Which term is interchangeable with 'motion' as the proposal to take action?

• A. Recommendation
• B. Question
• C. Quorum
• D. Receive a report

Answer: (B)

In meeting procedure, a motion is the formal proposal to take action. The term used for that same propositional matter is the question—the question before the assembly. When a member says a motion is on the floor, the chair often reframes it as the question to be decided, and the debate, amendments, and vote all revolve around that question. So the word “question” and “motion” point to the same thing: the matter the group is deciding.

The other terms don’t fit as well. A recommendation is typically what a committee or presenter suggests, not the formal procedural name for the act of proposing action. Quorum refers to the minimum number of members needed to conduct business, not to the proposal itself. Receiving a report is a specific action related to a report, rather than the general term for the proposal to act.