Debate (parliamentary procedure)

Limit or extend limits of debate (RONR)

Class	Subsidiary motion
In order when another has the floor?	No
Requires second?	Yes
Debatable?	No
May be reconsidered?	Yes; but if vote was affirmative, only unexecuted part of order. 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	Two-thirds

Limit or extend debate (TSC)

Class	Subsidiary motion
In order when another has the floor?	No
Requires second?	Yes
Debatable?	Yes
May be reconsidered?	No
Amendable?	Yes
Vote required	Two-thirds

Debate in parliamentary procedure refers to discussion on the merits of a pending question; that is, whether it should or should not be agreed to. It is also commonly referred to as "discussion".

When a motion has been made and is before the assembly, the process of debate could help the assembly determine whether to take action on the proposal. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) says, "Debate, rightly understood, is an essential element in the making of rational decisions of consequence by intelligent people." One of the distinguishing characteristics of a deliberative assembly is that it is "a group of people, having or assuming freedom to act in concert, meeting to determine, in full and free discussion, courses of action to be taken in the name of the entire group."

Under the rules in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the right of members to participate in debate is limited to two ten-minute speeches per day on a question.Riddick's Rules of Procedure also specifies a default limit of ten minutes. The United States Senate has a limit of two speeches and no time limit for the speeches. In the United States House of Representatives, debate on most bills is limited to 40 minutes. In state legislative bodies, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure limits debate to one speech for each question.

Using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, a speaker cannot transfer the time to another member. Also, unlike the practice in Congress, a member of an assembly in an ordinary society cannot yield the floor to let another member speak on his or her time.

The group could modify the limits of debate to suit its needs. Modification of the speech and time limits could be done for a particular motion, a group of motions, or for the meeting through a motion to limit or extend the limits of debate. The assembly could also remove the limit on the number of speeches by using Informal consideration or by going into a committee of the whole or quasi committee of the whole. If the assembly wants the change of limits to be effective for all its meetings and not just for the current meeting, it could adopt a special rule of order changing the limits on debate.

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