By: Dunnam, Gallego, Coleman H.R. No. 33
R E S O L U T I O N
Amending the House Rules to provide for transparency and ethical
leadership in the operations of the House.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
TEXAS:
SECTION 1. OPEN RECORDS - PRESERVATION OF AMENDMENTS. Rule
2, Section (1)(a), and Rule 11, Section 6, of the permanent Rules of
Procedure of the House of Representatives of the 79th Legislature
are amended to read as follows:
RULE 2. EMPLOYEES
Sec. 1. CHIEF CLERK. The chief clerk shall:
(1) be the custodian of all bills, [and] resolutions,
and amendments;
RULE 11. AMENDMENTS
Sec. 6. COPIES OF AN AMENDMENT. (a) Five copies of each
amendment shall be filed with the speaker. When the amendment is
read, two copies shall go to the chief clerk, one copy to the
journal clerk, one copy to the reading clerk, and one copy to the
speaker. No amendment offered from the floor shall be in order
unless the sponsoring member has complied with the provisions of
this section with respect to copies of the amendment. The chief
clerk shall retain one copy of each amendment filed with the speaker
under this section.
(e) The speaker shall not recognize a member to offer an
original amendment that exceeds one page in length and that is in
the form of a complete substitute for the bill or resolution laid
before the house, or in the opinion of the speaker is a substantial
substitute, unless 25 copies of the amendment have been provided to
the chief clerk and were available in the chief clerk's office at
least 12 hours prior to the time the calendar on which the bill or
resolution to be amended is eligible for consideration. [The chief
clerk shall not be required to retain, for possible consideration
in the future, copies of an amendment to a measure that is
recommitted or returned to committee.]
(g) The speaker shall not recognize a member to offer an
original amendment to a bill extending an agency, commission, or
advisory committee under the Texas Sunset Act unless 25 copies of
the amendment have been provided to the chief clerk and were
available in the chief clerk's office at least 12 hours prior to the
time the calendar on which the bill or resolution to be amended is
eligible for consideration. [The chief clerk shall not be required
to retain, for possible consideration in the future, copies of an
amendment to a measure that is recommitted or returned to
committee.]
SECTION 2. OPEN RECORDS - PUBLIC REAL-TIME ACCESS TO
AMENDMENTS. Rule 11, Section 6, of the permanent Rules of Procedure
of the House of Representatives of the 79th Legislature is amended
by adding a new Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) The Committee on House Administration shall ensure
that:
(1) the floor amendment system through which members
of the house may view an electronic image of current or past
amendments, or the system's successor in function, is available to
the public on the Internet; and
(2) members of the public using the system available
on the Internet may view the same information that members may view
at the same time that members may view the information.
SECTION 3. OPEN PROCESS - ALL VOTES RECORDED AND PUBLIC
REAL-TIME ACCESS TO RECORD VOTES. Rule 1, Section 7, Rule 2,
Sections 1 and 2, Rule 5, Sections 51 and 52, Rule 7, Sections 21 and
37, and Rule 11, Section 10(b), of the permanent Rules of Procedure
of the House of Representatives of the 79th Legislature are amended
to read as follows:
RULE 1. THE SPEAKER.
Sec. 7. STATING AND VOTING ON QUESTIONS. The speaker shall
rise to put a question but may state it sitting. The question shall
be put substantially in this form: "The question occurs on
______" (here state the question or proposition under
consideration). "All in favor say 'Aye,'" and after the affirmative
vote is expressed, "All opposed say 'No.'" The yeas and nays shall
be considered as ordered when the speaker puts a question without
further action by a member or the house. [If the speaker is in doubt
as to the result, or if a division is called for, the house shall
divide: those voting in the affirmative on the question shall
register "Aye" on the voting machine, and those voting in the
negative on the question shall register "No."] The decision of the
house on the question shall be printed in the journal and shall
include the yeas and nays [if a record of the yeas and nays is
ordered in accordance with the rules].
