|
Table (verb)
In parliamentary procedure, the verb to table has the opposite meaning in the United States from that of the rest of the world: *In the United States, to "table" usually means to postpone or suspend consideration of a pending motion. *In the rest of the English-speaking world, to "table" means to begin consideration (or reconsideration) of a proposal. Motions which use the word "table" have specific meanings and functions, depending on the parliamentary authority used. The meaning of "table" also depends on the context in which it is used. Difference between American and British usage Both the American and the British dialects have the expression "to table a topic" as a short way of saying "to lay a topic on the table" and "to make a topic lie on the table", but these have opposite meanings in the different varieties of the languages. The British meaning is based on the idea of parliamentarians gathering around a table with the bill laid upon so that all may point to sections for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliamentary Procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or the will of the majority of the assembly upon these questions. Self-governing organizations follow parliamentary procedure to debate and reach group decisions, usually by vote, with the least possible friction. In the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other English-speaking countries, parliamentary procedure is often called ''chairmanship'', ''chairing'', the ''law of meetings'', ''procedure at meetings'', the ''conduct of meetings'', or the ''standing orders''. In the United States, it is referred to as ''parliamentary law'', ''parliamentary practice'', ''legislative procedure'', ''rules of order'', or ''Robert's rules of order''. Rules of order consist of rules written by the body itself (often re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Previous Question
In US parliamentary procedure, the previous question (also known as "calling for the question", "calling the question", "close debate", "calling for a vote", "vote now", or other similar forms) is generally used as a motion to end debate on a pending proposal and bring it to an immediate vote. The meaning of this specialized motion has nothing to do with any question previously considered by the assembly. In the United States Senate and Commonwealth parliaments, a motion for "cloture", or "closure", is used instead to end debate. In those bodies, the "previous question" has a different use and is rarely used or not used at all. History The "previous question" was initially used in the English Parliament in 1604. At that time, use of this motion was intended not to end debate, but to suppress the main question for the rest of the session (similar to an objection to the consideration of a question). It could be debated and when put to a vote, an affirmative vote on the previous ques ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
