Terminal Requests

Terminal Requests bring the meeting to an end, at least temporarily in the case of a recess.

Request of a Recess

The Request of a Recess proposes a short intermission to the meeting.

• Discussion is allowed.
• It may be amended.
• It may not be reconsidered.
• It must be seconded, unless the attendees of the meeting represent constituencies.
• A simple majority vote decides.

The Request of a Recess may be amended to set or change the length of time.

If a recess is on the approved agenda, then it is not necessary to vote on it because it is already approved. When the meeting reaches that point, unless the agenda is amended, the meeting chair is authorized to recess the meeting until the scheduled time or duration.

Request to Adjourn

The Request to Adjourn proposes to terminate the meeting.

• Discussion is allowed.
• It may not be amended or reconsidered.
• It must be seconded, unless the attendees of the meeting represent constituencies.
• A simple majority vote decides.
• May be declined by the chair if the request is suspected for the purpose of obstructing the meeting.

If the Request to Adjourn is approved, the next step is to set a time for the following meeting if it has not already been scheduled. Any unfinished agenda items will be transferred to the following meeting's agenda.

A compelling reason is required for adjournment before the agenda is complete. It is not appropriate to use the Request to Adjourn as a tactic to prevent discussion of an item on the agenda. The meeting chair is authorized wide latitude to decline the request without a vote if in his/her judgement the request is being made to obstruct the meeting. If there is business remaining on the agenda and no known scheduling restriction or missing participants for adjournment, the chair may ask for a reason for the adjournment. If no reason is provided or it is not considered a compelling reason, the chair may decline the request without a vote.

When the meeting reaches the end of the approved agenda, it is not necessary to request adjournment. Adjournment is automatically the next step if nothing else is added to the agenda at that time.