Commit (motion)
Encyclopedia
The motion
Motion (parliamentary procedure)
In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. In a parliament, this is also called a parliamentary motion and includes legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary...

 to commit (or refer), in parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...

, is used to refer another motion—usually a main motion
Main motion
A main motion, in parliamentary procedure, is a motion that brings business before the assembly. Main motions are made while no other motion is pending...

 -- to a committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...

.

Explanation and Use

A motion to commit should specify which committee the matter is to be referred, and if the committee is a special committee appointed specifically for purposes of the referred motion, it should also specify the number of committee members and the method of their selection, unless that is specified in the bylaws.

Any proposed amendments to the main motion that are pending at the time the motion is referred to a committee go to the committee as well.

Once referred, but before the committee reports its recommendations back to the assembly, the referred motion may be removed from the committee's consideration by the motion to discharge a committee
Discharge a committee
The motion to discharge a committee is used to take a matter out of a committee's hands before the committee has made a final report on it.-Explanation and Use:-Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised :...

.

In the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, a motion to recommit can be made with or without instructions. If the motion is made without instructions, the bill or resolution is simply sent back to the committee. If the motion is made with instructions and the motion is agreed to, the chairman of the committee in question will immediately report the bill or resolution back to the whole House with the new language. In this sense, a motion to recommit with instructions is effectively an amendment.

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR)

The motion to commit has three variations which do not turn a question over to a smaller group, but simply permit the assembly's full meeting body to consider it with the greater freedom of debate that is allowed to committees. These forms are:
  • to go into a committee of the whole
    Committee of the Whole
    A Committee of the Whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee...

    ;
  • to go into a quasi committee of the whole; and
  • to consider informally.

Passing any of these motions removes the limitations on the number of times a member can speak.

The Standard Code (TSC)

Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure
The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure
The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure is a book of rules of order. It is the second most popular parliamentary authority in the United States after Robert's Rules of Order. It was first published in 1950...

, the "committee of the whole" and "quasi committee of the whole options" are not available. TSC calls these devices "convoluted". Informal consideration is available under TSC.
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