| Printed Page 40, Dec. 6, 1994 | Printed Page 60, Dec. 6, 1994 |

Provided, further, that unless a majority of the House members object, the House shall recede at 1:00 p.m. for luncheon and reconvene at 2:15 p.m. This proviso shall not apply when the House is debating on Special Orders.

Provided, further, that unless ordered otherwise the House shall consider only local uncontested matters on Friday of each week.

6.2 All questions as to priority of business, or as to the time when any matters shall be considered or ordered for consideration and as to a departure from the regular order of business shall be decided without debate.

6.3 When the House shall not direct a different course, which, at any time, in any particular not forbidden by these Rules, it may do, the following order of business shall be enforced every day by the Speaker, except that Special Orders as defined in subsection 14a of this rule shall be considered at the time and place set.

1. a. Prayer;

b. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America;

2. corrections to the Journal;

3. receipt of communications including messages from the Senate;

4. reports of committees including Conference and Free Conference;

5. First reading of House Resolutions, Concurrent Resolutions, Committee Reports on Resolutions, Joint Resolutions, and Bills upon the desk;

6. call of the roll of the House;

7. a. consideration of local uncontested bills and joint resolutions on third reading;

b. consideration of local uncontested bills and joint resolutions on second reading;

8. a. consideration of statewide uncontested bills and joint resolutions on third reading;

b. consideration of statewide uncontested bills and joint resolutions on second reading;

9. withdrawal of objections;

10. consideration of pending motions to reconsider;

b. consideration of local contested bills and joint resolutions on third reading;

12. consideration of statewide contested bills and joint resolutions on third reading in the order in which they appear on the Calendar;

13. a. motion period;

b. consideration of local contested bills and joint resolutions on second reading;

14. consideration of statewide contested bills and joint resolutions on second reading in the order in which they appear on the Calendar;

a. Notwithstanding the order of business set forth in Rule 6.3 a matter may be set for Special Order for consideration on a particular day at a particular hour or at a particular place on the Calendar;

b. Special orders may be set for appropriations bills and local bills by majority vote of the House. Special order on all other bills on the Calendar shall be set only by written resolution, which has been referred to the Rules Committee or originates therein, and agreed to by two-thirds of the members of that committee and agreed to by majority of the members of the House present after the committee has made its report; provided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 9 governing the amendability of bills and resolutions, no amendments may be offered to any special order resolution which amendments do not pertain to the bill which is the subject of the special order resolution, except as to the time and date called for in such resolution.

Provided, that for the purpose of explaining any special order resolution the time limit for opponents shall not exceed five minutes and the time limit for proponents shall not exceed five minutes.

c. A Special Order set for a certain day and hour, not being considered by the House at the hour named shall be transferred by the Clerk of the House to the Special Orders of the following day until disposed of, in the chronological order of original appointment.

Any member may insist upon a Special Order of the Day, or other Special Orders, until it be discharged.

d. The motion period provided for the daily order of business under Rule 6.3 shall be limited to ten minutes only.

Provided, however, that time consumed by roll call votes shall not be construed as part of time allotted to said motions.

Provided, further, that during a motion period no motion shall be withdrawn after a substitute has been offered therefor.

e. Consideration of uncontested local bills and joint resolutions on third and second readings as provided in subsection 7a and b of this rule

f. Consideration of uncontested statewide bills and joint resolutions on third and second readings as provided in subsection 8a and b of this rule shall be limited to a total of thirty minutes only.

g. No debate shall be allowed in the uncontested period, provided, however, the Speaker may recognize a proponent and opponent of any uncontested bill or joint resolution for a brief explanation of their position.

h. Consideration of unanimous consent requests as provided for in subsection 11 of this rule shall be limited to five minutes only. No unanimous consent requests except those unanimous consent requests dealing with the pending matter may be considered at any time other than during the time provided for in subsection 11 of this rule.

6.4 A debate interrupted by a simple adjournment shall afterwards be resumed at the point of interruption as if debate had been formally adjourned. A matter interrupted by a call for the Orders of the Day shall, after the Orders have been disposed of, be resumed at the point of interruption before any other question.

