Parliamentary inquiry
Encyclopedia
A parliamentary inquiry is a question directed to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly
to obtain information on a matter of parliamentary law or the rules of the organization bearing on the business at hand. The primary purpose is to enable members to obtain the chair's guidance on parliamentary matters about which they are uncertain.
A parliamentary inquiry is sometimes used as a tactful alternative to a call for the orders of the day
, or a point of order
.
Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure
notes, "It is not, however, the presiding officer's duty to answer general questions concerning parliamentary law." Per RONR, the chair is also not obligated to answer hypothetical questions. This motion
is made by saying, "Mr. Chairman, I rise to a parliamentary inquiry."
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
to obtain information on a matter of parliamentary law or the rules of the organization bearing on the business at hand. The primary purpose is to enable members to obtain the chair's guidance on parliamentary matters about which they are uncertain.
A parliamentary inquiry is sometimes used as a tactful alternative to a call for the orders of the day
Call for the orders of the day
A call for the orders of the day, in parliamentary procedure, is a motion to require a deliberative assembly to conform to its agenda or order of business.-Explanation and Use:-Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised :...
, or a point of order
Point of order
A point of order is a matter raised during consideration of a motion concerning the rules of parliamentary procedure.-Explanation and uses:A point of order may be raised if the rules appear to have been broken. This may interrupt a speaker during debate, or anything else if the breach of the rules...
.
Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure
Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure
Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, commonly referred to as Mason's Manual. This 700+ page book serves as the official parliamentary manual of most state legislative bodies in the United States. "Adopted as the authority on questions of parliamentary law and procedure in California, it is to...
notes, "It is not, however, the presiding officer's duty to answer general questions concerning parliamentary law." Per RONR, the chair is also not obligated to answer hypothetical questions. This 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...
is made by saying, "Mr. Chairman, I rise to a parliamentary inquiry."