Make a glossary for common motions

[mackaymackay]

The glossary would translate parliamentary jargon into plain English:

e.g. 'Read a second time' = 'Agree with the main idea of the bill'

Hopefully this will make it easier for people to get involved with editing divisions!

[mackaymackay]

Ok, this is what I've got so far!

Parliamentary Jargon	Plain English
Read a second time	Agree with the bill’s main idea (After this vote, can now consider the bill in more detail)
Agree with the bill	Agree with the bill (After this vote, can now decide on whether to pass the bill)
Read a third time	Pass the bill (If the bill’s already passed in the other place, then it becomes law. If not, it is sent to the other place for them to consider)
‘other place’	In the House of Representatives, the ‘other place’ is the Senate and vice versa
Put the question	End debate on the question by asking it straight away without any more talk
that [the bills/clauses/schedules] stand as printed	that [the bills/clauses/schedules] stay as they are
Suspend standing and sessional orders	Temporarily ignore the usual procedural rules so that an action (usually a vote) can happen
Proceed without formalities	[Can mean either:] Skip the requirement that different stages of the bill have to take place on different days [or] Consider the bills together
That [the member/senator] be no longer heard	Stop [the member/senator] from speaking

[equivalentideas]

Trying to edit a division, I thought 'Suspension of standing and sessional orders would be a great one to add. It's very confusing insider jargon.

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[mlandauer]

Yes, yes, yes! Where do you think this could go on the site so that people would see it when they might need that help?

[mackaymackay]

Just adding this one, as I agree it's a good one to include, and I think this language is general enough to cover most, if not all, relevant votes:

suspend standing or sessional orders -> temporarily ignore the usual procedural rules so that an action (usually a vote) can happen

Actually, just realised I can edit the table above, so have inserted this new plain english statement for the standing orders one

[katska]

@mackaymackay any further thoughts on this wording in the current context? Would you change anything to make it clearer?

[katska]

Could "Put the question" be "stop this debate, ask the question and vote now"?

[mackaymackay]

@katska I'm happy with these. Improvement is always possible, but I think these do the job is plain language.

[katska]

@mackaymackay agreed!

[stale[bot]]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because there has been no activity on it for about six months. If you want to keep it open please make a comment and explain why this issue is still relevant. Otherwise it will be automatically closed in a week. Thank you!