6.5 Messages may be received at any time while the door is open, except while a question is being put, or a ballot, or a viva voce vote is taken. A message shall be presented to the House by the Speaker when received, or afterwards, according to its nature, and the business in which the House is engaged; or its consideration may, on motion, be ordered by the House.

6.6 In all particulars not determined by these Rules, or by the laws of the Constitution of this State, or of the United States, the practice of this House shall conform to its previous usage, or be guided by parliamentary law as it may be collected from the best authorities, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure being the preferred parliamentary authority.

7.1 If, upon a question by acclamation, the Speaker doubts, or a division be called for, the House shall divide by those in the affirmative first rising from their seats, then those in the negative. If the Speaker still doubts, or a count be required, the Speaker shall name one member from each side to tell the numbers in the affirmative and those in the negative, and from their report shall state the decision. Provided, that division

7.2 Upon any question, at the request of any ten members who may signify their requests by rising, the yeas and nays shall be ordered; whereupon, at the decision, the electronic roll call system shall be used and the procedure provided for in Rule 7.3 shall be followed.

7.3 a. When the House is ready to vote upon any question requiring the yeas and nays and the vote is to be taken by the electronic roll call system, the Speaker shall state: `The pending question is ...... (designating the matter to be voted upon).' The Speaker shall then unlock the voting machine and announce: `The members shall now proceed to vote.' He shall then sound the bell. Once the voting has begun, it shall not be interrupted, except for the purpose of questioning the validity of a member's vote before the result is announced.

b. Two minutes after the bell has been sounded, the Speaker shall ask the question: `Have all members present voted?' After a pause, the Speaker shall lock the machine and instruct the Clerk to record the vote and the Speaker shall announce the result of the vote.

c. After the voting machine is locked, no member may change his vote and the votes of tardy members shall not be counted.

d. Subject to the provisions of Rule 2.10, the vote as electronically recorded on the roll of members shall not in any manner be altered or changed by any person.

e. No member shall vote for another member, nor shall any person not a member vote for a member. Any member who shall vote or attempt to vote for another member or a person not a member who shall vote or attempt to vote for a member may be punished in such manner as the House determines.

f. Any member or other person who wilfully tampers with or attempts to disarrange, deface, impair or destroy in any manner whatsoever the electronic - voting equipment or who destroys or changes

Provided, however, the minimum penalty for violation of Rule 7.3 shall be a public reprimand.

g. A member who has been appointed by the Speaker to preside as Speaker Pro Tempore may designate another member to cast his vote on any question while he is presiding in accordance with his instructions from the Chair.

h. A member recorded as voting while absent from the chamber shall present to the presiding officer an affidavit attesting to this fact. Any member may also report to the presiding officer his knowledge that another member was recorded as voting while absent from the chamber. If the affidavit of the member whose vote is in question is presented within forty-eight hours of the vote, the presiding officer shall adjust the vote totals to reflect the affidavit and order action on the question in accordance with the adjusted vote total. If the member filing the affidavit or any other member has knowledge of the identity of the person who voted for him while absent, he shall present this information to the presiding officer who shall refer it to the Ethics Committee for consideration of any recommendation of punishment in accordance with this rule.

i. Each member must be issued one key by the Sergeant at Arms to activate the key lock on the voting console on his desk to operate the electronic voting system. That key may not be duplicated by the member nor may a duplicate be issued to a member. The key must not be left in the key lock at any time while the member is not within the outer doors of the Chamber. If a member loses his key, a replacement will be issued by the Sergeant at Arms at the member's expense. If a member is temporarily without his key while the House is in session, the Sergeant at Arms will provide a temporary key to that member at the member's request for that day only, and that key may not be removed from the House Chamber.

7.4 If the electronic roll call machine is declared by the Speaker of the House to be inoperative, the `Yeas' and `Nays' shall be taken by the Reading Clerk calling each member's name in alphabetical order and each member responding by answering simply: `Yea' or `Nay'. Every member who may be in the House when called may give his vote.

