By Rosson, et al.                                      S.R. No. 649
       74R8309 SRD-D
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, That Rule
    1-2  4.03, Rules of the Senate, 74th Legislature, be amended to read as
    1-3  follows:
    1-4                    INTERRUPTION OF MEMBER SPEAKING
    1-5        Rule 4.03.  (a)  No member shall interrupt another Senator
    1-6  who has the floor or otherwise interrupt the business of the
    1-7  Senate, except for the purpose of making a point of order, calling
    1-8  the member having the floor to order, moving the previous question,
    1-9  demanding that a point of order under discussion or consideration
   1-10  be immediately decided, or making a motion to adjourn or recess.
   1-11  Though another member has the floor, any member shall be recognized
   1-12  by the presiding officer in order to call to order the member, to
   1-13  make a point of order, to move the previous question, or to demand
   1-14  that a point of order be immediately decided.
   1-15        (b)  A member who has the floor must yield to permit the
   1-16  Senate to receive messages from the Governor and from the House of
   1-17  Representatives and shall not lose the floor.  A member who has the
   1-18  floor may yield for questions from other members and shall not lose
   1-19  the floor.  In the event a member is interrupted because of a
   1-20  motion to adjourn or recess and the motion fails, the floor shall
   1-21  be immediately returned to the interrupted member.  In the event
   1-22  the interrupted member was speaking under the previous question and
   1-23  a motion to adjourn or recess prevails, the member shall resume the
   1-24  floor and finish speaking when the bill is next considered by the
    2-1  Senate.
    2-2        (c)  Notwithstanding other provisions of this rule and Rule
    2-3  4.05, a member who has been speaking on a pending question
    2-4  continuously for four consecutive hours may request permission to
    2-5  be excused from the floor for five minutes, which permission shall
    2-6  be granted by the presiding officer.  The presiding officer shall
    2-7  fix the time for the member to resume the floor, at which time the
    2-8  member shall resume the floor and continue speaking on the pending
    2-9  question unless the Senate, during the member's absence from the
   2-10  floor, has proceeded to business other than the pending question.
   2-11  If the Senate has proceeded to business other than the pending
   2-12  question during the member's absence, the member shall immediately
   2-13  resume the floor when consideration of the pending question recurs.
   2-14  If the member is absent from the floor at the time fixed for the
   2-15  member to return, or when the pending question recurs, the member
   2-16  shall lose the floor.