Floor (legislative)
Encyclopedia
The floor of a legislature
or chamber
is the place where members sit and make speeches. When a person is speaking there formally, they are said to have the floor. The House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate all have "floors" with established procedures and protocols.
Activity on the floor of a council or legislature, such as debate
, may be contrasted with meetings and discussion which takes place in committee
, for which there are often separate committee rooms. Some actions, such as the overturning of an executive veto, may only be taken on the floor.
are permitted upon the floor while parliament is in session.
and the Senate
. The rules of procedure of both floors have evolved to change the balance of power and decision making between the floors and the committees. Both floors were publicly televised by 1986. The procedures for passing legislation are quite varied with differing degrees of party, committee and conference involvement. In general, during the late 20th century, the power of the floors increased and the number of amendments
made on the floor increased significantly.
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
or chamber
Chambers of parliament
Many parliaments or other legislatures consist of two chambers : an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral...
is the place where members sit and make speeches. When a person is speaking there formally, they are said to have the floor. The House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate all have "floors" with established procedures and protocols.
Activity on the floor of a council or legislature, such as debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, may be contrasted with meetings and discussion which takes place in 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"...
, for which there are often separate committee rooms. Some actions, such as the overturning of an executive veto, may only be taken on the floor.
United Kingdom
The most important debating chamber in the UK is in the House of Commons. A rectangular configuration is used with the government ministers and their party sitting on the right of the presiding Speaker and the opposing parties sitting on the benches opposite. Members are not permitted to speak between the red lines on the floor which mark the boundaries of each side. These are traditionally two sword lengths apart to mitigate the possibility of physical conflict. If a member changes allegiance between the two sides, they are said to cross the floor. Only members and the essential officers of the house such as the clerksClerk of the House of Commons
The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England...
are permitted upon the floor while parliament is in session.
United States
The two important debating floors of the U.S. Federal government are in the House of RepresentativesUnited 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...
and the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. The rules of procedure of both floors have evolved to change the balance of power and decision making between the floors and the committees. Both floors were publicly televised by 1986. The procedures for passing legislation are quite varied with differing degrees of party, committee and conference involvement. In general, during the late 20th century, the power of the floors increased and the number of amendments
Amend (motion)
-Explanation and Use:-Main Motions:Any main motion and any motion to amend may be amended. However, a motion to amend a motion to amend may not be amended, due to the overly complex parliamentary situation that would frequently result.-Secondary Motions:...
made on the floor increased significantly.
Procedure
The procedures used upon legislative floors are based upon standard works which include- Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, which was written for the UK House of Commons
- Jefferson's ManualJefferson's ManualManual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801, is the first American book on parliamentary procedure. As vice-president of the United States, Jefferson served as the Senate's presiding officer from 1797 to 1801...
, which was written for the US SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and was incorporated into the rules for the US House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe 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...
. - Robert's Rules of OrderRobert's Rules of OrderRobert's Rules of Order is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen...
, which was based upon the rules of the US House of Representatives and is intended for use by ordinary bodies and societies such as church meetings.
See also
- Floor of the United States House of Representatives
- Plenary sessionPlenary sessionPlenary session is a term often used in conferences to define the part of the conference when all members of all parties are to attend.These sessions may contain a broad range of content from keynotes to panel discussions and are not necessarily related to a specific style of delivery.The term has...