Germane
Incidental Motion
DEFINITIONS
Lay on the table
Main motion
Minutes
Parliamentary
authority
Privileged motion
Reconsider
Subsidiary motion
NAME____________________________________
IOWA MUNICIPAL CLERKS’ INSTITUTE
CL301MPI: Parliamentary Procedures and Effective Meeting Management
SUZY SCHARES
TERMS
Abstain
DEFINITIONS
Publicly refrain from voting, usually due to a conflict of interest.
Adjourn
A motion to close a meeting immediately.
Adopt
Vote to accept or approve a motion; when the affirmative vote prevails.
Agenda
An established sequence of items of business to be considered in a
meeting.
Bring back motions
Motions that bring a question again before the assembly, e. g. reconsider,
amend something previously adopted.
Bylaws
A document containing the basic rules for governing an organization.
Chair
The presiding officer; president, chairman or supervisor
Germane
Closely related; used in relation to amendments and debate.
Incidental Motion
A motion that arises out of another motion that is or has just been
pending and must be disposed of before the pending motion is acted
upon.
Lay on the table
The highest-ranking subsidiary motion that enables the assembly to set
aside the pending motion temporarily to take up something more urgent.
Main motion
A proposal that introduces a subject to the assembly for discussion and
action or which expresses an opinion.
Minutes
The official written record of the business conducted at a meeting.
Parliamentary
authority
The book adopted by an assembly to govern parliamentary procedure in
meetings of the organizational; e.g. Roberts Rules of Order Newly
Revised.
Privileged motion
A motion unrelated to pending business of such importance that it takes
priority over a pending motion.
Reconsider
A motion to consider a second time the vote on a previously adopted or
defeated question.
Subsidiary motion
A motion that is applied to another motion for the purpose of changing it,
or appropriately disposing of it, temporarily or permanently.