PART XII - MOTIONS

Application

48. This Part shall apply to all Motions, save for special motions.

Notices of Motions

28. (1) Except as otherwise provided by these Standing Orders, notice shall be given by a

member of any motion which the member or Committee proposes to move.

(2) Before giving notice of motion, the member shall deliver to the Clerk a copy of the

Proposed motion in writing and signed by the member; and the Clerk shall submit the proposed motion to the Speaker.

(3) If the Speaker is of the opinion that any proposed motion –

(a) is one which infringes, or the debate on which is likely to infringe, any of these Standing Orders;

(b) is contrary to the Constitution or an Act of Parliament or of the Assembly, without expressly proposing appropriate amendment to the Constitution or the Act of Parliament or Assembly;

(c) is too long;

(d) is framed in terms which are inconsistent with the dignity of the Assembly;

(e) contains or implies allegations which the Speaker is not satisfied that the Mover can substantiate;

(f) calls for the commitment of public funds for which no provision is made in the Annual Estimates as adopted by the Assembly; or

(g) infringes on the mandate of the County Assembly Service Board,

the Speaker may direct either that, the motion is inadmissible, or that notice of it cannot be given without such alteration as the Speaker may approve or that the motion be referred to the relevant committee of the Assembly, pursuant to section 21 of the County Government Act.

(4) A member giving notice of a motion approved by the Speaker shall state its terms to the Assembly and whether the original copy received by the Clerk has been certified by a party leader or party whip for sponsorship by the Member’s party.

(2) Unless the Assembly resolves otherwise—

(a) a motion sponsored by a party shall have precedence over all other motions on such day as the House Business and Rules Committee, in consultation with the Speaker, may determine, but where a party has sponsored two or more motions, the motion shall be considered in such order as sponsoring party may determine;

(b) notice of an approved motion other than those under paragraph (a) may

be given to members by means of a list to be published in such manner as the Speaker may from time to time direct and the Member giving such notice shall state its terms to the Assembly when the motion has acquired precedence in accordance with Standing Order 52 (Time for moving Motions), but at least one day before the motion appears on the Order Paper.

Amendment of Notice of Motion

50. The Speaker may permit a member to move in amended form a motion of which notice has been given if in the opinion of the Speaker the amendment does not materially alter any principle embodied in the motion of which notice has been given.

Certain Motions not to be moved

51. (1) No motion may be moved which is the same in substance as any question which has been resolved (either in the affirmative or in the negative) during the preceding six months in the same Session.

(2) Despite paragraph (1)-

(a) a motion to rescind the decision on such a question may be moved with the permission of the Speaker;

(b) a motion to rescind the decision on a question on a Special Motion shall not be allowed.

Time for moving Motions

52. (1) The House Business and Rules Committee shall allot the time and sequence of the publication in the Order Paper of every Motion approved by the Speaker.

(2) Save for a special motion, a member who has a motion standing in his or her name

may authorize, in writing, another member to move that motion in the member’s stead.

(3) Where no member moves a motion at the time specified by or under these Standing

Orders, such Motion shall not again be published in the Order Paper during the same Session except with the leave of the Speaker.

Motion withdrawn may be moved again

53. (1)A notice of motion may be withdrawn by the member who gave the notice, but

notice of the same motion may be given again either by the same or by any other member.

(2) Despite paragraph (1), notice of a Special Motion may not be withdrawn, except

with leave of the Assembly.

Motions which may be moved without Notice

54. The following Motions may be moved without notice-

(a) Motion by way of amendment to a question already proposed from the Chair;

(b) Motion for the adjournment of the Assembly or of a debate;

(c) Motion that the Assembly do dissolve itself into a Committee of the whole Assembly;

(d) Motion moved when the Assembly is in Committee;

(e) Motion for the suspension of a Member;

(f) Motion made in accordance with the Standing Orders governing the procedure as to Bills;

(g) Motion for the agreement of the Assembly with a Committee of the whole Assembly in a resolution reported, or for the re-committal thereof or for the postponement of the further consideration thereof;

(h) Motion raising a question of privilege;

(i) Motion for the orders of the Assembly under these Standing Orders;

(j) Motion made under Standing Order 238 (Exemption of business from Standing Orders);

(k) Motion made for the limitation of a debate under Standing Order 107 (Limitation of debate);

(l) Motion made for the postponement or discharge of, or giving precedence to an order of the day; and

(m) Motion for the extension of sitting time of the Assembly.

