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R E S O L U T I O N
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BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of |
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Texas, That the following are adopted as the permanent rules of the |
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House of Representatives of the 80th [79th] Legislature: |
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RULES OF |
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THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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RULE |
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1. DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF THE SPEAKER 2 |
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2. EMPLOYEES 10 |
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3. STANDING COMMITTEES 21 |
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4. ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF |
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COMMITTEES 47 |
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5. FLOOR PROCEDURE 79 |
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6. ORDER OF BUSINESS AND CALENDARS 99 |
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7. MOTIONS 116 |
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8. BILLS 132 |
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9. JOINT RESOLUTIONS 146 |
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10. HOUSE RESOLUTIONS AND CONCURRENT |
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RESOLUTIONS 148 |
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11. AMENDMENTS 151 |
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12. PRINTING 159 |
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13. INTERACTIONS WITH THE GOVERNOR |
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AND SENATE 163 |
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14. GENERAL PROVISIONS 174 |
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STATEMENT OF AUTHORIZATION AND PRECEDENCE |
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Pursuant to and under the authority of Section 11, Article |
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III, Texas Constitution, and notwithstanding any provision of |
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statute, the House of Representatives adopts the following rules to |
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govern its operations and procedures. The provisions of these |
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rules shall be deemed the only requirements binding on the House of |
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Representatives under Section 11, Article III, Texas Constitution, |
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notwithstanding any other requirements expressed in statute. |
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RULE 1. DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF THE SPEAKER |
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CHAPTER A. DUTIES AS PRESIDING OFFICER |
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Sec. 1. ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES. The speaker shall |
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enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the house in all |
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deliberations of the house and shall enforce the legislative rules |
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prescribed by the statutes and the Constitution of Texas. |
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Sec. 2. CALL TO ORDER. The speaker shall take the chair on |
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each calendar day precisely at the hour to which the house adjourned |
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or recessed at its last sitting and shall immediately call the |
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members to order. |
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Sec. 3. LAYING BUSINESS BEFORE THE HOUSE. The speaker |
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shall lay before the house its business in the order indicated by |
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the rules and shall receive propositions made by members and put |
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them to the house. |
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Sec. 4. REFERRAL OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO COMMITTEE. All |
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proposed legislation shall be referred by the speaker to an |
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appropriate standing or select committee with jurisdiction, |
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subject to correction by a majority vote of the house. A bill or |
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resolution may not be referred simultaneously to more than one |
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committee. |
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Sec. 5. PRESERVATION OF ORDER AND DECORUM. The speaker |
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shall preserve order and decorum. In case of disturbance or |
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disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, the speaker may |
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order that these areas be cleared. No signs, placards, or other |
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objects of similar nature shall be permitted in the rooms, lobby, |
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gallery, and hall of the house. The speaker shall see that the |
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members of the house conduct themselves in a civil manner in |
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accordance with accepted standards of parliamentary conduct and |
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may, when necessary, order the sergeant-at-arms to clear the aisles |
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and seat the members of the house so that business may be conducted |
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in an orderly manner. |
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Sec. 6. RECOGNITION OF GALLERY VISITORS. On written |
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request of a member, the speaker may recognize persons in the |
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gallery. The speaker shall afford that recognition at a convenient |
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place in the order of business, considering the need for order and |
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decorum and the need for continuity of debate. The request must be |
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made on a form prescribed by the Committee on House Administration. |
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The speaker may recognize, at a time he or she considers appropriate |
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during floor proceedings, the person serving as physician of the |
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day. |
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Sec. 7. STATING AND VOTING ON QUESTIONS. The speaker shall |
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rise to put a question but may state it sitting. The question shall |
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be put substantially in this form: "The question occurs on |
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______" (here state the question or proposition under |
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consideration). "All in favor say 'Aye,'" and after the affirmative |
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vote is expressed, "All opposed say 'No.'" If the speaker is in |
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doubt as to the result, or if a division is called for, the house |
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shall divide: those voting in the affirmative on the question |
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shall register "Aye" on the voting machine, and those voting in the |
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negative on the question shall register "No." The decision of the |
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house on the question shall be printed in the journal and shall |
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include the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is |
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ordered in accordance with the rules. |
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Sec. 8. VOTING RIGHTS OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER. The |
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speaker shall have the same right as other members to vote. If the |
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speaker, or a member temporarily presiding, has not voted, he or she |
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may cast the deciding vote at the time such opportunity becomes |
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official, whether to make or break a tie. If a verification of the |
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vote is called for and granted, the decision of the speaker, or a |
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member temporarily presiding, to cast the deciding vote need not be |
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made until the verification has been completed. In case of error in |
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a vote, if the correction leaves decisive effect to the vote of the |
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speaker, or a member temporarily presiding, the deciding vote may |
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be cast even though the result has been announced. |
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Sec. 9. QUESTIONS OF ORDER. (a) The speaker shall decide |
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on all questions of order; however, such decisions are subject to an |
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appeal to the house made by any 10 members. Pending an appeal, the |
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speaker shall call a member to the chair, who shall not have the |
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authority to entertain or decide any other matter or proposition |
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until the appeal has first been determined by the house. The |
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question on appeal is, "Shall the chair be sustained?" |
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(b) No member shall speak more than once on an appeal unless |
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given leave by a majority of the house. No motion shall be in order, |
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pending an appeal, except a motion to adjourn, a motion to lay on |
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the table, a motion for the previous question, or a motion for a |
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call of the house. Responses to parliamentary inquiries and |
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decisions of recognition made by the chair may not be appealed. |
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(c) Further consideration of the matter or proposition that |
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is the subject of a question of order is prohibited until the |
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speaker decides the question of order and any appeal of that |
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decision has been determined by the house. Consideration of any |
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other matter or proposition is also prohibited while a question of |
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order is pending, unless the question of order is temporarily |
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withdrawn and the matter or proposition that is the subject of the |
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question of order is postponed. Withdrawal of the question of order |
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does not prevent any member from raising that question of order when |
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the matter or proposition is again before the house. |
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Sec. 10. APPOINTMENT OF SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE AND TEMPORARY |
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CHAIR. The speaker shall have the right to name any member to |
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perform the duties of the chair and may name a member to serve as |
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speaker pro tempore by delivering a written order to the chief clerk |
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and a copy to the journal clerk. A permanent speaker pro tempore |
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shall, in the absence or inability of the speaker, call the house to |
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order and perform all other duties of the chair in presiding over |
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the deliberations of the house and perform other duties and |
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exercise other responsibilities as may be assigned by the speaker. |
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If the house is not in session, and a permanent speaker pro tempore |
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has not been named, or if the speaker pro tempore is not available |
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or for any reason is not able to function, the speaker may deliver a |
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written order to the chief clerk, with a copy to the journal clerk, |
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naming the member who shall call the house to order and preside |
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during the speaker's absence. The speaker pro tempore shall serve |
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at the pleasure of the speaker. |
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Sec. 11. EMERGENCY ADJOURNMENT. In the event of an |
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emergency of such compelling nature that the speaker must adjourn |
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the house without fixing a date and hour of reconvening, the speaker |
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shall have authority to determine the date and hour of reconvening |
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and to notify the members of the house by any means the speaker |
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considers adequate. Should the speaker be disabled or otherwise |
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unable to exercise these emergency powers, the permanent speaker |
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pro tempore, if one has been named, shall have authority to act. If |
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there is no permanent speaker pro tempore, or if that officer is |
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unable to act, authority shall be exercised by the chair of the |
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Committee on State Affairs, who shall preside until the house can |
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proceed to the selection of a temporary presiding officer to |
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function until the speaker or the speaker pro tempore is again able |
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to exercise the duties and responsibilities of the office. |
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Sec. 12. POSTPONEMENT OF RECONVENING. When the house is |
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not in session, if the speaker determines that it would be a hazard |
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to the safety of the members, officers, employees, and others |
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attending the legislature to reconvene at the time determined by |
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the house at its last sitting, the speaker may clear the area of the |
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capitol under the control of the house and postpone the reconvening |
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of the house for a period of not more than 12 hours. On making that |
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determination, the speaker shall order the sergeant-at-arms to post |
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an assistant at each first floor entrance to the capitol and other |
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places and advise all persons entering of the determination and the |
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time set for the house to reconvene. The speaker shall also notify |
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the journal clerk and the news media of the action, and the action |
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shall be entered in the house journal. |
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Sec. 13. SIGNING BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS. All bills, joint |
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resolutions, and concurrent resolutions shall be signed by the |
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speaker in the presence of the house, as required by the |
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constitution; and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas issued by |
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order of the house shall be signed by the speaker and attested by |
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the chief clerk, or the person acting as chief clerk. |
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CHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES |
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Sec. 14. CONTROL OVER HALL OF THE HOUSE. The speaker shall |
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have general control, except as otherwise provided by law, of the |
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hall of the house, its lobbies, galleries, corridors, and passages, |
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and other rooms in those parts of the capitol assigned to the use of |
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the house; except that the hall of the house shall not be used for |
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any meeting other than legislative meetings during any regular or |
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special session of the legislature unless specifically authorized |
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by resolution. |
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Sec. 15. STANDING COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS. (a) The |
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speaker shall designate the chair and vice-chair of each standing |
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substantive committee and shall also appoint membership of the |
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committee, subject to the provisions of Rule 4, Section 2. |
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(b) If members of equal seniority request the same |
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committee, the speaker shall decide which among them shall be |
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assigned to that committee. |
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(c) In announcing the membership of the standing |
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substantive committees, the speaker shall designate which are |
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appointees and which acquire membership by seniority. |
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(d) The speaker shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of |
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each standing procedural committee and the remaining membership of |
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the committee. |
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Sec. 16. APPOINTMENT OF SELECT AND CONFERENCE |
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COMMITTEES. (a) The speaker shall appoint all conference |
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committees. The speaker shall name the chair of each conference |
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committee, and may also name the vice-chair thereof. |
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(b) The speaker may at any time by proclamation create a |
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select committee. The speaker shall name the chair and vice-chair |
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thereof. A select committee has the jurisdiction, authority, and |
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duties and exists for the period of time specified in the |
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proclamation. A select committee has the powers granted by these |
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rules to a standing committee except as limited by the |
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proclamation. A copy of each proclamation creating a select |
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committee shall be filed with the chief clerk. |
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Sec. 17. INTERIM STUDIES. When the legislature is not in |
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session, the speaker shall have the authority to direct committees |
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to make interim studies for such purposes as the speaker may |
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designate, and the committees shall meet as often as necessary to |
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transact effectively the business assigned to them. The speaker |
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shall provide to the chief clerk a copy of interim charges made to a |
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standing or select committee. |
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CHAPTER C. CAMPAIGNS FOR SPEAKER |
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Sec. 18. PLEDGES FOR SPEAKER PROHIBITED DURING REGULAR |
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SESSION. During a regular session of the legislature a member may |
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not solicit written pledges from other members for their support of |
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or promise to vote for any person for the office of speaker. |
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RULE 2. EMPLOYEES |
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CHAPTER A. DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE |
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Sec. 1. CHIEF CLERK. (a) The chief clerk shall: |
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(1) be the custodian of all bills, [and] resolutions, |
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and amendments; |
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(2) number in the order of their filing, with a |
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separate sequence for each category, all bills, joint resolutions, |
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concurrent resolutions, and house resolutions; |
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(3) provide for the keeping of a complete record of |
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introduction and action on all bills and resolutions, including the |
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number, author, brief description of the subject matter, committee |
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reference, and the time sequence of action taken on all bills and |
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resolutions to reflect at all times their status in the legislative |
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process; |
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(4) on the day of numbering a bill relating to a |
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conservation and reclamation district created under Article XVI, |
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Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, send two copies of the bill, |
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with two copies of the notice of intention to introduce the bill, to |
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the governor and notify the journal clerk of the action; |
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(5) receive the recommendations of the Texas |
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Commission on Environmental Quality on a bill forwarded to the |
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commission under Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas |
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Constitution, attach them to the bill to which they apply, and |
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notify the journal clerk that the recommendations have been filed; |
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(6) forward to the committee chair a certified copy of |
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each legislative document referred to a committee along with |
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certified copies of all official attachments to the document; |
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(7) have printed and distributed correct copies of all |
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legislative documents, as provided in the subchapter on printing, |
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and keep an exact record of the date and hour of transmittal to the |
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printer, return from the printer, and distribution of the document |
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to members of the house with that information time-stamped on the |
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originals of the document; |
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(8) certify the passage of bills and resolutions, |
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noting on them the date of passage and the vote by which passed, |
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including the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is |
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ordered; |
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(9) be responsible for engrossing all house bills and |
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resolutions that have passed second reading and those that have |
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passed third reading, and for enrolling all house bills and |
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resolutions that have passed both houses. |
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All engrossed and enrolled documents shall be prepared |
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without erasures, interlineations, or additions in the margin. |
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House concurrent resolutions passed without amendment |
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shall not be engrossed but shall be certified and forwarded |
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directly to the senate. |
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Engrossed riders may be used in lieu of full engrossment |
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on second reading passage; |
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(10) be authorized to amend the caption to conform to |
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the body of each house bill and joint resolution ordered engrossed |
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or enrolled; |
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(11) be responsible for noting on each house bill or |
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joint resolution, for certification by the speaker of the house, |
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the lieutenant governor, the chief clerk of the house, and the |
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secretary of the senate, the following information: |
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(A) date of final passage, and the vote on final |
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passage, including the yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and |
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nays is ordered. If the bill was amended in the senate, this fact |
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shall also be noted; |
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(B) date of concurrence by the house in senate |
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amendments, and the vote on concurrence, including the yeas and |
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nays if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered; |
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(C) date of adoption by each house of a |
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conference committee report and the vote on adoption, including the |
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yeas and nays if a record of the yeas and nays is ordered; |
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(D) that a bill containing an appropriation was |
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passed subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 49a, of the |
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Texas Constitution; and |
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(E) that a concurrent resolution was adopted by |
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both houses directing the correction of an enrolled bill, if |
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applicable; |
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(12) transmit over signature all messages from the |
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house to the senate, including typewritten copies of amendments to |
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senate bills; |
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(13) prepare copies of senate amendments to house |
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bills for the journal before the amendments and the bill or |
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resolution to which they relate are sent to the printer or to the |
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speaker; |
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(14) notify the speaker in writing that the senate did |
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not concur in house amendments to a bill or resolution and requests |
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a conference committee, and include in this notice the names of the |
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senate conferees; |
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(15) provide a certified copy of a house bill or |
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resolution which may be lost showing each parliamentary step taken |
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on the bill; and |
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(16) request fiscal notes on house bills and joint |
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resolutions with senate amendments and distribute fiscal notes on |
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house bills and joint resolutions with senate amendments and |
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conference committee reports as required by Rule 13, Sections 5 and |
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10. |
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(b) The chief clerk shall also: |
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(1) attest all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by |
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order of the house; |
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(2) provide for issuance of an identification card to |
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each member and employee of the house; |
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(3) receive reports of select committees and forward |
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copies to the speaker and journal clerk; |
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(4) not later than 30 days after the close of each |
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session, acquire from each of the various clerks of the house, |
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except the journal clerk, all reports, records, bills, papers, and |
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other documents remaining in their possession and file them with |
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the Legislative Reference Library, unless otherwise provided by |
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law; |
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(5) receive and file all other documents required by |
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law or by the rules of the house; |
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(6) prepare a roster of members in order of seniority |
