Quorum
In the Legal Latin feature of this issue quorum is defined in the context of corporate meetings, however quorums are also used in legislative bodies.In the US Senate, a quorum is the number of Senators (51) who must be present before business may be conducted in the Senate. In practice, unless challenged by a point of order, the Senate conducts daily business without a quorum present. If a senator notes the absence of a quorum a quorum call is initiated. Noting the absence of a quorum is a point of order that may have more than one purpose. Most often it is used to delay proceedings while the names of senators are read to await absent senators or to hold private conversations. So-called “live” quorum calls are used to seek to bring a majority to the Senate floor.
As in the Senate, the House of Representatives requires a quorum to be present to transact business. In the House a quorum requires the presence of 218. When the House meets as the Committee of Whole, the number of members required to constitute a quorum drops to 100 -- the Committee of the Whole is the entire House meeting in the form of a committee, which allows members to follow the more expeditious rules of a committee. The House also as a quorum call procedure that is used to bring a majority of members to the floor to record their presence.
In both the House and Senate, legislative committees generally require a quorum in order to conduct business at the Executive Business Meetings of the respective committees.
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