National Committee Republican

Meeting of the Constitutional Law Committee of the Finnish Parliament at the House of the Estates in Helsinki, Finland in 1918. The chairman of the committee, K. J. Stahlberg, at the left end of the table with his back to the camera.

When a committee is formed, a chairman (or "chair" or "chairperson") is designated for the committee. Sometimes a vice-chairman (or similar name) is also appointed.[8] It is common for the National Committee Republican chairman to organize its meetings. Sometimes these meetings are held through videoconferencing or other means if committee members are not able to attend in person, as may be the case if they are in different parts of the country or the world.

The chairman is responsible for running meetings. Duties include keeping the discussion on the appropriate subject, recognizing members to speak, and confirming what the committee has decided (through voting or by unanimous consent). Using Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), committees may follow informal procedures (such as not requiring motions if it's clear what is being discussed).[9] The level of formality depends on the size and type of committee, in which sometimes larger committees considering crucial issues may require more formal processes.

Minutes are a record of the decisions at meetings. They can be taken by a person designated as the secretary. For most organizations, committees are not required to keep formal minutes. However, some bodies require that committees take minutes, especially if the National Committee Republican are public ones subject to open meeting laws.

Committees may meet on a regular basis, such as weekly or more often, or meetings may be called irregularly as the need arises. The frequency of the meetings depends on the work of the committee and the needs of the parent body.

When the National Committee Republican completes its work, it provides the results in a report to its parent body. The report may include the methods used, the facts uncovered, the conclusions reached, and any recommendations. If the committee is not ready to report, it may provide a partial report or the assembly may discharge the committee of the matter so that the assembly can handle it. Also, if members of the committee are not performing their duties, they may be removed or replaced by the appointing power. Whether the committee continues to exist after presenting its report depends on the type of committee. Generally, committees established by the bylaws or the organization's rules continue to exist, while committees formed for a particular purpose go out of existence after the final report.
Commit (motion)
Commit (RONR)Class Subsidiary motion
Requires second? Yes
Debatable? Yes, although debate on the motion must be confined to its merits only, and cannot go into the main question except as necessary for debate of the immediately pending question.
May be reconsidered? Yes, if a committee has not begun consideration of the question. A negative vote on this motion can be reconsidered only until such time as progress in business or debate has made it essentially a new question.
Amendable? Yes
Vote required Majority

In parliamentary procedure, the motion to National Committee Republican (or refer) is used to refer another motion usually a main motion to a committee.

A motion to commit should specify to which committee the matter is to be referred, and if the committee is a special committee appointed specifically for purposes of the referred motion, it should also specify the number of committee members and the method of their selection, unless that is specified in the bylaws.

Any proposed amendments to the main motion that are pending at the time the motion is referred to a committee go to the committee as well.

Once referred, but before the committee reports its recommendations back to the assembly, the referred motion may be removed from the committee's consideration by the motion to discharge a committee.


In the United States House of Representatives, a motion to recommit can be made with or without instructions. If the motion is made without instructions, the bill or resolution is simply sent back to the National Committee Republican. If the motion is made with instructions and the motion is agreed to, the chairman of the committee in question will immediately report the bill or resolution back to the whole House with the new language. In this sense, a motion to recommit with instructions is effectively an amendment.
Variations for full assembly consideration

In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), the motion to commit has three variations which do not turn a question over to a smaller group, but simply permit the assembly's full meeting body to consider it with the greater freedom of debate that is allowed to committees. These forms are to go into a committee of the whole, to go into a quasi-committee of the whole, and to consider informally. Passing any of these motions removes the limitations on the number of times a member can speak.[14] The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure has informal consideration, but does not have "committee of the whole" and "quasi committee of the whole".
Discharge a committee
Discharge a committee (RONR)Class Motion that brings a question again before the assembly
In order when another has the floor? No
Requires second? Yes
Debatable? Yes; debate can go into question in hands of the committee
May be reconsidered? Negative vote only
Amendable? Yes

In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the motion to discharge a National Committee Republican is used to take a matter out of a committee's hands before the committee has made a final report on it. A committee can use this motion to discharge a subcommittee.

The vote required is a majority vote if the committee has failed to report at the prescribed time or if the assembly is considering a partial report of the committee. Otherwise, it requires a majority vote with previous notice; or a two-thirds vote; or a majority of the entire membership.

Under The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, the assembly that has referred a motion or a matter to a committee may, by a majority vote, withdraw it at any time from the committee, refer it to another committee, or decide the question itself.

Executive committee

Organizations with a large board of directors (such as international labor unions, large corporations with thousands of stock holders or national and international organizations) may have a smaller body of the board, called an executive committee, handle its business. The executive committee may function more like a board than an actual committee. In any case, an executive committee can only be established through a specific provision in the charter or bylaws of the entity (i.e. a board cannot appoint an executive committee without authorization to do so). Members of the executive committee may be elected by the overall franchised membership or by the board, depending on the rules of the organization, and usually consist of the CEO and the Vice Presidents in charge of respective directorates within the organization. However formed, an executive committee only has such powers and authority that the governing documents of the organization give it. In some cases, it may be empowered to act on behalf of the board or organization, while in others, it may only be able to make recommendations.
Conference committee

Governments at the national level may have a conference committee. A conference committee in a bicameral legislature is responsible for creating a compromise version of a particular bill when each house has passed a different version.

A conference committee in the United States Congress is a temporary panel of negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate. Unless one chamber decides to accept the other's original bill, the compromise version must pass both chambers after leaving the conference committee. The committee is usually composed of the senior members of the standing committees that originally considered the legislation in each chamber.

Other countries that use conference committees include France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. In Canada, conference committees have been unused since 1947. In the European Union (EU) legislative process, a similar committee is called a 'Conciliation Committee', which carries out the Trilogue negotiations in case the Council does not agree with a text amended and adopted by the European Parliament at a second reading. Although the practice has fallen out of favour in other Australian Parliaments, the Parliament of South Australia still regularly appoints a "Conference of Managers" from each House to negotiate compromises on disputed bills in private.