ARTICLE II: GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF MOTIONS

A. Main or Principal Motions

A Main or Principal Motion is a motion made to bring before the assembly, for its consideration, any particular subject. It takes precedence of nothing -- that is, it cannot be made when any other question is before the assembly; and it yields to all Privileged, Incidental, and Subsidiary Motions -- that is, any of these motions can be made while a main motion is pending. Main motions are debatable, and subject to amendment, and can have any subsidiary motions applied to them. When a main motion is laid on the table, it carries with it all pending subsidiary motions. If a main motion is referred to a committee it carries with it only the pending amendments. As a general rule, they require for their adoption only a majority vote, unless a different vote is specifically required.

Main motions may be subdivided into Original Main Motions and Incidental Main Motions. Original Main Motions are those which bring before the assembly some new subject, generally in the form of a resolution, upon which action by the assembly is desired. Incidental Main Motions are those main motions that are incidental to, or relate to, the business of the assembly, or its past or future action, as, a committee's report on a resolution referred to it.

No motion is in order that conflicts with the Constitution, AGS Rules, or these Rules of Order, and if such a motion is adopted it is null and void.

B. Subsidiary Motions

Subsidiary motions are used to modify a motion or question, or refer it to a committee to investigate and report. They may be applied to any main motion, and when made they supersede the main motion and must be decided before the main motion can be acted upon. None of them, except the motion to amend, can be applied to a subsidiary, incidental, or privileged motion. Subsidiary motions may be amended.

C. Incidental Motions

Incidental Motions arise out of another question which is pending, and therefore take precedence of and must be decided before the question out of which they rise; or, they are incidental to a question that has just been pending and should be decided before any other business is taken up. They yield to privileged motions. They are undebatable in most circumstances. They cannot be amended except where they relate to the division of a question. No subsidiary motion, except to amend, can be applied to any of them except a debatable appeal. Whenever it is stated that all incidental motions take precedence of a certain motion, the incidental motions referred to are only those that are legitimately incidental at the time they are made. Thus, incidental motions take precedence of subsidiary motions, but the incidental motion to object to the consideration of a question cannot be made while a subsidiary motion is pending, as the objection is only legitimate against an original main motion just after it is stated, before it has been debated or there has been any subsidiary motion stated. The following list comprises most of those that may arise:

Incidental Motions.

Questions of Order and Appeal
Division of a Question, and Consideration by Paragraph or Seriatim
Requests growing out of Business Pending, such as a Parliamentary Inquiry or a Request for Information