RULE 2. EMPLOYEES
SEC. 1. CHIEF CLERK. The chief clerk shall:
(11) be responsible for noting on each house bill or
joint resolution, for certification by the speaker of the house,
the lieutenant governor, the chief clerk of the house, and the
secretary of the senate, the following information:
(A) date of final passage, and the vote on final
passage, including the yeas and nays [if a record of the yeas and
nays is ordered]. If the bill was amended in the senate, this fact
shall also be noted;
(B) date of concurrence by the house in senate
amendments, and the vote on concurrence, including the yeas and
nays [if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered];
(C) date of adoption by each house of a
conference committee report and the vote on adoption, including the
yeas and nays [if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered];
SEC. 2. JOURNAL CLERK. The journal clerk shall:
(1) keep a journal of the proceedings of the house,
except when the house is acting as a committee of the whole, and
enter the following:
(G) every [vote where a] record of the yeas and
nays [is ordered] or registration of the house with a concise
statement of the action and the result;
(L) all pairs as a part of the [a vote where a]
record of the yeas and nays [is ordered];
[(N) the vote of a member on any question where a
record of the yeas and nays has not been ordered;]
RULE 5. FLOOR PROCEDURE
Sec. 51. TAKING AND ENTRY OF YEA AND NAY VOTE IN JOURNAL ON
ALL QUESTIONS[; EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF BILL OR JOINT RESOLUTION
WITHOUT OBJECTION]. The [(a) At the desire of any member present,
the] yeas and nays of the members of the house on each and every
[any] question shall be taken and entered in the journal. [No
member or members shall be allowed to call for a yea and nay vote
after a vote has been declared by the speaker.] A motion to expunge
a yea and nay vote from the journal shall not be in order. This rule
may not be suspended.
[(b) Passage of a bill or joint resolution "without
objection" is the functional equivalent of a recorded vote in that
the journal will show that every member present must have favored
passage of the measure unless the member exercised the opportunity
to register the member's vote otherwise. However, passage of a bill
or joint resolution "without objection" does not satisfy a
requirement that the vote by taken by yeas and nays and entered in
the journal under the Texas Constitution or another rule, including
Rule 8, Section 19, relating to the vote required for a bill to have
immediate effect.]
Sec. 52. REAL-TIME ACCESS BY PUBLIC TO YEAS AND NAYS. The
Committee on House Administration shall ensure:
(1) that the yeas and nays on each and every question
are available to the public on the Internet; and
(2) members of the public shall be able to view the
yeas and nays on the Internet immediately after the yeas and nays
have been taken and the speaker has declared the result [JOURNAL
RECORDING OF VOTES ON ANY QUESTION. On any question where a record
of the yeas and nays has not been ordered, members may have their
votes recorded in the journal as "yea" or "nay" by filing such
information with the journal clerk before adjournment or recess to
another calendar day].
RULE 7. MOTIONS
Sec. 21. MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION. There shall be a
motion for the previous question, which shall be admitted only when
seconded by 25 members. It shall be put by the chair in this manner:
"The motion has been seconded. Three minutes pro and con debate
will be allowed on the motion for ordering the previous question."
As soon as the debate has ended, the chair shall continue: "As many
as are in favor of ordering the previous question on (here state on
which question or questions) will say 'Aye,'" and then, "As many as
are opposed say 'Nay.'" As in all other propositions, a motion for
the previous question shall [may] be taken by a record vote of the
yeas and nays [if demanded by any member]. If ordered by a majority
of the members voting, a quorum being present, it shall have the
effect of cutting off all debate, except as provided in Section 23
of this rule, and bringing the house to a direct vote on the
immediate question or questions on which it has been asked and
ordered.
Sec. 37. MOTION TO RECONSIDER A VOTE. (a) When a question
has been decided by the house [and the yeas and nays have been
called for and recorded], any member voting with the prevailing
side may, on the same legislative day, or on the next legislative
day, move a reconsideration; however, if a reconsideration is moved
on the next legislative day, it must be done before the order of the
day, as designated in the 11th item of Rule 6, Section 1(a), is
taken up. If the house refuses to reconsider, or on
reconsideration, affirms its decision, no further action to
reconsider shall be in order.
[(b) Where the yeas and nays have not been called for and
recorded, any member, regardless of whether he or she voted on the
prevailing side or not, may make the motion to reconsider; however,
even when the yeas and nays have not been recorded, the following
shall not be eligible to make a motion to reconsider:
(1) a member who was absent;
(2) a member who was paired and, therefore, did not
vote; and
(3) a member who was recorded in the journal as having
voted on the losing side.]
RULE 11. AMENDMENTS
Sec. 10. MOTION TO LIMIT AMENDMENTS.
(b) The motion shall be put by the chair in this manner:
"The motion has been seconded. Three minutes pro and con debate
will be allowed on the motion to limit amendments." As soon as the
debate has ended, the chair shall continue: "As many as are in
favor of limiting amendments on (here state on which question or
questions) will say 'Aye,'" and then "As many as are opposed
say 'Nay.'" As in all other propositions, a motion to limit
amendments shall be decided by a record vote of the yeas and nays
[if demanded by any member]. If ordered by a majority of the
members voting, a quorum being present, the motion shall have the
effect of confining further debate and consideration to those
amendments included within the motion, and thereafter the chair
will accept no more amendments to the proposition to which the
motion is applied.
SECTION. 4. OPEN PROCESS -- NO SECRET CONFERENCE
COMMITTEES. Rule 13, Sections 6, 7, and 10, of the permanent Rules
of Procedure of the House of Representatives of the 79th
Legislature is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 6. MEMBERSHIP AND OPERATION. (a) In all conferences
between the senate and the house by committee, the number of
committee members from each house shall be five.
