Town Meeting:Motions

The Moderator, Town Clerk, Town Counsel, and each Town Meeting Member has a written copy of each main motion to be made under the articles on the Warrant. A main motion is made under each article by a Town Meeting Member. The Moderator states: "The motion is the one before you dated ... and on file with the Town Clerk." The Moderator summarizes the motion, and the proposing member then states: "I so move." A copy of the main motion is projected on a screen at the front of the hall. The motion, while covering the subject matter of the article, cannot exceed the scope of the Warrant article. It is usually worded differently, more information is given, specific action requested, and the amount and source of funding are specified. It is important to listen carefully for these details as the motion is read. By custom, no second is required. The following motions are in order at any time and are not subject to debate: to waive the limitations on speaking more than twice or more than ten minutes, to dissolve the meeting, and to have the vote be recorded. The latter motion must be made before the voting begins.

Subsidiary motions are listed below, in the order of precedence. For example, if motion #2 is before the meeting, motion #5 is out of order.

The motions to table, to take from the table, and to move the previous question are valid only if there are no introductory or concluding remarks made with the motion. A main motion may be amended. That amendment may be amended only once before being put to a vote. Debate on a motion to amend shall be thirty minutes unless changed by a vote of Town Meeting. No person may speak for more than three minutes nor more than once.
 * 1) To lay upon the table means to adjourn debate on the question to such time as a member moves to take from the table and debate resumes. These motions are not debatable.
 * 2) To move the previous question is also not debatable. If the majority is in favor, debate ends, except for the three minutes allowed to the maker of the main motion or amendment.
 * 3) To close the debate at a specified time sets a limit to the length of debate.  To date this has been used rarely in Lexington.
 * 4) To postpone to a time certain is to postpone action until a specified time or until a specific article has been acted upon. This is used to provide time for gathering further information or to delay action on a question.
 * 5) To commit, or re-commit, or refer sends the article to a specified Town board, commission, or committee for further consideration, usually with directions to report to a future session of the meeting or to a future Town Meeting.
 * 6) To amend is to change the main motion in some way. The amendment may not exceed the scope of the article. It must be submitted to the Town Clerk in writing and signed by the maker on triplicate forms available from the Town Clerk. An overhead projector transparency should also be prepared. The Town's laptop computer which is connected to the projector can also be used for Power Point presentations.
 * 7) To postpone indefinitely means to dismiss the article from consideration by the current Town Meeting. It "kills" the article and is often used by the sponsors when they have decided not to bring the matter before the meeting after all.

A substitute motion is an amendment that replaces the entire original motion. A simple majority vote carries an amendment, whereupon it becomes part of the main motion and debate resumes on the main motion as amended. If the amendment fails, discussion reverts to the main motion. When there are two or more motions dealing with numbers, amounts of money, or lengths of time, the Town Meeting must vote first on the largest number, the greatest amount, or the longest time. Only if the largest figure is defeated can the meeting vote on a lesser figure. A motion that is susceptible to division may be divided if the Moderator deems it best or 25 members present so request. It means that a vote can be taken on each part separately. Interrupting a speaker is permitted for:
 * a point of order -- a member questions a procedure or the proceedings upon which the Moderator then rules
 * a notice of reconsideration of an article which has been previously voted on
 * a privileged motion which may be to recess, adjourn, dissolve, or a question of privilege

A member may request a point of order, point of information, or point of parliamentary inquiry at any time, even interrupting a speaker. The Moderator asks, "For what purpose does the gentleman (lady) rise?" The member replies, for example, "For a point of order, Madam/Mr. Moderator." The Moderator says, "The member will state his (her) point of order." Having heard the point, the Moderator decides the question. Then the interrupted speaker continues or is requested to reserve further remarks if they have been ruled out of order. Moving the previous question is used to end the debate. The previous question may be moved on the main motion alone, an amendment alone, or on the main motion and any pending amendments. For a valid motion, the speaker may only say, "I move the previous question." No introductory or concluding remarks are allowed. The Moderator then says, "Shall the question now be put?" A vote in favor will terminate debate, and the speaker who offered the main motion or the amendment on which the previous question was voted has three minutes which he can use, refuse, or relinquish to another member. If the question is voted on the main motion and amendment together, the makers of both the amendment and the main motion have three minutes each, after which the question is voted upon. Alternatively one can move to close debate at a specified time. The following table summarizes the various kinds of motions and the precedent each receives. The table has been modified for Lexington's practice from Town Meeting Time by Johnson, Trustman &amp; Wadsworth, and published by the Massachusetts Moderators Association, 1984.