| Quorum Call |
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What happens after debate stops depends on the legislature in question. In the United States Congress , bells are rung in the various congressional office buildings to indicate to members that their presence is required in their respective chambers. Members of the House use the same electronic system as is used for voting to register their presence; in the Senate , one of the clerks will read out a roll call of Senators, who indicate their presence when called. Because of differences in procedure between the two bodies, quorum calls in the House are fairly rare, but they are quite common in the Senate. In both houses, while quorum calls officially last fifteen minutes, the actual amount of time given is at the discretion of the presiding officer. A motion to adjourn for lack of a quorum may be raised after the quorum call if an insufficient number of members present themselves. However, if the business is especially important, the members present may instead move a Call Of The House which will force all members to attend. In the Parliament Of Australia , the quorum call is spoken by a member or Senator "drawing the Speaker to the state of the House" (replacing Speaker by President and House by Senate, in the Senate). Quorum calls last for the same length as a call for a division, four minutes. The presence of a quorum is judged by the presiding officer. Members of Parliament however are not obliged to be seated and can stand in the chamber (but not at the seats, as this may be mistaken for the member seeking the call). |
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