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showing the number of years of service of each member, as provided |
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in Rule 4, Section 2; and |
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(7) have printed and distributed the list of Items |
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Eligible for Consideration as required by the rules. |
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(c) The chief clerk shall also provide for the following to |
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be made available on the electronic legislative information system |
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at the same time that the corresponding copies are placed in the |
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members' newspaper mailboxes: |
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(1) all house calendars and lists of items eligible |
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for consideration and the time-stamp information for those |
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calendars and lists; and |
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(2) the time-stamp information for all official |
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printings of bills and resolutions. |
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Sec. 2. JOURNAL CLERK. The journal clerk shall: |
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(1) keep a journal of the proceedings of the house, |
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except when the house is acting as a committee of the whole, and |
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enter the following: |
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(A) the number, author, and caption of every bill |
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introduced; |
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(B) descriptions of all congratulatory and |
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memorial resolutions on committee report, motions, amendments, |
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questions of order and decisions on them, messages from the |
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governor, and messages from the senate; |
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(C) the summaries of congratulatory and memorial |
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resolutions, as printed on the congratulatory and memorial |
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calendar; |
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(D) the number of each bill, joint resolution, |
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and concurrent resolution signed in the presence of the house; |
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(E) a listing of reports made by standing |
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committees; |
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(F) reports of select committees, when ordered by |
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the house; |
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(G) every vote where a record of the yeas and |
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nays is ordered or registration of the house with a concise |
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statement of the action and the result; |
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(H) the names of all absentees, both excused and |
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not excused; |
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(I) senate amendments to house bills or |
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resolutions, when concurred in by the house; |
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(J) the date each bill is transmitted to the |
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governor; |
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(K) the date recommendations of the Texas |
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Commission on Environmental Quality on each bill subject to Article |
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XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, are filed with the chief |
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clerk; |
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(L) all pairs as a part of a vote where a record |
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of the yeas and nays is ordered; |
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(M) reasons for a vote; |
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(N) the vote of a member on any question where a |
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record of the yeas and nays has not been ordered; |
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(O) the statement of a member who was absent when |
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a vote was taken indicating how the member would have voted; and |
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(P) official state documents, reports, and other |
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matters, when ordered by the house; |
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(2) prepare a daily journal for each calendar day that |
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the house is in session and distribute copies to the members of the |
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house on the succeeding calendar day or the earliest possible date; |
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and |
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(3) prepare and have printed a permanent house journal |
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of regular and special sessions in accordance with the law and the |
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following provisions: |
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(A) When completed, no more than 300 copies shall |
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be bound and distributed as follows: |
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(i) one copy to each member of the house of |
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representatives; |
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(ii) one copy to each member of the senate; |
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and |
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(iii) the remainder of the copies to be |
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distributed by the Committee on House Administration. |
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(B) The journal clerk shall not receive or |
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receipt for the permanent house journal until it has been correctly |
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published. |
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Sec. 3. READING CLERKS. The reading clerks, under the |
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supervision of the speaker, shall: |
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(1) call the roll of the house in alphabetical order |
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when ordered to do so by the speaker; and |
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(2) read all bills, resolutions, motions, and other |
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matters required by the rules or directed by the speaker. |
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Sec. 4. SERGEANT-AT-ARMS. The sergeant-at-arms shall: |
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(1) under the direction of the speaker, have charge of |
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and maintain order in the hall of the house, its lobbies and |
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galleries, and all other rooms in the capitol assigned for the use |
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of the house of representatives; |
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(2) attend the house and the committee of the whole |
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during all meetings and maintain order under the direction of the |
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speaker or other presiding officer; |
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(3) execute the commands of the house and serve the |
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writs and processes issued by the authority of the house and |
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directed by the speaker; |
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(4) supervise assistants to the sergeant-at-arms who |
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shall aid in the performance of prescribed duties and have the same |
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authority, subject to the control of the speaker; |
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(5) clear the floor of the house of all persons not |
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entitled to the privileges of the floor at least 30 minutes prior to |
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the convening of each session of the house; |
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(6) bring in absent members when so directed under a |
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call of the house; |
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(7) not allow the distribution of any printed matter |
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in the hall of the house, other than newspapers that have been |
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published at least once a week for a period of one year, unless it |
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first has been authorized in writing by at least one member of the |
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house and the name of the member appears on the printed matter. The |
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sergeant-at-arms shall refuse to accept for distribution any |
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printed matter which does not bear the name of the member or members |
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authorizing the distribution; |
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(8) keep a copy of written authorization and a record |
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of the matter distributed in the permanent files of the house; |
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(9) enforce parking regulations applicable to areas of |
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the capitol complex under the control of the house and supervise |
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parking attendants; and |
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(10) supervise the doorkeeper. |
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Sec. 5. DOORKEEPER. The doorkeeper, under the supervision |
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of the sergeant-at-arms, shall: |
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(1) enforce strictly the rules of the house relating |
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to privileges of the floor and perform other duties as directed by |
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the speaker; |
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(2) close the main entrance and permit no member to |
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leave the house without written permission from the speaker when a |
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call of the house or a call of the committee of the whole is ordered, |
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take up permission cards as members leave the hall, and take up |
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permission cards of those who are admitted to the floor of the house |
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under the rules and practice of the house; |
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(3) obtain recognition from the speaker and announce a |
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messenger from the governor or the senate on arrival at the bar of |
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the house; and |
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(4) obtain recognition from the speaker and announce |
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the arrival of the governor or the senate on arrival at the bar of |
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the house for official proceedings in the house. |
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Sec. 6. CHAPLAIN. The chaplain shall open the first |
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session on each calendar day with a prayer and shall perform such |
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other duties as directed by the Committee on House Administration. |
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Sec. 7. VOTING CLERK. The voting clerk, under the |
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supervision of the speaker, shall: |
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(1) open and close the voting machine on registrations |
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and record votes as ordered by the speaker; |
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(2) record votes from the floor as directed by the |
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speaker; |
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(3) prepare official copies of all record votes for |
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the journal; |
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(4) make no additions, subtractions, or other changes |
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in any registration or record vote unless specifically granted |
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permission by the house or directed by the speaker prior to the |
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announcement of the final result; and |
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(5) lock the voting machine of each member who is |
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excused or who is otherwise known to be absent when the house is in |
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session until the member personally requests that the machine be |
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unlocked. |
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Sec. 8. COMMITTEE COORDINATOR. The committee coordinator |
|
shall: |
|
(1) under the direction of the Committee on House |
|
Administration, prepare a schedule for regular meetings of all |
|
standing committees as provided by Rule 4, Section 8(a); |
|
(2) post committee meeting notices, as directed by the |
|
chair of a committee, in accordance with Rule 4, Section 11(a); |
|
(3) maintain duplicate originals of committee minutes |
|
as required by Rule 4, Sections 18(c) and (d); |
|
(4) maintain sworn statements from witnesses |
|
appearing before committees and, under the direction of the |
|
Committee on House Administration, prescribe the form of those |
|
statements, as required by Rule 4, Sections 20(a) and (c); |
|
(5) receive and forward impact statements as required |
|
by Rule 4, Section 34(e); |
|
(6) receive committee reports as required by Rule 4, |
|
Section 37, and refer them for printing as provided by Rule 6, |
|
Section 19; and |
|
(7) receive and distribute the recommendations and |
|
final reports of interim study committees as provided by Rule 4, |
|
Section 61. |
|
Sec. 9. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL EMPLOYEES: CONFIDENTIALITY. |
|
(a) Communications between an attorney employed by the Texas |
|
Legislative Council and the speaker, another member of the house, |
|
or an employee of a member or committee of the house are |
|
confidential in accordance with the rules and laws concerning |
|
attorney-client privilege. |
|
(b) Communications between any employee of the Texas |
|
Legislative Council and the speaker, another member of the house, |
|
or an employee of a member or committee of the house are |
|
confidential. The General Investigating and Ethics Committee of |
|
the House may investigate an alleged violation of this subsection. |
|
(c) This section does not prohibit the speaker, member, or |
|
committee from waiving a privilege as otherwise permitted by law or |
|
from waiving confidentiality under this section. |
|
RULE 3. STANDING COMMITTEES |
|
Sec. 1. AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK. The committee shall |
|
have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining |
|
to: |
|
(1) agriculture, horticulture, and farm husbandry; |
|
(2) livestock and stock raising, and the livestock |
|
industry; |
|
(3) the development and preservation of forests, and |
|
the regulation, control, and promotion of the lumber industry; |
|
(4) problems and issues particularly affecting rural |
|
areas of the state; and |
|
(5) [(4)] the following state agencies: the |
|
Department of Agriculture, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the |
|
State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the Texas Forest Service, |
|
the Office of South Central Interstate Forest Fire Protection |
|
Compact, the Office of Chief Apiary Inspector, the Texas |
|
Agricultural Experiment Station, the Texas Agricultural Extension |
|
Service, the [Texas] Food and Fibers Research Council [Commission], |
|
the State Seed and Plant Board, the State Board of Veterinary |
|
Medical Examiners, the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic |
|
Laboratory, the Produce Recovery Fund Board, the Texas Structural |
|
Pest Control Board, the board of directors of the Texas Boll Weevil |
|
Eradication Foundation, Inc., the Office of Rural Community Affairs |
|
and the Texas Wildlife [Animal] Damage Management [Control] |
|
Service. |
|
Sec. 2. APPROPRIATIONS. (a) The committee shall have 29 |
|
members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) all bills and resolutions appropriating money from |
|
the state treasury; |
|
(2) all bills and resolutions containing provisions |
|
resulting in automatic allocation of funds from the state treasury; |
|
(3) all bills and resolutions diverting funds from the |
|
state treasury or preventing funds from going in that otherwise |
|
would be placed in the state treasury; and |
|
(4) all matters pertaining to claims and accounts |
|
filed with the legislature against the state unless jurisdiction |
|
over those bills and resolutions is specifically granted by these |
|
rules to some other standing committee. |
|
(b) The appropriations committee may comment upon any bill |
|
or resolution containing a provision resulting in an automatic |
|
allocation of funds. |
|
Sec. 3. BORDER AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. The committee |
|
shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters |
|
pertaining to: |
|
(1) the relations between the State of Texas and other |
|
nations; |
|
(2) international commerce and trade; |
|
(3) international and border regions (as described in |
|
Sections 2056.002(e)(2) and (3), Government Code) [area] economic |
|
development, public health and safety issues affecting the border, |
|
tourist development, and goodwill, and economic development, |
|
tourist development, and goodwill in other areas of the state that |
|
have experienced a significant increase in the percentage of the |
|
population that consists of immigrants from other nations, |
|
according to the last two federal decennial censuses or another |
|
reliable measure; and |
|
(4) the provision of public services to persons |
|
residing in proximity to Texas' international border or in other |
|
areas of the state that have experienced a significant increase in |
|
the percentage of the population that consists of immigrants from |
|
other nations, according to the last two federal decennial censuses |
|
or another reliable measure. |
|
Sec. 4. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY. The committee shall have |
|
nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) industry and manufacturing; |
|
(2) industrial safety and adequate and safe working |
|
conditions, and the regulation and control of those conditions; |
|
(3) hours, wages, collective bargaining, and the |
|
relationship between employers and employees; |
|
(4) the regulation of business transactions and |
|
transactions involving property interests; |
|
(5) the organization, incorporation, management, and |
|
regulation of private corporations and professional associations |
|
and the Uniform Commercial Code and the Texas Revised Limited |
|
Partnership Act; |
|
(6) the protection of consumers, governmental |
|
regulations incident thereto, the agencies of government |
|
authorized to regulate such activities, and the role of the |
|
government in consumer protection; [and] |
|
(7) privacy and identity theft; |
|
(8) homeowners' associations; and |
|
(9) the following state agencies: the State Office of |
|
Risk Management, the Risk Management Board, the Division of [Texas] |
|
Workers' Compensation of the Texas Department of Insurance |
|
[Commission], the workers' compensation research and evaluation |
|
group in the Texas Department of Insurance, the Office of Injured |
|
Employee Counsel, including the ombudsman program of that office, |
|
and the Texas Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors. |
|
Sec. 5. CALENDARS (PROCEDURAL). The committee shall have |
|
11 members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) the placement of bills and resolutions on |
|
appropriate calendars, except those within the jurisdiction of the |
|
Committee on Rules and Resolutions; |
|
(2) the determination of priorities and proposal of |
|
rules for floor consideration of such bills and resolutions; and |
|
(3) all other matters concerning the calendar system |
|
and the expediting of the business of the house as may be assigned |
|
by the speaker. |
|
Sec. 6. CIVIL PRACTICES. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) fines and penalties arising under civil laws; |
|
(2) civil law, including rights, duties, remedies, and |
|
procedures thereunder; |
|
(3) civil procedure in the courts of Texas; |
|
(4) administrative law and the adjudication of rights |
|
by administrative agencies; and |
|
(5) permission to sue the state. |
|
Sec. 7. CORRECTIONS. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted |
|
felons; |
|
(2) the establishment and maintenance of programs that |
|
provide alternatives to incarceration; |
|
(3) the commitment and rehabilitation of youths; |
|
(4) the construction, operation, and management of |
|
correctional facilities of the state and facilities used for the |
|
commitment and rehabilitation of youths; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Texas |
|
Department of Criminal Justice, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, |
|
the Texas Youth Commission, the Council on Sex Offender Treatment, |
|
the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental |
|
Impairments, the Private Sector Prison Industries Oversight |
|
Authority, and the Criminal Justice Policy Council. |
|
Sec. 8. COUNTY AFFAIRS. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) counties, including their organization, creation, |
|
boundaries, government, and finance and the compensation and duties |
|
of their officers and employees; |
|
(2) establishing districts for the election of |
|
governing bodies of counties; |
|
(3) regional councils of governments; |
|
(4) multicounty boards or commissions; |
|
(5) relationships or contracts between counties; |
|
(6) other units of local government; and |
|
(7) the following state agency: the Commission on |
|
Jail Standards. |
|
Sec. 9. CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE. The committee shall have |
|
nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) criminal law, prohibitions, standards, and |
|
penalties; |
|
(2) probation and parole; |
|
(3) criminal procedure in the courts of Texas; |
|
(4) revision or amendment of the Penal Code; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Office of State |
|
Prosecuting Attorney and the Texas State Council for Interstate |
|
Adult Offender Supervision. |
|
Sec. 10. CULTURE, RECREATION, AND TOURISM. The committee |
|
shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) the creation, operation, and control of state |
|
parks, including the development, maintenance, and operation of |
|
state parks in connection with the sales and use tax imposed on |
|
sporting goods, but not including any matter within the |
|
jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations; |
|
(2) the regulation and control of the propagation and |
|
preservation of wildlife and fish in the state; |
|
(3) the development and regulation of the fish and |
|
oyster industries of the state; |
|
(4) hunting and fishing in the state, and the |
|
regulation and control thereof, including the imposition of fees, |
|
fines, and penalties relating to that regulation; |
|
(5) the regulation of other recreational activities; |
|
(6) cultural resources and their promotion, |
|
development, and regulation; |
|
(7) historical resources and their promotion, |
|
development, and regulation; |
|
(8) promotion and development of Texas' image and |
|
heritage; |
|
(9) preservation and protection of Texas' shrines, |
|
monuments, and memorials; |
|
(10) international and interstate tourist promotion |
|
and development; |
|
(11) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office |
|
as it relates to the subject-matter jurisdiction of this committee; |
|
[and] |
|
(12) the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Compact; and |
|
(13) the following state agencies: [the Office of
|
|
Gulf States Marine Fisheries Compact Commissioner for Texas,] the |
|
Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, |
|
the State Cemetery Committee, the Texas State Library and Archives |
|
Commission, the Texas Historical Commission, the State |
|
Preservation Board, the San Jacinto Historical Advisory Board, and |
|
an office of state government to the extent the office promotes the |
|
Texas music industry. |
|
Sec. 11. DEFENSE AFFAIRS AND STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONS. The |
|
committee shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all |
|
matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the relations between the State of Texas and the |
|
federal government; |
|
(2) the relations between the State of Texas and other |
|
sovereign states of the United States; |
|
(3) the various branches of the military service of |
|
the United States; |
|
(4) the realignment or closure of military bases; |
|
(5) the defense of the state and nation, including |
|
terrorism response; |
|
(6) emergency preparedness; |
|
(7) veterans of military and related services; and |
|
(8) the following state agencies: the Office of |
|
State-Federal Relations, the Texas Military Facilities Commission, |
|
the Adjutant General's Department, the Texas Veterans Commission, |
|
the Veterans' [Veterans] Land Board, the Texas Military |
|
Preparedness Commission, the Division of Emergency Management, and |
|
the Emergency Management Council. |
|
Sec. 12. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. The committee shall have |
|
seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) commerce, trade, and manufacturing; |
|
(2) economic and industrial development; |
|
(3) job creation and job-training programs; |
|
(4) hours, wages, collective bargaining, and the |
|
relationship between employers and employees; |
|
(5) unemployment compensation, including coverage, |
|
benefits, taxes, and eligibility; |
|
(6) boiler inspection and safety standards and |
|
regulation; |
|
(7) labor unions and their organization, control, |
|
management, and administration; |
|
(8) weights and measures; |
|
(9) advances in science and technology, including |
|
telecommunications, electronic technology, and automated data |
|
processing; |
|
(10) the promotion of scientific research, |
|
technological development, and technology transfer in the state; |
|
(11) matters relating to cooperation of state and |
|
local governments with the scientific and technological community, |
|
which includes industry, the universities, and federal |
|
governmental laboratories; and |
|
(12) the following state agencies: the Texas Economic |
|
Development and Tourism Office, the Texas Emerging Technology |
|
Committee, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Workforce |
|
Investment Council, and the Texas National Research Laboratory |
|
Commission. |
|
Sec. 13. ELECTIONS. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the right of suffrage in Texas; |
|
(2) primary, special, and general elections; |
|
(3) revision, modification, amendment, or change of |
|
the Election Code; |
|
(4) the secretary of state in relation to elections; |
|
(5) campaign finance; |
|
(6) the duties and conduct of candidates for public |
|
office and of persons with an interest in influencing public |
|
policy; and |
|
(7) the following state agencies: the Office of the |
|
Secretary of State and the Texas Ethics Commission. |
|
Sec. 14. ENERGY RESOURCES. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the conservation of the energy resources of Texas; |
|
(2) the production, regulation, transportation, and |
|
development of oil, gas, and other energy resources; |
|
(3) mining and the development of mineral deposits |
|
within the state; |
|
(4) the leasing and regulation of mineral rights under |
|
public lands; |
|
(5) pipelines, pipeline companies, and all others |
|
operating as common carriers in the state; |
|
(6) electric utility regulation as it relates to |
|
energy production and consumption; and |
|
(7) the following state agencies: the Railroad |
|
Commission of Texas, the Office of Interstate Oil Compact |
|
Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Interstate Mining Compact |
|
Commissioner for Texas, the Texas Energy Coordination Council, and |
|
the Office of Southern States Energy Board Member for Texas. |
|
Sec. 15. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION. The committee shall |
|
have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining |
|
to: |
|
(1) air, land, and water pollution, including the |
|
environmental regulation of industrial development; |
|
(2) the regulation of waste disposal; |
|
(3) environmental matters that are regulated by the |
|
Department of State Health Services or the Texas Commission on |
|
Environmental Quality; |
|
(4) oversight of the Texas Commission on Environmental |
|
Quality as it relates to environmental regulation; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: [the Texas
|
|
Agriculture Resources Protection Authority,] the Texas Low-Level |
|
Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission[,] and the board of |
|
the Texas Environmental Education Partnership Fund. |
|
Sec. 16. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. The committee shall have |
|
seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) banking and the state banking system; |
|
(2) savings and loan associations; |
|
(3) credit unions; |
|
(4) the regulation of state and local bonded |
|
indebtedness; |
|
(5) the lending of money; and |
|
(6) the following state agencies: the Finance |
|
Commission of Texas, the Credit Union Commission, the Office of |
|
Consumer Credit Commissioner, the Office of Banking Commissioner, |
|
the Texas Department of Banking, the Department of Savings and |
|
Mortgage Lending [Loan Department of Texas], the Texas Treasury |
|
Safekeeping Trust Company, the Texas Public Finance Authority, and |
|
the Bond Review Board. |
|
Sec. 17. GENERAL INVESTIGATING AND ETHICS (PROCEDURAL). |
|
(a) The General Investigating and Ethics Committee shall have five |
|
members of the house appointed by the speaker. The speaker shall |
|
appoint the chair and the vice-chair of the committee. |
|
(b) The committee has all the powers and duties of a general |
|
investigating committee and shall operate as the general |
|
investigating committee of the house according to the procedures |
|
prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, and the |
|
rules of the house, as applicable. |
|
(c) The committee has jurisdiction over all matters |
|
pertaining to the conduct of and ethical standards applicable to |
|
state and local government officers and employees. |
|
Sec. 18. GOVERNMENT REFORM. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the organization, operation, powers, regulations, |
|
and management of state departments, agencies, institutions, and |
|
advisory committees; |
|
(2) elimination of inefficiencies in the provision of |
|
state services; and |
|
(3) the following state agencies: the Texas Incentive |
|
and Productivity Commission and the Sunset Advisory Commission. |
|
Sec. 19. HIGHER EDUCATION. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) education beyond high school; |
|
(2) the colleges and universities of the State of |
|
Texas; and |
|
(3) the following state agencies: the Texas |
|
Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas Engineering Extension |
|
Service, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas |
|
Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, the State Medical Education |
|
Board, the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board, and the Texas |
|
Transportation Institute. |
|
Sec. 20. HOUSE ADMINISTRATION (PROCEDURAL). (a) The |
|
committee shall have 11 members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) administrative operation of the house and its |
|
employees; |
|
(2) the general house fund, with full control over all |
|
expenditures from the fund; |
|
(3) all property, equipment, and supplies obtained by |
|
the house for its use and the use of its members; |
|
(4) all office space available for the use of the house |
|
and its members; |
|
(5) the assignment of vacant office space, vacant |
|
parking spaces, and vacant desks on the house floor to members with |
|
seniority based on cumulative years of service in the house, except |
|
that the committee may make these assignments based on physical |
|
disability of a member where it deems proper; |
|
(6) all admissions to the floor during sessions of the |
|
house; |
|
(7) all proposals to invite nonmembers to appear |
|
before or address the house or a joint session; |
|
