Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure

Mason's Manual 2000

Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, commonly referred to as Mason's Manual, is the official parliamentary authority of most state legislatures in the United States. This 700+ page book has been "Adopted as the authority on questions of parliamentary law and procedure in California, it is to legislatures what Robert's Rules of Order is to club groups. Gleaned from court decisions and legislative precedents, salted by practical experience, it is... [used] by legislatures throughout the U.S. and its territories. Adopted by the parliament of India and Pakistan."^[1]

The Manual covers motions, procedures, vote requirements, etc. applicable to legislatures. It includes the rules of order, principles, precedents, and legal basis behind parliamentary law.

The author, Paul Mason (1898-1985), was a scholar who worked for the California State Senate. He is best known for writing Constitutional History of California in 1951 and Manual of Legislative Procedure in 1935.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) was assigned copyright ownership by Paul Mason prior to his death. The NCSL assigned the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries (ASLCS) the task of editing and maintaining the manual for future printings. In 1984, the ASLCS created the Mason's Manual Revision Commission consisting of ASLCS members.^[2] It is responsible for editing and revising the manual to keep pace with the modern challenges and developments in parliamentary procedures.

The most recent edition is the 2010 edition.^[3]

Footnotes

↑ The California Legislature (1980 edition), by Joseph A. Beek, California State Senate, p. 251.
↑ Mason's Manual (1989 edition), Foreword, NCSL, Denver. Page ix.
↑ 2010 Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, NCSL Bookstore

External links

Parliamentary procedure

Major concepts	History of parliamentary procedure Principles of parliamentary procedure Deliberative assembly Committee Session Quorum Chair Floor Recognition Motion Second Debate Main motion Order of business Minutes Voting methods in deliberative assemblies Majority Unanimous consent

Subsidiary motions	Postpone indefinitely Amend Commit Postpone to a certain time Limit or extend limits of debate Previous question Cloture Lay on the table

Privileged motions	Call for the orders of the day Raise a question of privilege Recess Adjourn Fix the time to which to adjourn

Incidental motions	Point of order Appeal Suspend the rules Objection to the consideration of a question Division of a question Consideration by paragraph or seriatim Division of the assembly Motions relating to methods of voting and the polls Motions relating to nominations Request to be excused from a duty Requests and inquiries (Parliamentary inquiry, Request for information, Request for permission to withdraw or modify a motion, Request to read papers, Request for any other privilege)

Motions that bring a question again before the assembly	Take from the table Rescind, repeal, annul or amend something previously adopted Discharge a committee Reconsider

Legislative procedures	Call of the house Hoist Motion to pass on Recall of Parliament

Disciplinary procedures	Censure Declare the chair vacant Impeach Naming

Parliamentary authorities	Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (TSC or Sturgis) Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure Riddick's Rules of Procedure Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice Bourinot's Rules of Order Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms Morin code

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