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Brainteaser Archive 2007 |
January 15, 2007 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) is your parliamentary authority (and there are no other applicable rules). If a member desires to give notice of a motion that requires previous notice, how does he do so?
Answer: "In such a case, the member desiring to give the notice writes a letter to the secretary alone, requesting that the notice be sent with the call of the next meeting; and the secretary should then do this at the expense of the organization." RONR (10th Ed.) § 10 (p. 119).
February 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) and you make a subject THE special order for a meeting, what is the effect?
Answer: "The special order for the meeting will then be taken up as soon as the minutes have been approved, and the remainder of the order of business will not be taken up until this special order has been disposed of." RONR (10th Ed.) § 41 (p. 360).
March 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: Your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition). On an Appeal, what is the effect of a tie vote?
Answer: "A majority vote or tie vote sustains the decision of the chair on the principle that the chair's decision stands until reversed by a majority." RONR (10th Ed.) § 24 (p. 250).
April 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: If your parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), can the minutes be approved without being read at all?
Answer: "A draft of the minutes of the preceding meeting can be sent to all members in advance, usually with the notice. In such a case, it is presumed that the members have used this opportunity to review them, and they are not read unless this is requested." RONR (10th Ed.) § 48 (p. 457). While the presiding officer might choose to honor such a request and have the minutes read out loud, recognize that any member could move to suspend the rules to forego the reading altogether. "If it is desired to approve the minutes without having them read, it is necessary to suspend the rules for this purpose." RONR (10th Ed.) § 48 (p. 457).
July 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 4)
Question: Can a Point of Information be raised following the adoption of an order for the Previous Question (to close debate)? The parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition).
Answer: Yes. "The adoption of an order for the Previous Question does not prevent the making of privileged or incidental motions as applicable, and, strictly speaking, it doe not prevent a special order set for a particular hour from interrupting the pending business (see also pp. 194-196). RONR (10th Ed.) § 16 (p. 190).
August 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 3)
Question: During a meeting, a member obtains recognition and states "this motion we're discussing is a complete waste of time and I move to table it." If the parliamentary authority is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), how should the presiding officer respond?
Answer: The motion to Lay on the Table should be ruled out of order. "The motion to Lay on the Table enables the assembly to lay the pending question aside temporarily when something else of immediate urgency has arisen . . . ." RONR (10th Ed.) § 17 (p. 201). "It is out of order to move to lay a pending question on the table if there is evidently no other matter urgently requiring immediate attention." RONR (10th Ed.) § 17 (p. 207).
September 1, 2007 (Difficulty level = 5)
Question: According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition), if a motion to Reconsider is made at a time when it is not in order for it to come before the assembly for debate and vote, should the motion be seconded at that time or later (when the motion is "called up" for consideration)?
Answer: "Must be seconded at the time it is made. . . . The calling up of the motion to Reconsider does not require a second." RONR (10th Ed.) § 37 (p. 309).
