Agenda 11-07-19 Item 8-f - Modifications to the Agenda 11-07-19 Item Board of County Commissioners’ “Rules of Procedure” for Meeting Classifications and Clarification on Public Comments at BOCC Meetings

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24 31 5. To Suspend the Rules.The motion requires a vote equal to a quorum. Comment:This motion differs from Robert's Rules of Order in that it is debatable and amendable and the number of neces- sary votes is a quorum rather than two-thirds.Thus if a board has seven members, four members (a quorum) must vote for the motion; if only four members are present at a particular meeting, all four must vote for the motion in order to adopt it.This motion is in order when the board wishes to do some- thing that it may legally do but cannot without violating its own rules.The procedure will pose some problems for a three- member board, as it can be used to prevent one member from participating in the board's deliberations. Frequent use of the motion to prevent one member from presenting propos- als to the board or from speaking on an issue before the board is of doubtful legality. A three-member board may decide to require a unanimous vote to suspend the rules. 6. To Divide a Complex Motion and Consider it by Paragraph. This motion is in order whenever a member wishes to con- sider and vote on subparts of a complex motion separately. Comment: This motion is the same as the division of a ques- tion and consideration by paragraph in Robert's Rules of Order except that it is debatable. 7. To Defer Consideration. The board may defer a substantive motion for later consideration at an unspecified time. A sub- stantive motion that has been deferred expires 100 days there- after, unless a motion to revive consideration is adopted. Comment: This motion, which replaces the motion to lay on the table in Robert's Rules of Order, was renamed to avoid confusion. It allows the board temporarily to defer consider- ation of a proposal. It differs from Robert's Rules of Order in that it may be debated and amended, and in that a motion that has been deferred dies if it is not taken up by the board (via a motion to revive consideration) within one hundred days of the vote to defer consideration. (In Robert's Rules of Order a motion laid on the table dies at the end of the particular ses- sion of the assembly.) One hundred days is the suggested period of time for deferring consideration because it is also the time within which a proposed ordinance must be enacted(see Rule 27). 8. To Call the Previous Question. The motion is not in order until there has been a debate and every member has had one opportunity to speak.