{{Short description|Parliamentary procedure}} {{Wiktionary|table}}
In parliamentary procedure, the '''table''' refers to the status of a main motion whereby it is either under consideration, or suspended from consideration, depending on the locale. In the United Kingdom and most of the world, a motion "on the table" is under consideration. In the United States, a motion on the table is suspended from consideration with a formal possibility to return to it, but more typically to discard it.
== Difference between American and British usage == Both the American and the British dialects have the expression "to table a topic" as a short way of saying "to lay a topic on the table" and "to make a topic lie on the table", but these have opposite meanings in the different varieties of the languages. The British meaning is based on the idea of parliamentarians gathering around a table with the bill laid upon so that all may point to sections for discussion. The American sense draws on the image of taking a paper that one is holding in one's hand and laying it aside, ending any discussion about it.
[[File:House of Commons debating Brexit deal - 19 October 2019.jpg|thumb|The literal table (foreground) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom upon which motions are placed for consideration.]] The British and Commonwealth meaning of to "table" is to begin consideration of a proposal.<ref name=":2" /> This comes from the use of the term to describe physically laying legislation on the table in the British Parliament; once an item on the order paper has been laid on the table, it becomes the current subject for debate.<ref name=":7">{{cite web|url = http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/publications/parliamentary/|title = Parliamentary papers|access-date = 2016-01-08|website = www.parliament.uk|publisher = UK Parliament}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite web|title = Tabled Papers|url = http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Tabled_Papers|website = www.aph.gov.au|access-date = 2016-01-08|language = en-AU|publisher = Parliament of Australia}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite web|title = Government to table mid-year economic report in Parliament on December 18|url = http://www.ibnlive.com/news/business/government-to-table-mid-year-economic-report-in-parliament-on-december-18-1176606.html|website = IBNLive|access-date = 2016-01-08}}</ref>
The American meaning of "to table" is to postpone or suspend consideration of a motion.<ref name=":2" /> In American usage, to be considered again the topic would have to be "taken from the table", which is rarely done. To make the intent clear internationally, the ''Congressional Quarterly'' and its associated ''CQ'' publications usually follow the word "table" (as used in Congress) with the word "kill" in parentheses in reporting congressional votes.<ref>{{cite web|title = Glossary of Congressional Terms|url = http://innovation.cq.com/media/congressional-glossary/?ref=CQ|website = innovation.cq.com|access-date = 2016-01-07|quote = Table a Bill: Motion to kill a bill by cutting off consideration of it. Such motions are not debatable.|publisher = Congressional Quarterly}}{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Votes of area members of Congress on key issues last...|url = http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-10-20/news/0340030030_1_voting-to-kill-hawkins-housing-funds|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131143/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-10-20/news/0340030030_1_voting-to-kill-hawkins-housing-funds|url-status = dead|archive-date = March 4, 2016|website = tribunedigital-orlandosentinel|access-date = 2016-01-07|quote = Voting to table (kill) the amendment...}}</ref>
To add to the confusion, while the dialects disagree about the meaning of "''lay'' on the table", both use the phrases "on the table" to mean "available for negotiation", and "off the table" to mean unavailable.<ref name=":2">See dictionary definitions at [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/table Cambridge], [http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/table Collins], [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/table#dictionary-entry-2 Merriam-Webster], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130123135855/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/table Oxford], and [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/table thefreedictionary.com].</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Transcript: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on 'FNS' |url = https://www.foxnews.com/story/transcript-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-on-fns|website = Fox News|date = 2009-01-18|access-date = 2016-01-07|language = en-US|quote = You put everything on the table.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = President to Attend Copenhagen Climate Talks|url = https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-attend-copenhagen-climate-talks|access-date = 2016-01-07|quote = ...the President is prepared to put on the table...|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170121024503/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-attend-copenhagen-climate-talks|via = National Archives|work = whitehouse.gov| date=25 November 2009 |archive-date = 2017-01-21}}</ref> According to the American Heritage Dictionary, ''on the table'' in American English always has the two opposite meanings ''up for discussion'' and ''put aside for consideration at a later date'' depending on the context.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=table |title=American Heritage Dictionary Entry: table |publisher=Ahdictionary.com |access-date=2019-04-03}}</ref>
==Use in the United States==
=== Organizations ===
==== Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) ==== {{infobox motion | name = Lay on the table (RONR) | class = S | inorder = No | seconded = Yes | debatable = No | amendable = No | voterequired = Majority | reconsidered = Negative vote only }}Under ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the subsidiary motion to '''lay on the table''' is properly used only when it is necessary to suspend consideration of a main motion in order to deal with another matter that has come up unexpectedly and which must be dealt with before the pending motion can be properly addressed.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised|last = Robert|first = Henry M.|publisher = Da Capo Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-306-82020-5|location = Philadelphia, PA|pages = 215–216|edition = 11th|display-authors = etal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O8zExFMa0SkC}}</ref> It has, however, become common to misuse this motion to end consideration of the pending main motion without debate, or to mistakenly assume that its adoption prevents further consideration of the main motion at all, or until a specified time.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url = http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#12|title = Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 12)|access-date = 2015-11-05|website = The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site|publisher = The Robert's Rules Association|quote = The purpose of the motion to Lay on the Table is to enable an assembly, by majority vote and without debate, to lay a pending question aside temporarily when something else of immediate urgency has arisen or when something else needs to be addressed before consideration of the pending question is resumed. In ordinary societies it is rarely needed, and hence seldom in order.|archive-date = 2018-12-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181224205021/http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#12|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|url = http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#13|title = Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 13)|access-date = 2015-11-05|website = The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site|publisher = The Robert's Rules Association|archive-date = 2018-12-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181224205021/http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#13|url-status = dead}}</ref> Using "table" as a verb usually indicates misuse of this motion.<ref name=":4">{{Harvnb|Robert|2011|p = 217}} footnote: "In the United States, the word "table" used as a verb often suggests the improper application of the motion to ''Lay on the Table''..."</ref> The book states, "It is preferable to avoid moving 'to table' a motion, or 'that the motion be tabled.'"<ref name=":4" />{{infobox motion | name = Take from the table (RONR) | class = B | inorder = No | seconded = Yes | debatable = No | amendable = No | voterequired = Majority | reconsidered = No }}A main motion that has been laid on the table may be taken up again by adoption of a motion to '''take from the table'''.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Robert|2011|p = 300}}</ref> A motion can be taken from the table at the same session (or meeting) or at the next session (or meeting) if that session occurs within a quarterly time interval.<ref name=":6">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Robert|2011|p = 302}}</ref> Otherwise, the motion dies.<ref name=":6" />
The use of the motion to lay on the table to kill a motion is improper; instead, a motion to postpone indefinitely should be used.<ref name=":3" /> Similarly, it is improper to use the motion to lay on the table to postpone something; a motion to postpone to a certain time should be used in this case.<ref name=":5" /> If debate is not desired, a motion to close debate (the previous question) should be used.<ref name=":3" /> One of the disadvantages of trying to kill a measure by laying it on the table is that, if some opponents of the measure subsequently leave the meeting, a temporary majority favoring the measure can then take it from the table and act on it; or they may do so at the next session if held within a quarterly time interval.<ref>{{Harvnb|Robert|2011|p = 216}}</ref>
Although the motion to lay on the table is not debatable, the chair can ask the maker of the motion to state his reason in order to establish the urgency and legitimate intent of the motion or the maker can state it on his own initiative.<ref>{{Harvnb|Robert|2011|pp = 211–212}}</ref>
====The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (TSC)==== ''The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure'' has a motion to table. It can temporarily set aside a main motion (in which case it is also called the motion to '''postpone temporarily''', a motion not in RONR) or it can kill the main motion without a direct vote or further debate.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure|last = Sturgis|first = Alice|publisher = McGraw-Hill|year = 2001|isbn = 978-0-07-136513-0|location = New York|pages = 68–71|edition = Fourth|others = Revised by the American Institute of Parliamentarians|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=clk1qO-dWp4C&q=standard+code+parliamentary+procedure}}</ref> TSC uses the short form, "table", which is discouraged by RONR.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> If the motion to table is used in circumstances suggesting that the purpose is to kill the main motion, a two-thirds vote should be required.<ref name=":1" />
In TSC, the motion to take from the table must be made prior to the end of the current session, unlike RONR, which permits the motion to be made prior to the end of the following session if it is held within a quarterly time interval. The preferred name of the motion to take from the table, under TSC, is the motion to '''resume consideration'''.
==== Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure ==== ''Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure'' generally follows the model of TSC where the motion may be used to delay consideration of a main motion or to kill a motion without direct vote.<ref>{{Parliamentary manuals|title=DEM|edition=Blue Book|pages=98}}</ref> This book also differs from RONR in that it allows the verbiage "to table". It ranks as the highest subsidiary motion and is not debatable, amendable, or eligible for reconsideration. Generally speaking, Demeter's allows all motions to be tabled except subsidiary motions, privileged motions, appeals of any kind, and motions concerning nominations or polls.<ref>{{Parliamentary manuals|title=DEM|edition=Blue Book|pages=101-102}}</ref>
=== Legislative bodies ===
==== Congress ==== In both houses of the United States Congress, the motion to table is used to kill a motion without debate or a vote on the merits of the resolution.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.congress.gov/help/legislative-glossary#m|title = Glossary / Congress.gov / Library of Congress|access-date = 2015-12-07|quote = motion to table - A non-debatable motion in the House and Senate (and in their committees) by which a simple majority may agree to negatively and permanently dispose of a question (e.g., an amendment).|archive-date = 2023-06-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230622034621/https://www.congress.gov/help/legislative-glossary#m|url-status = live}}</ref> The rules do not provide for taking the motion from the table, and therefore consideration of the motion may be resumed only by a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules.<ref>{{Harvnb|Robert|2011|p = 215}}, footnote. This usage of the motion to table is necessary under the heavy workload of Congress but is inappropriate in ordinary deliberative assemblies.</ref>
====Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure====
Most state legislatures use ''Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure''. In this book, the motions to lay on the table and to take from the table have the same characteristics as under RONR.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure|last = Mason|first = Paul|publisher = National Conference of State Legislatures|year = 2010|isbn = 9781580246101|location = Denver, CO|page = 325|url = http://www.ncsl.org/documents/pubs/2010masonsmanualcontents.pdf|archive-date = 2016-03-10|access-date = 2016-01-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310132258/http://www.ncsl.org/documents/pubs/2010masonsmanualcontents.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref> ''Mason's Manual'' has another motion, '''take from the desk''', which a member uses when they desire to take up a matter that is on the desk, but on which no action has yet been taken.<ref name=":0">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Mason|2010|p = 327}}</ref> The differences between the two motions are that the motion to take from the table is used after an item has been placed on the desk by a previous use of a motion to lay on the table and the motion is given a preference over new main motions offered at the same time. Take from the desk is used when an item is taken up that has not yet been introduced and this motion has no preference over new main motions that may be made at the same time.<ref name=":0" />
==Example of Anglo-American confusion== In the Parliament of the United Kingdom and other parliaments based on the Westminster system, to "table" a measure means to propose it for consideration, as in bringing it to the table.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /> In his book (''The Second World War, Volume III, The Grand Alliance''), Winston Churchill relates the confusion that arose between American and British military leaders during the Second World War:<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Second World War, Volume III, The Grand Alliance|last = Churchill|first = Winston S.|publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company|year = 1950|isbn = 0-395-41057-6|location = New York|page = 609|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zVdux2KfenoC&q=winston%20churchill%20table%20second%20world%20war%20grand%20alliance&pg=PA609}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The enjoyment of a common language was of course a supreme advantage in all British and American discussions. The delays and often partial misunderstandings which occur when interpreters are used were avoided. There were however differences of expression, which in the early days led to an amusing incident. The British Staff prepared a paper which they wished to raise as a matter of urgency, and informed their American colleagues that they wished to "table it." To the American Staff "tabling" a paper meant putting it away in a drawer and forgetting it. A long and even acrimonious argument ensued before both parties realized that they were agreed on the merits and wanted the same thing.}}
==Use in Canada== The Canadian meaning of to "table" in a parliamentary context is the British meaning to begin consideration of a proposal.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/Glossary/glossary-e.html#t|website=Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure|publisher=Procedural Services of the House of Commons|access-date=8 January 2016}}</ref> In a non-parliamentary context the British meaning is generally preferred but the American meaning of to "table" is also occasionally encountered; to prevent confusion over the contradictory meanings, the ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary'' recommends using a different verb altogether in non-parliamentary contexts.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Barber|editor-first1=Katherine|title=The Canadian Oxford dictionary|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Toronto|isbn=0195418166|page=1580|edition=2nd}}</ref>
==See also== * "Table (verb)" in List of words having different meanings in British and American English: M–Z#T * Previous question – a motion that also has different meanings in British and American use
==References== {{reflist|2}} {{Parliamentary Procedure}}
Category:Subsidiary motions Category:Verbs