(b) All votes on matters of difference shall be taken by
each committee separately.
(c) A majority of each committee shall be required to
determine the matter in dispute. No action or recommendation of the
house conferees shall be valid unless taken at a meeting of the
house conferees with a quorum of the house conferees actually
present, and the conferees' minutes shall reflect the names of
those house conferees who were actually present.
(d) Reports to be adopted must be provided to the house
conferees at least 12 hours before the convening of the meeting at
which the report is to be adopted. Reports by conference committees
must be adopted by a record vote of the house conferees, with the
yeas and nays recorded in the conferee's minutes and must be signed
by a majority of each committee of the conference.
(e) House conferees may not knowingly meet in numbers less
than a quorum in an attempt to circumvent the provisions of this
section or Section 7.
Sec. 7. MEETINGS. (a) House conferees [when meeting with
senate conferees to adjust differences] shall meet only in public
and shall give [a reasonable amount of] notice of the meeting as
provided by Rule 4, Section 11(b) and shall post the notice in the
place designated for giving notice of meetings of house standing
committees.
(b) All meetings [Any such meeting] shall be open to other
members, the public, and the news media. The house conferees shall
cause minutes to be kept of each meeting and filed as provided by
Rule 4, Section 18.
(c) Any conference committee report adopted in violation of
Section 6 or this section [private] shall not be considered by the
house.
Sec. 10. PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS.
(d) Before action can be taken by the house on a conference
committee report on a tax bill or resolution, a tax equity note
estimating the general effects of the conference committee report
on the distribution of tax and fee burdens among individuals and
businesses shall be submitted to the chief clerk and attached to the
conference committee report on its printing.
SECTION 5. OPEN PROCESS - OPEN MEETINGS ACT APPLICATION.
Rule 4, Section 11, of the permanent Rules of Procedure of the House
of Representatives of the 79th Legislature is amended by adding a
new Section 7 to read as follows.
RULE 4. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE.
Sec. 11. POSTING NOTICE. (a) No committee or
subcommittee, including a calendars committee, shall assemble for
the purpose of a public hearing during a regular session unless
notice of the hearing has been posted in accordance with the rules
and Section 551.044, Government Code [at least five calendar days
in advance of the hearing]. No committee or subcommittee,
including a calendars committee, shall assemble for the purpose of
a public hearing during a special session unless notice of the
hearing has been posted in accordance with the rules and Section
551.043, Government Code, [at least 24 hours in advance of the
hearing]. The committee minutes shall reflect the date of each
posting of notice. Notice shall not be required for a public
hearing on a senate bill which is identical to [substantially the
same as] a house bill that has previously been the subject of a duly
posted public hearing by the committee.
(b) No committee or subcommittee, including a calendars
committee, shall assemble for the purpose of a formal meeting or
work session during a regular or special session unless written
notice has been posted and transmitted to each member of the
committee two hours in advance of the meeting or an announcement has
been filed with the journal clerk and read by the reading clerk
while the house is in session.
(c) All committees meeting during the interim for the
purpose of a formal meeting, work session, or public hearing shall
post notice in accordance with the rules and Section 551.044,
Government Code, and notify members of the committee at least seven
[five] calendar days in advance of the meeting.
SECTION 6. OPEN PROCESS - CALENDAR RULE REFORM. Rule 6,
Section 16(f), of the permanent Rules of Procedure of the House of
Representatives of the 79th Legislature is amended to read as
follows:
(f) If the Committee on Calendars has proposed a rule for
floor consideration of a bill or resolution that is eligible to be
placed on a calendar of the daily house calendar, the rule must be
printed and a copy distributed to each member. If the bill or
resolution to which the rule will apply has already been placed on a
calendar of the daily house calendar, a copy of the rule must be
attached to the printed calendar on which the bill or resolution
appears. The speaker shall lay a proposed rule before the house 72
hours prior to the consideration of the bill or resolution to which
the rule will apply. The rule may be laid before the house anytime
after a copy of the rule has been distributed to each member and
laid out in accordance with this subsection. The rule shall not be
subject to amendment, but to be effective, the rule must be approved
by the house by an affirmative vote of two-thirds [a majority] of
those members present and voting. If approved by the house in
accordance with this subsection, the rule will be effective for the
consideration of the bill or resolution on both second and third
readings.
SECTION 7. GENERAL DEFINITION. Rule 14 of the permanent
Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives of the 79th
Legislature is amended by adding a new Section 7 to read as follows:
Sec. 7. DEFINITION. As used in these Rules, "Internet"
means the largest nonproprietary cooperative public computer
network, popularly known as the Internet.