(8) all radio broadcasting and televising, live or |
|
recorded, of sessions of the house; |
|
(9) the electronic recording of the proceedings of the |
|
house of representatives and the custody of the recordings of |
|
testimony before house committees, with authority to promulgate |
|
reasonable rules, regulations, and conditions concerning the |
|
safekeeping, reproducing, and transcribing of the recordings, and |
|
the defraying of costs for transcribing the recordings, subject to |
|
other provisions of these rules; |
|
(10) all witnesses appearing before the house or any |
|
committee thereof in support of or in opposition to any pending |
|
legislative proposal; and |
|
(11) the following state agency: the State |
|
Preservation Board. |
|
(b) The committee must vote to adopt the annual budget for |
|
each house department. |
|
Sec. 21. HUMAN SERVICES. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) welfare and rehabilitation programs and their |
|
development, administration, and control; |
|
(2) oversight of the Health and Human Services |
|
Commission as it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of this |
|
committee; |
|
(3) mental retardation and the development of programs |
|
incident thereto; |
|
(4) the prevention and treatment of mental |
|
retardation; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Department of |
|
Aging and Disability Services, the Department of Assistive and |
|
Rehabilitative Services, the Department of Family and Protective |
|
Services, the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners, the |
|
Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities, and the |
|
Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. |
|
Sec. 22. INSURANCE. The committee shall have nine members, |
|
with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) insurance and the insurance industry; |
|
(2) all insurance companies and other organizations of |
|
any type writing or issuing policies of insurance in the State of |
|
Texas, including their organization, incorporation, management, |
|
powers, and limitations; and |
|
(3) the following state agencies: the Texas |
|
Department of Insurance, the Texas Health Benefits Purchasing |
|
Cooperative, and the Office of Public Insurance Counsel. |
|
Sec. 23. JUDICIARY. The committee shall have nine members, |
|
with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) uniform state laws; |
|
(2) creating, changing, or otherwise affecting courts |
|
of judicial districts of the state; |
|
(3) establishing districts for the election of |
|
judicial officers; |
|
(4) the Texas Judicial Council; |
|
(5) the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; |
|
(6) the Office of the Attorney General, including its |
|
organization, powers, functions, and responsibilities; |
|
(7) courts and court procedures except where |
|
jurisdiction is specifically granted to some other standing |
|
committee; and |
|
(8) the following state agencies: the Supreme Court, |
|
the Courts of Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the State |
|
Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Office of Court Administration |
|
of the Texas Judicial System, the State Law Library, the Texas |
|
Judicial Council, the Guardianship Certification Board, the Office |
|
of the Attorney General, the Court Reporters Certification Board, |
|
and the Board of Law Examiners. |
|
Sec. 24. JUVENILE JUSTICE AND FAMILY ISSUES. The committee |
|
shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters |
|
pertaining to: |
|
(1) juvenile delinquency and gang violence; |
|
(2) criminal law, prohibitions, standards, and |
|
penalties as applied to juveniles; |
|
(3) criminal procedure in the courts of Texas as it |
|
relates to juveniles; |
|
(4) civil law as it relates to familial relationships, |
|
including rights, duties, remedies, and procedures thereunder; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Texas Juvenile |
|
Probation Commission and the Advisory Council on Juvenile Services. |
|
Sec. 25. LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. The committee shall |
|
have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining |
|
to: |
|
(1) the management of public lands; |
|
(2) the power of eminent domain; |
|
(3) annexation, zoning, and other governmental |
|
regulation of land use; |
|
[(4)
problems and issues particularly affecting rural
|
|
areas of the state;] and |
|
(4) [(5)] the following state agencies: the School |
|
Land Board, the Board for Lease of University Lands, the Coastal |
|
Coordination Council, [the Office of Rural Community Affairs,] and |
|
the General Land Office. |
|
Sec. 26. LAW ENFORCEMENT. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) law enforcement; |
|
(2) the prevention of crime and the apprehension of |
|
criminals; |
|
(3) the provision of security services by private |
|
entities; and |
|
(4) the following state agencies: the Commission on |
|
Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, the Department of |
|
Public Safety, the Texas Forensic Science Commission, the Polygraph |
|
Examiners Board, the Texas [Commission on] Private Security Board, |
|
the Commission on State Emergency Communications, and the Crime |
|
Stoppers Advisory Council. |
|
Sec. 27. LICENSING AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES. The |
|
committee shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all |
|
matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the oversight of businesses, industries, general |
|
trades, and occupations regulated by this state; |
|
(2) the regulation of greyhound and horse racing and |
|
other gaming industries; |
|
(3) regulation of the sale of intoxicating beverages |
|
and local option control; |
|
(4) the Alcoholic Beverage Code; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Texas |
|
Department of Licensing and Regulation, the State Office of |
|
Administrative Hearings, the Texas Board of Architectural |
|
Examiners, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, the Texas |
|
Real Estate Commission, the Texas State Board of Plumbing |
|
Examiners, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, the Real |
|
Estate Research Center, the Texas Board of Professional Land |
|
Surveying, the Texas Racing Commission, the Texas Appraiser |
|
Licensing and Certification Board, the Texas Lottery Commission, |
|
the State Bar of Texas, the Board of Tax Professional Examiners, and |
|
the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. |
|
Sec. 28. LOCAL AND CONSENT CALENDARS (PROCEDURAL). The |
|
committee shall have 11 members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) the placement on appropriate calendars of bills |
|
and resolutions that, in the opinion of the committee, are in fact |
|
local or will be uncontested, and have been recommended as such by |
|
the standing committee of original jurisdiction; and |
|
(2) the determination of priorities for floor |
|
consideration of bills and resolutions except those within the |
|
jurisdiction of the Committee on Calendars. |
|
Sec. 29. LOCAL GOVERNMENT WAYS AND MEANS. (a) The |
|
committee shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) all bills and resolutions proposing to permit a |
|
local government to raise revenue; |
|
(2) all bills and resolutions proposing to permit a |
|
local government to levy or impose property taxes, sales and use |
|
taxes, or other taxes and fees; |
|
(3) all proposals to modify, amend, or change any |
|
existing local government tax or revenue statute; |
|
(4) all proposals to regulate the manner of collection |
|
of local government revenues and taxes; and |
|
(5) all bills and resolutions relating to the local |
|
government provisions of the Property Tax Code, including |
|
provisions related to the appraisal of property and the levy and |
|
collection of property taxes by local governments. |
|
(b) In this section, "local government" means a city, |
|
county, school district, special purpose district, or other |
|
political subdivision. |
|
Sec. 30. NATURAL RESOURCES. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the conservation of the natural resources of |
|
Texas; |
|
(2) the control and development of land and water and |
|
land and water resources, including the taking, storing, control, |
|
and use of all water in the state, and its appropriation and |
|
allocation; |
|
(3) irrigation, irrigation companies, and irrigation |
|
districts, and their incorporation, management, and powers; |
|
(4) the creation, modification, and regulation of |
|
water supply districts, water control and improvement districts, |
|
conservation and reclamation districts, and all similar organs of |
|
local government dealing with water and water supply; |
|
(5) oversight of the Texas Commission on Environmental |
|
Quality as it relates to the regulation of water resources; and |
|
(6) the following state agencies: the Office of |
|
Canadian River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Pecos |
|
River Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Red River |
|
Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Rio Grande Compact |
|
Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Sabine River Compact |
|
Administrator for Texas, the Multi-State Water Resources Planning |
|
Commission, and the Texas Water Development Board. |
|
Sec. 31. PENSIONS AND INVESTMENTS. The committee shall |
|
have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining |
|
to: |
|
(1) benefits or participation in benefits of a public |
|
retirement system and the financial obligations of a public |
|
retirement system; |
|
(2) the regulation of securities and investments; and |
|
(3) the following state agencies: the Office of Fire |
|
Fighters' Pension Commissioner, the [State] Board of Trustees of |
|
the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the [State] Board of |
|
Trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, the Board of |
|
Trustees of the Texas County and District Retirement System, the |
|
Board of Trustees of the Texas Municipal Retirement System, the |
|
State Pension Review Board, and the State Securities Board. |
|
Sec. 32. PUBLIC EDUCATION. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the public schools and the public school system of |
|
Texas and the financing thereof; |
|
(2) the state programming of elementary and secondary |
|
education for the public school system of Texas; |
|
(3) proposals to create, change, or otherwise alter |
|
school districts of the state; and |
|
(4) the following state agencies: the State Board of |
|
Education, the Texas Education Agency, the Office of Compact for |
|
Education Commissioner for Texas, the Office of Southern Regional |
|
Education Compact Commissioner for Texas, the Texas School for the |
|
Blind and Visually Impaired, the State Board for Educator |
|
Certification, and the Texas School for the Deaf. |
|
Sec. 33. PUBLIC HEALTH. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) the protection of public health, including |
|
supervision and control of the practice of medicine and dentistry |
|
and other allied health services; |
|
(2) mental health and the development of programs |
|
incident thereto; |
|
(3) the prevention and treatment of mental illness; |
|
(4) oversight of the Health and Human Services |
|
Commission as it relates to the subject matter jurisdiction of this |
|
committee; and |
|
(5) the following state agencies: the Department of |
|
State Health Services, the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas, |
|
the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the State Committee of |
|
Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments, the |
|
Texas Optometry Board, the Radiation Advisory Board, the Texas |
|
State Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Nurse Examiners, the Texas |
|
Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Texas Board of Physical |
|
Therapy Examiners, the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical |
|
Examiners, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the |
|
State Board of Dental Examiners, the Texas [State Board of] Medical |
|
Board [Examiners], the Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers, the |
|
Dental Hygiene Advisory Committee, [the State Board of Barber
|
|
Examiners, the Texas Cosmetology Commission,] the Texas Cancer |
|
Council, the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners, the Health |
|
Professions Council, the Office of Patient Protection, and the |
|
Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners[, the Texas State
|
|
Board of Examiners of Perfusionists, and the Texas Health Care
|
|
Information Council]. |
|
Sec. 34. REDISTRICTING (PROCEDURAL). The committee shall |
|
have 15 members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) legislative districts, both house and senate, and |
|
any changes or amendments; |
|
(2) congressional districts, their creation, and any |
|
changes or amendments; |
|
(3) establishing districts for the election of |
|
judicial officers or of governing bodies or representatives of |
|
political subdivisions or state agencies as required by law; and |
|
(4) preparations for the redistricting process. |
|
Sec. 35. REGULATED INDUSTRIES. The committee shall have |
|
nine [seven] members, with jurisdiction over all matters related |
|
to: |
|
(1) the regulation and deregulation of electric |
|
utilities and the electric industry; |
|
(2) the regulation and deregulation of |
|
telecommunications utilities and the telecommunications industry; |
|
(3) the regulation of science and technology, |
|
including telecommunications, electronic technology, and automated |
|
data processing; |
|
(4) electric utility regulation as it relates to |
|
energy production and consumption; |
|
(5) pipelines, pipeline companies, and all others |
|
operating as common carriers in the state; |
|
(6) the regulation and deregulation of other |
|
industries jurisdiction of which is not specifically assigned to |
|
another committee under these rules; and |
|
(7) the following state agencies: the Public Utility |
|
Commission of Texas, the Office of Public Utility Counsel, and the |
|
Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board. |
|
Sec. 36. RULES AND RESOLUTIONS (PROCEDURAL). The committee |
|
shall have 11 members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) Rules of Procedure of the House of |
|
Representatives, and all proposed amendments; |
|
(2) Joint Rules of the House and Senate, and all |
|
proposed amendments; |
|
(3) all procedures for expediting the business of the |
|
house in an orderly and efficient manner; |
|
(4) all resolutions to congratulate, memorialize, or |
|
name mascots of the house; and |
|
(5) other matters concerning rules, procedures, and |
|
operation of the house assigned by the speaker. |
|
Sec. 37. STATE AFFAIRS. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) questions and matters of state policy; |
|
(2) the administration of state government; |
|
(3) the organization, powers, regulation, and |
|
management of state departments and agencies; |
|
(4) the operation and regulation of public lands and |
|
state buildings; |
|
(5) the organization, regulation, operation, and |
|
management of state institutions; |
|
(6) the duties and conduct of officers and employees |
|
of the state government; |
|
(7) the regulation of the residential construction |
|
industry; |
|
(8) the operation of state government and its agencies |
|
and departments; all of above except where jurisdiction is |
|
specifically granted to some other standing committee; |
|
(9) access of the state agencies to scientific and |
|
technological information; and |
|
(10) the following state agencies: the Council of |
|
State Governments, the National Conference of State Legislatures, |
|
the Governor's Office, the Texas Building and Procurement |
|
Commission, [the State Aircraft Pooling Board,] the Department of |
|
Information Resources, the Inaugural Endowment Fund Committee, and |
|
the Texas Residential Construction Commission. |
|
Sec. 38. TRANSPORTATION. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) commercial motor vehicles, both bus and truck, and |
|
their control, regulation, licensing, and operation; |
|
(2) the Texas highway system, including all roads, |
|
bridges, and ferries constituting a part of the system; |
|
(3) the licensing of private passenger vehicles to |
|
operate on the roads and highways of the state; |
|
(4) the regulation and control of traffic on the |
|
public highways of the State of Texas; |
|
(5) railroads, street railway lines, interurban |
|
railway lines, steamship companies, and express companies; |
|
(6) airports, air traffic, airlines, and other |
|
organizations engaged in transportation by means of aerial flight; |
|
(7) water transportation in the State of Texas, and |
|
the rivers, harbors, and related facilities used in water |
|
transportation and the agencies of government exercising |
|
supervision and control thereover; |
|
(8) the regulation of metropolitan transit; and |
|
(9) the following state agencies: the Texas Department |
|
of Transportation and the Texas Transportation Commission. |
|
Sec. 39. URBAN AFFAIRS. The committee shall have seven |
|
members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: |
|
(1) cities, municipalities, and town corporations, |
|
including their creation, organization, powers, government, and |
|
finance, and the compensation and duties of their officers and |
|
employees; |
|
(2) home-rule cities, their relationship to the state, |
|
and their powers, authority, and limitations; |
|
(3) the creation or change of metropolitan areas and |
|
the form of government under which those areas operate; |
|
(4) problems and issues particularly affecting |
|
metropolitan areas of the state; |
|
(5) other units of local government not otherwise |
|
assigned by these rules to other standing committees; |
|
(6) establishing districts for the election of |
|
governing bodies of cities; and |
|
(7) the following state agencies: the Texas |
|
Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Texas |
|
Commission on Fire Protection. |
|
Sec. 40. WAYS AND MEANS. The committee shall have nine |
|
members, with jurisdiction over: |
|
(1) all bills and resolutions proposing to raise state |
|
revenue; |
|
(2) all bills or resolutions proposing to levy state |
|
taxes or other fees; |
|
(3) all proposals to modify, amend, or change any |
|
existing state tax or revenue statute; |
|
(4) all proposals to regulate the manner of collection |
|
of state revenues and taxes; |
|
(5) all bills and resolutions containing provisions |
|
resulting in automatic allocation of funds from the state treasury; |
|
(6) all bills and resolutions diverting funds from the |
|
state treasury or preventing funds from going in that otherwise |
|
would be placed in the state treasury; |
|
(7) all bills and resolutions relating to the Tax |
|
Code; and |
|
(8) the following state agencies: the Office of |
|
Multistate Tax Compact Commissioner for Texas and the State |
|
Comptroller of Public Accounts. |
|
RULE 4. ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES |
|
CHAPTER A. ORGANIZATION |
|
Sec. 1. COMMITTEES, MEMBERSHIP, AND JURISDICTION. Standing |
|
committees of the house, and the number of members and general |
|
jurisdiction of each, shall be as enumerated in Rule 3. |
|
Sec. 2. DETERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP. (a) Membership on |
|
the standing committees shall be determined at the beginning of |
|
each regular session in the following manner: |
|
(1) For each standing substantive committee, except |
|
the Committee on Appropriations, a maximum of one-half of the |
|
membership, exclusive of the chair and vice-chair, shall be |
|
determined by seniority. The remaining membership of the committee |
|
shall be appointed by the speaker. |
|
(2) Each member of the house, in order of seniority, |
|
may designate three committees on which he or she desires to serve, |
|
listed in order of preference. The member is entitled to become a |
|
member of the committee of his or her highest preference on which |
|
there remains a vacant seniority position. A member who desires to |
|
be designated the chair for budget and oversight of a substantive |
|
committee may indicate that preference, but seniority does not |
|
entitle the member to that designation. |
|
(3) If members of equal seniority request the same |
|
committee, the speaker shall appoint the member from among those |
|
requesting that committee. Seniority, as the term is used in this |
|
subsection, shall mean years of cumulative service as a member of |
|
the house of representatives. |
|
(4) After each member of the house has selected one |
|
committee on the basis of seniority, the remaining membership on |
|
each standing committee shall be filled by appointment of the |
|
speaker, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter. |
|
(5) Seniority shall not apply to a procedural |
|
committee. For purposes of these rules, the procedural committees |
|
are the Committee on Calendars, the Committee on Local and Consent |
|
Calendars, the Committee on Rules and Resolutions, the General |
|
Investigating and Ethics Committee, the Committee on House |
|
Administration, and the Committee on Redistricting. The entire |
|
membership of these committees shall be appointed by the speaker. |
|
(6) Seniority shall not apply to the Committee on |
|
Appropriations, which shall be composed of: |
|
(A) a chair and vice-chair appointed by the |
|
speaker; and |
|
(B) the chair for budget and oversight from each |
|
of the 27 committees for which there is a chair for budget and |
|
oversight. |
|
(7) In announcing the membership of committees, the |
|
speaker shall designate those appointed by the speaker and those |
|
acquiring membership by seniority. |
|
(8) The speaker shall designate the chair and |
|
vice-chair from the total membership of the committee. For 27 |
|
substantive committees determined by the speaker, the speaker shall |
|
designate a chair for budget and oversight from the total |
|
membership of the committee. |
|
(b) In the event of an election contest that is not resolved |
|
prior to the determination of the membership of standing |
|
committees, the representative of the district that is the subject |
|
of the contest is not entitled to select a committee on the basis of |
|
seniority. Committee appointments on behalf of that district shall |
|
be designated by the district number. |
|
(c) In the event of a vacancy in a representative district |
|
that has not been filled at the time of the determination of the |
|
membership of standing committees, the representative of the |
|
district who fills that vacancy shall not be entitled to select a |
|
committee on the basis of seniority. Committee appointments on |
|
behalf of that district shall be designated by the district number. |
|
(d) In the event that a member-elect of the current |
|
legislature has not taken the oath of office by the end of the ninth |
|
day of the regular session, the representative of that district |
|
shall not be entitled to select a committee on the basis of |
|
seniority. If the member-elect has not taken the oath of office by |
|
the time committee appointments are announced, committee |
|
appointments on behalf of that district shall be designated by |
|
district number. |
|
Sec. 3. RANKING OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS. Except for the chair |
|
and vice-chair, members of a standing committee shall rank |
|
according to their seniority. |
|
Sec. 4. MEMBERSHIP RESTRICTIONS. [Membership on
|
|
committees is subject to the following restrictions:
|
|
[(1)] No member shall serve concurrently on more than |
|
two standing substantive committees. |
|
[(2)
A member serving as chair of the Committee on
|
|
Appropriations or the Committee on State Affairs may not serve on
|
|
any other substantive committee.] |
|
Sec. 5. VACANCIES ON COMMITTEES. Should a vacancy occur on |
|
a standing, select, or interim committee subsequent to its |
|
organization, the speaker shall appoint an eligible member to fill |
|
the vacancy. |
|
Sec. 6. DUTIES OF THE CHAIR. The chair of each committee |
|
shall: |
|
(1) be responsible for the effective conduct of the |
|
business of the committee; |
|
(2) appoint all subcommittees and determine the number |
|
of members to serve on each subcommittee; |
|
(3) in consultation with members of the committee, |
|
schedule the work of the committee and determine the order in which |
|
the committee shall consider and act on bills, resolutions, and |
|
other matters referred to the committee; |
|
(4) have authority to employ and discharge the staff |
|
and employees authorized for the committee and have supervision and |
|
control over all the staff and employees; |
|
(5) direct the preparation of all committee reports. |
|
No committee report shall be official until signed by the chair of |
|
the committee, or by the person acting as chair, or by a majority of |
|
the membership of the committee; |
|
(6) determine the necessity for public hearings, |
|
schedule hearings, and be responsible for directing the posting of |
|
notice of hearings as required by the rules; |
|
(7) preside at all meetings of the committee and |
|
control its deliberations and activities in accordance with |
|
acceptable parliamentary procedure; and |
|
(8) have authority to direct the sergeant-at-arms to |
|
assist, where necessary, in enforcing the will of the committee. |
|
Sec. 7. BILL ANALYSES. Except for the general |
|
appropriations bill, for each bill or joint resolution referred to |
|
the committee, the staff of the committee shall be responsible for |
|
distributing a copy of a bill analysis to each member of the |
|
committee at the earliest possible opportunity but not later than |
|
the first time the measure is laid out in a committee meeting. |
|
CHAPTER B. PROCEDURE |
|
Sec. 8. MEETINGS. (a) As soon as practicable after |
|
standing committees are constituted and organized, the committee |
|
coordinator, under the direction of the Committee on House |
|
Administration, shall prepare a schedule for regular meetings of |
|
all standing committees. This schedule shall be published in the |
|
house journal and posted in a convenient and conspicuous place near |
|
the entrance to the house and on other posting boards for committee |
|
meeting notices, as determined necessary by the Committee on House |
|
Administration. To the extent practicable during each regular |
|
session, standing committees shall conduct regular committee |
|
meetings in accordance with the schedule of meetings prepared by |
|
the committee coordinator under the supervision of the Committee on |
|
House Administration. |
|
(b) Standing committees shall meet at other times as may be |
|
determined by the committee, or as may be called by the chair. |
|
Subcommittees of standing committees shall likewise meet at other |
|
times as may be determined by the committee, or as may be called by |
|
the chair of the committee or subcommittee. |
|
(c) Committees shall also meet in such places and at such |
|
times as the speaker may designate. |
|
Sec. 9. MEETING WHILE HOUSE IN SESSION. No standing |
|
committee or subcommittee shall meet during the time the house is in |
|
session without permission being given by a majority vote of the |
|
house. No standing committee or subcommittee shall conduct its |
|
meeting on the floor of the house or in the house chamber while the |
|
house is in session, but shall, if given permission to meet while |
|
the house is in session, retire to a designated committee room for |
|
the conduct of its meeting. |
|
Sec. 10. PURPOSES FOR MEETING. A committee or a |
|
subcommittee may be assembled for: |
|
(1) a public hearing where testimony is to be heard, |
|
and where official action may be taken, on bills, resolutions, or |
|
other matters; |
|
(2) a formal meeting where the committee may discuss |
|
and take official action on bills, resolutions, or other matters |
|
without testimony; and |
|
(3) a work session where the committee may discuss |
|
bills, resolutions, or other matters but take no formal action. |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 notify members of the |
|
committee at least five calendar days in advance of the meeting. |
|
Sec. 12. MEETINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. All meetings of a |
|
committee or subcommittee, including a calendars committee, shall |
|
be open to other members, the press, and the public unless |
|
specifically provided otherwise by resolution adopted by the house. |
|
However, the General Investigating and Ethics Committee or a |
|
committee considering an impeachment, an address, the punishment of |
|
a member of the house, or any other matter of a quasi-judicial |
|
nature may meet in executive session for the limited purpose of |
|
examining a witness or deliberating, considering, or debating a |
|
decision, but no decision may be made or voted on except in a |
|
meeting that is open to the public and otherwise in compliance with |
|
the rules of the house. |
|
Sec. 13. RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS. (a) The Rules of |
|
Procedure of the House of Representatives, and to the extent |
|
applicable, the rules of evidence and procedure in the civil courts |
|
of Texas, shall govern the hearings and operations of each |
|
committee, including a calendars committee. Subject to the |
|
foregoing, and to the extent necessary for orderly transaction of |
|
business, each committee may promulgate and adopt additional rules |
|
and procedures by which it will function. |
|
(b) No standing committee, including a calendars committee, |
|
or any subcommittee, shall adopt any rule of procedure, including |
|
but not limited to an automatic subcommittee rule, which will have |
|
the effect of thwarting the will of the majority of the committee or |
|
subcommittee or denying the committee or subcommittee the right to |
|
ultimately dispose of any pending matter by action of a majority of |
|
the committee or subcommittee. A bill or resolution may not be laid |
|
on the table subject to call in committee without a majority vote of |
|
the committee. |
|
Sec. 14. APPEALS FROM RULINGS OF THE CHAIR. Appeals from |
|
rulings of the chair of a committee shall be in order if seconded by |
|
three members of the committee, which may include the member making |
|
the appeal. Procedure in committee following an appeal which has |
|
been seconded shall be the same as the procedure followed in the |
|
house in a similar situation. |
|
Sec. 15. PREVIOUS QUESTION. Before the previous question |
|
can be ordered in a committee, the motion therefor must be seconded |
|
by not less than 4 members of a committee consisting of 21 or more |
|
members, 3 members of a committee consisting of less than 21 members |
|
and more than 10 members, or 2 members of a committee consisting of |
|
10 members or less. If the motion is properly seconded and ordered |
|
by a majority vote of the committee, further debate on the |
|
proposition under consideration shall be terminated, and the |
|
proposition shall be immediately put to a vote of the committee for |
|
its action. |
|
Sec. 16. QUORUM. A majority of a committee shall |
|
constitute a quorum. No action or recommendation of a committee |
|
shall be valid unless taken at a meeting of the committee with a |
|
quorum actually present, and the committee minutes shall reflect |
|
the names of those members of the committee who were actually |
|
present. No committee report shall be made to the house nor shall |
|
bills or resolutions be placed on a calendar unless ordered by a |
|
majority of the membership of the committee, except as otherwise |
|
provided in the rules, and a quorum of the committee must be present |
|
when the vote is taken on reporting a bill or resolution, on placing |
|
bills or resolutions on a calendar, or on taking any other formal |
|
action within the authority of the committee. No committee report |
|
shall be made nor shall bills or resolutions be placed on a calendar |
|
except by record vote of the members of the committee, with the yeas |
|
and nays to be recorded in the minutes of the committee. Proxies |
|
cannot be used in committees. |
|
Sec. 17. MOVING A CALL OF A COMMITTEE. (a) It shall be in |
|
order to move a call of a committee at any time to secure and |
|
maintain a quorum for any one or more of the following purposes: |
|
(1) for the consideration of a specific bill, |
|
resolution, or other matter; |
|
(2) for a definite period of time; or |
|
(3) for the consideration of any designated class of |
|
bills or other matters. |
|
(b) When a call of a committee is moved for one or more of |
|
the foregoing purposes and seconded by two members, one of whom may |
|
be the chair, and is ordered by a majority of the members present, |
|
no member shall thereafter be permitted to leave the committee |
|
meeting without written permission from the chair. After the call |
|
is ordered, and in the absence of a quorum, the chair shall have the |
|
authority to authorize the sergeant-at-arms to locate absent |
|
members of the committee and to compel their attendance for the |
|
duration of the call. |
|
Sec. 18. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS. (a) For each committee, |
|
including a calendars committee, the chair, or the member acting as |
|
chair, shall keep complete minutes of the proceedings in committee, |
|
which shall include: |
|
(1) the time and place of each meeting of the |
|
committee; |
|
(2) a roll call to determine the members present at |
|
each meeting of the committee, whether that meeting follows an |
|
adjournment or a recess from a previous committee meeting; |
|
(3) an accurate record of all votes taken, including a |
|
listing of the yeas and nays cast on a record vote; |
|
(4) the date of posting of notice of the meeting; and |
|
(5) other information that the chair shall determine. |
|
(b) The minutes for each public hearing of a committee shall |
|
also include an attachment listing the names of the persons, other |
|
than members of the legislature, and the persons or entities |
|
represented by those persons, who were recognized by the chair to |
|
address the committee or who signed a sworn statement in favor of, |
|
in opposition to, or without taking a position on a measure or other |
|
matter before the committee. The attachment shall also list the |
|
name of each person, other than a member of the legislature, who |
|
submitted to the committee a sworn statement indicating that the |
|
person was present in favor of, in opposition to, or without taking |
|
a position on the measure or other matter, but who because of the |
|
person's departure or other reason was not recognized by the chair |
|
to address the committee; provided that the omission of the name of |
|
such a person is not a sustainable question of order. |
|
(c) Committee minutes shall be corrected only at the |
|
