The floor of a

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

or chamber is the place where members sit and make speeches. When a person is speaking there formally, they are said to ''have the floor''. The

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

of the United Kingdom; the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate all have "floors" with established procedures and protocols. Activity on the floor of a council or legislature, such as debate, may be contrasted with meetings and discussion which takes place in

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

, for which there are often separate committee rooms. Some actions, such as the overturning of an executive veto, may only be taken on the floor.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom's

a rectangular configuration is used with the government ministers and their party sitting on the right of the presiding Speaker and the opposing parties sitting on the benches opposite. Members are not permitted to speak between the red lines on the floor which mark the boundaries of each side. These are traditionally two sword lengths apart to mitigate the possibility of physical conflict. If a member changes allegiance between the two sides, they are said to ''cross the floor''. Only members and the essential officers of the house such as the

clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

are permitted upon the floor while parliament is in session.

United States

The two important debating floors of the U.S. Federal government are in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The rules of procedure of both floors have evolved to change the balance of power and decision making between the floors and the committees. Both floors were publicly televised by 1986. The procedures for passing legislation are quite varied with differing degrees of party, committee and conference involvement. In general, during the late 20th century, the power of the floors increased and the number of amendments made on the floor increased significantly.

Procedures

The procedures used upon legislative floors are based upon standard works which include * Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, which was written for the

UK House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

* Jefferson's ''Manual'', which was written for the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and was incorporated into the rules for the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Use in other assemblies

In other deliberative assemblies, the concept of a "floor" may also be used. The following work was initially based on the procedures used upon legislative floors: * ''

Robert's Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923). "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the ...

'', which was based upon the rules of the US House of Representatives and is intended for use by ordinary bodies and societies.

United Kingdom

United States

Procedures

Use in other assemblies

See also

References

Further reading