Manner of debating Motions

55. (1) When a Motion has been moved and if necessary seconded, the Speaker shall

propose the question thereon in the same terms as the Motion, and debate may then take place upon that question.

(2) At the conclusion of the debate, the Speaker shall put the question.

(3) Despite paragraph (2), the Speaker may, on the request of a member, defer the putting of the question to the following day in which case the Speaker shall thereupon nominate a time at which the question shall be put.

Amendments to Motions

56. (1) Unless otherwise provided in these Standing Orders, any amendment to a motion

which a member wishes to propose in accordance with these Standing Orders may be moved and, if necessary seconded at any time after the question upon the Motion has been proposed and before it has been put.

(2) When every amendment under paragraph (1) has been disposed of, the Speaker

shall either again propose the question upon the motion or propose the question upon the motion as amended as the case may require, and after any further debate which may arise thereon, shall put the question.

(3) Upon any amendment to leave out any of the words of the motion, the question to

be proposed shall be “That, the words proposed to be left out be left out”.

(4) Upon any amendment to insert words in, or add words at the end of a motion, the

question to be proposed shall be “That, the words [of the amendment] be inserted” (or “added”).

(5) Upon any amendment to leave out words and insert or add other words instead, a question shall first be proposed “That, the words proposed to be left out be left out of the question”, and if that question is agreed to, the question shall then be proposed, “That, the words [of the amendment] be therein inserted” (or “added”), but if the first question is negatived, no further amendment may be proposed to the words which it has been decided shall not be left out.

(6) When two or more amendments are proposed to be moved to the same motion, the

Speaker shall call upon the movers in the order in which their amendments relate to the text of the motion, or in cases of doubt, in such order as the Speaker shall decide.

(7) An amendment to leave out words and replace those words with other words shall

take precedence before any amendment to leave out words without proposing to replace those words with other words.

(8) No amendment may be moved which relates to any words which it has been

decided shall not be left out of a motion.

(9) An amendment to an amendment may be moved and if necessary seconded at any

time after the question upon the original amendment has been proposed and before it has been put.

(10) Paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of this Standing Order shall apply to the debate of amendments to amendments with the substitution whenever appropriate of the words “original amendment” for the word “question”.

(11) When every amendment to an amendment has been disposed of, the Speaker

shall, either again propose the question upon the original amendment or propose the question upon the original amendment, as amended as the case may require.

Amendments to be in writing

57. (1) The proposer of an amendment to a Motion shall, before moving it, hand the

proposed amendments in writing, signed by the proposer, to the Clerk at least two hours before the order is read.

(2) Despite paragraph (1), the Speaker may, in exceptional circumstances, allow a

member to move an amendment to a motion before the Assembly at any time during consideration of that motion.

Amendments to be relevant to Motion

58. (1) Every amendment shall be relevant to the motion which it seeks to amend and shall

not raise any question which, in the opinion of the Speaker, should be raised by a substantive motion after notice given.

(2) No amendment shall be permitted if in the opinion of the Speaker, it represents a

direct negative of the question proposed.

Question proposed after Motion made

59. (1) The question on any motion shall not be proposed unless it shall have been seconded and any motion that is not seconded shall be deemed to have been withdrawn, and shall not be moved again in the same Session.

(2) Despite paragraph (1), a motion made in Committee shall not require to be

seconded.

Motion in possession of the Assembly

60. After the question has been proposed on a motion, the motion shall be deemed to be in

the possession of the Assembly, and such Motion shall not be withdrawn without the leave of the Assembly.

Question as amended put

61. When a question has been amended it shall, when put, be put as amended.

When amendment proposed but not made

62. When any amendment has been proposed but no amendment has been made, the question when put shall be put as originally proposed.