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Pacific Southwest District Church of the Brethren 2007
Officers of the District Conference

(1)	A query may be accepted and passed on to Annual Conference.
(2)	A query may be sent back to the originating church or District Board, which means one of several things: not important, Annual Conference has already answered it, not a proper query, etc.
(3)	A query may not be changed by amendment.
(4)	A query may be added to, but care must be taken not to change the intent of the query. One way to add is to attach a similar query to the one being considered.

(1)	The moderator conducts business according to Robert's Rules of order, which will be the standard for any point not covered in the Constitution and By-Laws.
(2)	The moderator appoints tellers and timekeeper.
(3)	Nominations from the floor must have the prior consent of the nominee.
(4)	Length and number of speeches allowed are determined by the District Conference officers.
(5)	The election of officers is by ballot with a plurality vote, except the moderator-elect and the standing committee delegate(s), who are elected by a majority vote.
(6)	A quorum consists of sixty percent of the total elected delegates representing sixty percent of the churches of the district.

I.	The Five Essential Steps Through Which a Motion Passes
	A.	Presentation of the motion: "I move that _____________________."
	B.	Seconding the motion: "I second the motion," or "I second it."
	C.	Stating the question (by the moderator) and discussion of it: "It has been moved and seconded that _____________________."
	D.	Putting the question to a vote: "Are you ready for the question? All of those in favor of the motion which is ___________ . say 'Aye'. Opposed, 'No'."
	E.	Announcing the result of the vote: "The motion is carried (lost) and you have voted to (not to) _____________________."
II.	Motions, Who Makes Them and How
	A.	All members of the District Conference have the privilege of moving and discussing the business of the Conference.
	B.	To make a motion, it is necessary to "obtain the floor" - that is, to rise after the floor has been yielded and address the presiding officer by his/her official title (Brother/Sister Moderator). Give your name and the name of the congregation you represent as soon as you catch the eye of the moderator after addressing him/her
	C.	A motion is seconded without obtaining the floor or rising.
III.	Some Rules of Debate
	A.	All remarks must be addressed to the chair.
	B.	All remarks must pertain to the immediately pending question before the District Conference.
	C.	All remarks must be of an impersonal nature.
	D.	Length and number of speeches are determined by District Conference officers
IV.	Nominations and Voting
	A.	Nominations may be made from the floor. However, one must have the person's permission to present his/her name in nomination and have a statement about the person's qualifications to present to the Conference clerk.
	B.	No member can be compelled to vote. Those not voting are not counted in deciding whether it is a majority, two-thirds, or unanimous. All blank ballots are ignored and, thus, not counted.
	C.	Most votes are taken first by voice or by show of hands, except in case of motions requiring a two-thirds vote, when a rising vote is taken first.
V.	Motions Classified and in Ascending Order of Precedence
	A.	Privileged and Incidental Motions: motions that take precedence over any pending question although not related to that question. Not debatable.
		1.	ADJOURN or RECESS Object: to dismiss a meeting or to provide for an intermission - "I move that we adjourn (recess) while (until) _______."
		2.	RAISE A QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE Object: to get the attention of the moderator at once, to ask a question, or to attend to some matter that cannot wait - "I rise to a question of privilege" (state your question).
		3.	POINT OF ORDER "I rise to a point of order" (state your point).
	B.	Subsidiary Motions: motions that are applied to other motions for the purpose of most appropriately disposing of them.
		1.	LAY ON THE TABLE TAKE FROM THE TABLE (second, not debatable, not amendable, simple majority) Object: to lay aside business in such a manner that its consideration may be removed later - "I move that this matter be laid on the table."
		2.	PREVIOUS QUESTION (second, not debatable, not amendable, two-thirds majority) Object: to stop debate and order an immediate vote - "I call for (or move) the previous question."
		3.	POSTPONE TO A SET TIME (second, debatable, amendable, simple majority)
		4.	COMMIT, REFER, or RE-COMMIT (second, debatable, amendable, simple majority), Object: to place the business in the hands of a few for later reporting to the Conference (for major changes) - "I move that this matter be referred to a committee of ____ to be named _______ with instruction."
		5.	AMEND (second, debatable, amendable, simple majority). a...."I move to amend the motion by striking out____." b...."I move to amend the motion by inserting ____ between ____ and ____." c...."I move to amend the motion by adding ____ between ____ and ____." d...."I move to amend the motion by striking out ____ and inserting ____ ." e...."I move to amend by striking out ____ and substituting this" (read or state the substitution).
		6.	POSTPONE INDEFINITELY (second, debatable, and amendable, simple majority). Object: to kill a motion - "I move to postpone this matter indefinitely."
	C.	Principal Motion: a motion made to bring before the Conference, for its consideration, any particular subject.
	D.	Main Motion: (second, debatable, amendable, simple majority).
			Object: to introduce business for consideration a...."I move that ____." b...."I move the adoption (acceptance, approval) of this report."

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