Motions are tools that enable an organization to accomplish business efficiently and smoothly. They are the means of bringing business before the assembly, disposing of it quickly, and resolving matters of procedure and urgency. Motions help the members accomplish what they come to the meeting to do. There are five classes of motions:
Main Motions
The first classes of motions are main motions used to present new business. The secondary motions are subsidiary, privileged, and incidental motions can either help adopt the main motion or help business move forward according to the members' wishes. The last class of motions returns a motion the assembly for reconsideration. Each class of motions has a certain purpose and is assigned an order in which it can be brought up in the meeting. These assigned orders are called ranking motions and follows the principle of taking up business one item at a time.
There are two forms of a main motion. The first form introduces new business to the assembly. The other form is the incidental main motion, which deals with procedural questions arising out of the pending motions or business; it does not introduce a new topic.
A main motion that brings new business before the assembly is made while no business is pending. It needs a second, is debatable and amendable, and takes a majority vote to adopt. A main motion is phrased in the positive. Usually when the members don't want to do something, making a motion is not necessary. For example, if an organization received a request to donate money to the parade fund, and the members don't want to do this, they don't make a motion.