Meetings, Sessions and Days

The terms meeting and session are often confused. Although used synonymously, their meanings are different but overlapping. The usage of the words varies between the legislative body and what parliamentarians call the ordinary deliberative assembly, which is everything else.

When most folks think of session, they are referring to a legislative body. In Texas, a regular session is held at the beginning of every odd-numbered year and lasts 140 days. Since 1989, there have been 18 special sessions called by the governor. Congress holds a new session each year, because Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states "The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year . . ."  Special sessions for Congress can be called by the president; however, these are rare, having occurred only 27 times (the last one was in 1948, called by President Truman).

What is known as a meeting in ordinary assemblies is called a day in the legislature. A legislative session is made up of a number of days and there is a set order of business for each day. This would be simple enough except that there are legislative days and there are calendar days -- an esoteric denotation that only a legislative body could appreciate. It is the general belief in all legislative bodies that the pursuit of order is best achieved through tortuous complexity. So it is with the telling of time. If a recess occurs at the end of a legislative day, the recess does not end the legislative day but only provides a break in the order of business. On the next calendar day after some opening ceremonies, the legislative day picks up where it left off at the recess. It seems that legislatures are like God when it comes to time. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (1 Pet 3:8). With legislatures, a legislative day is like a thousand calendar days . . . well, I hope you get the point. A legislative day is understood to be the conduct of business from adjournment to adjournment. A calendar day is understood to be the continuance of a legislative day following a recess, so that there can be a number of calendar days before the adjournment of the legislative day.

In a legislative body, the word meeting is only used to denote a convening of a committee. To refer to a session of a committee makes no sense, even to the layperson. When a committee adjourns, the committee meeting comes to an end. Thus, a meeting of a legislative committee is synonymous with a legislative day for the full body.

A legislative body that meets continuously for days, weeks, and months is holding one session. A bill introduced at the beginning or middle of this period is pending as long as the session continues. Each legislative day, the legislature convenes and adjourns. The bills introduced on previous days are still pending either on a calendar or in committee (or in the case of the House of Commons, they may be laying on the clerk's table). Once the session comes to an end, however, all pending bills fall to the floor, and must be reintroduced at the next legislative session if they are to retain life.

In ordinary assemblies, these terms are less confusing but not entirely clear. A day for an ordinary assembly is a calendar day. It begins at 12 midnight and ends at 12 midnight. This is straightforward – no strange clockwork here. A session for an ordinary assembly is basically the carrying out of a single agenda or order of business. A meeting is a single sitting of the assembly, that is not separated by an adjournment though it may be separated by a recess. Adjourning always ends a meeting, while a recess allows a short break before continuing the meeting. (Thus, a meeting of an ordinary assembly is synonymous with a legislative day for a legislative body).

When a society or board meets, it is common practice to prepare a new agenda. Meetings are typically separated by a week, a month, or a quarter interval and it makes perfect sense to start with a new agenda. A new agenda initiates a session.  Most societies and boards complete the agenda before adjourning. For this reason, a session is typically a one-day meeting. Thus, in the case where an agenda is completed in one meeting, the duration of the meeting and the session are identical. Though it appears in this case that the terms meeting and session are synonymous, they are not. This is a source of confusion. It must be remembered that a session for an ordinary assembly is the consideration of a given agenda or order of business. It usually can be accomplished with one meeting, though additional meetings may be necessary.

Now, let’s examine a case where an ordinary assembly holds several meetings in close sequence. When ordinary assemblies hold a convention lasting a day or more, this constitutes one session. Many organizations refer to each convention meeting as a separate session (e.g., opening session, second session, and closing session). These are not actually sessions, but are individual meetings within a session. A convention agenda usually includes the items of business for the entire set of meetings. A new agenda is not adopted at the beginning of each day, but rather one agenda is adopted on the first day covering all the days. Thus, a multi-day convention is one session of several meetings, and one set of minutes can be drafted to cover the entire session. Sometimes, a large break takes place within the day so that the morning, afternoon, and evening sittings are actually individual meetings. Each such meeting should be concluded by adjourning, as the only proper way to end a meeting.

In legislative bodies, a bill cannot carry over from one session to another, but must be reintroduced. In ordinary assemblies, however, there are four ways that an item of business can carry over from session to session:

• The item is postponed to the next meeting (using the motion to Postpone to a Definite Time)

• The item is referred to a committee (using the motion to Commit/Refer)

• The item is laid upon the table (using the motion to Lay Upon The Table)

• The meeting/session adjourns before completing the agenda, and the business that was pending at adjournment becomes the first item business at the next meeting/session under Unfinished Business, followed by the items of business that were on the agenda but not considered before adjournment

There are two peculiarities known as special sessions and the adjourned meeting. Just as a legislature can have a special session, so can the ordinary assembly.  As with the legislature, there are special procedures for calling a special session and only the articles or items mentioned in the call can be considered.

A society or board that normally completes its agenda in a single sitting may encounter a volume of timely business that cannot be completed in a single sitting.  To complete the agenda, an adjourned meeting can be established.  An adjourned meeting is the continuation of a session through the scheduling of a second meeting.  This is accomplished by Fixing the Time To Which to Adjourn.  As all good parliamentarians know, one should not end a sentence with a preposition.  For the sake of comprehension, this motion could be stated as "Fixing the Time to Adjourn To."  Basically, it sets up the continuation of the session by establishing another meeting.  It can be moved by saying "I move that on adjournment, we adjourn to meet next Tuesday at the same time."  The second meeting will pick up consideration at the point on the agenda where the first meeting left off.  Thus, the two meetings will constitute one session.