The Model Rules of Procedure must present a motion. It may temporarily suspend a main motion (in which case it is also called a request for temporary deferral, a motion that is not included in the RONR) or it may terminate the main motion without a direct vote or other debate. [18] TSC uses the abbreviated form “table”, which RONR does not recommend. [13] [18] If the application is used for presentation in circumstances suggesting that the purpose is to kill the main application, a two-thirds majority should be required. [18] The British meaning of “table” means to begin with the consideration of a proposal. [1] This stems from the use of the term to describe how laws are physically put on the table in the British Parliament; Once an item on the purchase order has been placed on the table, it becomes the current topic of discussion. [5] We need to put this last item on the table before our next meeting. Both the American and British dialects have the phrase “put a subject on the table” as a short way of saying “putting a subject on the table” and “leaving a subject on the table”, but these have opposite meanings in different varieties of languages. The British meaning is based on the idea that parliamentarians sit around a table with the bill so that everyone can indicate sections to discuss. The American meaning is based on the image of setting aside a document that has been studied and ending any discussion about it. The phrase “put on the table” can have the same meaning in both dialects as “debate the issue.” [1] [2] [3] According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the two opposing meanings are still to be discussed on the table in American English and are set aside at a later date, depending on the context.

[4] In TSC, the request to remove the table must be made before the end of the current session, unlike RONR, which allows the request to be made before the end of the next session if it takes place within a quarterly time interval. The preferred name of the request to be removed from the table under TSC is the request to resume processing. Most state legislators use Mason`s Manual of Legislative Procedure. In this book, the movements to be placed on the table and removed from the table have the same characteristics as under RONR. [23] The Mason Manual contains another request that is taken from the board and that a member uses when he wants to address an issue that is on the desk, but no action has yet been taken. [24] The differences between the two motions are that the motion to be removed from the table is used after a clause has been placed on the table through the prior use of an application, and the motion is preferred to new main motions moved simultaneously. Take from the desk is used when a point is included that has not yet been filed, and this request has no preference over new main applications that can be made at the same time. [24] Ms Scott tabled an amendment (=amendment) to the proposal. The Demeter Handbook of Parliamentary Law and Procedure generally follows the model of the TSC, where the motion can be used to delay the processing of a main motion or kill a motion without a direct vote. [19] This book also differs from RONR in that it leaves the word “on the table.” It is considered the highest ancillary proposal and is not debatable, modifiable or cannot be reviewed.

The meaning of “table” also depends on the context in which it is used. The American meaning of “to table” means postponing or suspending the processing of an application. [1] In American parlance, it should be “removed from the table” in order to allow for a renewed re-examination of the subject. The use of expressions such as “submit an application” to cancel or kill a principal application may be confusing due to the use of such terms in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries where they have the opposite meaning, i.e. proposing an application for consideration. [6] [7] To clarify the intent internationally, the Congressional Quarterly and associated QC publications generally follow the word “table” (as used in Congress) with the word “kill” in parentheses when reporting congressional votes. [8] [9] The joy of a common language was, of course, a great advantage in all British and American discussions. Delays and often partial misunderstandings that arise when using interpreters have been avoided. However, there were disagreements that led to a funny incident in the early days. British staff prepared a document that they desperately wanted to raise and told their American colleagues they wanted to “submit” it.

For U.S. personnel, “submitting” a paper meant putting it in a drawer and forgetting about it. A long and even bitter argument ensued before both sides realized that they agreed on the matter and wanted the same thing.