Provided, further, that when the electronic roll call system is being used to record votes, the doors shall not be closed and members shall be permitted to vote as provided in Rule 7.3.

7.5 No member shall, under any circumstances, be permitted to vote after a decision shall have been announced by the Chair. After the

7.6 No member shall be permitted to explain his vote during a roll call, but may reduce his explanation to writing, in not more than 200 words, and upon filing with the Clerk, this explanation shall be entered upon the Journal.

7.7 When the pending question is the passage of any bill or resolution on the contested Calendar on second reading, the yeas and nays shall always be taken by roll call and the votes thereon shall be recorded in the Journal.

7.8 Pairing shall be permitted only upon the absence of a member for good cause and shall be in writing and specifically state the bill or bills or questions upon which pairs are arranged. Pairs shall be filed with the Clerk and recorded in the Journal as an indication of how absent members would have voted. The present member need announce only that he is paired as an explanation of why he is not voting.

8.1 No motion shall be debated until it shall have been stated by the Speaker. Any motion shall, if desired by the Speaker or any other member, be reduced to writing and delivered at the desk and read, before it shall be debated.

8.2 The mover may withdraw any question or proposition before an amendment or decision, after the same has been ordered, except a demand for the yeas and nays and except after the previous question has been ordered.

8.3 No dilatory motion shall be entertained by the Speaker, prior precedents to the contrary notwithstanding.

8.4 A question before the House shall be suspended by:

1. a message;

2. a report or resolution of the Committee on Rules, Conference, Free Conference or Invitations;

3. a question of order;

4. a question of privilege;

5. a question of taking recess;

6. any other incidental questions, such as of reading papers, dividing a question, withdrawing a motion, excusing a member from voting, or the like; of which the five first named may suspend even a

8.5 When a question is under debate only those motions herein below shall be received and notwithstanding the provisions of any other Rule, none of such motions except the motion to adjourn or recede, a motion to continue, or a motion for the previous question shall be considered until the conclusion of such debate. Such motions shall require a simple majority vote unless otherwise specified:

1. to adjourn or recede;

2. to continue;

3. to lay on the table;

4. for the previous question (fifty percent of those present and voting, a quorum being present, plus five);

5. to postpone indefinitely, or to a day beyond the session;

6. to adjourn the debate to a certain day within the session;

7. to commit or recommit.

These motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are hereinabove arranged.

Provided, a motion to reconsider shall be received and noted while a speech is being made but notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 8.14, shall be considered immediately after disposal of the pending matter or pursuant to Rule 6.3, subparagraph 10, whichever shall come first.

8.6 The previous question upon any matter may be invoked as follows:

a. Immediate cloture. Upon an affirmative vote on a motion for the previous question (fifty percent of those present and voting, a quorum being present, plus five, being required to interrupt debate and a simple majority vote at all other times), the amendments then upon the desk shall be considered, but no further amendments shall be allowed to be offered. The sponsor of an amendment shall be allowed an opportunity to make a short explanation of his amendment for a period not to exceed three minutes, then opponents to the amendment shall be permitted not more than three minutes to oppose the proposed amendment. Then two hours of debate shall be allowed on the bill as and if amended, the time being equally divided between opponents and proponents with no person to speak more than ten minutes.

Provided, any member who has been recognized by the Speaker and is speaking from the podium, is considered to be debating the issue and a call for the previous question, whether by the member or any other member, requires the necessary fifty percent of those present and voting plus five.

Provided, further, that during the two hour period immediately preceding delayed cloture, but after the vote for same, all actions otherwise possible, including putting amendments on the desk, may be accomplished.

8.7 A motion to recess may state the time for reconvening and in the absence of such time stated, reconvening shall be at the call of the Chair.

8.8 A motion to strike out the enacting words of a bill, or resolving words of a resolution shall have precedence of a motion to amend, and, if carried, shall be considered as equivalent to rejection.

