ARTICLE I: HOW BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED IN THE HOUSE

A. Introduction of Business

Business is brought before the House either through an Organizing Resolution (as outlined in AGS Rules), by the motion of a member or by a presentation of a communication to the House. It is not necessary to make a motion to receive such communications, such as a bill which has passed committee. Routine activities may be acted upon without a motion, but should any member object, a motion becomes necessary.

B. What Precedes Debate

Before any question is opened to debate, the Speaker (or other presiding officer) shall bring the question to the Floor, opening a debate thread in which the open question is posted at the top. The presiding officer shall also state the time and date at which debate will ordinarily end.

The fact that a motion has been made or seconded does not put a question before the House; only the presiding officer can do that. He/she must either rule the motion out of order or state the question so that it may be considered by the House. As such, debate on a question may not take place until the presiding officer has stated the question, but members are allowed to suggest modifications to a motion, and the mover may modify the motion at his discretion, or withdraw it entirely. If a motion is modified before the question is stated the seconder may withdraw her/his second. After the question is stated, however, a motion may not be modified or withdrawn without the consent of the House.

See Article VII for further information about debate procedure.

C. Obtaining the Floor

Members may rise and speak without asking the Chair for permission. All statements shall be addressed to the presiding officer, �Mr. Speaker� or �Madame Speaker� for the Floor, or �Madame Chair� or �Mr. Chair� for committee.

D. Motions and Resolutions

A motion is a proposal that the an assembly take an action or express itself as holding certain views. As the proper procedure for introducing new business is to submit a bill or resolution to the Clerk (in fact, nearly all House business must first pass through committee), it is rare that a motion or resolution of new business should be made on the Floor. Motions regarding procedure or secondary motions regarding a question already introduced in the House are more common.

Most motions require a second, excluding the exceptions listed below. The presiding officer should wait 24-36 hours for a second, and if no second is offered, then she/he can consider other motions. Motions are seconded when members rise and state �I second the motion� or some variant thereof.

The following motions do not require a second:

Question of Privilege
Question of Order
Inquiries of any kind

If more than one motion is made before the presiding officer has ruled, the first motion made must be considered first, if it has received a second. If the first motion has not received a second, and sufficient time has passed since the motion was made, and the second motion has received a second, the presiding officer may dispense with the first motion and consider the second motion. All motions which are in order and have been properly seconded must be considered.

In considering a question various subsidiary motions are used, such as a motion to amend. Such a motion would become the immediately pending question, with the original question becoming the immediately pending question after the motion has been considered by the House or committee. These may be superceded by questions incidental to House business, such as questions of order; and all of these may be superceded by privileged motions, which are of such importance that they justify interrupting all other questions.

Most motions require a simple majority to pass.

E. Proper Motions to Accomplish Certain Objects

1. To Amend

The proper method for making a motion to amend, or change, a bill or resolution is to move to �insert�, to �add�, to �strike out�, to �strike out and insert�, or to �substitute� specified text. A bill or resolution that requires numerous changes should normally be referred back to committee.

2. To Lay on the Table

Committees (but not the Floor) may choose to table legislation with a 2/3rds majority. Members of the full House may move to Discharge tabled legislation, which must be seconded by five members. Upon sufficient petition the House shall vote on whether or not to discharge the legislation, and a majority shall discharge the bill for consideration by the full House.

F. Voting

Upon the conclusion of debate a voting thread should be opened in the Voting Booth forum for each vote, with the question on which members are voting posted at the top of the new thread, along with the deadline for voting. See Article VIII for further information on voting procedure.