ARTICLE IV: INCIDENTAL MOTIONS

A. Questions of Order and Appeal

1. Question of Order

A Question of Order takes precedence of the pending question out of which it arises; is in order when another has the floor, even interrupting a speech or the reading of a report; does not require a second; cannot be amended or have any other subsidiary motion applied to it; yields to privileged motions and the motion to lay on the table; and must be decided by the presiding officer without debate, unless in doubtful cases he submits the question to the assembly for decision, in which case it is debatable whenever an appeal would be. Before rendering his decision he may request the advice of persons of experience, which advice or opinion should usually be given sitting to avoid the appearance of debate. If the chair is still in doubt, he may submit the question to the assembly for its decision in a manner similar to this: "Mr. A raises the point of order that the amendment just offered [state the amendment] is not germane to the resolution. The chair is in doubt, and submits the question to the assembly. The question is, 'Is the amendment germane to the resolution?"' As no appeal can be taken from the decision of the assembly, this question is open to debate whenever an appeal would be, if the chair decided the question and an appeal were made from that decision. Therefore, it is debatable except when it relates to indecorum, or transgression of the rules of speaking, or to the priority of business, or when it is made during a division of the assembly, or while an undebatable question is pending. The question is put thus: "As many as are of opinion that the amendment is germane [or that the point is well taken] say aye; as many as are of a contrary opinion say no. The ayes have it, the amendment is in order, and the question is on its adoption." If the negative vote is the larger it would be announced thus: "The nays have it, the amendment is out of order, and the question is on the adoption of the resolution." Whenever the presiding officer decides a question of order, he/she has the right, to state the reasons for the decision, and any two members have the right to appeal from the decision, one making the appeal and the other seconding it.

It is the duty of the presiding officer to enforce the rules and orders of the assembly, without debate or delay. It is also the right of every member who notices the breach of a rule, to insist upon its enforcement. In such a case she/he says. "Mr. Chairman, I rise to a point of order." and states her/his point of order. The chair then decides the point. The question of order must be raised at the time the breach of order occurs, so that after a motion has been discussed it is too late to raise the question as to whether it was in order, or for the chair to rule the motion out of order. The only exception is where the motion is in violation of the laws, or the constitution, by-laws, or standing rules of the organization, or of fundamental parliamentary principles, so that if adopted it would be null and void. In such cases it is never too late to raise a point of order against the motion. This is called raising a question, or point, of order, because the member in effect puts to the chair, whose duty it is to enforce order, the question as to whether there is not now a breach of order.

Instead of the method just described, it is usual, when it is simply a case of improper language used in debate, for the chair to call the speaker to order, or for a member to say, "I call the gentleman to order." The chairman decides whether the speaker is in or out of order, and proceeds as before.

2. Appeal.

An appeal may be made from any decision of the chair (except when another appeal is pending), but it can be made only at the time the ruling is made; if more than 24 hours has intervened it is too late to appeal. The procedure for making appeals is outlined in Article IX, Section 2(g) of AGS Rules.

B. Division of a Question and Consideration by Paragraph

1. Division of a Question.
The motion to divide a question can be applied only to main motions and to amendments. It takes precedence of nothing, and yields to all privileged, incidental, and subsidiary motions except to amend. It may be amended but can have no other subsidiary motion applied to it. It is undebatable. It may be made at any time when the question to be divided is immediately pending. When divided each resolution or proposition is considered and voted on separately, the same as if it had been offered alone. The motion to adopt, which was pending when the question was divided, applies to all the parts into which the question has been divided and should not, therefore, be repeated.

The motion must clearly state how the question is to be divided, and any one else may propose a different division, and these different propositions, or amendments, should be voted on in the order in which they are made. If a resolution includes several distinct propositions, but is so written that they cannot be separated without its being rewritten, the question cannot be divided. The division must not do more than to mechanically separate the resolution into the required parts, prefixing to each part the words "Resolved, That," or "Ordered, That," and dropping conjunctions when necessary, and replacing pronouns by the nouns for which they stand, wherever the division makes it necessary. When the question is decided, each separate question must be a proper one for the assembly to act upon, if none of the others is adopted. Thus, a motion to "commit with instructions" is indivisible; because, if divided, and the motion to commit should fail, then the other motion, to instruct the committee, would be absurd, as there would be no committee to instruct. The motion to "strike out certain words and insert others" is strictly one proposition and therefore indivisible.
If a series of independent resolutions relating to different subjects is included in one motion, it must be divided on the request of a single member. But however complicated a single proposition may be, no member has a right to insist upon its division. His remedy is to move that it be divided, if it is capable of division, or, if not, to move to strike out the objectionable parts. A motion to strike out a name in a resolution brings the assembly to a vote on that name just as well as would a division of the question, if it were allowed to go to that extent, which it is not. If a series of resolutions is proposed as a substitute for another series, such a motion is incapable of division; but a motion can be made to strike out any of the resolutions before the vote is taken on the substitution. After they have been substituted it is too late to strike out any of them. When a committee reports a number of amendments to a resolution referred to it, one vote may be taken on adopting, or agreeing to, all the amendments provided no one objects. But if a single member requests separate votes on one or more of the amendments, the specified amendments. The others may all be voted on together.
2. Consideration by Paragraph or Seriatim.
Where an elaborate proposition is submitted, like a series of resolutions on one subject, or a set of by-laws, the parts being intimately connected, it should not be divided but rather considered by paragraph, or section, or resolution, or, as it is often called, seriatim. Any one may move, with proper second, that the proposition be considered by paragraph, or seriatim, but if any member should object, a majority vote shall be required.

The process is as follows: the presiding officer reads the first paragraph or section, and then asks, "Are there any amendments to this paragraph?" The paragraph is then open to debate and amendment. When no further amendments are proposed to this paragraph, the chair says, "There being no further amendments to this paragraph the next will be read." In a similar manner each paragraph in succession is read, explained if necessary, debated, and amended, the paragraphs being amended but not adopted. After all the paragraphs have been amended, the chair says the entire bill or resolution is open to amendment, when additional paragraphs may be inserted and any paragraph may be further amended. When the paper is satisfactorily amended, the preamble, if any, is treated the same way, and then a single vote is taken on the adoption of the entire paper, report, or series of resolutions. If the previous question is ordered on a resolution, or series of resolutions, or on a set of by-laws, before the preamble has been considered it does not apply to the preamble, unless expressly so stated, because the preamble cannot be considered until after debate has ceased on the resolutions or by-laws.

C. Requests Growing out of the Business of the Assembly

1. Parliamentary Inquiry
A parliamentary inquiry yields to privileged motions, if they were in order when the inquiry was made, and it cannot be debated or amended or have any other subsidiary motion applied to it. The inquirer says, "Mr. Chairman, I rise to a parliamentary inquiry,� and states the inquiry. If the presiding officer deems it pertinent, he/she answers it. While it is not the duty of a presiding officer to answer questions of parliamentary law in general, it is her/his duty when requested by a member, to answer any questions on parliamentary law pertinent to pending business.

2. Request for Information
A request for information relating to the pending business is treated just as a parliamentary inquiry, and has the same privileges. The inquirer says, "Madam Speaker, I rise for information," or, "I rise to a point of information," and states the point, and the procedure continues as in case of a parliamentary inquiry. If the information is desired of a speaker, instead of the presiding officer, the inquirer upon rising says, "Mr. Chairman, I should like to ask the gentleman a question." Upon consent of the presiding officer, the inquirer then asks the question through the chair, thus, "Mr. Chairman, I should like to ask the gentleman," etc. The reply is made in the same way, as it is not in order for members to address one another in the assembly.