Friends of Amendments
In almost every College Council or Senate meeting, someone proposes
a friendly
amendment to motion being debated. Presumably the
goal of the amendment-proposing person in indicating their
friendliness, is to show their support for the proposition as a whole,
and their desire to seek the approval of the original mover.
That said, TANSTAFA. That is,
there
ain’t
no
such
thing
as
a
friendly
amendment.
The following is from the
Robert's Rules of Order
FAQ (#8):
Question 8:
How do you deal with a friendly amendment
?
Answer:
On occasion, while a motion is being debated, someone will get up and
offer what he or she terms a friendly amendment
to the motion, the
maker of the original motion will accept
the amendment, and the chair
will treat the motion as amended. This is wrong. Once a motion has
been stated by the chair, it is no longer the property of the mover, but
of the assembly. Any amendment, friendly
or otherwise, must be
adopted by the full body, either by a vote or by unanimous consent.
If it appears to the chair that an amendment (or any other
motion) is uncontroversial, it is proper for the chair to ask if
there is "any objection" to adopting the amendment. If no
objection is made, the chair may declare the amendment adopted.
If even one member objects, however, the amendment is subject to
debate and vote like any other, regardless of whether its
proposer calls it "friendly" and regardless of whether the maker
of the original motion endorses its adoption.
Here is sample language:
Is there any objection to amending the motion by replacing “College
Dean” with “Faculty Dean” throughout?
…
There being no objection, we are now considering the amended motion.
If someone does object
There does not appear to be unanimous consent. Is there a motion to
amend?
The chair then giving some preference to the original proposer of
the friendly
amendment. If a motion is forthcoming, it then
acquires a seconder, and is stated by the chair as normal.