8.9 When a motion is made during a motion period, the Speaker shall entertain but two substitute motions which shall be considered in their inverse order.

8.10 Any member may without debate, call for the division of a question, and the House may divide the question if it shall appear to comprehend the question so distinct that, one being taken away, the rest may stand entire for decision. A motion to strike out and insert shall be deemed indivisible, but a motion to strike out being lost shall not be deemed equivalent to agreement, nor shall it preclude either amendment or a motion to strike out and insert.

8.11 a. The following motions shall be decided by simple majority unless otherwise specified and without debate after such short remarks as the Speaker may permit:

to adjourn;

to take a recess;

to continue;

to commit or recommit;

to lay on the table;

for the previous question;

to take up any matters in the orders of the day not regularly reached;

to proceed to the orders of the day;

to adjourn a debate;

to recur to the morning hour;

to fix the hour to which the House shall next meet;

b. The following motions must be permitted at the same stage of the bill or proposition after one hour of time has elapsed since the same question was before negatived:

for the previous question;

to lay on the table;

to postpone or adjourn a debate;

to continue;

to commit or recommit;

to recur to the morning hour.

8.12 Motions to adjourn, to recede, and to recede subject to the call of the Chair, shall always be in order, except while the House is actually engaged in deciding a question by yeas and nays, or in voting viva voce, or in balloting; but a motion to adjourn, or to take a recess, having been negatived, no new motion to adjourn or take a recess shall be in order until fifteen minutes shall have elapsed from the decision of the former motion, even though such motion to recede might be to recede to a different time.

8.13 Indefinite postponement shall dispose of the question.

8.14 When a question shall have been once decided in the affirmative or negative, any member who voted with the prevailing side may, on the same day or the next day of the sitting of the House, move for a reconsideration thereof, and the House if in session for Statewide Matters, and at any time other than while Special Orders are being considered, shall immediately have the question of reconsideration before it. If the House is not in session for Statewide Matters or have before it a matter under Special Order, it shall have the question of reconsideration before it as provided in Rule 6.4. If the House shall refuse to reconsider, or, upon reconsideration, shall affirm its first decision, no further motion shall be in order except by unanimous consent, provided, that once a motion to reconsider is made it may not be withdrawn except in the same day in which it was made.

Provided, that the bill, resolution, message, report, amendment, motion, or the paper upon which the vote was taken shall not have gone out of the possession of the House.

A motion to reconsider may be laid on the table without affecting the question with reference to which the same is made; and if such motion be laid on the table, it shall be deemed a final disposition of the motion.

If a motion to continue, having received an affirmative vote, shall be reconsidered and thereupon such motion to continue shall receive a negative vote, the matter shall be immediately taken up and the member having the floor at the time the debate was interrupted shall resume.

9.1 A bill which originated in the House, or which, having originated in the Senate and having been amended by the House, shall be returned from the Senate with amendments, such bill as amended shall be printed, placed on the House Calendar, and shall not be read until such printed copy has been on the desks of the members for at least one day previous to such reading. Provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply to local bills.

The consideration of amendments shall have precedence over a motion to either concur or nonconcur in the Senate amendments.

If no amendments have been adopted by the House then the question shall be: `Will the House agree to the Senate amendment?' A decision in the negative shall be a rejection. Upon a decision in the affirmative, the title of the bill shall be changed to an Act, and ordered to be enrolled.

9.2 At the third reading of a bill, no amendment shall be permitted without unanimous consent, except that the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means may (if he shall have given notice at the second reading of his intention to offer amendments at the third) be permitted to offer amendments to any bill to raise supplies or to make appropriations, such as may be pertinent to the bill; and, the chairman of any committee may (if he has given notice at the second reading of his intention to offer an amendment at the third) be permitted to offer a technical amendment to any bill which has been reported from his committee; and,

Provided, that the House may, in its discretion, commit or recommit any bill at its third reading; and after the report of the committee any amendment which it shall recommend may be adopted.

| Printed Page 40, Dec. 6, 1994 | Printed Page 60, Dec. 6, 1994 |