direction of the chair as authorized by a majority vote of the |
|
committee. Duplicate originals of committee minutes shall be |
|
maintained, one to remain with the committee chair and the other to |
|
be filed with the committee coordinator. The committee minutes of a |
|
meeting of the Appropriations Committee on the general |
|
appropriations bill must be filed with the committee coordinator |
|
within five days of the committee meeting. All other committee |
|
minutes must be filed with the committee coordinator within three |
|
days of the committee meeting for a substantive committee, and |
|
within one day of the committee meeting for a procedural committee. |
|
If the date on which the committee minutes are due occurs on a |
|
Saturday, Sunday, or holiday on which the house is not in session, |
|
the committee minutes shall be filed on the following working day. |
|
The time at which the minutes are filed shall be time-stamped on the |
|
duplicate originals of the minutes that are filed with the |
|
committee coordinator. The duplicate originals shall be available |
|
at all reasonable business hours for inspection by members or the |
|
public. |
|
(d) The committee coordinator shall maintain the minutes |
|
and records safe from loss, destruction, and alteration at all |
|
times, and may, at any time, turn them, or any portion, over to the |
|
Committee on House Administration. |
|
Sec. 19. RECORDING OF TESTIMONY. All testimony before |
|
committees and subcommittees shall be electronically recorded |
|
under the direction of the Committee on House Administration. |
|
Copies of the testimony may be released under guidelines |
|
promulgated by the Committee on House Administration. |
|
Sec. 20. SWORN STATEMENT OF WITNESSES. (a) The committee |
|
coordinator, under the direction of the Committee on House |
|
Administration, shall prescribe the form of a sworn statement to be |
|
executed by all persons, other than members, who wish to be |
|
recognized by the chair to address the committee. The statement |
|
shall provide for showing at least: |
|
(1) the committee or subcommittee; |
|
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the |
|
person appearing; |
|
(3) the person, firm, corporation, class, or group |
|
represented; |
|
(4) the type of business, profession, or occupation in |
|
which the person is engaged, if the person is representing himself |
|
or herself; and |
|
(5) the matter before the committee on which the |
|
person wishes to be recognized to address the committee and whether |
|
for, against, or neutral on the matter. |
|
(b) No person shall be recognized by the chair to address |
|
the committee in favor of, in opposition to, or without taking a |
|
position on a matter until the sworn statement has been filed with |
|
the chair of the committee. The chair of the committee shall |
|
indicate on the sworn statement whether the person completing the |
|
statement was recognized to address the committee. |
|
(c) All sworn statements for those persons recognized by the |
|
chair to address the committee shall accompany the copy of the |
|
minutes of the meeting filed with the committee coordinator. |
|
(d) All persons, other than members, recognized by the chair |
|
to address the committee shall give their testimony under oath, and |
|
each committee may avail itself of additional powers and |
|
prerogatives authorized by law. |
|
(e) The committee shall ensure that an individual who is |
|
blind receives any necessary assistance in executing the sworn |
|
statement. |
|
(f) The committee shall inform a witness who is blind which |
|
members of the committee are present when the witness begins to |
|
testify and shall inform the witness during the testimony of the |
|
departure and arrival of committee members. |
|
Sec. 21. POWER TO ISSUE PROCESS AND SUMMON WITNESSES. (a) |
|
By a record vote of not less than two-thirds of those present and |
|
voting, a quorum being present, each standing committee shall have |
|
the power and authority to issue process to witnesses at any place |
|
in the State of Texas, to compel their attendance, and to compel the |
|
production of all books, records, and instruments. If necessary to |
|
obtain compliance with subpoenas or other process, the committee |
|
shall have the power to issue writs of attachment. All process |
|
issued by the committee may be addressed to and served by an agent |
|
of the committee or a sergeant-at-arms appointed by the committee |
|
or by any peace officer of the State of Texas. The committee shall |
|
also have the power to cite and have prosecuted for contempt, in the |
|
manner provided by law, anyone disobeying the subpoenas or other |
|
process lawfully issued by the committee. The chair of the |
|
committee shall issue, in the name of the committee, the subpoenas |
|
and other process as the committee may direct. |
|
(b) The chair may summon the governing board or other |
|
representatives of a state agency to appear and testify before the |
|
committee without issuing process under Subsection (a) of this |
|
section. The summons may be communicated in writing, orally, or |
|
electronically. If the persons summoned fail or refuse to appear, |
|
the committee may issue process under Subsection (a) of this |
|
section. |
|
Sec. 22. MILEAGE AND PER DIEM FOR WITNESSES. Subject to |
|
prior approval by the Committee on House Administration, witnesses |
|
attending proceedings of any committee under process of the |
|
committee shall be allowed the same mileage and per diem as are |
|
allowed members of the committee when in a travel status, to be paid |
|
out of the contingent expense fund of the house of representatives |
|
on vouchers approved by the chair of the committee, the chair of the |
|
Committee on House Administration, and the speaker of the house. |
|
Sec. 23. POWER TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE OF STATE |
|
AGENCIES. Each committee is authorized to request the assistance, |
|
when needed, of all state departments, agencies, and offices, and |
|
it shall be the duty of the departments, agencies, and offices to |
|
assist the committee when requested to do so. Each committee shall |
|
have the power and authority to inspect the records, documents, and |
|
files of every state department, agency, and office, to the extent |
|
necessary to the discharge of its duties within the area of its |
|
jurisdiction. |
|
Sec. 23A. ASSISTANCE OF OTHER HOUSE MEMBERS. At a meeting |
|
of a committee, the chair may recognize a member of the house who is |
|
not a member of the committee to provide information to the |
|
committee. Recognition is solely within the discretion of the |
|
chair and is not subject to appeal by that member. |
|
CHAPTER C. COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS |
|
Sec. 24. INTERIM STUDIES. Standing committees, en banc or |
|
by subcommittees, are hereby authorized to conduct studies that are |
|
authorized by the speaker pursuant to Rule 1, Section 17. Studies |
|
may not be authorized by resolution. The speaker may appoint public |
|
citizens and officials of state and local governments to standing |
|
committees to augment the membership for the purpose of interim |
|
studies and shall provide a list of such appointments to the chief |
|
clerk. The chair of the standing committee shall have authority to |
|
name the subcommittees necessary and desirable for the conduct of |
|
the interim studies and shall also prepare a budget for interim |
|
studies for approval by the Committee on House Administration. |
|
Sec. 25. MOTION PREVENTING REPORTING OR PLACEMENT ON A |
|
CALENDAR. No motion is in order in a committee considering a bill, |
|
resolution, or other matter that would prevent the committee from |
|
reporting it back to the house or placing it on a calendar in |
|
accordance with the Rules of the House. |
|
Sec. 26. FINAL ACTION IN FORM OF REPORT. No action by a |
|
committee on bills or resolutions referred to it shall be |
|
considered as final unless it is in the form of a favorable report, |
|
an unfavorable report, or a report of inability to recommend a |
|
course of action. |
|
Sec. 27. VOTE ON MOTION TO REPORT. Motions made in |
|
committee to report favorably or unfavorably must receive |
|
affirmative majority votes, majority negative votes to either |
|
motion being insufficient to report. If a committee is unable to |
|
agree on a recommendation for action, as in the case of a tie vote, |
|
it should submit a statement of this fact as its report, and the |
|
house shall decide, by a majority vote, the disposition of the |
|
matter by one of the following alternatives: |
|
(1) leave the bill in the committee for further |
|
consideration; |
|
(2) refer the bill to some other committee; or |
|
(3) order the bill printed, in which case the bill |
|
shall go to the Committee on Calendars for placement on a calendar |
|
and for proposal of an appropriate rule for house consideration. |
|
Sec. 28. MINORITY REPORTS. The report of a minority of a |
|
committee shall be made in the same general form as a majority |
|
report. No minority report shall be recognized by the house unless |
|
it has been signed by not less than 4 members of a committee |
|
consisting of 21 or more members, 3 members of a committee |
|
consisting of less than 21 members and more than 10 members, or 2 |
|
members of a committee consisting of 10 or less members. Only |
|
members who were present when the vote was taken on the bill, |
|
resolution, or other matter being reported, and who voted on the |
|
losing side, may sign a minority report. Notice of intention to |
|
file a minority report shall be given to the assembled committee |
|
after the vote on the bill, resolution, or other matter, and before |
|
the recess or adjournment of the committee, provided ample |
|
opportunity is afforded for the giving of notice; otherwise, notice |
|
may be given in writing to the chief clerk within 24 hours after the |
|
recess or adjournment of the committee. |
|
Sec. 29. ACTION ON BILLS REPORTED UNFAVORABLY. If the |
|
majority report on a bill is unfavorable, and a favorable minority |
|
report is not signed in accordance with Section 28 of this rule and |
|
filed with the chief clerk within two calendar days, exclusive of |
|
Sunday and the date of committee action, the chief clerk shall file |
|
the bill away as dead; except during the last 15 calendar days of a |
|
regular session, or the last 7 calendar days of a special session, |
|
when the chief clerk shall hold a bill only one calendar day, |
|
exclusive of Sunday and the date of committee action, awaiting the |
|
filing of a minority report before the bill is filed away as dead. |
|
If the favorable minority report is properly signed and filed, the |
|
chief clerk shall hold the bill for five legislative days, |
|
exclusive of the legislative day in which the minority report was |
|
filed, awaiting adoption by the house of a motion to print the bill |
|
on minority report. If the motion to print is carried, the bill |
|
shall be printed as if it had been reported favorably, and shall |
|
then be immediately forwarded to the Committee on Calendars for |
|
placement on a calendar and for proposal of an appropriate rule |
|
for house consideration. If a motion to print a bill on minority |
|
report is not made within the five legislative days authorized |
|
above, the chief clerk shall file the bill away as dead. It shall |
|
not be in order to move to recommit a bill adversely reported with |
|
no minority report, except as provided in Section 30 of this rule. |
|
A two-thirds vote of the house shall be required to print on |
|
minority report a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the |
|
Constitution of Texas. |
|
Sec. 30. MAKING ADVERSE REPORTS WITHOUT HEARING THE |
|
AUTHOR. No adverse report shall be made on any bill or resolution |
|
by any committee without first giving the author or sponsor of the |
|
bill an opportunity to be heard. If it becomes evident to the house |
|
that a bill has been reported adversely without the author or |
|
sponsor having had an opportunity to be heard as provided in this |
|
section, the house may, by a majority vote, order the bill |
|
recommitted even though no minority report was filed in the manner |
|
prescribed by the rules. This provision shall have precedence over |
|
Rule 7, Section 20. |
|
Sec. 31. ADVERSE REPORTS ON LOCAL BILLS. If a local bill is |
|
reported adversely, it shall be subject to the same rules that |
|
govern other bills reported adversely. |
|
Sec. 32. FORM OF REPORTS. (a) Reports of standing |
|
committees on bills and resolutions shall be made in duplicate, |
|
with one copy to be filed with the journal clerk for printing in the |
|
journal and the other to accompany the original bill. |
|
(b) All committee reports must be in writing and shall: |
|
(1) be signed by the chair, or the member acting as |
|
chair, or a majority of the membership of the committee; |
|
(2) be addressed to the speaker; |
|
(3) contain a statement of the recommendations of the |
|
committee with reference to the matter which is the subject of the |
|
report; |
|
(4) contain the date the committee made its |
|
recommendation; |
|
(5) indicate whether a copy of a bill or resolution was |
|
forwarded to the Legislative Budget Board for preparation of a |
|
fiscal note or other impact statement, if applicable; |
|
(6) contain the record vote by which the report was |
|
adopted, including the vote of each member of the committee; |
|
(7) contain the recommendation that the bill or |
|
resolution be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars |
|
for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar if |
|
applicable; |
|
(8) state the name of the primary house sponsor of all |
|
senate bills and resolutions and indicate the names of all joint |
|
sponsors or cosponsors; |
|
(9) include a summary of the committee hearing on the |
|
bill or resolution; and |
|
(10) include a list of the names of the persons, other |
|
than members of the legislature, and persons or entities |
|
represented by those persons, who were recognized by the chair to |
|
address the committee in favor of, in opposition to, or without |
|
taking a position on the bill or resolution. |
|
(c) Except for the general appropriations bill, each |
|
committee report on a bill or joint resolution, including a |
|
complete committee substitute, and, to the extent considered |
|
necessary by the committee, a committee report on any other |
|
resolution, must include in summary or section-by-section form a |
|
detailed analysis of the subject matter of the bill or resolution, |
|
specifically including: |
|
(1) background information on the proposal and |
|
information on what the bill or resolution proposes to do; |
|
(2) an analysis of the content of the bill or |
|
resolution; |
|
(3) a statement indicating whether or not any |
|
rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to a state officer, |
|
department, agency, or institution, and, if so, identifying the |
|
sections of the measure in which that rulemaking authority is |
|
delegated; |
|
(4) a statement of substantial differences between a |
|
complete committee substitute and the original bill; and |
|
(5) a brief explanation of each amendment adopted by |
|
the committee. |
|
(d) It shall be the duty of the committee chair, on all |
|
matters reported by the committee, to see that all provisions of |
|
Rule 12 are satisfied. The chair shall strictly construe this |
|
provision to achieve the desired purposes. |
|
Sec. 33. FISCAL NOTES. (a) If the chair of a standing |
|
committee determines that a bill or joint resolution, other than |
|
the general appropriations bill, authorizes or requires the |
|
expenditure or diversion of state funds for any purpose, the chair |
|
shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for |
|
the preparation of a fiscal note outlining the fiscal implications |
|
and probable cost of the measure. |
|
(b) If the chair of a standing committee determines that a |
|
bill or joint resolution has statewide impact on units of local |
|
government of the same type or class and authorizes or requires the |
|
expenditure or diversion of local funds, or creates or impacts a |
|
local tax, fee, license charge, or penalty, the chair shall send a |
|
copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the |
|
preparation of a fiscal note outlining the fiscal implications and |
|
probable cost of the measure. |
|
(c) In preparing a fiscal note, the director of the |
|
Legislative Budget Board may utilize information or data supplied |
|
by any person, agency, organization, or governmental unit that the |
|
director deems reliable. If the director determines that the fiscal |
|
implications of the measure cannot be ascertained, the director |
|
shall so state in the fiscal note, in which case the fiscal note |
|
shall be in full compliance with the rules. If the director of the |
|
Legislative Budget Board is unable to acquire or develop sufficient |
|
information to prepare the fiscal note within 15 days of receiving |
|
the measure from the chair of a committee, the director shall so |
|
state in the fiscal note, in which case the note shall be in full |
|
compliance with the rules. |
|
(d) If the chair determines that a fiscal note is required, |
|
copies of the fiscal note must be distributed to the members of the |
|
committee not later than the first time the measure is laid out in a |
|
committee meeting. The fiscal note shall be attached to the measure |
|
on first printing. If the measure is amended by the committee so as |
|
to alter its fiscal implications, the chair shall obtain an updated |
|
fiscal note, which shall also be attached to the measure on first |
|
printing. |
|
(e) All fiscal notes shall remain with the measure |
|
throughout the entire legislative process, including submission to |
|
the governor. |
|
Sec. 34. OTHER IMPACT STATEMENTS. (a) It is the intent of |
|
this section that all members of the house are timely informed as to |
|
the impact of proposed legislation on the state or other unit of |
|
government. |
|
(b) If the chair of a standing committee determines that a |
|
bill or joint resolution: |
|
(1) authorizes or requires a change in the sanctions |
|
applicable to adults convicted of felony crimes, the chair shall |
|
send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the |
|
preparation of a criminal justice policy impact statement; |
|
(2) authorizes or requires a change in the public |
|
school finance system, the chair shall send a copy of the measure to |
|
the Legislative Budget Board for the preparation of an equalized |
|
education funding impact statement; |
|
(3) proposes to change benefits or participation in |
|
benefits of a public retirement system or change the financial |
|
obligations of a public retirement system, the chair shall send a |
|
copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the |
|
preparation of an actuarial impact statement in cooperation with |
|
the State Pension Review Board; |
|
(4) proposes to create a water district under the |
|
authority of Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, |
|
the chair shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget |
|
Board for the preparation of a water development policy impact |
|
statement; or |
|
(5) creates or impacts a state tax or fee, the chair |
|
shall send a copy of the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for |
|
the preparation of a tax equity note that estimates the general |
|
effects of the proposal on the distribution of tax and fee burdens |
|
among individuals and businesses. |
|
(c) In preparing an impact statement, the director of the |
|
Legislative Budget Board may utilize information or data supplied |
|
by any person, agency, organization, or governmental unit that the |
|
director deems reliable. If the director determines that the |
|
particular implications of the measure cannot be ascertained, the |
|
director shall so state in the impact statement, in which case the |
|
impact statement shall be in full compliance with the rules. |
|
(d) An impact statement is not required to be present before |
|
a measure is laid out in a committee meeting. If timely received, |
|
the impact statement shall be attached to the measure on first |
|
printing. If the measure is amended by the committee so as to alter |
|
its particular implications, the chair shall obtain an updated |
|
impact statement. If timely received, the updated impact statement |
|
shall also be attached to the measure on first printing. |
|
(e) An impact statement that is received after the first |
|
printing of a measure has been distributed to the members shall be |
|
forwarded by the chair of the committee to the committee |
|
coordinator. The committee coordinator shall have the impact |
|
statement printed and distributed to the members. |
|
(f) All impact statements received shall remain with the |
|
measure throughout the entire legislative process, including |
|
submission to the governor. |
|
Sec. 35. REPORTS ON HOUSE AND CONCURRENT |
|
RESOLUTIONS. Committee reports on house and concurrent |
|
resolutions shall be made in the same manner and shall follow the |
|
same procedure as provided for bills, subject to any differences |
|
otherwise authorized or directed by the rules. |
|
Sec. 36. ACTION BY HOUSE ON REPORTS NOT REQUIRED. No |
|
action by the house is necessary on the report of a standing |
|
committee. The bill, resolution, or proposition recommended or |
|
reported by the committee shall automatically be before the house |
|
for its consideration after the bill or resolution has been |
|
referred to the appropriate calendars committee for placement on a |
|
calendar and for proposal of an appropriate rule for house |
|
consideration. |
|
Sec. 37. REFERRAL OF REPORTS TO COMMITTEE COORDINATOR. All |
|
committee reports on bills or resolutions shall be immediately |
|
referred to the committee coordinator. The chair of the committee |
|
shall be responsible for delivery of the report to the committee |
|
coordinator. |
|
Sec. 38. DELIVERY OF REPORTS TO CALENDARS |
|
COMMITTEES. After printing, the chief clerk shall be responsible |
|
for delivery of a certified copy of the committee report to the |
|
appropriate calendars committee, which committee shall immediately |
|
accept the bill or resolution for placement on a calendar and for |
|
the proposal of an appropriate rule for house consideration. |
|
Sec. 39. COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS. No committee shall have the |
|
power to amend, delete, or change in any way the nature, purpose, or |
|
content of any bill or resolution referred to it, but may draft and |
|
recommend amendments to it, which shall become effective only if |
|
adopted by a majority vote of the house. |
|
Sec. 40. SUBSTITUTES. The committee may adopt and report a |
|
complete germane committee substitute containing the title, |
|
enacting clause, and text of the bill in lieu of an original bill, |
|
in which event the complete substitute bill on committee report |
|
shall be laid before the house and shall be the matter then before |
|
the house for its consideration, instead of the original bill. If |
|
the substitute bill is defeated at any legislative stage, the bill |
|
is considered not passed. |
|
Sec. 41. GERMANENESS OF SUBSTITUTE. If a point of order is |
|
raised that a complete committee substitute is not germane, in |
|
whole or in part, and the point of order is sustained, the committee |
|
substitute shall be returned to the Committee on Calendars, which |
|
may have the original bill printed and distributed and placed on a |
|
calendar in lieu of the substitute or may return the original bill |
|
to the committee from which it was reported for further action. |
|
Sec. 42. AUTHOR'S RIGHT TO OFFER AMENDMENTS TO REPORT. |
|
Should the author or sponsor of the bill, resolution, or other |
|
proposal not be satisfied with the final recommendation or form of |
|
the committee report, the member shall have the privilege of |
|
offering on the floor of the house such amendments or changes as he |
|
or she considers necessary and desirable, and those amendments or |
|
changes shall be given priority during the periods of time when |
|
original amendments are in order under the provisions of Rule 11, |
|
Section 7. |
|
CHAPTER D. SUBCOMMITTEES |
|
Sec. 43. JURISDICTION. Each committee is authorized to |
|
conduct its activities and perform its work through the use of |
|
subcommittees as shall be determined by the chair of the committee. |
|
Subcommittees shall be created, organized, and operated in such a |
|
way that the subject matter and work area of each subcommittee shall |
|
be homogeneous and shall pertain to related governmental |
|
activities. The size and jurisdiction of each subcommittee shall |
|
be determined by the chair of the committee. |
|
Sec. 44. MEMBERSHIP. The chair of each standing committee |
|
shall appoint from the membership of the committee the members who |
|
are to serve on each subcommittee. Any vacancy on a subcommittee |
|
shall be filled by appointment of the chair of the standing |
|
committee. The chair and vice-chair of each subcommittee shall be |
|
named by the chair of the committee. |
|
Sec. 45. RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS. The Rules of |
|
Procedure of the House of Representatives, to the extent |
|
applicable, shall govern the hearings and operations of each |
|
subcommittee. Subject to the foregoing, and to the extent |
|
necessary for orderly transaction of business, each subcommittee |
|
may promulgate and adopt additional rules and procedures by which |
|
it will function. |
|
Sec. 46. QUORUM. A majority of a subcommittee shall |
|
constitute a quorum, and no action or recommendation of a |
|
subcommittee shall be valid unless taken at a meeting with a quorum |
|
actually present. All reports of a subcommittee must be approved by |
|
record vote by a majority of the membership of the subcommittee. |
|
Minutes of the subcommittee shall be maintained in a manner similar |
|
to that required by the rules for standing committees. Proxies |
|
cannot be used in subcommittees. |
|
Sec. 47. POWER AND AUTHORITY. Each subcommittee, within |
|
the area of its jurisdiction, shall have all of the power, |
|
authority, and rights granted by the Rules of Procedure of the House |
|
of Representatives to the standing committee, except subpoena |
|
power, to the extent necessary to discharge the duties and |
|
responsibilities of the subcommittee. |
|
Sec. 48. REFERRAL OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO |
|
SUBCOMMITTEE. All bills and resolutions referred to a standing |
|
committee shall be reviewed by the chair to determine appropriate |
|
disposition of the bills and resolutions. All bills and |
|
resolutions shall be considered by the entire standing committee |
|
unless the chair of that standing committee determines to refer the |
|
bills and resolutions to subcommittee. If a bill or resolution is |
|
referred by the chair of the standing committee to a subcommittee, |
|
it shall be considered by the subcommittee in the same form in which |
|
the measure was referred to the standing committee, and any action |
|
taken by the standing committee on a proposed amendment or |
|
committee substitute before a measure is referred to subcommittee |
|
is therefore voided at the time the measure is referred to |
|
subcommittee. The subcommittee shall be charged with the duty and |
|
responsibility of conducting the hearing, doing research, and |
|
performing such other functions as the subcommittee or its parent |
|
standing committee may determine. All meetings of the subcommittee |
|
shall be scheduled by the subcommittee chair, with appropriate |
|
public notice and notification of each member of the subcommittee |
|
under the same rules of procedure as govern the conduct of the |
|
standing committee. |
|
Sec. 49. REPORT BY SUBCOMMITTEE. At the conclusion of its |
|
deliberations on a bill, resolution, or other matter referred to |
|
it, the subcommittee may prepare a written report, comprehensive |
|
in nature, for submission to the full committee. The report shall |
|
include background material as well as recommended action and shall |
|
be accompanied by a complete draft of the bill, resolution, or other |
|
proposal in such form as the subcommittee shall determine. |
|
Sec. 50. ACTION ON SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS. Subcommittee |
|
reports shall be directed to the chair of the committee, who shall |
|
schedule meetings of the standing committee from time to time as |
|
necessary and appropriate for the reception of subcommittee reports |
|
and for action on reports by the standing committee. No |
|
subcommittee report shall be scheduled for action by the standing |
|
committee until at least 24 hours after a copy of the subcommittee |
|
report is provided to each member of the standing committee. |
|
CHAPTER E. COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE HOUSE |
|
Sec. 51. RESOLUTION INTO A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE |
|
HOUSE. The house may resolve itself into a committee of the whole |
|
house to consider any matter referred to it by the house. In |
|
forming a committee of the whole house, the speaker shall vacate the |
|
chair and shall appoint a chair to preside in committee. |
|
Sec. 52. RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS. The rules governing |
|
the proceedings of the house and those governing committees shall |
|
be observed in committees of the whole, to the extent that they are |
|
applicable. |
|
Sec. 53. MOTION FOR A CALL OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE |
|
WHOLE. (a) It shall be in order to move a call of the committee of |
|
the whole at any time to secure and maintain a quorum for the |
|
following purposes: |
|
(1) for the consideration of a certain or specific |
|
matter; or |
|
(2) for a definite period of time; or |
|
(3) for the consideration of any designated class of |
|
bills. |
|
(b) When a call of the committee of the whole is moved and |
|
seconded by 10 members, of whom the chair may be one, and is ordered |
|
by majority vote, the main entrance of the hall and all other doors |
|
leading out of the hall shall be locked, and no member shall be |
|
permitted to leave the hall without written permission. Other |
|
proceedings under a call of the committee shall be the same as under |
|
a call of the house. |
|
Sec. 54. HANDLING OF A BILL. A bill committed to a |
|
committee of the whole house shall be handled in the same manner as |
|
in any other committee. The body of the bill shall not be defaced or |
|
interlined, but all amendments shall be duly endorsed by the chief |
|
clerk as they are adopted by the committee, and so reported to the |
|
house. When a bill is reported by the committee of the whole house |
|
it shall be referred immediately to the appropriate calendars |
|
committee for placement on the appropriate calendar and shall |
|
follow the same procedure as any other bill on committee report. |
|
Sec. 55. FAILURE TO COMPLETE WORK AT ANY SITTING. In the |
|
event that the committee of the whole, at any sitting, fails to |
|
complete its work on any bill or resolution under consideration for |
|
lack of time, or desires to take any action on that measure that is |
|
permitted under the rules for other committees, it may, on a motion |
|
made and adopted by majority vote, rise, report progress, and ask |
|
leave of the house to sit again generally, or at a time certain. |
|
Sec. 56. REPORTS OF SELECT COMMITTEES. Reports of select |
|
committees made during a session shall be filed with the chief clerk |
|
and printed in the journal, unless otherwise determined by the |
|
house. |
|
CHAPTER F. INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEES |
|
Sec. 57. INTERIM STUDIES. Pursuant to Rule 1, Section 17, |
|
the speaker may create interim study committees to conduct studies |
|
by issuing a proclamation for each committee, which shall specify |
|
the issue to be studied, committee membership, and any additional |
|
authority and duties. A copy of each proclamation creating an |
|
interim study committee shall be filed with the chief clerk. An |
|
interim study committee expires on release of its final report or |
|
when the next legislature convenes, whichever is earlier. An |
|
interim study committee may not be created by resolution. |
|
Sec. 58. APPOINTMENT AND MEMBERSHIP. The speaker shall |
|
appoint all members of an interim study committee, which may |
|
include public citizens and officials of state and local |
|
governments. The speaker shall also designate the chair and |
|
vice-chair and may authorize the chair to create subcommittees and |
|
appoint citizen advisory committees. |
|
Sec. 59. RULES GOVERNING OPERATIONS. The rules governing |
|
the proceedings of the house and those governing standing |
|
committees shall be observed by an interim study committee, to the |
|
extent that they are applicable. An interim study committee shall |
|
have the power to issue process and to request assistance of state |
|
agencies as provided for a standing committee in Sections 21, 22, |
|
and 23 of this rule. |
|
Sec. 60. FUNDING AND STAFF. An interim study committee |
|
shall use existing staff resources of its members, standing |
|
committees, house offices, and legislative service agencies. The |
|
chair of an interim study committee shall prepare a detailed budget |
|
for approval by the speaker and the Committee on House |
|
Administration. An interim study committee may accept gifts, |
|
grants, and donations for the purpose of funding its activities as |
|
provided by Sections 301.032(b) and (c), Government Code. |
|
Sec. 61. STUDY REPORTS. The final report or |
|
recommendations of an interim study committee shall be approved by |
|
a majority of the committee membership. Dissenting members may |
|
attach statements to the final report. Five copies of the report |
|
shall be submitted to the speaker; 50 copies shall be provided to |
|
House Bill Distribution for sale at cost; and 75 copies shall be |
|
provided to the committee coordinator, who shall make the |
|
appropriate distribution to the Legislative Reference Library and |
|
state library and archives. This section shall also apply to |
|
interim study reports of standing committees. |
|
Sec. 62. JOINT HOUSE AND SENATE INTERIM |
|
STUDIES. Procedures may be established by a concurrent resolution |
|
adopted by both houses, by which the speaker may authorize and |
|
appoint, jointly with the senate, committees to conduct interim |
|
studies. A copy of the authorization for and the appointments to a |
|
joint interim study committee shall be filed with the chief clerk. |
|
Individual joint interim study committees may not be authorized or |
|
created by resolution. |
|
RULE 5. FLOOR PROCEDURE |
|
CHAPTER A. QUORUM AND ATTENDANCE |
|
Sec. 1. QUORUM. Two-thirds of the house shall constitute a |
|
quorum to do business. |
