MOTION: A proposal for action

Motions are brought to the floor, discussed, and voted on by the conference body in General Session. Committees may submit motions that arise out of their committee business. Items that generate great debate or have not been resolved by committees are often brought forward to the conference body. Districts and MA members may also submit motions for consideration by the Conference.

Examples of motions:

Motion to accept the 2004 MAWS budget as written.

Motion to amend the Service Manual, Chapter XX, p x, to add the following at the end of Item 11: “when Conference recommendations are quoted or summarized outside the Conference minutes, the source or presenter of the recommendation shall be prominently identified.”

RECOMMENDATION: Presented as deserving acceptance or trial

Recommendations are offered by committees. If no action is required of the conference body, a recommendation can simply be made during a committee report. If action on a specific issue is sought, the committee should submit a recommendation in the form of a motion.

When citing recommendations, it is imperative to attribute who made the recommendation and under what circumstances to avoid misuse or assumptions that the recommendation represents the conscience of the conference body, when, in fact, it may not.

Example of a recommendation in a report:

Recommendation from P&P Committee: Delegates present minutes of MAWS Conference to their district.

Example of a recommendation in a motion:

Motion to recommend that meetings add the “Break the Buck Barrier” reading to their format.

REPORT: A detailed account of what occurred and was discussed

Reports inform the General Session of what issues were discussed and voted on in committee. They do not require action by the General Session.

Example of a report:

Finance committee voted to raise the price of chips to $0.35 to help cover increased costs of sales tax and shipping chips.