AMENDMENT

amendment.  1.  A  formal  revision  or  addition  proposed  or  made  to  a  statute,  constitution,

pleading,  order,  or  other  instrument; specif.,  a  change  made  by  addition,  deletion,  or  correction;

esp.,  an  alteration  in  wording.  [Cases:  Constitutional  Law    4,  10;  Statutes    131.  C.J.S.

Constitutional Law §§ 5–6; Statutes§ 243.] 2. The process of making such a revision.

amendment as of course.An amendment, usu. to pleadings, that a party has a statutory right to

apply for without the court’s permission.

amendment  on  court’s  own  motion.A  change  to  a  pleading  or  other  document  by  the  judge

without  a  motion  from  a  party.  [Cases:  Federal  Civil  Procedure    826;  Pleading    232.  C.J.S.

Pleading § 326.]

nunc  pro  tunc  amendment  (n<<schwa>>ngk  proh  t<<schwa>>ngkornuungk  proh  tuungk).

An  amendment  that  is  given  retroactive  effect,  usu.  by  court  order.  [Cases:  Judgment    326;

Motions    56(2). C.J.S. Judgments § 299; Motions and Orders §§ 51, 61.]

3.Parliamentary  law.  A  motion  that  changes  another  motion’s  wording  by  striking  out  text,

inserting or adding text, or substituting text. See AMEND (2). Cf. BLANK(2).

amendment by adding.An amendment that places new wording at the end of a motion or of a

paragraph or other readily divisible part within a motion. • Some authorities treat amendment by

adding as a form of amendment by inserting. Cf. amendment by inserting.

amendment by inserting.An amendment that places new wording within or around a motion’s

current wording. • Some authorities distinguish amendment by adding, which places new wording

after the current wording, from amendment by inserting. Cf. amendment by adding.

amendment  by  striking  out.An  amendment  that  removes  wording  from  a  motion’s  current

amendment by striking out and inserting.An amendment that removes wording and replaces

it with alternative wording. • The motion can properly apply only to inserting wording in place of

the  wording  being  struck  out;  it  cannot  strike  out  some  wording  and  insert  new  wording  in  a

different place. See amendment by substituting; CREATE A BLANK.

amendment by substituting. 1. A special type of amendment by striking out and inserting that

replaces an entire main motion or a paragraph or other readily divisible part within a main motion;

an  amendment  of  greater scope than  a  perfecting  amendment.  Cf.  perfecting  amendment. 2.  An

amendment by striking  out and inserting.  See amendment by striking  out and inserting. —  Also

termed  amendment  in  the  nature  of  a  substitute  (in  sense  1);  substitute;  substitution;  substitute

amendment. • Parliamentary  writers  differ  on  when  an  amendment  by  striking  out and  inserting

qualifies as an amendment by substituting. Some manuals treat the two as equivalent and apply the

same rules to them. Others  maintain that an amendment  is not a substitute  unless it replaces the

entire  main  motion  —  or  at  least  a  readily  divisible  part  within  the  main  motion  —  and  apply

different rules to an amendment by substituting than to a less drastic amendment.

amendment in the nature of a substitute.See amendment by substituting (1).

amendment of the first degree.See primary amendment.

amendment of the first rank.See primary amendment.

amendment of the second degree.See secondary amendment.

amendment of the second rank.See secondary amendment.

amendment to the amendment.See secondary amendment.

amendment to the main question.See primary amendment.

amendment to the text.See primary amendment.

committee  amendment.An  amendment  to  a  motion  reported  by  a  committee  to  which  the

motion was referred.

first-degree amendment.See primary amendment.

floor  amendment.An  amendment  offered  from  the  floor  by  an  individual  member,  as

distinguished from a committee amendment. Cf. committee amendment.

friendly  amendment.An  amendment that  the  mover  of  the  motion  being  amended  supports,

and to which no other member objects.

“The term ‘friendly amendment’ is often used to describe an amendment offered by someone

who is in sympathy with the purposes of the main motion, in the belief that the amendment will

either  improve  the  statement  or  effect  of  the  main  motion,  presumably  to  the  satisfaction  of  its

maker, or will increase the  chances of the  main  motion’s adoption. Regardless of  whether  or not

the maker of the main motion ‘accepts’ the amendment, it must be opened to debate and voted on

formally  (unless  adopted  by  unanimous  consent)  and  is  handled  under  the  same  rules  as

amendments generally.”  Henry  M. Robert,  Robert’s  Rules  of  Order  Newly  Revised  §  12, at  154

(10th ed. 2000).

“Often, such an amendment is proposed as a ‘friendly amendment,’ simply indicating that the

member proposing the amendment feels it will be acceptable to the maker of the main motion. If

the  maker  of  the  original  motion  does  not wish to  accept the  amendment,  the  amendment  must

then receive a second to come before the assembly, and will receive the usual consideration by the

assembly. However, even the acceptance of the proposed amendment by the maker of the motion

is simply a statement of support, and every member of the assembly retains the right to object to

the amendment’s adoption by general consent, and to debate and vote on the amendment.” Alice

Sturgis, The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure 53 (4th ed. 2001).

hostile amendment.An amendment that is opposed by the supporters of the main motion.

killer amendment.An amendment that has the effect, intended or not, of ensuring the defeat of

the main motion.

nongermane  amendment.An  amendment  that  adds  an  unrelated  rider.  •  A  nongermane

amendment  is  out  of  order  in  most  ordinary  assemblies  and  many  legislative  bodies.  But  some

legislative  bodies,  in  jurisdictions  where  legislation  may  embrace  more  than  one  subject,  allow

nongermane amendments to a bill. See RIDER.

perfecting  amendment.An  amendment  that  merely  edits  the  form  of  a  main  motion  or  a

primary amendment but does not substantially change its content; an amendment of lesser scope

than an amendment by substituting. Cf. amendment by substituting (1).

primary  amendment.An  amendment  that  directly  amends  the  main  motion.  Cf.  secondary

pro  forma  amendment.An  amendment  moved  solely  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  floor

and treated as with-drawn once the mover has spoken. • The customary pro forma amendment in

Congress is a motion “to strike the last word.”

secondary amendment.An amendment that alters a pending primary amendment. Cf. primary

second-degree amendment.See secondary amendment.

substitute amendment. 1. A secondary amendment that substantially replaces rather than edits

a primary amendment. 2. See amendment by substituting. [Blacks Law 8th]