|
Sec. 2. ROLL CALLS. On every roll call or registration, |
|
the names of the members shall be called or listed, as the case may |
|
be, alphabetically by surname, except when two or more have the same |
|
surname, in which case the initials of the members shall be added. |
|
Sec. 3. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. (a) No member shall be absent |
|
from the sessions of the house without leave, and no member shall be |
|
excused on his or her own motion. |
|
(b) A leave of absence may be granted by a majority vote of |
|
the house and may be revoked at any time by a similar vote. |
|
(c) Any member granted a leave of absence due to a meeting of |
|
a committee or conference committee that has authority to meet |
|
while the house is in session shall be so designated on each roll |
|
call or registration for which that member is excused. |
|
Sec. 4. FAILURE TO ANSWER ROLL CALL. Any member who is |
|
present and fails or refuses to record on a roll call after being |
|
requested to do so by the speaker shall be recorded as present by |
|
the speaker and shall be counted for the purpose of making a quorum. |
|
Sec. 5. POINT OF ORDER OF "NO QUORUM." (a) The point of |
|
order of "No Quorum" shall not be accepted by the chair if the last |
|
roll call showed the presence of a quorum, provided the last roll |
|
call was taken within two hours of the time the point of order is |
|
raised. |
|
(b) If the last roll call was taken more than two hours |
|
before the point of order is raised, it shall be in order for the |
|
member who raised the point of order to request a roll call. Such a |
|
request must be seconded by 25 members. If the request for a roll |
|
call is properly seconded, the chair shall order a roll call. |
|
(c) Once a point of order has been made that a quorum is not |
|
present, it may not be withdrawn after the absence of a quorum has |
|
been ascertained and announced. |
|
Sec. 6. MOTIONS IN ORDER WHEN QUORUM NOT PRESENT. If a |
|
registration or record vote reveals that a quorum is not present, |
|
only a motion to adjourn or a motion for a call of the house and the |
|
motions incidental thereto shall be in order. |
|
Sec. 7. MOTION FOR CALL OF THE HOUSE. It shall be in order |
|
to move a call of the house at any time to secure and maintain a |
|
quorum for one of the following purposes: |
|
(1) for the consideration of a specific bill, |
|
resolution, motion, or other measure; |
|
(2) for the consideration of any designated class of |
|
bills; or |
|
(3) for a definite period of time. |
|
Motions for, and incidental to, a call of the house are not |
|
debatable. |
|
Sec. 8. SECURING A QUORUM. When a call of the house is |
|
moved for one of the above purposes and seconded by 15 members (of |
|
whom the speaker may be one) and ordered by a majority vote, the |
|
main entrance to the hall and all other doors leading out of the |
|
hall shall be locked and no member permitted to leave the house |
|
without the written permission of the speaker. The names of members |
|
present shall be recorded. All absentees for whom no sufficient |
|
excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent |
|
for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the |
|
sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms |
|
for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and |
|
retained. The house shall determine on what conditions they shall |
|
be discharged. Members who voluntarily appear shall, unless the |
|
house otherwise directs, be immediately admitted to the hall of the |
|
house and shall report their names to the clerk to be entered in the |
|
journal as present. |
|
Until a quorum appears, should the roll call fail to show one |
|
present, no business shall be transacted, except to compel the |
|
attendance of absent members or to adjourn. It shall not be in |
|
order to recess under a call of the house. |
|
Sec. 9. FOLLOWING ACHIEVEMENT OF A QUORUM. When a quorum |
|
is shown to be present, the house may proceed with the matters on |
|
which the call was ordered, or may enforce the call and await the |
|
attendance of as many of the absentees as it desires. When the |
|
house proceeds to the business on which the call was ordered, it |
|
may, by a majority vote, direct the sergeant-at-arms to cease |
|
bringing in absent members. |
|
Sec. 10. REPEATING A RECORD VOTE. When a record vote |
|
reveals the lack of a quorum, and a call is ordered to secure one, a |
|
record vote shall again be taken when the house resumes business |
|
with a quorum present. |
|
CHAPTER B. ADMITTANCE TO HOUSE CHAMBER |
|
Sec. 11. PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE FLOOR. Only the following |
|
persons shall be entitled to the privileges of the floor of the |
|
house when the house is in session: members of the house; employees |
|
of the house when performing their official duties as determined by |
|
the Committee on House Administration; members of the senate; |
|
employees of the senate when performing their official duties; the |
|
Governor of Texas and the governor's executive and administrative |
|
assistant; the lieutenant governor; the secretary of state; duly |
|
accredited reporters, photographers, correspondents, and |
|
commentators of press, radio, and television who have complied with |
|
Sections 20(a), (b), (c), and (d) of this rule; contestants in |
|
election cases pending before the house; and immediate families of |
|
the members of the legislature on such special occasions as may be |
|
determined by the Committee on House Administration. |
|
Sec. 12. ADMITTANCE WITHIN THE RAILING. Only the following |
|
persons shall be admitted to the area on the floor of the house |
|
enclosed by the railing when the house is in session: members of |
|
the house; members of the senate; the governor; the lieutenant |
|
governor; officers and employees of the senate and house when those |
|
officers and employees are actually engaged in performing their |
|
official duties as determined by the Committee on House |
|
Administration; spouses of members of the house on such occasions |
|
as may be determined by the Committee on House Administration; and, |
|
within the area specifically designated for media |
|
representatives, duly accredited reporters, photographers, |
|
correspondents, and commentators of press, radio, and television |
|
who have complied with Sections 20(a), (b), (c), and (d) of this |
|
rule. |
|
Sec. 13. SOLICITORS AND COLLECTORS PROHIBITED. Solicitors |
|
and collectors shall not be admitted to the floor of the house while |
|
the house is in session. |
|
Sec. 14. INVITATION TO ADDRESS THE HOUSE. A motion to |
|
invite a person to address the house while it is in session shall be |
|
in order only if the person invited is entitled to the privileges of |
|
the floor as defined by Section 11 of this rule and if no business is |
|
pending before the house. |
|
Sec. 15. LOBBYING ON FLOOR. No one, except the governor or |
|
a member of the legislature, who is lobbying or working for or |
|
against any pending or prospective legislative measure shall be |
|
permitted on the floor of the house or in the adjacent rooms while |
|
the house is in session. |
|
Sec. 16. SUSPENSION OF FLOOR PRIVILEGES. If any person |
|
admitted to the floor of the house under the rules, except the |
|
governor or a member of the legislature, lobbies or works for or |
|
against any pending or prospective legislation or violates any of |
|
the other rules of the house, the privileges extended to that person |
|
under the rules shall be suspended by a majority vote of the |
|
Committee on House Administration. The action of the committee |
|
shall be reviewable by the house only if two members of the |
|
committee request an appeal from the decision of the committee. The |
|
request shall be in the form of a minority report and shall be |
|
subject to the same rules that are applicable to minority reports on |
|
bills. Suspension shall remain in force until the accused person |
|
purges himself or herself and comes within the rules, or until the |
|
house, by majority vote, reverses the action of the committee. |
|
Sec. 17. MEMBERS LOUNGE PRIVILEGES. Only the following |
|
persons shall be admitted to the members lounge at any |
|
time: members of the house; members of the senate; and former |
|
members of the house and senate who are not engaged in any form of |
|
employment requiring them to lobby or work for or against any |
|
pending or prospective legislative measures. |
|
Sec. 18. FLOOR DUTIES OF HOUSE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. It |
|
shall be the duty of the Committee on House Administration to |
|
determine what duties are to be discharged by officers and |
|
employees of the house on the floor of the house, specifically in |
|
the area enclosed by the railing, when the house is in session. It |
|
shall be the duty of the speaker to see that the officers and |
|
employees do not violate the regulations promulgated by the |
|
Committee on House Administration. |
|
Sec. 19. PROPER DECORUM. No person shall be admitted to, |
|
or allowed to remain in, the house chamber while the house is in |
|
session unless properly attired, and all gentlemen shall wear a |
|
coat and tie. Food or beverage shall not be permitted in the house |
|
chamber at any time, and no person carrying food or beverage shall |
|
be admitted to the chamber, whether the house is in session or in |
|
recess. Reading newspapers shall not be permitted in the house |
|
chamber while the house is in session. Smoking is not permitted in |
|
the member's lounge or bathrooms. The Committee on House |
|
Administration shall designate an area for smoking that is easily |
|
accessible to the house chamber. |
|
Sec. 20. MEDIA ACCESS TO HOUSE CHAMBER. (a) When the |
|
house is in session, no media representative shall be admitted to |
|
the floor of the house or allowed its privileges unless the person |
|
is a salaried staff correspondent, reporter, or photographer |
|
regularly employed by a newspaper, a press association or news |
|
service serving newspapers, a publication requiring telegraphic |
|
coverage, or a duly licensed radio or television station or |
|
network. |
|
(b) Any media representative seeking admission to the floor |
|
of the house under the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section |
|
must present to the Committee on House Administration fully |
|
accredited credentials from his or her employer certifying that the |
|
media representative is engaged primarily in reporting the sessions |
|
of the legislature. Regularly accredited media representatives who |
|
have duly qualified under the provisions of this section may, when |
|
requested to do so, make recommendations through their professional |
|
committees to the Committee on House Administration as to the |
|
sufficiency or insufficiency of the credentials of any person |
|
seeking admission to the floor of the house under this section. |
|
Every media representative, before being admitted to the |
|
floor of the house during its sessions, shall file with the |
|
Committee on House Administration a written statement showing the |
|
paper or papers, press association, news service, publication |
|
requiring telegraphic coverage, or radio or television station or |
|
network which he or she represents and certifying that no part of |
|
his or her salary for legislative coverage is paid by any person, |
|
firm, corporation, or association except the listed news media |
|
which he or she represents. |
|
(c) If the Committee on House Administration determines |
|
that a person's media credentials meet the requirements of this |
|
section, the committee shall issue a pass card to the person. This |
|
pass card must be presented to the doorkeeper each time the person |
|
seeks admission to the floor of the house while the house is in |
|
session. Pass cards issued under this section shall not be |
|
transferable. Persons admitted to the floor of the house pursuant |
|
to the provisions of this section shall work in appropriate |
|
convenient seats or work stations in the house, which shall be |
|
designated for that purpose by the Committee on House |
|
Administration. |
|
(d) Members of the house shall not engage in interviews and |
|
press conferences on the house floor while the house is in session. |
|
The Committee on House Administration is authorized to enforce this |
|
provision and to prescribe such other regulations as may be |
|
necessary and desirable to achieve these purposes. Persons |
|
governed by this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of |
|
Section 15 of this rule. |
|
(e) Permission to make live or recorded television or radio |
|
broadcasts in or from the house chamber while the house is in |
|
session may be granted only by the Committee on House |
|
Administration. The committee shall promulgate regulations |
|
governing television or radio broadcasts, and such regulations |
|
shall be printed as an addendum to the rules of the house. When |
|
television or radio broadcasts from the floor of the house are |
|
recommended by the Committee on House Administration, the |
|
recommendation shall identify those persons in the technical crews |
|
to whom pass cards to the floor of the house and galleries are to be |
|
issued. Passes granted under this authority shall be subject to |
|
revocation on the recommendation of the Committee on House |
|
Administration. Each committee of the house shall have authority |
|
to determine whether or not to permit television or radio |
|
broadcasts of any of its proceedings. |
|
Sec. 21. PUBLIC ADMISSION TO AND NONLEGISLATIVE USE OF THE |
|
HOUSE CHAMBER. When the house is not in session, the floor of the |
|
house shall remain open on days and hours determined by the |
|
Committee on House Administration. By resolution, the house may |
|
open the floor of the house during its sessions for the inauguration |
|
of the governor and lieutenant governor and for such other public |
|
ceremonies as may be deemed warranted. |
|
CHAPTER C. SPEAKING AND DEBATE |
|
Sec. 22. ADDRESSING THE HOUSE. When a member desires to |
|
speak or deliver any matter to the house, the member shall rise and |
|
respectfully address the speaker as "Mr. (or Madam) Speaker" and, |
|
on being recognized, may address the house from the microphone at |
|
the reading clerk's desk, and shall confine all remarks to the |
|
question under debate, avoiding personalities. |
|
Sec. 23. WHEN TWO MEMBERS RISE AT ONCE. When two or more |
|
members rise at once, the speaker shall name the one who is to speak |
|
first. This decision shall be final and not open to debate or |
|
appeal. |
|
Sec. 24. RECOGNITION. There shall be no appeal from the |
|
speaker's recognition, but the speaker shall be governed by rules |
|
and usage in priority of entertaining motions from the floor. When |
|
a member seeks recognition, the speaker may ask, "For what purpose |
|
does the member rise?" or "For what purpose does the member seek |
|
recognition?" and may then decide if recognition is to be |
|
granted. |
|
Sec. 25. INTERRUPTION OF A MEMBER WHO HAS THE FLOOR. A |
|
member who has the floor shall not be interrupted by another member |
|
for any purpose, unless he or she consents to yield to the other |
|
member. A member desiring to interrupt another in debate should |
|
first address the speaker for the permission of the member |
|
speaking. The speaker shall then ask the member who has the floor |
|
if he or she wishes to yield, and then announce the decision of that |
|
member. The member who has the floor may exercise personal |
|
discretion as to whether or not to yield, and it is entirely within |
|
the member's discretion to determine who shall interrupt and when. |
|
Sec. 26. YIELDING THE FLOOR. A member who obtains the |
|
floor on recognition of the speaker may not be taken off the floor |
|
by a motion, even the highly privileged motion to adjourn, but if |
|
the member yields to another to make a motion or to offer an |
|
amendment, he or she thereby loses the floor. |
|
Sec. 27. RIGHT TO OPEN AND CLOSE DEBATE. The mover of any |
|
proposition, or the member reporting any measure from a committee, |
|
or, in the absence of either of them, any other member designated by |
|
such absentee, shall have the right to open and close the debate, |
|
and for this purpose may speak each time not more than 20 minutes. |
|
Sec. 28. TIME LIMITS ON SPEECHES. All speeches shall be |
|
limited to 10 minutes in duration, except as provided in Section 27 |
|
of this rule, and the speaker shall call the members to order at the |
|
expiration of their time. If the house by a majority vote extends |
|
the time of any member, the extension shall be for 10 minutes only. |
|
A second extension of time shall be granted only by unanimous |
|
consent. During the last 10 calendar days of the regular session, |
|
and the last 5 calendar days of a special session, Sundays excepted, |
|
all speeches shall be limited to 10 minutes and shall not be |
|
extended. The time limits established by this rule shall include |
|
time consumed in yielding to questions from the floor. |
|
Sec. 29. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF TIMES TO SPEAK. No member shall |
|
speak more than twice on the same question without leave of the |
|
house, nor more than once until every member choosing to speak has |
|
spoken, nor shall any member be permitted to consume the time of |
|
another member without leave of the house being given by a majority |
|
vote. |
|
Sec. 30. EFFECT OF ADJOURNMENT ON SPEAKING LIMIT. If a |
|
pending question is not disposed of because of an adjournment of the |
|
house, a member who has spoken twice on the subject shall not be |
|
allowed to speak again without leave of the house. |
|
Sec. 31. OBJECTION TO READING A PAPER. When the reading of |
|
a paper is called for, and objection is made, the matter shall be |
|
determined by a majority vote of the house, without debate. |
|
Sec. 32. PASSING BETWEEN MICROPHONES DURING DEBATE. No |
|
person shall pass between the front and back microphones during |
|
debate or when a member has the floor and is addressing the house. |
|
Sec. 33. TRANSGRESSION OF RULES WHILE SPEAKING. If any |
|
member, in speaking or otherwise, transgresses the rules of the |
|
house, the speaker shall, or any member may, call the member to |
|
order, in which case the member so called to order shall immediately |
|
be seated; however, that member may move for an appeal to the house, |
|
and if appeal is duly seconded by 10 members, the matter shall be |
|
submitted to the house for decision by majority vote. In such |
|
cases, the speaker shall not be required to relinquish the chair, as |
|
is required in cases of appeals from the speaker's decisions. The |
|
house shall, if appealed to, decide the matter without debate. If |
|
the decision is in favor of the member called to order, the member |
|
shall be at liberty to proceed; but if the decision is against the |
|
member, he or she shall not be allowed to proceed, and, if the case |
|
requires it, shall be liable to the censure of the house, or such |
|
other punishment as the house may consider proper. |
|
Sec. 34. ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF ALL HOUSE |
|
PROCEEDINGS. All proceedings of the house of representatives |
|
shall be electronically recorded under the direction of the |
|
Committee on House Administration. Copies of the proceedings may |
|
be released under guidelines promulgated by the Committee on House |
|
Administration. |
|
CHAPTER D. QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE |
|
Sec. 35. QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE DEFINED. Questions of |
|
privilege shall be: |
|
(1) those affecting the rights of the house |
|
collectively, its safety and dignity, and the integrity of its |
|
proceedings; and |
|
(2) those affecting the rights, reputation, and |
|
conduct of members individually in their representative capacity |
|
only. |
|
Sec. 36. PRECEDENCE OF QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE. Questions |
|
of privilege shall have precedence over all other questions except |
|
motions to adjourn. When in order, a member may address the house |
|
on a question of privilege, or may at any time print it in the |
|
journal, provided it contains no reflection on any member of the |
|
house. |
|
Sec. 37. WHEN QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE NOT IN ORDER. It |
|
shall not be in order for a member to address the house on a question |
|
of privilege: |
|
(1) between the time an undebatable motion is offered |
|
and the vote is taken on the motion; |
|
(2) between the time the previous question is ordered |
|
and the vote is taken on the last proposition included under the |
|
previous question; or |
|
(3) between the time a motion to table is offered and |
|
the vote is taken on the motion. |
|
Sec. 38. CONFINING REMARKS TO QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE; |
|
INTERRUPTIONS PROHIBITED. (a) When speaking on privilege, |
|
members must confine their remarks within the limits of Section 35 |
|
of this rule, which will be strictly construed to achieve the |
|
purposes hereof. |
|
(b) When a member is speaking on privilege, the member shall |
|
not be interrupted by another member for any purpose. While the |
|
member is speaking, another member may submit a question of order to |
|
the speaker in writing or by approaching the podium in person. The |
|
member submitting the question of order shall not interrupt the |
|
member who is speaking. The speaker may interrupt the member who is |
|
speaking if the speaker determines it is appropriate to address the |
|
question of order at that time. |
|
Sec. 39. DISCUSSION OF MERITS OF MOTION FORBIDDEN. Merits |
|
of a main or subsidiary motion shall not be discussed or debated |
|
under the guise of speaking to a question of privilege. |
|
CHAPTER E. VOTING |
|
Sec. 40. RECORDING ALL VOTES ON VOTING MACHINE. On all |
|
votes, except viva voce votes, members shall record their votes on |
|
the voting machine and shall not be recognized by the chair to cast |
|
their votes from the floor. If a member attempts to vote from the |
|
floor, the speaker shall sustain a point of order directed against |
|
the member's so doing. This rule shall not be applicable to the |
|
mover or the principal opponent of the proposition being voted on |
|
nor to a member whose voting machine is out of order. |
|
Sec. 41. REGISTRATION EQUIVALENT TO ROLL CALL VOTE. A |
|
registration or vote taken on the voting machine of the house shall |
|
in all instances be considered the equivalent of a roll call or yea |
|
and nay vote, which might be had for the same purpose. |
|
Sec. 42. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL OR PRIVATE INTEREST. Any |
|
member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill |
|
proposed or pending before the house shall disclose the fact and not |
|
vote thereon. |
|
Sec. 43. DIVIDING THE QUESTION. By a majority vote of the |
|
house, a quorum being present, the question shall be divided, if it |
|
includes propositions so distinct in substance that, one being |
|
taken away, a substantive proposition remains. A motion for a |
|
division vote cannot be made after the previous question has been |
|
ordered, after a motion to table has been offered, after the |
|
question has been put, nor after the yeas and nays have been |
|
ordered. Under this subsection, the speaker may divide the |
|
question into groups of propositions that are closely related. |
|
Sec. 44. FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO VOTE. Any member who is |
|
present and fails or refuses to vote after being requested to do so |
|
by the speaker shall be recorded as present but not voting, and |
|
shall be counted for the purpose of making a quorum. |
|
Sec. 45. PRESENCE IN HOUSE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO VOTE. A |
|
member must be on the floor of the house or in an adjacent room or |
|
hallway on the same level as the house floor, in order to vote. |
|
Sec. 46. LOCKING VOTING MACHINES OF ABSENT MEMBERS. During |
|
each calendar day in which the house is in session, it shall be the |
|
duty of the voting clerk to lock the voting machine of each member |
|
who is excused or who is otherwise known to be absent. Each such |
|
machine shall remain locked until the member in person contacts the |
|
journal clerk and personally requests the unlocking of the machine. |
|
Unless otherwise directed by the speaker, the voting clerk shall |
|
not unlock any machine except at the personal request of the member |
|
to whom the machine is assigned. Any violation, or any attempt by a |
|
member or employee to circumvent the letter or spirit of this |
|
section, shall be reported immediately to the speaker for such |
|
disciplinary action by the speaker, or by the house, as may be |
|
warranted under the circumstances. |
|
Sec. 47. VOTING FOR ANOTHER MEMBER. Any member found |
|
guilty by the house of knowingly voting for another member on the |
|
voting machine shall be subject to discipline deemed appropriate by |
|
the house. |
|
Sec. 48. INTERRUPTION OF A ROLL CALL. Once a roll call has |
|
begun, it may not be interrupted for any reason. While a yea and nay |
|
vote is being taken, or the vote is being counted, no member shall |
|
visit the reading clerk's desk or the voting clerk's desk. |
|
Sec. 49. EXPLANATION OF VOTE. (a) No member shall be |
|
allowed to interrupt the vote or to make any explanation of a vote |
|
that the member is about to give after the voting machine has been |
|
opened, but may record in the journal the reasons for giving such a |
|
vote. |
|
(b) A "Reason for Vote" must be in writing and filed with the |
|
journal clerk. If timely received, the "Reason for Vote" shall be |
|
printed immediately following the results of the vote in the |
|
journal. Otherwise, "Reasons for Vote" shall be printed in a |
|
separate section at the end of the journal for the day on which the |
|
reasons were recorded with the journal clerk. Such "Reason for |
|
Vote" shall not deal in personalities or contain any personal |
|
reflection on any member of the legislature, the speaker, the |
|
lieutenant governor, or the governor, and shall not in any other |
|
manner transgress the rules of the house relating to decorum and |
|
debate. |
|
(c) A member absent when a vote was taken may file with the |
|
journal clerk while the house is in session a statement of how the |
|
member would have voted if present. If timely received, the |
|
statement shall be printed immediately following the results of the |
|
vote in the journal. Otherwise, statements shall be printed in a |
|
separate section at the end of the journal for the day on which the |
|
statements were recorded with the journal clerk. |
|
Sec. 50. PAIRS. All pairs must be announced before the |
|
vote is declared by the speaker, and a written statement sent to the |
|
journal clerk. The statement must be signed by the absent member to |
|
the pair, or the member's signature must have been authorized in |
|
writing, by telegraph, or by telephone, and satisfactory evidence |
|
presented to the speaker if deemed necessary. If authorized by |
|
telephone, the call must be to and confirmed by the chief clerk in |
|
advance of the vote to which it applies. Pairs shall be entered in |
|
the journal, and the member present shall be counted to make a |
|
quorum. |
|
Sec. 51. ENTRY OF YEA AND NAY VOTE IN JOURNAL; EFFECT OF |
|
APPROVAL OF BILL OR JOINT RESOLUTION WITHOUT OBJECTION. (a) At the |
|
desire of any member present, the yeas and nays of the members of |
|
the house on 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. |
|
(b) A motion to expunge a yea and nay vote from the journal |
|
shall not be in order. |
|
(c) The yeas and nays of the members of the house on final |
|
passage of any bill, and on any joint resolution proposing or |
|
ratifying a constitutional amendment, shall be taken and entered in |
|
the journal. For purposes of this subsection, a vote on final |
|
passage means a vote on: |
|
(1) third reading; |
|
(2) second reading if the house suspends or otherwise |
|
dispenses with the requirement for three readings; |
|
(3) whether to concur in the senate's amendments; or |
|
(4) whether to adopt a conference committee report. |
|
(d) [(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 be 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. 51A. REAL-TIME ACCESS BY PUBLIC TO YEAS AND NAYS. The |
|
Committee on House Administration shall ensure that: |
|
(1) the recorded yeas and nays are available to the |
|
public on the Internet; and |
|
(2) members of the public may view the yeas and nays on |
|
the Internet not later than one hour after the time the yeas and |
|
nays have been taken and the speaker has declared the result of the |
|
vote. |
|
Sec. 52. 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. |
|
Sec. 53. CHANGING A VOTE. Before the result of a vote has |
|
been finally and conclusively pronounced by the chair, but not |
|
thereafter, a member may change his or her vote; however, if a |
|
member's vote is erroneous, the member shall be allowed to change |
|
that vote at a later time provided: |
|
(1) the result of the record vote is not changed |
|
thereby; |
|
(2) the request is made known to the house by the chair |
|
and permission for the change is granted by unanimous consent; and |
|
(3) a notation is made in the journal that the member's |
|
vote was changed. |
|
Sec. 54. TIE VOTE. All matters on which a vote may be taken |
|
by the house shall require for adoption a favorable affirmative |
|
vote as required by these rules, and in the case of a tie vote, the |
|
matter shall be considered lost. |
|
Sec. 55. VERIFICATION OF A YEA AND NAY VOTE. When the |
|
result of a yea and nay vote is close, the speaker may on the request |
|
of any member order a verification vote, or the speaker may order a |
|
verification on his or her own initiative. During verification, no |
|
member shall change a vote unless it was erroneously recorded, nor |
|
may any member not having voted cast a vote; however, when the clerk |
|
errs in reporting the yeas and nays, and correction thereof leaves |
|
decisive effect to the speaker's vote, the speaker may exercise the |
|
right to vote, even though the result has been announced. A |
|
verification shall be called for immediately after the vote is |
|
announced. The speaker shall not entertain a request for |
|
verification after the house has proceeded to the next question, or |
|
after a recess or an adjournment. A vote to recess or adjourn, like |
|
any other proposition, may be verified. Only one vote verification |
|
can be pending at a time. A verification may be dispensed with by a |
|
two-thirds vote. |
|
Sec. 56. VERIFICATION OF A REGISTRATION. The speaker may |
|
allow the verification of a registration (as differentiated from a |
|
record vote) if in the speaker's opinion there is serious doubt as |
|
to the presence of a quorum. |
|
Sec. 57. MOTION FOR A CALL OF THE HOUSE PENDING |
|
VERIFICATION. A motion for a call of the house, and all incidental |
|
motions relating to it, shall be in order pending the verification |
|
of a vote. These motions must be made before the roll call on |
|
verification begins, and it shall not be in order to break into the |
|
roll call to make them. |
|
Sec. 58. ERRONEOUS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESULT OF A |
|
VOTE. If, by an error of the voting clerk or reading clerk in |
|
reporting the yeas and nays from a registration or verification, |
|
the speaker announces a result different from that shown by the |
|
registration or verification, the status of the question shall be |
|
determined by the vote as actually recorded. If the vote is |
|
erroneously announced in such a way as to change the true result, |
|
all subsequent proceedings in connection therewith shall fail, and |
|
the journal shall be amended accordingly. |
|
RULE 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS AND CALENDARS |
|
Sec. 1. DAILY ORDER OF BUSINESS. (a) When the house |
|
convenes on a new legislative day, the daily order of business shall |
|
be as follows: |
|
(1) Call to order by speaker. |
|
(2) Registration of members. |
|
(3) Prayer by chaplain, unless the invocation has been |
|
given previously on the particular calendar day. |
|
(4) Pledge of allegiance to the United States flag. |
|
(5) Pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag. |
|
(6) Excuses for absence of members and officers. |
|
(7) First reading and reference to committee of bills |
|
filed with the chief clerk; and motions to introduce bills, when |
|
such motions are required. |
|
(8) Requests to print bills and other papers; requests |
|
of committees for further time to consider papers referred to them; |
|
and all other routine motions and business not otherwise provided |
|
for, all of which shall be undebatable except that the mover and one |
|
opponent of the motion shall be allowed three minutes each. |
|
The mover of a routine motion shall be allowed his or her |
|
choice of making the opening or the closing speech under this rule. |
|
If the house, under a suspension of the rules, extends the time of a |
|
member under this rule, such extensions shall be for three minutes. |
|
Subsidiary motions that are applicable to routine motions shall be |
|
in order, but the makers of such subsidiary motions shall not be |
|
entitled to speak thereon in the routine motion period, nor shall |
|
the authors of the original routine motions be allowed any |
|
additional time because of subsidiary motions. |
|
(9) Unfinished business. |
|
(10) Postponed matters to be laid before the house in |
|
accordance with Rule 7, Section 15. |
|
(11) Calendars of the house in their order of priority |
|
in accordance with Section 7 of this rule, unless a different order |
|
is determined under other provisions of these rules. |
|
(b) When the house reconvenes for the first time on a new |
|
calendar day following a recess, the daily order of business shall |
|
be: |
|
(1) Call to order by the speaker. |
|
(2) Registration of members. |
|
(3) Prayer by the chaplain. |
|
(4) Pledge of allegiance to the United States flag. |
|
(5) Pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag. |
|
(6) Excuses for absence of members and officers. |
|
(7) Pending business. |
|
(8) Calendars of the house in their order of priority |
|
in accordance with Section 7 of this rule, unless a different order |
|
is determined under other provisions of these rules. |
|
Sec. 2. SPECIAL ORDERS. (a) Any bill, resolution, or |
|
other measure may on any day be made a special order for the same day |
|
or for a future day of the session by an affirmative vote of |
|
two-thirds of the members present. A motion to set a special order |
|
shall be subject to the three-minute pro and con debate rule. When |
|
once established as a special order, a bill, resolution, or other |
|
