On Tabling Motions
At almost every UNBC meeting of College Council, SCAPP, or Senate,
there is a motion to table
various motions or agenda items.
The closest related motion found in Robert's Rules of
Order is the motion to Lay on the Table.
The purpose of To Lay on the Table is to temporarily
remove a question from consideration in order to proceed with an
imminently urgent item. For instance, it would be appropriate to lay
the current question on the table in order to hear from an important
guest who had just arrived.
In order to postpone consideration of a question at the next meeting (or
some specific, earlier time), the correct motion to apply is To
Postpone Until a Certain Time. Unlike To Lay On the Table
this motion is debatable (as to the wisdom of postponement) and
amendable. To Lay On the Table is normally out of order
precisely because it is so undemocratic.
Note that both To Postpone Until a Certain Time and To Lay on
the Table apply to questions (in effect motions) that are currently
being debated, not agenda items. To ignore the current agenda item (a
usual reason for a UNBC tabling
motion)
formally doesn't require any action at all, provided that no-one moves
motions listed under that category. To re-order the current
agenda once it has been approved requires the consent of a 2/3 majority
of the members present.
The following is from the
Robert's Rules of Order
FAQ:
Question 12: Isn't it always in order to move to table a
motion to the next meeting?
Answer:
This question confuses the motion to Lay on the Table with the
motion to Postpone to a Certain Time. The purpose of the motion
to Lay on the Table is to enable an assembly, by majority vote
and without debate, to lay a pending question aside temporarily in
order to take up something else of immediate urgency. In ordinary
societies it is rarely needed, and hence seldom in order.
