''Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure'', commonly referred to as ''Mason's Manual'', is the official

parliamentary authority A parliamentary authority is a book of rules for conducting business ( parliamentary procedure) in deliberative assemblies. Several different books have been used by legislative assemblies and by organizations' deliberative bodies. Application to ...

of most

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. This 700+ page book has been "Adopted as the authority on questions of parliamentary law and procedure in California, it is to legislatures what ''

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. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for which ...

'' is to club groups. Gleaned from court decisions and legislative precedents, salted by practical experience, it is...

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by legislatures throughout the U.S. and its territories." The Manual covers motions, procedures, vote requirements, etc. applicable to legislatures. It includes the

rules of order 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 ...

, principles, precedents, and legal basis behind parliamentary law. The author, Paul Mason (1898–1985), was a scholar who worked for the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

. He is best known for writing ''Constitutional History of California'' in 1951 and ''Manual of Legislative Procedure'' in 1935. The

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

(NCSL) was assigned copyright ownership by Paul Mason prior to his death. The NCSL assigned the

American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

(ASLCS) the task of editing and maintaining the manual for future printings. In 1984, the ASLCS created the Mason's Manual Revision Commission consisting of ASLCS members. It is responsible for editing and revising the manual to keep pace with the modern challenges and developments in parliamentary procedures. The most recent edition is the 2020 edition.

Footnotes

External links

1979 Edition
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Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

The Advantages of Mason's Manual for Legislative BodiesMason's Manual of Legislative Procedure-Info
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