measure shall be considered from day to day until disposed of; and |
|
until it has been disposed of, no further special orders shall be |
|
made. |
|
A three-fourths vote of the members present shall be required |
|
to suspend the portion of this rule which specifies that only one |
|
special order may be made and pending at a time. |
|
(b) After the first eight items under the daily order of |
|
business for a legislative day have been passed, a special order |
|
shall have precedence when the hour for its consideration has |
|
arrived, except as provided in Section 9 of this rule. |
|
Sec. 3. POSTPONEMENT OF A SPECIAL ORDER. A special order |
|
may be postponed to a day certain by a two-thirds vote of those |
|
present, and when so postponed, shall be considered as disposed of |
|
so far as its place as a special order is concerned. |
|
Sec. 4. TABLED MEASURES AS SPECIAL ORDERS. A bill or |
|
resolution laid on the table subject to call may be made a special |
|
order. |
|
Sec. 5. SUBSTITUTION IN MOTION FOR A SPECIAL ORDER. When a |
|
motion is pending to set a particular bill or resolution as a |
|
special order, it shall not be in order to move as a substitute to |
|
set another bill or resolution as a special order. It shall be in |
|
order, however, to substitute, by majority vote, a different time |
|
for the special order consideration than that given in the original |
|
motion. |
|
Sec. 6. MEMBER'S SUSPENSION AND SPECIAL ORDER PRIVILEGES. |
|
If a member moves to set a bill or joint resolution as a special |
|
order, or moves to suspend the rules to take up a bill or joint |
|
resolution out of its regular order, and the motion prevails, the |
|
member shall not have the right to make either of these motions |
|
again until every other member has had an opportunity, via either of |
|
these motions, to have some bill or joint resolution considered out |
|
of its regular order during that session of the legislature. A |
|
member shall not lose the suspension privilege if the motion to |
|
suspend or set for special order does not prevail. |
|
Sec. 7. SYSTEM OF CALENDARS. (a) Legislative business of |
|
the house shall be controlled by a system of calendars, consisting |
|
of the following: |
|
(1) EMERGENCY CALENDAR, on which shall appear bills |
|
considered to be of such pressing and imperative import as to demand |
|
immediate action, bills to raise revenue and levy taxes, and the |
|
general appropriations bill. A bill submitted as an emergency |
|
matter by the governor may also be placed on this calendar. |
|
(2) MAJOR STATE CALENDAR, on which shall appear bills |
|
of statewide effect, not emergency in nature, which establish or |
|
change state policy in a major field of governmental activity and |
|
which will have a major impact in application throughout the state |
|
without regard to class, area, or other limiting factors. |
|
(3) CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS CALENDAR, on which |
|
shall appear joint resolutions proposing amendments to the Texas |
|
Constitution, joint resolutions proposing the ratification of |
|
amendments to the Constitution of the United States, and joint |
|
resolutions applying to Congress for a convention to amend the |
|
Constitution of the United States. |
|
(4) GENERAL STATE CALENDAR, on which shall appear |
|
bills of statewide effect, not emergency in nature, which establish |
|
or change state law and which have application to all areas but are |
|
limited in legal effect by classification or other factors which |
|
minimize the impact to something less than major state policy, and |
|
bills, not emergency in nature, which are not on the local, consent, |
|
and resolutions calendar. |
|
(5) LOCAL, CONSENT, AND RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR, on which |
|
shall appear bills, house resolutions, and concurrent resolutions, |
|
not emergency in nature, regardless of extent and scope, on which |
|
there is such general agreement as to render improbable any |
|
opposition to the consideration and passage thereof, and which have |
|
been recommended by the appropriate standing committee for |
|
placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar by the |
|
Committee on Local and Consent Calendars. |
|
(6) RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR, on which shall appear house |
|
resolutions and concurrent resolutions, not emergency in nature and |
|
not privileged. |
|
(7) CONGRATULATORY AND MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR, |
|
on which shall appear congratulatory and memorial resolutions whose |
|
sole intent is to congratulate, memorialize, or otherwise express |
|
concern or commendation. The Committee on Rules and Resolutions |
|
may provide separate categories for congratulatory and memorial |
|
resolutions. |
|
(b) A calendars committee shall strictly construe and the |
|
speaker shall strictly enforce this system of calendars. |
|
Sec. 8. SENATE BILL CALENDARS. (a) Senate bills and |
|
resolutions pending in the house shall follow the same procedure |
|
with regard to calendars as house bills and resolutions, but |
|
separate calendars shall be maintained for senate bills and |
|
resolutions, and consideration of them on senate bill days shall |
|
have priority in the manner and order specified in this rule. |
|
(b) No other business shall be considered on days devoted to |
|
the consideration of senate bills when there remain any bills on any |
|
of the senate calendars, except with the consent of the senate. When |
|
all senate calendars are clear, the house may proceed to |
|
consideration of house calendars on senate bill days. |
|
Sec. 9. SENATE BILL DAYS. (a) On calendar Wednesday and |
|
on calendar Thursday of each week, only senate bills and senate |
|
resolutions shall be taken up and considered, until disposed of. |
|
Senate bills and senate resolutions shall be considered in the |
|
order prescribed in Section 7 of this rule on separate senate |
|
calendars prepared by the Committee on Calendars. In case a senate |
|
bill or senate resolution is pending at adjournment on calendar |
|
Thursday, it shall go over to the succeeding calendar Wednesday as |
|
unfinished business. |
|
(b) Precedence given in Rule 8 to certain classes of bills |
|
during the first 60 calendar days of a regular session shall also |
|
apply to senate bills on senate bill days. |
|
Sec. 10. CONSIDERATION OF SENATE BILL ON SAME |
|
SUBJECT. When any house bill is reached on the calendar or is |
|
before the house for consideration, it shall be the duty of the |
|
speaker to give the place on the calendar of the house bill to any |
|
senate bill containing the same subject that has been referred to |
|
and reported from a committee of the house and to lay the senate |
|
bill before the house, to be considered in lieu of the house bill. |
|
Sec. 11. PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONGRATULATORY AND |
|
MEMORIAL CALENDARS. As the volume of legislation shall warrant, |
|
the chair of the Committee on Rules and Resolutions shall move to |
|
designate periods for the consideration of congratulatory and |
|
memorial calendars. Each such motion shall require a two-thirds |
|
vote for its adoption. In each instance, the Committee on Rules and |
|
Resolutions shall prepare and distribute to each member a printed |
|
calendar at least 24 hours in advance of the hour set for |
|
consideration. No memorial or congratulatory resolution will be |
|
heard by the full house without having first been approved, at least |
|
24 hours in advance, by a majority of the membership of the |
|
Committee on Rules and Resolutions, in accordance with Rule 4, |
|
Section 16. It shall not be necessary for the Committee on Rules |
|
and Resolutions to report a memorial or congratulatory resolution |
|
from committee in order to place the resolution on a congratulatory |
|
and memorial calendar. If the Committee on Rules and Resolutions |
|
determines that a resolution is not eligible for placement on the |
|
congratulatory and memorial calendar the measure shall be sent to |
|
the Committee on Calendars for further action. A congratulatory |
|
and memorial calendar will contain the resolution number, the |
|
author's name, and a brief description of the intent of the |
|
resolution. On the congratulatory and memorial calendar, |
|
congratulatory resolutions may be listed separately from memorial |
|
resolutions. Once a printed calendar is distributed, no additional |
|
resolutions will be added to it, and the requirements of this |
|
section shall not be subject to suspension. |
|
Sec. 12. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONGRATULATORY AND |
|
MEMORIAL CALENDARS. During the consideration of a congratulatory |
|
and memorial calendar, resolutions shall not be read in full unless |
|
they pertain to members or former members of the legislature, or |
|
unless the intended recipient of the resolution is present on the |
|
house floor or in the gallery. All other such resolutions shall be |
|
read only by number, type of resolution, and name of the person or |
|
persons designated in the resolutions. Members shall notify the |
|
chair, in advance of consideration of the calendar, of any |
|
resolutions that will be required to be read in full. In addition, |
|
the following procedures shall be observed: |
|
(1) The chair shall recognize the reading clerk to |
|
read the resolutions within each category on the calendar only by |
|
number, type of resolution, author or sponsor, and name of the |
|
person or persons designated in the resolutions, except for those |
|
resolutions that have been withdrawn or that are required to be read |
|
in full. The resolutions read by the clerk shall then be adopted in |
|
one motion for each category. |
|
(2) Subsequent to the adoption of the resolutions read |
|
by the clerk, the chair shall proceed to lay before the house the |
|
resolutions on the calendar that are required to be read in full. |
|
Each such resolution shall be read and adopted individually. |
|
(3) If it develops that any resolution on the |
|
congratulatory and memorial calendar does not belong on that |
|
calendar, the chair shall withdraw the resolution from further |
|
consideration, remove it from the calendar, and refer it to the |
|
appropriate calendars committee for placement on the proper |
|
calendar. |
|
Sec. 13. PERIODS FOR CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL, CONSENT, AND |
|
RESOLUTIONS CALENDARS. As the volume of legislation shall warrant, |
|
the chair of the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars shall move |
|
to designate periods for the consideration of local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendars. Each such motion shall require a |
|
two-thirds vote for its adoption. In each instance, the Committee |
|
on Local and Consent Calendars shall prepare and distribute to each |
|
member a printed calendar at least 48 hours in advance of the hour |
|
set for consideration. Once a printed calendar is distributed, no |
|
additional bills or resolutions will be added to it. This |
|
requirement can be suspended only by unanimous consent. No local, |
|
consent, and resolutions calendar may be considered by the house if |
|
it is determined that the rules of the house were not complied with |
|
by the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars in preparing that |
|
calendar. |
|
Sec. 14. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL, CONSENT, AND |
|
RESOLUTIONS CALENDARS. During the consideration of a local, |
|
consent, and resolutions calendar set by the Committee on Local and |
|
Consent Calendars the following procedures shall be observed: |
|
(1) The chair shall allow the sponsor of each bill or |
|
resolution three minutes to explain the measure, and the time shall |
|
not be extended except by unanimous consent of the house. This rule |
|
shall have precedence over all other rules limiting time for |
|
debate. |
|
(2) If it develops that any bill or resolution on a |
|
local, consent, and resolutions calendar is to be contested on the |
|
floor of the house, the chair shall withdraw the bill or resolution |
|
from further consideration and remove it from the calendar. |
|
(3) Any bill or resolution on a local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar shall be considered contested if notice is |
|
given by five or more members that they intend to oppose the bill or |
|
resolution, either by a raising of hands or the delivery of written |
|
notice to the chair. |
|
(4) Any bill or resolution on a local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar shall be considered contested if debate |
|
exceeds 10 minutes. The chair shall strictly enforce this time |
|
limit and automatically withdraw the bill from further |
|
consideration if the time limit herein imposed is exceeded. |
|
Sec. 15. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF CALENDARS. Except for |
|
local, consent, and resolutions calendars and congratulatory and |
|
memorial calendars, consideration of calendars shall be in the |
|
order named in Section 7 of this rule, subject to any exceptions |
|
ordered by the Committee on Calendars. With respect to a particular |
|
calendar, bills and resolutions on third reading shall have |
|
precedence over bills and resolutions on second reading. |
|
Sec. 16. DAILY CALENDARS, SUPPLEMENTAL CALENDARS, AND LISTS |
|
OF ITEMS ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION. (a) Calendars shall be |
|
printed daily when the house is in session. A printed copy of each |
|
calendar shall be placed in the newspaper mailbox of each member at |
|
least 36 hours if convened in regular session and 24 hours if |
|
convened in special session before the calendar may be considered |
|
by the house. Deviations from the calendars as printed and |
|
distributed shall not be permitted except that the Committee on |
|
Calendars shall be authorized to print and distribute, not later |
|
than two hours before the house convenes, a supplemental daily |
|
house calendar, on which shall appear: |
|
(1) bills or resolutions which were passed to third |
|
reading on the previous legislative day; |
|
(2) bills or resolutions which appeared on the Daily |
|
House Calendar for a previous calendar day which were not reached |
|
for floor consideration; |
|
(3) postponed business from a previous calendar day; |
|
and |
|
(4) notice to take from the table a bill or resolution |
|
which was laid on the table subject to call on a previous |
|
legislative day. |
|
In addition to the items listed above, the bills and |
|
resolutions from a daily house calendar that will be eligible for |
|
consideration may be incorporated, in their proper order as |
|
determined by these rules, into the supplemental daily house |
|
calendar. |
|
(b) In addition, when the volume of legislation shall |
|
warrant, and upon request of the speaker, the chief clerk shall have |
|
printed and distributed to the members, a list of Items Eligible for |
|
Consideration, on which shall appear only: |
|
(1) house bills with senate amendments that are |
|
eligible for consideration under Rule 13, Section 5; |
|
(2) senate bills for which the senate has requested |
|
appointment of a conference committee; and |
|
(3) conference committee reports that are eligible for |
|
consideration under Rule 13, Section 10. |
|
(c) A copy of the list of Items Eligible for Consideration |
|
must be placed in the newspaper mailbox of each member at least six |
|
hours before the list may be considered by the house. |
|
(d) The time at which the copies of a calendar or list are |
|
placed in the newspaper mailboxes of the members shall be |
|
time-stamped on the originals of the calendar or list. |
|
(e) No house calendar shall be eligible for consideration if |
|
it is determined that the rules of the house were not complied with |
|
by the Committee on Calendars in preparing that calendar. |
|
(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 |
|
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 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 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. |
|
Sec. 17. POSITION ON A CALENDAR. Once a bill or resolution |
|
is placed on its appropriate calendar under these rules, and has |
|
appeared on a house calendar, as printed and distributed to all |
|
members, the bill shall retain its relative position on the |
|
calendar until reached for floor consideration, and the calendars |
|
committee with jurisdiction over the bill or resolution shall have |
|
no authority to place other bills on the calendar ahead of that |
|
bill, but all additions to the calendar shall appear subsequent to |
|
the bill. |
|
Sec. 18. REQUIREMENTS FOR PLACEMENT ON A CALENDAR. Except |
|
as provided in Section 11 of this rule as it relates to |
|
congratulatory and memorial resolutions, no bill or resolution |
|
shall be placed on a calendar until: |
|
(1) it has been referred to and reported from its |
|
appropriate standing committee by favorable committee action; or |
|
(2) it is ordered printed on minority report or after a |
|
committee has reported its inability to recommend a course of |
|
action. |
|
Sec. 19. REFERRAL TO CALENDARS COMMITTEES. All bills and |
|
resolutions, on being reported from committee, shall be referred |
|
immediately to the committee coordinator for printing and then to |
|
the appropriate calendars committee for placement on the |
|
appropriate calendar. |
|
Sec. 20. TIME LIMIT FOR VOTE TO PLACE ON A CALENDAR. Within |
|
30 calendar days after a bill or resolution has been referred to the |
|
appropriate calendars committee, the committee must vote on whether |
|
to place the bill or resolution on one of the calendars of the daily |
|
house calendar or the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, as |
|
applicable. A vote against placement of the bill or resolution on a |
|
calendar does not preclude a calendars committee from later voting |
|
in favor of placement of the bill or resolution on a calendar. |
|
Sec. 21. MOTION TO PLACE ON A CALENDAR. (a) When a bill or |
|
resolution has been in the appropriate calendars committee for 30 |
|
calendar days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was |
|
referred, awaiting placement on one of the calendars of the daily |
|
house calendar or on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, |
|
it shall be in order for a member to move that the bill or resolution |
|
be placed on a specific calendar of the daily house calendar or on |
|
the local, consent, and resolutions calendar without action by the |
|
committee. This motion must be seconded by five members and shall |
|
require a majority vote for adoption. |
|
(b) A motion to place a bill or resolution on a specific |
|
calendar of the daily house calendar or on the local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar is not a privileged motion and must be made |
|
during the routine motion period unless made under a suspension of |
|
the rules. |
|
Sec. 22. REQUEST FOR PLACEMENT ON LOCAL, CONSENT, AND |
|
RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR. No bill or resolution shall be considered |
|
for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar by |
|
the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars unless a request for |
|
that placement has been made to the chair of the standing committee |
|
from which the bill or resolution was reported and unless the |
|
committee report of the standing committee recommends that the bill |
|
or resolution be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent |
|
Calendars for placement on the local, consent, and resolutions |
|
calendar. The recommendation of the standing committee shall be |
|
advisory only, and the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars |
|
shall have final authority to determine whether or not a bill or |
|
resolution shall be placed on the local, consent, and resolutions |
|
calendar. If the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars |
|
determines that the bill or resolution is not eligible for |
|
placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar, the |
|
measure shall be sent to the Committee on Calendars for further |
|
action. |
|
Sec. 23. QUALIFICATIONS FOR PLACEMENT ON THE LOCAL, |
|
CONSENT, AND RESOLUTIONS CALENDAR. (a) No bill defined as a local |
|
bill by Rule 8, Section 10(c), shall be placed on the local, |
|
consent, and resolutions calendar unless: |
|
(1) evidence of publication of notice in compliance |
|
with the Texas Constitution and these rules is filed with the |
|
Committee on Local and Consent Calendars; and |
|
(2) it has been recommended unanimously by the present |
|
and voting members of the committee from which it was reported that |
|
the bill be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars for |
|
placement on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar. |
|
(b) No other bill or resolution shall be placed on the |
|
local, consent, and resolutions calendar unless it has been |
|
recommended unanimously by the present and voting members of the |
|
committee from which it was reported that the bill be sent to the |
|
Committee on Local and Consent Calendars for placement on the |
|
local, consent, and resolutions calendar. |
|
(c) No bill or resolution shall be placed on the local, |
|
consent, and resolutions calendar that: |
|
(1) directly or indirectly prevents from being |
|
available for purposes of funding state government generally any |
|
money that under existing law would otherwise be available for that |
|
purpose, including a bill that transfers or diverts money in the |
|
state treasury from the general revenue fund to another fund; or |
|
(2) authorizes or requires the expenditure or |
|
diversion of state funds for any purpose, as determined by a fiscal |
|
note attached to the bill. |
|
Sec. 24. REPLACEMENT OF CONTESTED BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS. A |
|
bill or resolution once removed from the local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar shall be returned to the Committee on Local |
|
and Consent Calendars for further action. The Committee on Local |
|
and Consent Calendars, if it feels such action is warranted, may |
|
again place the bill or resolution on the local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar, provided, however, that if the bill or |
|
resolution is not placed on the next local, consent, and |
|
resolutions calendar set by the Committee on Local and Consent |
|
Calendars, the bill or resolution shall immediately be referred to |
|
the Committee on Calendars for further action. If the bill or |
|
resolution is then removed from the calendar a second time by being |
|
contested on the floor of the house, the bill or resolution shall |
|
not again be placed on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar |
|
by the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars during that session |
|
of the legislature but shall be returned to the Committee on |
|
Calendars for further action. |
|
Sec. 25. DISCRETION IN PLACEMENT ON CALENDARS. Subject to |
|
the limitations contained in this rule, the Committee on Calendars |
|
shall have full authority to make placements on calendars in |
|
whatever order is necessary and desirable under the circumstances |
|
then existing, except that bills on third reading on a particular |
|
calendar shall have precedence over bills on second reading on the |
|
same calendar. It is the intent of the calendar system to give the |
|
Committee on Calendars wide discretion to insure adequate |
|
consideration by the house of important legislation. |
|
RULE 7. MOTIONS |
|
CHAPTER A. GENERAL MOTIONS |
|
Sec. 1. MOTIONS DECIDED WITHOUT DEBATE. The following |
|
motions, in addition to any elsewhere provided herein, shall be |
|
decided without debate, except as otherwise provided in these |
|
rules: |
|
(1) to adjourn; |
|
(2) to lay on the table; |
|
(3) to lay on the table subject to call; |
|
(4) to suspend the rule as to the time for introduction |
|
of bills; |
|
(5) to order a call of the house, and all motions |
|
incidental thereto; |
|
(6) an appeal by a member called to order; |
|
(7) on questions relating to priority of business; |
|
(8) to amend the caption of a bill or resolution; |
|
(9) to extend the time of a member speaking under the |
|
previous question or to allow a member who has the right to speak |
|
after the previous question is ordered to yield the time, or a part |
|
of it, to another; |
|
(10) to reconsider and table. |
|
Sec. 2. MOTIONS SUBJECT TO DEBATE. The speaker shall permit |
|
the mover and one opponent of the motion three minutes each during |
|
which to debate the following motions without debating the merits |
|
of the bill, resolution, or other matter, and the mover of the |
|
motion may elect to either open the debate or close the debate, but |
|
the mover's time may not be divided: |
|
(1) to suspend the regular order of business and take |
|
up some measure out of its regular order; |
|
(2) to instruct a committee to report a certain bill or |
|
resolution; |
|
(3) to rerefer a bill or resolution from one committee |
|
to another; |
|
(4) to place a bill or resolution on a specific |
|
calendar without action by the appropriate calendars committee; |
|
(5) to take up a bill or resolution laid on the table |
|
subject to call; |
|
(6) to set a special order; |
|
(7) to suspend the rules; |
|
(8) to suspend the constitutional rule requiring bills |
|
to be read on three several days; |
|
(9) to pass a resolution suspending the joint rules; |
|
(10) to order the previous question; |
|
(11) to order the limiting of amendments to a bill or |
|
resolution; |
|
(12) to print documents, reports, or other material in |
|
the journal; |
|
(13) to take any other action required or permitted |
|
during the routine motion period by Rule 6, Section 1; |
|
(14) to divide the question. |
|
Sec. 3. MOTIONS ALLOWED DURING DEBATE. When a question is |
|
under debate, the following motions, and none other, shall be in |
|
order, and such motions shall have precedence in the following |
|
order: |
|
(1) to adjourn; |
|
(2) to take recess; |
|
(3) to lay on the table; |
|
(4) to lay on the table subject to call; |
|
(5) for the previous question; |
|
(6) to postpone to a day certain; |
|
(7) to commit, recommit, refer, or rerefer; |
|
(8) to amend by striking out the enacting or resolving |
|
clause, which, if carried, shall have the effect of defeating the |
|
bill or resolution; |
|
(9) to amend; |
|
(10) to postpone indefinitely. |
|
Sec. 4. STATEMENT OR READING OF A MOTION. When a motion has |
|
been made, the speaker shall state it, or if it is in writing, order |
|
it read by the clerk; and it shall then be in possession of the |
|
house. |
|
Sec. 5. ENTRY OF MOTIONS IN JOURNAL. Every motion made to |
|
the house and entertained by the speaker shall be reduced to writing |
|
on the demand of any member, and shall be entered on the journal |
|
with the name of the member making it. |
|
Sec. 6. WITHDRAWAL OF A MOTION. A motion may be withdrawn |
|
by the mover at any time before a decision on the motion, even |
|
though an amendment may have been offered and is pending. It cannot |
|
be withdrawn, however, if the motion has been amended. After the |
|
previous question has been ordered, a motion can be withdrawn only |
|
by unanimous consent. |
|
Sec. 7. MOTIONS TO ADJOURN OR RECESS. A motion to adjourn |
|
or recess shall always be in order, except: |
|
(1) when the house is voting on another motion; |
|
(2) when the previous question has been ordered and |
|
before the final vote on the main question, unless a roll call shows |
|
the absence of a quorum; |
|
(3) when a member entitled to the floor has not yielded |
|
for that purpose; or |
|
(4) when no business has been transacted since a |
|
motion to adjourn or recess has been defeated. |
|
Sec. 8. CONSIDERATION OF SEVERAL MOTIONS TO ADJOURN OR |
|
RECESS. When several motions to recess or adjourn are made at the |
|
same period, the motion to adjourn carrying the shortest time shall |
|
be put first, then the next shortest time, and in that order until a |
|
motion to adjourn has been adopted or until all have been voted on |
|
and lost; and then the same procedure shall be followed for motions |
|
to recess. |
|
Sec. 9. WITHDRAWAL OR ADDITION OF A MOTION TO ADJOURN OR |
|
RECESS. A motion to adjourn or recess may not be withdrawn when it |
|
is one of a series upon which voting has commenced, nor may an |
|
additional motion to adjourn or recess be made when voting has |
|
commenced on a series of such motions. |
|
Sec. 10. RECONSIDERATION OF VOTE TO ADJOURN OR RECESS. The |
|
vote by which a motion to adjourn or recess is carried or lost shall |
|
not be subject to a motion to reconsider. |
|
Sec. 11. ADJOURNING WITH LESS THAN A QUORUM. A smaller |
|
number of members than a quorum may adjourn from day to day, and may |
|
compel the attendance of absent members. |
|
Sec. 12. MOTION TO TABLE. A motion to lay on the table, if |
|
carried, shall have the effect of killing the bill, resolution, |
|
amendment, or other immediate proposition to which it was applied. |
|
Such a motion shall not be debatable, but the mover of the |
|
proposition to be tabled, or the member reporting it from |
|
committee, shall be allowed to close the debate after the motion to |
|
table is made and before it is put to a vote. When a motion to table |
|
is made to a debatable main motion, the main motion mover shall be |
|
allowed 20 minutes to close the debate, whereas the movers of other |
|
debatable motions sought to be tabled shall be allowed only 10 |
|
minutes to close. The vote by which a motion to table is carried or |
|
lost cannot be reconsidered. After the previous question has been |
|
ordered, a motion to table is not in order. The provisions of this |
|
section do not apply to motions to "lay on the table subject to |
|
call"; however, a motion to lay on the table subject to call cannot |
|
be made after the previous question has been ordered. |
|
Sec. 13. MATTERS TABLED SUBJECT TO CALL. When a bill, |
|
resolution, or other matter is pending before the house, it may be |
|
laid on the table subject to call, and one legislative day's notice, |
|
as printed on the Supplemental House Calendar, must be given before |
|
the proposition can be taken from the table, unless it is on the |
|
same legislative day, in which case it can be taken from the table |
|
at any time except when there is another matter pending before the |
|
house. A bill, resolution, or other matter can be taken from the |
|
table only by a majority vote of the house. When a special order is |
|
pending, a motion to take a proposition from the table cannot be |
|
made unless the proposition is a privileged matter. |
|
Sec. 14. MOTION TO POSTPONE. A motion to postpone to a day |
|
certain may be amended and is debatable within narrow limits, but |
|
the merits of the proposition sought to be postponed cannot be |
|
debated. A motion to postpone indefinitely opens to debate the |
|
entire proposition to which it applies. |
|
Sec. 15. POSTPONED MATTERS. (a) A bill or proposition |
|
postponed to a day certain shall be laid before the house at the |
|
time on the calendar day to which it was postponed, provided it is |
|
otherwise eligible under the rules and no other business is then |
|
pending. If business is pending, the postponed matter shall be |
|
deferred until the pending business is disposed of without |
|
prejudice otherwise to its right of priority. When a privileged |
|
matter is postponed to a particular time, and that time arrives, the |
|
matter, still retaining its privileged nature, shall be taken up |
|
even though another matter is pending. |
|
(b) Consideration of a bill postponed to a day certain from |
|
the local, consent, and resolutions calendar is governed on second |
|
reading by the rules applicable to the calendar from which it was |
|
postponed to the extent practicable. |
|
Sec. 16. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION OF POSTPONED MATTERS. If |
|
two or more bills, resolutions, or other propositions are postponed |
|
to the same time, and are otherwise eligible for consideration at |
|
that time, they shall be considered in the chronological order of |
|
their setting. |
|
Sec. 17. MOTION TO REFER. When motions are made to refer a |
|
subject to a select or standing committee, the question on the |
|
subject's referral to a standing committee shall be put first. |
|
Sec. 18. MOTION TO RECOMMIT. A motion to recommit a bill, |
|
after being defeated at the routine motion period, may again be made |
|
when the bill itself is under consideration; however, a motion to |
|
recommit a bill shall not be in order at the routine motion period |
|
if the bill is then before the house as either pending business or |
|
unfinished business. |
|
A motion to recommit a bill or resolution can be made and |
|
voted on even though the author, sponsor, or principal proponent is |
|
not present. |
|
Sec. 19. TERMS OF DEBATE ON MOTIONS TO REFER, REREFER, |
|
COMMIT, OR RECOMMIT. A motion to refer, rerefer, commit, or |
|
recommit is debatable within narrow limits, but the merits of the |
|
proposition may not be brought into the debate. A motion to refer, |
|
rerefer, commit, or recommit with instructions is fully debatable. |
|
Sec. 20. RECOMMITTING TO COMMITTEE FOR A SECOND TIME. |
|
Except as provided in Rule 4, Section 30, when a bill has been |
|
recommitted once at any reading and has been reported adversely by |
|
the committee to which it was referred, it shall be in order to |
|
again recommit the bill only if a minority report has been filed in |
|
the time required by the rules of the house. A two-thirds vote of |
|
those present shall be required to recommit a second time. |
|
CHAPTER B. MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION |
|
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 may be taken by a record vote 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. 22. DEBATE ON MOTION FOR PREVIOUS QUESTION. On the |
|
motion for the previous question, there shall be no debate except as |
|
provided in Sections 2 and 21 of this rule. All incidental |
|
questions of order made pending decision on such motion shall be |
|
decided, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate. |
|
Sec. 23. LIMITATION OF DEBATE AFTER PREVIOUS QUESTION |
|
ORDERED. After the previous question has been ordered, there shall |
|
be no debate upon the questions on which it has been ordered, or |
|
upon the incidental questions, except that the mover of the |
|
proposition or any of the pending amendments or any other motions, |
|
or the member making the report from the committee, or, in the case |
|
of the absence of either of them, any other member designated by |
|
such absentee, shall have the right to close the debate on the |
|
particular proposition or amendment. Then a vote shall be taken |
|
immediately on the amendments or other motions, if any, and then on |
|
the main question. |
|
Sec. 24. SPEAKING AND VOTING AFTER THE PREVIOUS QUESTION |
|
ORDERED. All members having the right to speak after the previous |
|
question has been ordered shall speak before the question is put on |
|
the first proposition covered by the previous question. All votes |
|
shall then be taken in the correct order, and no vote or votes shall |
|
be deferred to allow any member to close on any one of the |
|
propositions separately after the voting has commenced. |
|
Sec. 25. SPEAKING ON AN AMENDMENT AS SUBSTITUTED. When an |
|
amendment has been substituted and the previous question is then |
|
moved on the adoption of the amendment as substituted, the author of |
|
the amendment as substituted shall have the right to close the |
|
debate on that amendment in lieu of the author of the original |
|
amendment. |
|
Sec. 26. SPEAKING ON A MOTION TO POSTPONE OR AMEND. When |
|
the previous question is ordered on a motion to postpone |
|
indefinitely or to amend by striking out the enacting clause of a |
|
bill, the member moving to postpone or amend shall have the right to |
|
close the debate on that motion or amendment, after which the mover |
|
of the proposition or bill proposed to be so postponed or amended, |
|
or the member reporting it from the committee, or, in the absence of |
|
either of them, any other member designated by the absentee, shall |
|
be allowed to close the debate on the original proposition. |
|
Sec. 27. APPLICATION OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTION. The |
|
previous question may be asked and ordered on any debatable single |
|
motion or series of motions, or any amendment or amendments |
|
pending, or it may be made to embrace all authorized debatable |
|
motions or amendments pending and include the bill, resolution, or |
|
proposition that is on second or third reading. The previous |
|
question cannot be ordered, however, on the main proposition |
|
without including other pending motions of lower rank as given in |
|
Section 3 of this rule. |
|
Sec. 28. LIMIT OF APPLICATION. The previous question shall |
|
not extend beyond the final vote on a motion or sequence of motions |
|
to which the previous question has been ordered. |
|
Sec. 29. AMENDMENTS NOT YET LAID BEFORE THE HOUSE. |
|
Amendments on the speaker's desk for consideration which have not |
|
actually been laid before the house and read cannot be included |
|
under a motion for the previous question. |
|
Sec. 30. MOVING THE PREVIOUS QUESTION AFTER A MOTION TO |
|
TABLE. If a motion to table is made directly to a main motion, the |
|
motion for the previous question is not in order. In a case where an |
|
amendment to a main motion is pending, and a motion to table the |
|
amendment is made, it is in order to move the previous question on |
|
the main motion, the pending amendment, and the motion to table the |
|
amendment. |
|
Sec. 31. NO SUBSTITUTE FOR MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS |
|
QUESTION. There is no acceptable substitute for a motion for the |
|
previous question, nor can other motions be applied to it. |
|
Sec. 32. MOTION FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION NOT SUBJECT TO |
|
TABLING. The motion for the previous question is not subject to a |
|
motion to table. |
|
Sec. 33. MOTION TO ADJOURN AFTER MOTION FOR PREVIOUS |
|
QUESTION ACCEPTED. The motion to adjourn is not in order after a |
|
motion for the previous question is accepted by the chair, or after |
|
the seconding of such motion and before a vote is taken. |
|
Sec. 34. MOTIONS IN ORDER AFTER PREVIOUS QUESTION ORDERED. |
|
After the previous question has been ordered, no motion shall be in |
|
order until the question or questions on which it was ordered have |
|
been voted on, without debate, except: |
|
(1) a motion for a call of the house, and motions |
|
incidental thereto; |
|
(2) a motion to extend the time of a member closing on |
|
a proposition; |
|
(3) a motion to permit a member who has the right to |
|
speak to yield the time or a part thereof to another member; |
|
(4) a request for and a verification of a vote; |
|
(5) a motion to reconsider the vote by which the |
|
previous question was ordered. A motion to reconsider may be made |
|
only once and that must be before any vote under the previous |
|
question has been taken; |
|
(6) a motion to table a motion to reconsider the vote |
|
by which the previous question has been ordered; |
|
(7) a double motion to reconsider and table the vote by |
|
which the previous question was ordered. |
|
Sec. 35. MOTION TO ADJOURN OR RECESS AFTER PREVIOUS |
|
QUESTION ORDERED. No motion for an adjournment or a recess shall be |
|
in order after the previous question is ordered until the final vote |
|
under the previous question has been taken, unless the roll call |
|
shows the absence of a quorum. |
|
Sec. 36. ADJOURNING WITHOUT A QUORUM. When the house |
|
adjourns without a quorum under the previous question, the previous |
|
question shall remain in force and effect when the bill, |
|
resolution, or other proposition is again laid before the house. |
|
CHAPTER C. RECONSIDERATION |
|
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. |
|
Sec. 38. DEBATE ON MOTION TO RECONSIDER. A motion to |
|
reconsider shall be debatable only when the question to be |
|
reconsidered is debatable. Even though the previous question was |
|
in force before the vote on a debatable question was taken, debate |
|
is permissible on the reconsideration of such debatable question. |
|
Sec. 39. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. Every motion to |
|
reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote, even though the vote |
|
on the original question requires a two-thirds vote for affirmative |
|
action. If the motion to reconsider prevails, the question then |
|
immediately recurs on the question reconsidered. |
|
Sec. 40. WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION TO RECONSIDER. A motion to |
|
reconsider cannot be withdrawn unless permission is given by a |
|
majority vote of the house, and the motion may be called up by any |
|
member. |
|
Sec. 41. TABLING MOTION TO RECONSIDER. A motion to |
|
reconsider shall be subject to a motion to table, which, if carried, |
|
shall be a final disposition of the motion to reconsider. |
|
Sec. 42. DOUBLE MOTION TO RECONSIDER AND TABLE. The double |
|
motion to reconsider and table shall be in order. It shall be |
|
undebatable. When carried, the motion to reconsider shall be |
|
tabled. When it fails, the question shall then be on the motion to |
|
reconsider, and the motion to reconsider shall, without further |
|
action, be spread on the journal, but it may be called up by any |
|
member, in accordance with the provisions of Section 43 of this |
|
rule. |
|
Sec. 43. DELAYED DISPOSITION OF MOTION TO RECONSIDER. (a) |
|
If a motion to reconsider is not disposed of when made, it shall be |
|
entered in the journal, and cannot, after that legislative day, be |
|
called up and disposed of unless one legislative day's notice has |
|
been given. |
|
(b) Unless called up and disposed of prior to 72 hours |
|
before final adjournment of the session, all motions to reconsider |
|
shall be regarded as determined and lost. |
|
(c) All motions to reconsider made during the last 72 hours |
|
of the session shall be disposed of when made; otherwise, the motion |
|
shall be considered as lost. |
|
Sec. 44. MOTION TO RECONSIDER AND SPREAD ON JOURNAL. (a) A |
|
member voting on the prevailing side may make a motion to reconsider |
|
and spread on the journal, which does not require a vote, and on the |
|
motion being made, it shall be entered on the journal. Any member, |
|
regardless of whether he or she voted on the prevailing side or not, |
|
who desires immediate action on a motion to reconsider which has |
|
been spread on the journal, can call it up as soon as it is made, and |
|
demand a vote on it, or can call it up and move to table it. |
|
(b) If the motion to table the motion to reconsider is |
|
defeated, the motion to reconsider remains spread on the journal |
|
for future action; however, any member, regardless of whether he or |
|
she voted on the prevailing side or not, can call the motion from |
|
the journal for action by the house, and, once disposed of, no other |
|
motion to reconsider can be made. |
|
Sec. 45. MOTION TO REQUIRE COMMITTEE TO REPORT. (a) During |
|
the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, when any bill, |
|
resolution, or other paper has been in committee for 6 calendar |
|
days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was referred, it |
|
shall be in order for a member to move that the committee be |
|
required to report the same within 7 calendar days. This motion |
|
shall require a two-thirds vote for passage. |
|
(b) After the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, |
|
when any bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for |
|
6 calendar days, exclusive of the calendar day on which it was |
|
referred, it shall be in order for a member to move that the |
|
committee be required to report the same within 7 calendar days. |
|
This motion shall require a majority vote for passage. |
|
(c) A motion to instruct a committee to report is not a |
|
privileged motion and must be made during the routine motion period |
|
unless made under a suspension of the rules. |
|
(d) The house shall have no authority to instruct a |
|
subcommittee directly; however, instructions recognized under the |
|
rules may be given to a committee and shall be binding on all |
|
subcommittees. |
|
Sec. 46. MOTION TO REREFER TO ANOTHER COMMITTEE. (a) |
|
During the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, when any |
|
bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for 7 |
|
calendar days after the committee was instructed by the house to |
|
report that measure by a motion made under Section 45 of this rule, |
|
it shall be in order for a member to move to rerefer the bill, |
|
resolution, or other paper to a different committee. This motion |
|
shall require a two-thirds vote for passage. |
|
(b) After the first 76 calendar days of a regular session, |
|
when any bill, resolution, or other paper has been in committee for |
|
7 calendar days after the committee has been instructed to report |
|
that measure by a motion made under Section 45 of this rule, it |
|
shall be in order for a member to move to rerefer the bill, |
|
resolution, or other paper to a different committee. This motion |
|
shall require a majority vote for passage. |
|
(c) A motion to rerefer a bill, resolution, or other paper |
|
from one committee to another committee is not a privileged motion |
|
and must be made during the routine motion period unless made under |
|
a suspension of the rules. |
|
RULE 8. BILLS |
|
Sec. 1. CONTENTS OF BILLS. Proposed laws or changes in laws |
|
must be incorporated in bills, which shall consist of: |
|
(1) a title or caption, beginning with the words "A |
|
Bill to be Entitled An Act" and a brief statement that gives the |
|
legislature and the public reasonable notice of the subject of the |
|
proposed measure; |
|
(2) an enacting clause, "Be It Enacted by the |
|
Legislature of the State of Texas"; and |
|
(3) the bill proper. |
|
Sec. 2. PUBLISHING ACTS IN THEIR ENTIRETY. No law shall be |
|
revived or amended by reference to its title. The act revived, or |
|
the section or sections amended, shall be reenacted and published |
|
at length. This rule does not apply to revisions adopted under |
|
Article III, Section 43, of the Texas Constitution. |
|
Sec. 3. LIMITING A BILL TO A SINGLE SUBJECT. Each bill |
|
(except a general appropriations bill, which may embrace the |
|
various subjects and accounts for which money is appropriated or a |
|
revision adopted under Article III, Section 43, of the Texas |
|
Constitution) shall contain only one subject. |
|
Sec. 4. CHANGING GENERAL LAW THROUGH AN APPROPRIATIONS |
|
BILL. A general law may not be changed by the provisions in an |
|
appropriations bill. |
|
Sec. 5. COAUTHORSHIP, JOINT AUTHORSHIP, SPONSORSHIP, |
|
COSPONSORSHIP, AND JOINT SPONSORSHIP. (a) A house bill or |
|
resolution may have only one primary author. The signature of the |
|
primary author shall be the only signature that appears on the |
|
original measure and all copies filed with the chief clerk. The |
|
signatures of all coauthors or joint authors shall appear on the |
|
appropriate forms in the chief clerk's office. |
|
(b) Any member may become the coauthor of a bill or |
|
resolution by securing permission from the author. If permission |
|
is secured from the author prior to the time the measure is filed |
|
with the chief clerk, the primary author and the coauthor shall sign |
|
the appropriate form, which shall be included with the measure when |
|
it is filed with the chief clerk. If a member wishes to become the |
|
coauthor of a measure after it has been filed, no action shall be |
|
required by the house, but it shall be the duty of the member |
|
seeking to be a coauthor to obtain written authorization on the |
|
appropriate form from the author. This authorization shall be |
|
filed with the chief clerk before the coauthor signs the form for |
|
the bill or resolution. The chief clerk shall report daily to the |
|
journal clerk the names of members filed as coauthors of bills or |
|
resolutions. If a coauthor of a bill or resolution desires to |
|
withdraw from such status, the member shall notify the chief clerk, |
|
who in turn shall notify the journal clerk. |
|
(c) The primary author of a measure may designate up to four |
|
joint authors by providing written authorization on the appropriate |
|
form to the chief clerk. If a member designated as a joint author |
|
has not already signed on the measure as a coauthor, that member |
|
must also sign the form before the records will reflect the joint |
|
author status of that member. The names of all joint authors shall |
|
be shown immediately following the primary author's name on all |
|
official printings of the measure, on all house calendars, in the |
|
house journal, and in the electronic legislative information |
|
system. |
|
(d) The determination of the house sponsor of a senate |
|
measure is made at the time the measure is reported from committee. |
|
In the case of multiple requests for house sponsorship, the house |
|
sponsor of a senate measure shall be determined by the chair of the |
|
committee, in consultation with the senate author of the measure. |
|
The chair of the committee must designate a primary sponsor and may |
|
designate up to four joint sponsors or an unlimited number of |
|
cosponsors. The names of all joint sponsors shall be shown |
|
immediately following the primary sponsor's name on all official |
|
printings of the measure, on all house calendars, in the house |
|
journal, and in the electronic legislative information system. |
|
Sec. 6. FILING, FIRST READING, AND REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE. |
|
Each bill shall be filed with the chief clerk when introduced and |
|
shall be numbered in its regular order. Each bill shall be read |
|
first time by caption and referred by the speaker to the appropriate |
|
committee with jurisdiction. |
|
Sec. 7. PREFILING. Beginning the first Monday after the |
|
general election preceding the next regular legislative session, or |
|
within 30 days prior to any special session, it shall be in order to |
|
file with the chief clerk bills and resolutions for introduction in |
|
that session. On receipt of the bills or resolutions, the chief |
|
clerk shall number them and make them a matter of public record, |
|
available for distribution. Once a bill or resolution has been so |
|
filed, it may not be recalled. This shall apply only to |
|
members-elect of the succeeding legislative session. |
|
Sec. 8. DEADLINE FOR INTRODUCTION. (a) Bills and joint |
|
resolutions introduced during the first 60 calendar days of the |
|
regular session may be considered by the committees and in the house |
|
and disposed of at any time during the session, in accordance with |
|
the rules of the house. After the first 60 calendar days of a |
|
regular session, any bill or joint resolution, except local bills, |
|
emergency appropriations, and all emergency matters submitted by |
|
the governor in special messages to the legislature, shall require |
|
an affirmative vote of four-fifths of those members present and |
|
voting to be introduced. |
|
(b) In addition to a bill defined as a "local bill" under |
|
Section 10(c) of this rule, a bill is considered local for purposes |
|
of this section if it relates to a specified district created under |
|
Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution (water |
|
districts, etc.), a specified hospital district, or another |
|
specified special purpose district, even if neither these rules nor |
|
the Texas Constitution require publication of notice for that bill. |
|
Sec. 9. NUMBER OF COPIES FILED. (a) Thirteen copies of |
|
every bill, except bills relating to conservation and reclamation |
|
districts and governed by the provisions of Article XVI, Section |
|
59, of the Texas Constitution, must be filed with the chief clerk at |
|
the time that the bill is introduced. |
|
(b) Fifteen copies of every bill relating to conservation |
|
and reclamation districts and governed by the provisions of Article |
|
XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, with copies of the |
|
notice to introduce the bill attached, must be filed with the chief |
|
clerk at the time that the bill is introduced if the bill is |
|
intended to: |
|
(1) create a particular conservation and reclamation |
|
district; or |
|
(2) amend the act of a particular conservation and |
|
reclamation district to: |
|
(A) add additional land to the district; |
|
(B) alter the taxing authority of the district; |
|
(C) alter the authority of the district with |
|
respect to issuing bonds; or |
|
(D) alter the qualifications or terms of office |
|
of the members of the governing body of the district. |
|
(c) No bill may be laid before the house on first reading |
|
until it is in compliance with the provisions of this section. |
|
Sec. 10. LOCAL BILLS. (a) The house may not consider a |
|
local bill unless notice of intention to apply for the passage of |
|
the bill was published as provided by law and evidence of the |
|
publication is attached to the bill. If not attached to the bill on |
|
filing with the chief clerk or receipt of the bill from the senate, |
|
copies of the evidence of timely publication shall be filed with the |
|
chief clerk and must be distributed to the members of the committee |
|
not later than the first time the bill is laid out in a committee |
|
meeting. The evidence shall be attached to the bill on first |
|
printing and shall remain with the measure throughout the entire |
|
legislative process, including submission to the governor. |
|
(b) Neither the house nor a committee of the house may |
|
consider a bill whose application is limited to one or more |
|
political subdivisions by means of population brackets or other |
|
artificial devices in lieu of identifying the political subdivision |
|
or subdivisions by name. However, this subsection does not prevent |
|
consideration of a bill that classifies political subdivisions |
|
according to a minimum or maximum population or other criterion |
|
that bears a reasonable relation to the purpose of the proposed |
|
legislation or a bill that updates laws based on population |
|
classifications to conform to a federal decennial census. |
|
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, |
|
"local bill" for purposes of this section means: |
|
(1) a bill for which publication of notice is required |
|
under Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution (water |
|
districts, etc.); |
|
(2) a bill for which publication of notice is required |
|
under Article IX, Section 9, of the Texas Constitution (hospital |
|
districts); |
|
(3) a bill relating to hunting, fishing, or |
|
conservation of wildlife resources of a specified locality; |
|
(4) a bill creating or affecting a county court or |
|
statutory court or courts of one or more specified counties or |
|
municipalities; |
|
(5) a bill creating or affecting the juvenile board or |
|
boards of a specified county or counties; or |
|
(6) a bill creating or affecting a road utility |
|
district under the authority of Article III, Section 52, of the |
|
Texas Constitution. |
|
(d) A bill is not considered to be a local bill under |
|
Subsection (c)(3), (4), or (5) if it affects a sufficient number of |
|
localities, counties, or municipalities so as to be of general |
|
application or of statewide importance. |
|
Sec. 11. CONSIDERATION IN COMMITTEE. (a) No bill shall be |
|
considered unless it first has been referred to a committee and |
|
reported from it. |
|
(b) After a bill has been recommitted, it shall be |
|
considered by the committee as a new subject. |
|
Sec. 12. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION. All bills and resolutions |
|
before the house shall be taken up and acted on in the order in which |
|
they appear on their respective calendars, and each calendar shall |
|
have the priority accorded to it by the provisions of Rule 6, |
|
Sections 7 and 8. |
|
Sec. 13. DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION. (a) No house bill |
|
that is local as defined by Section 10(c) of this rule and that |
|
appears on a local, consent, and resolutions calendar shall be |
|
considered for any purpose after the 130th day of a regular session, |
|
except to: |
|
(1) act on senate amendments; |
|
(2) adopt a conference committee report; |
|
(3) reconsider the bill to make corrections; or |
|
(4) pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of |
|
the governor. |
|
(b) No other house bill or joint resolution shall be |
|
considered on its second reading after the 122nd day of a regular |
|
session if it appears on a daily or supplemental daily house |
|
calendar, or for any purpose after the 123rd day of a regular |
|
session, except to: |
|
(1) act on senate amendments; |
|
(2) adopt a conference committee report; |
|
(3) reconsider the bill or resolution to make |
|
corrections; or |
|
(4) pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of |
|
the governor. |
|
(c) No senate bill or joint resolution shall be considered |
|
on its second reading after the 134th day of a regular session if it |
|
appears on a daily or supplemental daily house calendar, or for any |
|
purpose after the 135th day of a regular session, except to: |
|
(1) adopt a conference committee report; |
|
(2) reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house |
|
amendments; |
|
(3) reconsider the bill or resolution to make |
|
corrections; or |
|
(4) pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of |
|
the governor. |
|
(d) The speaker shall not lay any bill or joint resolution |
|
before the house or permit a vote to be taken on its passage on the |
|
136th and 137th days of a regular session, except to: |
|
(1) act on senate amendments; |
|
(2) adopt a conference committee report; |
|
(3) reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house |
|
amendments; |
|
(4) reconsider the bill or resolution to make |
|
corrections; or |
|
(5) pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of |
|
the governor. |
|
(e) The speaker shall not lay any bill or joint resolution |
|
before the house or permit a vote to be taken on its passage on the |
|
138th and 139th days of a regular session, except to: |
|
(1) adopt a conference committee report; |
|
(2) reconsider the bill or resolution to remove house |
|
amendments; |
|
(3) discharge house conferees and concur in senate |
|
amendments; |
|
(4) reconsider the bill or resolution to make |
|
corrections; or |
|
(5) pass the bill notwithstanding the objections of |
|
the governor. |
|
(f) No vote shall be taken upon the passage of any bill or |
|
resolution within 24 hours of the final adjournment of a regular |
|
session unless it be to reconsider the bill or resolution to make |
|
corrections, or to adopt a corrective resolution. |
|
Sec. 14. PRINTED COPIES REQUIRED PRIOR TO CONSIDERATION. |
|
(a) A printed copy of each bill or resolution, except the general |
|
appropriations bill, shall be placed in the newspaper mailbox of |
|
each member at least 36 hours if convened in regular session and 24 |
|
hours if convened in special session before the bill can be |
|
considered by the house on second reading. A printed copy of the |
|
general appropriations bill shall be placed in the newspaper |
|
mailbox of each member at least 168 hours during a regular session |
|
and at least 72 hours during a special session before the bill can |
|
be considered by the house on second reading. |
|
(b) By majority vote, the house may order both the original |
|
bill or resolution and the complete committee substitute to be |
|
printed. It shall not be necessary for the house to order complete |
|
committee substitutes printed in lieu of original bills. |
|
(c) A two-thirds vote of the house is necessary to order |
|
that bills, other than local bills, be not printed. It shall not be |
|
necessary for the house to order that local bills be not printed. |
|
Sec. 15. REQUIREMENT FOR THREE READINGS. A bill shall not |
|
have the force of law until it has been read on three several |
|
legislative days in each house and free discussion allowed, unless |
|
this provision is suspended by a vote of four-fifths of the members |
|
present and voting, a quorum being present. The yeas and nays shall |
|
be taken on the question of suspension and entered in the journal. |
|
Sec. 16. CONSIDERATION SECTION BY SECTION. (a) During the |
|
consideration of any bill or resolution, the house may, by a |
|
majority vote, order the bill or resolution to be considered |
|
section by section, or department by department, until each section |
|
or department has been given separate consideration. If such a |
|
procedure is ordered, only amendments to the section or department |
|
under consideration at that time shall be in order. However, after |
|
each section or department has been considered separately, the |
|
entire bill or resolution shall be open for amendment, subject to |
|
the provisions of Rule 11, Section 8(b). Once the consideration of |
|
a bill section by section or department by department has been |
|
ordered, it shall not be in order to move the previous question on |
|
the entire bill, to recommit it, to lay it on the table, or to |
|
postpone it, until each section or department has been given |
|
separate consideration or until the vote by which section by |
|
section consideration was ordered is reconsidered. |
|
(b) A motion to consider a bill section by section is |
|
debatable within narrow limits; that is, the pros and cons of the |
|
proposed consideration can be debated but not the merits of the |
|
bill. |
|
Sec. 17. PASSAGE TO ENGROSSMENT OR THIRD READING. After a |
|
bill or complete committee substitute for a bill has been taken up |
|
and read, amendments shall be in order. If no amendment is made, or |
|
if those proposed are disposed of, then the final question on its |
|
second reading shall be, in the case of a house bill, whether it |
|
shall be passed to engrossment, or, in the case of a senate bill, |
|
whether it shall pass to its third reading. All bills ordered |
|
passed to engrossment or passed to a third reading shall remain on |
|
the calendar on which placed, but with future priority over bills on |
|
the same calendar that have not passed second reading. |
|
Sec. 18. CERTIFICATION OF FINAL PASSAGE. The chief clerk |
|
shall certify the final passage of each bill, noting on the bill the |
|
date of its passage, and the vote by which it passed, if by a yea and |
|
nay vote. |
|
Sec. 19. EFFECTIVE DATE. Every law passed by the |
|
legislature, except the General Appropriations Act, shall take |
|
effect or go into force on the 91st day after the adjournment of the |
|
session at which it was enacted, unless the legislature provides |
|
for an earlier effective date by a vote of two-thirds of all the |
|
members elected to each house. The vote shall be taken by yeas and |
|
nays and entered in the journals. |
|
Sec. 20. BILLS CONTAINING SAME SUBSTANCE AS DEFEATED BILL. |
|
After a bill or resolution has been considered and defeated by |
|
either house of the legislature, no bill or resolution containing |
|
the same substance shall be passed into law during the same session. |
|
Sec. 21. CONSIDERATION OF BILLS INVOLVING STATE FUNDS. (a) |
|
In order to assure the continuation of financial support of |
|
existing state services through the passage of the general |
|
appropriations bill, it shall not be in order during the first 118 |
|
days of the regular session for the speaker to lay before the house, |
|
prior to the consideration, passage, and certification by the |
|
comptroller of the general appropriations bill, any bill that |
|
directly or indirectly prevents from being available for purposes |
|
of funding state government generally any money that under existing |
|
law would otherwise be available for that purpose, including a bill |
|
that transfers or diverts money in the state treasury from the |
|
general revenue fund to another fund. |
|
(b) In order to assure compliance with the limitation on |
|
appropriations of state tax revenue not dedicated by the |
|
constitution as provided by Article VIII, Section 22, of the Texas |
|
Constitution, it is not in order for the speaker to lay before the |
|
house, prior to the time that the general appropriations bill has |
|
been finally passed and sent to the comptroller, any bill that |
|
appropriates funds from the state treasury that are not dedicated |
|
by the constitution. |
|
(c) When bills subject to the provisions of Subsection (a) |
|
of this section become eligible for consideration, they shall be |
|
considered for passage under the rules of the house and the joint |
|
rules as any other bill but shall not be signed by the speaker as |
|
required by the Constitution of Texas and the rules of the house |
|
until the general appropriations bill has been signed by the |
|
presiding officers of both houses of the legislature and |
|
transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for certification |
|
as required by Article III, Section 49a, of the Constitution of |
|
Texas. |
|
(d) All bills subject to the provisions of Subsection (a) of |
|
this section that have finally passed both houses shall be enrolled |
|
as required by the rules and transmitted to the speaker. The |
|
speaker shall note on each bill the date and hour of final |
|
legislative action and shall withhold his or her signature and any |
|
further action on all such bills until the general appropriations |
|
bill has been signed by the presiding officers of both houses and |
|
transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for |
|
certification. Immediately thereafter, the speaker shall sign in |
|
the presence of the house all bills on which further action was |
|
being withheld because the bills were subject to the provisions of |
|
this section. After being signed by the speaker, the bills shall |
|
then be transmitted to the comptroller of public accounts for |
|
certification or to the governor, as the case may be, in the order |
|
in which final legislative action was taken. "Final legislative |
|
action," as that term is used in this subsection, shall mean the |
|
last act of either house meeting in general session necessary to |
|
place the bill in its final form preparatory to enrollment. |
|
(e) Subsections (a)-(d) of this section shall not apply to |
|
any bills providing for: |
|
(1) the payment of expenses of the legislature; |
|
(2) the payment of judgments against the state; |
|
(3) any emergency matter when requested by the |
|
governor in a formal message to the legislature; or |
|
(4) the reduction of taxes. |
|
(f) Unless within the authority of a resolution or |
|
resolutions adopted pursuant to Article VIII, Section 22(b), of the |
|
Texas Constitution, it is not in order for the house to consider for |
|
final passage on third reading, on motion to concur in senate |
|
amendments, or on motion to adopt a conference committee report, a |
|
bill appropriating funds from the state treasury in an amount that, |
|
when added to amounts previously appropriated by bills finally |
|
passed and sent or due to be sent to the comptroller, would exceed |
|
the limit on appropriations established under Chapter 316, |
|
Government Code. |
|
(g) The general appropriations bill shall be reported to the |
|
house by the Committee on Appropriations not later than the 90th |
|
calendar day of the regular session. Should the Committee on |
|
Appropriations fail to report by the deadline, Subsections (a)-(d) |
|
of this section shall be suspended for the balance of that regular |
|
session. |
|
RULE 9. JOINT RESOLUTIONS |
|
Sec. 1. AMENDMENTS TO THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION. (a) A |
|
proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution shall take the form of |
|
a joint resolution, which shall be subject to the rules that govern |
|
the proceedings on bills, except as provided by this section. |
|
(b) A joint resolution is not subject to the provisions of |
|
Rule 8, Section 3, or Rule 11, Section 3. |
|
(c) A joint resolution shall be adopted on any reading |
|
after the first if it receives a two-thirds vote of the elected |
|
membership of the house. If such a joint resolution receives only a |
|
majority vote on second reading, it shall be passed to engrossment, |
|
and subsequent proceedings shall be the same as those governing the |
|
final passage of bills which have been passed to engrossment. If |
|
such a joint resolution does not receive a two-thirds vote of the |
|
elected membership of the house on third reading and final passage, |
|
it shall fail of adoption. |
|
Sec. 2. RATIFYING OR PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE |
|
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Ratification by Texas of a |
|
proposed amendment to or application to Congress for a convention |
|
to amend the Constitution of the United States shall take the form |
|
of a joint resolution, which shall be subject to the rules that |
|
govern the proceedings on bills, except that it shall be adopted on |
|
second reading if it receives a majority vote of the members present |
|
and voting, a quorum being present. If such a joint resolution |
|
fails to receive a majority vote, it shall fail of adoption and |
|
shall not be considered again unless revived by a motion to |
|
reconsider as otherwise provided in the rules. |
|
Sec. 3. PLACEMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTIONS ON A CALENDAR. Joint |
|
resolutions on committee report shall be referred to the Committee |
|
on Calendars for placement on an appropriate calendar. The |
|
Committee on Calendars shall maintain a separate calendar for house |
|
joint resolutions and a separate calendar for senate joint |
|
resolutions. Senate joint resolutions shall be considered on |
|
calendar Wednesdays and calendar Thursdays along with senate bills. |
|
RULE 10. HOUSE RESOLUTIONS AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS |
|
Sec. 1. FILING. Resolutions shall be introduced by the |
|
filing of 13 identical copies with the chief clerk, who shall number |
|
and record house resolutions in one series and concurrent |
|
resolutions in a separate series. |
|
Sec. 2. REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE. (a) After numbering and |
|
recording, all resolutions shall be sent to the speaker for |
|
referral to the proper committee. |
|
(b) Resolutions proposing the expenditure of money out of |
|
the contingent expense fund of the legislature shall be referred to |
|
the Committee on House Administration. |
|
(c) All other resolutions shall be referred to the |
|
appropriate committee with jurisdiction. |
|
Sec. 3. REFERRAL TO CALENDARS COMMITTEES. All resolutions |
|
on committee report, other than privileged resolutions, shall be |
|
referred immediately to the appropriate calendars committee for |
|
placement on the appropriate calendar. |
|
Sec. 4. ORDER OF CONSIDERATION. Unless privileged, |
|
resolutions shall be considered by the house only at the time |
|
assigned for their consideration on the calendar, in accordance |
|
with the provisions of Rule 6, Section 7. |
|
Sec. 5. SIGNING BY GOVERNOR. Concurrent resolutions shall |
|
take the same course as house resolutions, except that they shall be |
|
sent to the governor for signing when finally passed by both houses. |
|
Sec. 6. MASCOT RESOLUTIONS. (a) All candidates for the |
|
office of mascot shall be named in and elected by a single house |
|
resolution. |
|
(b) Only children of house members who are under the age of |
|
12 years shall be eligible for election to the honorary office of |
|
mascot. A child once named a mascot shall not be eligible for the |
|
honor a second time. |
|
(c) No separate classification or special title shall be |
|
given to any mascot, but all shall receive the same title of |
|
honorary mascot of the house of representatives. |
|
(d) The speaker shall issue a certificate showing the |
|
election of each mascot and deliver it to the parent member of the |
|
child. |
|
Pictures of mascots shall appear on the panel picture of the |
|
house. |
|
Sec. 7. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS DURING CALLED |
|
SESSIONS. The subject matter of house resolutions and concurrent |
|
resolutions does not have to be submitted by the governor in a |
|
called session before they can be considered. |
|
Sec. 8. RESOLUTIONS AUTHORIZING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. |
|
Resolutions authorizing the enrolling clerk of the house or senate |
|
to make technical corrections to a measure that has been finally |
|
acted upon by both houses of the legislature shall be privileged in |
|
nature and need not be referred to committee. Such resolutions |
|
shall be eligible for consideration by the house upon introduction |
|
in the house or receipt from the senate. |
|
Sec. 9. AUTHOR'S SIGNATURE ON CONGRATULATORY OR MEMORIAL |
|
RESOLUTION. The enrolled printing of a house congratulatory or |
|
memorial resolution shall include a place for the signature of the |
|
primary author of the resolution. The chief clerk shall provide the |
|
primary author with the opportunity to sign the resolution after |
|
the resolution is enrolled. The absence of the primary author's |
|
signature does not affect the validity of the resolution as adopted |
|
by the house. |
|
RULE 11. AMENDMENTS |
|
Sec. 1. ACCEPTABLE MOTIONS TO AMEND. When a bill, |
|
resolution, motion, or proposition is under consideration, a motion |
|
to amend and a motion to amend that amendment shall be in order. It |
|
shall also be in order to offer a further amendment by way of a |
|
substitute. Such a substitute may not be amended. If the |
|
substitute is adopted, the question shall then be on the amendment |
|
as substituted, and under this condition an amendment is not in |
|
order. |
|
Sec. 2. MOTIONS ON A DIFFERENT SUBJECT OFFERED AS |
|
AMENDMENTS. No motion or proposition on a subject different from |
|
the subject under consideration shall be admitted as an amendment |
|
or as a substitute for the motion or proposition under debate. |
|
"Proposition" as used in this section shall include a bill, |
|
resolution, joint resolution, or any other motion which is |
|
amendable. |
|
Amendments pertaining to the organization, powers, |
|
regulation, and management of the agency, commission, or advisory |
|
committee under consideration are germane to bills extending state |
|
agencies, commissions, or advisory committees under the provisions |
|
of the Texas Sunset Act (Chapter 325, Government Code). |
|
An amendment to a committee substitute laid before the house |
|
in lieu of an original bill is germane if each subject of the |
|
amendment is a subject that is included in the committee substitute |
|
or was included in the original bill. |
|
Sec. 3. AMENDING A BILL TO CHANGE ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE. No |
|
bill shall be amended in its passage through either house so as to |
|
change its original purpose. |
|
Sec. 4. AMENDMENTS TO BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS ON LOCAL, |
|
CONSENT, AND RESOLUTIONS CALENDARS. Amendments to a bill or |
|
resolution shall not be in order during its consideration on a |
|
local, consent, and resolutions calendar set by the Committee on |
|
Local and Consent Calendars, unless the amendments have first been |
|
submitted to and approved by the Committee on Local and Consent |
|
Calendars, which shall be noted thereon by the chair of the |
|
Committee on Local and Consent Calendars prior to the offering of |
|
the amendments. |
|
Sec. 5. AMENDMENTS ON THIRD READING. When a bill has been |
|
taken up on its third reading, amendments shall be in order, but |
|
shall require a two-thirds vote of the members present for their |
|
adoption. A bill on third reading may be recommitted to a committee |
|
and later reported to the house with amendments, in which case the |
|
bill shall again take the course of a bill at its second reading. |
|
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 whether or not the amendment was offered by the |
|
filing member. |
|
(b) Prior to the time that an amendment is offered, if the |
|
amendment exceeds one page in length, the sponsoring member must |
|
provide to the chief clerk a minimum of 15 copies to be available |
|
for distribution to those members requesting copies of the |
|
amendment. |
|
(c) If the amendment is only one page in length or less, the |
|
sponsoring member must provide one additional copy of the amendment |
|
to the chief clerk, who shall immediately proceed to have |
|
additional copies made and available for those members requesting |
|
copies of the amendment. |
|
(d) The provisions of this section with respect to extra |
|
copies shall not apply to committee amendments or to amendments |
|
which do nothing more than delete material from the bill or |
|
resolution. |
|
(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.] |
|
(f) An amendment may be typed, hand-printed, or |
|
handwritten, but must be legible in order to be offered. |
|
(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.] |
|
(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. |
|
Sec. 7. ORDER OF OFFERING MOTIONS TO AMEND. Classes of |
|
motions to amend shall be offered in the following order: |
|
(1) motions to amend by striking out the enacting |
|
clause of a bill (or the resolving clause of a resolution), which |
|
amendment cannot be amended or substituted; |
|
(2) motions to amend an original bill, resolution, |
|
motion, or proposition (other than substitute bills as provided for |
|
in Subdivision (3) below), which shall have precedence as follows: |
|
(A) original amendment; |
|
(B) amendment to the amendment; |
|
(C) substitute for the amendment to the |
|
amendment. |
|
Recognition for the offering of original amendments shall be |
|
as follows: first, the main author; second, the member or members |
|
offering the committee amendment; and third, members offering other |
|
amendments from the floor; |
|
(3) motions to amend an original bill by striking out |
|
all after the enacting clause (substitute bills), which substitute |
|
bills shall be subject to amendment as follows: |
|
(A) amendment to the substitute bill; |
|
(B) substitute for the amendment to the |
|
substitute bill. |
|
Recognition for offering such substitute bills shall be as |
|
follows: first, the main author of the original bill, if the |
|
member has not sought to perfect the bill by amendments as provided |
|
for in Subdivision (2) above; second, the member or members |
|
offering the committee amendment; and, third, members offering |
|
amendments from the floor. |
|
It shall be in order under the procedure described in this |
|
subdivision to have as many as four complete measures pending |
|
before the house at one time; that is, an original bill, an |
|
amendment striking out all after the enacting clause of the bill and |
|
inserting a new bill body, an amendment to the amendment striking |
|
out all after the enacting clause of the bill and inserting a new |
|
bill body, and a substitute for this amendment to the amendment to |
|
the original bill which is also a new bill body. These "substitute |
|
bills" shall be voted on in the reverse order of their offering; |
|
(4) motions to amend the caption of a bill or joint |
|
resolution, which may also be offered in accordance with Section |
|
9(a) of this rule. |
|
Sec. 8. STRIKE OUTS AND INSERTIONS. (a) A motion to strike |
|
out and to insert new matter in lieu of that to be stricken out shall |
|
be regarded as a substitute and shall be indivisible. |
|
(b) Matter inserted or stricken out of an original bill by |
|
way of amendment may not be taken out or reinserted at a later time |
|
on the same reading except under the following conditions: |
|
(1) reconsideration of the inserting or deleting |
|
amendment; |
|
(2) adoption of a "substitute bill" amendment; |
|
(3) adoption of an amendment for a whole paragraph, |
|
section or subdivision of a bill which so materially changes the |
|
original text that the portion inserted or deleted is in fact of |
|
minor importance. |
|
Sec. 9. AMENDING CAPTIONS. (a) An amendment to the caption |
|
of a bill or resolution shall not be in order until all other |
|
proposed amendments have been acted on and the house is ready to |
|
vote on the passage of the measure, and it shall then be decided |
|
without debate. |
|
(b) If the previous question has been ordered on a bill or |
|
joint resolution at any reading, an amendment to the caption of that |
|
bill or joint resolution may be offered and voted on immediately |
|
preceding the final vote on the bill or joint resolution. |
|
Sec. 10. MOTION TO LIMIT AMENDMENTS. (a) A motion to limit |
|
amendments shall be admitted only when seconded by 25 members. The |
|
motion may take either of two forms: |
|
(1) to limit amendments to those pending before the |
|
house; or |
|
(2) to limit amendments to those pending on the |
|
speaker's desk. |
|
(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 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. |
|
(c) The motion to limit amendments, if adopted, shall not in |
|
any way cut off or limit debate or other parliamentary maneuvers on |
|
the pending proposition or propositions or amendment or amendments |
|
included within the motion. The sole function of the motion is to |
|
prevent the chair from accepting further amendments to the |
|
proposition to which the motion is applied. |
|
(d) Except as otherwise provided, the motion to limit |
|
amendments shall have no effect on the parliamentary situation to |
|
which the motion is applied, and the matter to which the motion is |
|
applied shall continue to be considered by the house in all other |
|
respects as though the motion had not been made. |
|
(e) The amendments that are included within the motion to |
|
limit amendments shall each be subject to amendment, if otherwise |
|
permitted under the rules. |
|
Sec. 11. MOTION TO TABLE A MOTION TO LIMIT AMENDMENTS. The |
|
motion to limit amendments is not subject to a motion to table. |
|
Sec. 12. ORDER OF VOTING ON AMENDMENTS. When an amendment |
|
is offered, followed by an amendment to that amendment, and then a |
|
substitute for the amendment to the amendment, these questions |
|
shall be voted on in the reverse order of their offering. |
|
Sec. 13. CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS. When an |
|
amendment is adopted, such action shall be certified by the chief |
|
clerk on the amendment, and the official copy of the amendment shall |
|
then be securely attached to the bill or resolution which it amends. |
|
RULE 12. PRINTING |
|
Sec. 1. PRINTINGS OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS. (a) |
|
Except as otherwise provided in this rule, all bills and joint |
|
resolutions shall be printed and a copy provided to each member at |
|
each of the following stages in the parliamentary progress of the |
|
bill or joint resolution: |
|
(1) at the time of the committee report on the bill or |
|
joint resolution, which shall be known as "First Printing" and |
|
which shall consist of: |
|
(A) a complete text of the bill or joint |
|
resolution as reported from committee; |
|
(B) a complete copy of the bill analysis, a |
|
complete copy of the summary of committee action, and a complete |
|
copy of the witness list; |
|
(C) the text of the committee report; |
|
(D) the record vote by which the measure was |
|
reported from committee, including the vote of individual members; |
|
(E) a copy of the latest fiscal note; and |
|
(F) a copy of each impact statement received by |
|
the committee; |
|
(2) at the time the bill or joint resolution, if |
|
amended, finally passes the senate, senate amendments and house |
|
engrossment text will be printed, which shall be known as "Second |
|
Printing"; and |
|
(3) at the time the conference committee, if any, |
|
makes its report on the bill or joint resolution, which shall be |
|
known as "Third Printing." |
|
(b) In any section of the first printing of a bill or joint |
|
resolution that proposes to amend an existing statute or |
|
constitutional provision, language sought to be deleted must be |
|
bracketed and stricken through, and language sought to be added |
|
must be underlined. This requirement does not apply to: |
|
(1) an appropriations bill; |
|
(2) a local bill; |
|
(3) a game bill; |
|
(4) a recodification bill; |
|
(5) a redistricting bill; |
|
(6) a section of a bill or joint resolution not |
|
purporting to amend an existing statute or constitutional |
|
provision; |
|
(7) a section of a bill or joint resolution that |
|
revises the entire text of an existing statute or constitutional |
|
provision, to the extent that it would confuse rather than clarify |
|
to show deletions and additions; and |
|
(8) a section of a bill or joint resolution providing |
|
for severability, nonseverability, emergency, or repeal of an |
|
existing statute or constitutional provision. |
|
(c) The speaker may overrule a point of order raised as to a |
|
violation of Subsection (b) of this section if the violation is |
|
typographical or minor and does not tend to deceive or mislead. |
|
Sec. 2. LOCAL BILLS. Local bills shall not be reprinted |
|
after the first printing except when ordered printed by a majority |
|
vote of the house. |
|
Sec. 3. CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS. A concurrent resolution |
|
shall be printed only if the resolution: |
|
(1) grants permission to sue the state; |
|
(2) memorializes Congress to take or to refrain from |
|
taking certain action; |
|
(3) sets legislative policy or declares legislative |
|
intent; |
|
(4) makes corrective changes in any bill, joint |
|
resolution, or conference committee report; |
|
(5) establishes or interprets policy for a state |
|
agency, department, or political subdivision; |
|
(6) establishes, modifies, or changes internal |
|
procedures or administration of the legislature or any component |
|
part thereof; |
|
(7) proposes an amendment to the Joint Rules of the |
|
Senate and the House of Representatives; or |
|
(8) is ordered printed by a majority vote of the house. |
|
Sec. 4. HOUSE RESOLUTIONS. A house resolution shall be |
|
printed only if the resolution: |
|
(1) proposes an amendment to the rules of the house; |
|
(2) establishes, modifies, or changes the internal |
|
procedures and administration of the house; |
|
(3) establishes legislative policy or interprets |
|
legislative intent; or |
|
(4) is ordered printed by a majority of the house. |
|
Sec. 5. ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS OF COMPLIANCE WITH PRINTING |
|
REQUIREMENTS. Except for matter to be printed in the journal, all |
|
requirements contained in the rules with respect to the printing of |
|
bills, resolutions, reports, and other matters shall be considered |
|
complied with if the material is adequately and properly reproduced |
|
by any acceptable means of reproduction. |
|
RULE 13. INTERACTIONS WITH THE GOVERNOR AND SENATE |
|
CHAPTER A. MESSAGES |
|
Sec. 1. MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR. Messages and |
|
communications from the governor shall be received when announced, |
|
and shall be read on the calendar day received. |
|
Sec. 2. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE. (a) All messages from |
|
the senate shall be received when announced. Senate bills |
|
announced as passed shall be read for the first time and referred to |
|
the appropriate committee as soon as practicable. |
|
(b) Messages from the senate announcing amendments to house |
|
bills and resolutions, nonconcurrence in house amendments to senate |
|
bills and resolutions, requests for conference committees, reports |
|
of conference committees, and all other matters of disagreement, |
|
amendments, and requests between the two houses, shall go to the |
|
speaker's desk in their regular order, but may be called up for |
|
action by the house at any time as a privileged matter, yielding |
|
only to a motion to adjourn. |
|
CHAPTER B. SENATE AMENDMENTS |
|
Sec. 3. HOUSE ACTION ON SENATE AMENDMENTS. When a bill, |
|
resolution, or other matter is returned to the house with senate |
|
amendments, the house may: |
|
(1) agree to the amendments; or |
|
(2) disagree to all of the amendments and ask for a |
|
conference committee; or |
|
(3) agree to one or more of the amendments and disagree |
|
as to the remainder and request a conference committee to consider |
|
those in disagreement; or |
|
(4) agree to one or more and disagree as to the |
|
remainder; or |
|
(5) disagree to all amendments. |
|
Sec. 4. ADOPTION OF SENATE AMENDMENTS FOR BILLS WITH |
|
IMMEDIATE EFFECT. If a bill is to go into immediate effect, senate |
|
amendments thereto must be adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the |
|
elected membership of the house. |
|
Sec. 5. PRINTING SENATE AMENDMENTS. (a) Senate amendments |
|
to house bills and resolutions must be printed and copies provided |
|
to the members at least 24 hours before any action can be taken |
|
thereon by the house during a regular or special session. |
|
(b) When a house bill or joint resolution, other than the |
|
general appropriations bill, with senate amendments is returned to |
|
the house, the chief clerk shall request the Legislative Budget |
|
Board to prepare a fiscal note outlining the fiscal implications |
|
and probable cost of the measure as impacted by the senate |
|
amendments. A copy of the fiscal note shall be distributed with the |
|
senate amendments on their printing [made available to each member] |
|
before any action can be taken on the senate amendments by the |
|
house. |
|
(c) When a house bill or joint resolution, other than the |
|
general appropriations bill, with senate amendments is returned to |
|
the house, the chief clerk shall request the Texas Legislative |
|
Council to prepare an analysis that describes the substantive |
|
changes made to the house version of the bill by the senate |
|
amendments. A copy of the council's analysis of senate amendments |
|
shall be provided to the members electronically or as a printed copy |
|
at least 12 hours before action is taken on the senate amendments by |
|
the house. The Texas Legislative Council shall make all reasonable |
|
efforts to timely provide the analysis in as accurate a form as time |
|
allows. However, an unavoidable inability to provide the analysis |
|
or an inadvertent error in the analysis is not a sustainable |
|
question of order. |
|
(d) When a house bill or joint resolution for which a tax |
|
equity note was required under Rule 4, Section 34(b)(5), is |
|
returned to the house with senate amendments, the chief clerk shall |
|
request the Legislative Budget Board to prepare a tax equity note |
|
estimating the general effects of the senate amendments on the |
|
distribution of tax and fee burdens among individuals and |
|
businesses. A copy of the updated tax equity note shall be made |
|
available to each member, in some format, before any vote on the |
|
floor can be taken on the senate amendments by the house. |
|
CHAPTER C. CONFERENCE COMMITTEES |
|
Sec. 6. MEMBERSHIP AND OPERATION. In all conferences |
|
between the senate and the house by committee, the number of |
|
committee members from each house shall be five. All votes on |
|
matters of difference shall be taken by each committee separately. |
|
A majority of each committee shall be required to determine the |
|
matter in dispute. Reports by conference committees must be signed |
|
by a majority of each committee of the conference. |
|
Sec. 7. MEETINGS. House conferees when meeting with senate |
|
conferees to adjust differences shall meet in public and shall give |
|
a reasonable amount of notice of the meeting in the place designated |
|
for giving notice of meetings of house standing committees. Any |
|
such meeting shall be open to the news media. Any conference |
|
committee report adopted in private shall not be considered by the |
|
house. |
|
Sec. 8. INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions to a conference |
|
committee shall be made after the conference is ordered and before |
|
the conferees are appointed by the speaker, and not thereafter. |
|
Sec. 9. LIMITATIONS ON JURISDICTION. (a) Conference |
|
committees shall limit their discussions and their actions solely |
|
to the matters in disagreement between the two houses. A conference |
|
committee shall have no authority with respect to any bill or |
|
resolution: |
|
(1) to change, alter, or amend text which is not in |
|
disagreement; |
|
(2) to omit text which is not in disagreement; |
|
(3) to add text on any matter which is not in |
|
disagreement; |
|
(4) to add text on any matter which is not included in |
|
either the house or senate version of the bill or resolution. |
|
This rule shall be strictly construed by the presiding |
|
officer in each house to achieve these purposes. |
|
(b) Conference committees on appropriations bills, like |
|
other conference committees, shall limit their discussions and |
|
their actions solely to the matters in disagreement between the two |
|
houses. In addition to the limitations contained elsewhere in the |
|
rules, a conference committee on appropriations bills shall be |
|
strictly limited in its authority as follows: |
|
(1) If an item of appropriation appears in both house |
|
and senate versions of the bill, the item must be included in the |
|
conference committee report. |
|
(2) If an item of appropriation appears in both house |
|
and senate versions of the bill, and in identical amounts, no change |
|
can be made in the item or the amount. |
|
(3) If an item of appropriation appears in both house |
|
and senate versions of the bill but in different amounts, no change |
|
can be made in the item, but the amount shall be at the discretion of |
|
the conference committee, provided that the amount shall not exceed |
|
the larger version and shall not be less than the smaller version. |
|
(4) If an item of appropriation appears in one version |
|
of the bill and not in the other, the item can be included or omitted |
|
at the discretion of the conference committee. If the item is |
|
included, the amount shall not exceed the sum specified in the |
|
version containing the item. |
|
(5) If an item of appropriation appears in neither the |
|
house nor the senate version of the bill, the item must not be |
|
included in the conference committee report. However, the |
|
conference committee report may include appropriations for |
|
purposes or programs authorized by bills that have been passed and |
|
sent to the governor and may include contingent appropriations for |
|
purposes or programs authorized by bills that have been passed by at |
|
least one house. |
|
This rule shall be strictly construed by the presiding |
|
officer in each house to achieve these purposes. |
|
(c) Conference committees on tax bills, like other |
|
conference committees, shall limit their discussions and their |
|
actions solely to the matters in disagreement between the two |
|
houses. In addition to the limitations contained elsewhere in the |
|
rules, a conference committee on a tax bill shall be strictly |
|
limited in its authority as follows: |
|
(1) If a tax item appears in both house and senate |
|
versions of the bill, the item must be included in the conference |
|
committee report. |
|
(2) If a tax item appears in both house and senate |
|
versions of the bill, and in identical form and with identical |
|
rates, no change can be made in the item or the rate provided. |
|
(3) If a tax item appears in both house and senate |
|
versions of the bill but at differing rates, no change can be made |
|
in the item, but the rate shall be at the discretion of the |
|
conference committee, provided that the rate shall not exceed the |
|
higher version and shall not be less than the lower version. |
|
(4) If a tax item appears in one version of the bill |
|
and not in the other, the item can be included or omitted at the |
|
discretion of the conference committee. If the item is included, |
|
the rate shall not exceed the rate specified in the version |
|
containing the item. |
|
(5) If a tax item appears in neither the house nor the |
|
senate version of the bill, the item must not be included in the |
|
conference committee report. |
|
This rule shall be strictly construed by the presiding |
|
officer in each house to achieve these purposes. |
|
(d) Conference committees on reapportionment bills, to the |
|
extent possible, shall limit their discussions and their actions to |
|
the matters in disagreement between the two houses. Since the |
|
adjustment of one district in a reapportionment bill will |
|
inevitably affect other districts, the strict rule of construction |
|
imposed on other conference committees must be relaxed somewhat |
|
when reapportionment bills are involved. Accordingly, the |
|
following authority and limitations shall apply only to conference |
|
committees on reapportionment bills: |
|
(1) If the matters in disagreement affect only certain |
|
districts, and other districts are identical in both house and |
|
senate versions of the bill, the conference committee shall make |
|
adjustments only in those districts whose rearrangement is |
|
essential to the effective resolving of the matters in |
|
disagreement. All other districts shall remain unchanged. |
|
(2) If the matters in disagreement permeate the entire |
|
bill and affect most, if not all, of the districts, the conference |
|
committee shall have wide discretion in rearranging the districts |
|
to the extent necessary to resolve all differences between the two |
|
houses. |
|
(3) Insofar as the actual structure of the districts |
|
is concerned, and only to that extent, the provisions of Subsection |
|
(a) of this section shall not apply to conference committees on |
|
reapportionment bills. |
|
(e) Conference committees on recodification bills, like |
|
other conference committees, shall limit their discussions and |
|
their actions solely to the matters in disagreement between the two |
|
houses. The comprehensive and complicated nature of recodification |
|
bills makes necessary the relaxing of the strict rule of |
|
construction imposed on other conference committees only to the |
|
following extent: |
|
(1) If it develops in conference committee that |
|
material has been inadvertently included in both house and senate |
|
versions which properly has no place in the recodification, that |
|
material may be omitted from the conference committee report, if by |
|
that omission the existing statute is not repealed, altered, or |
|
amended. |
|
(2) If it develops in conference committee that |
|
material has been inadvertently omitted from both the house and |
|
senate versions which properly should be included if the |
|
recodification is to achieve its purpose of being all-inclusive of |
|
the statutes being recodified, that material may be added to the |
|
conference committee report, if by the addition the existing |
|
statute is merely restated without substantive change in existing |
|
law. |
|
(f) Limitations imposed on certain conference committees by |
|
the provisions of this section may be suspended in part by |
|
permission of the house to allow consideration of and action on a |
|
specific matter or matters which otherwise would be prohibited. |
|
Permission shall be granted only by resolution passed by majority |
|
vote of the house. All such resolutions shall be privileged in |
|
nature and need not be referred to a committee. The introduction of |
|
such a resolution shall be announced from the house floor and the |
|
resolution shall be eligible for consideration by the house three |
|
hours [one hour] after a copy of the resolution has been distributed |
|
to each member. The time at which the copies of such a resolution |
|
are distributed to the members shall be time-stamped on the |
|
originals of the resolution. The resolution shall specify in |
|
detail: |
|
(1) the exact language [nature] of the matter or |
|
matters proposed to be considered; |
|
(2) the specific limitation or limitations to be |
|
suspended; |
|
(3) the specific action contemplated by the conference |
|
committee; [and] |
|
(4) except for a resolution suspending the limitations |
|
on the conferees for the general appropriations bill, the reasons |
|
that suspension of the limitations is being requested; and |
|
(5) a fiscal note distributed with the resolution |
|
outlining the fiscal implications and probable cost of the items to |
|
be included in the conference committee report that would otherwise |
|
be prohibited but for the passage of the resolution. |
|
In the application of this subsection to appropriations |
|
bills, the resolution need not include changes in amounts resulting |
|
from a proposed salary plan or changes in format that do not affect |
|
the amount of an appropriation or the method of finance of an |
|
appropriation, but shall include a general statement describing the |
|
salary plan or format change. The resolution need not include |
|
differences in language which do not affect the substance of the |
|
bill. |
|
Permission thus granted shall suspend the limitations only |
|
for the matter or matters clearly specified in the resolution, and |
|
the action of the conference committee shall be in conformity with |
|
the resolution. |
|
Sec. 10. PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS. (a) All |
|
conference committee reports must be printed and a copy furnished |
|
to each member at least 24 hours before action can be taken on the |
|
report by the house during a regular or special session. |
|
(b) Three original copies of a conference committee report |
|
shall be submitted to the chief clerk for printing. Each original |
|
conference committee report shall contain the following: |
|
(1) the signatures of the house conferees and senate |
|
conferees who voted to adopt the conference committee report; |
|
(2) the text of the bill or resolution as adopted by |
|
the conference committee; and |
|
(3) an analysis of the conference committee report as |
|
required by Section 11 of this rule. |
|
(c) Before action can be taken by the house on a conference |
|
committee report on a bill or joint resolution, other than the |
|
general appropriations bill, a fiscal note outlining the fiscal |
|
implications and probable cost of the conference committee report |
|
shall be submitted to the chief clerk, and a copy of the fiscal note |
|
shall be distributed with the conference committee report on its |
|
printing [made available to each member]. |
|
(d) Before a vote on the floor can be taken by the house on a |
|
conference committee report on a bill or joint resolution for which |
|
a tax equity note was required under Rule 4, Section 34(b)(5), 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 a copy of the tax equity note shall be made available to each |
|
member. |
|
Sec. 11. ANALYSIS OF REPORTS. All reports of conference |
|
committees shall include an analysis showing wherein the report |
|
differs from the house and senate versions of the bill, resolution, |
|
or other matter in disagreement. The analysis of appropriations |
|
bills shall show in dollar amounts the differences between the |
|
conference committee report and the house and senate versions. No |
|
conference committee report shall be considered by the house unless |
|
such an analysis has been prepared and distributed to each |
|
member. |
|
Sec. 12. CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS. A conference committee |
|
report is not subject to amendment, but must be accepted or rejected |
|
in its entirety. While a conference committee report is pending, a |
|
motion to deal with individual amendments in disagreement is not in |
|
order. |
|
Sec. 13. WHEN REPORTS NOT ACCEPTABLE. When a conference |
|
committee report is not acceptable to the house for any reason, it |
|
may be recommitted to the same committee with the request for |
|
further consideration, and the house may or may not give any |
|
specific instructions on the report to the conference committee; or |
|
the house may request the appointment by the senate of a new |
|
conference committee and then proceed to empower the speaker to |
|
name new conferees for the house. |
|
RULE 14. GENERAL PROVISIONS |
|
Sec. 1. WHEN RULES ARE SILENT. If the rules are silent or |
|
inexplicit on any question of order or parliamentary practice, the |
|
Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States |
|
Congress, and its practice as reflected in published precedents, |
|
and Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure shall be considered as |
|
authority. |
|
Sec. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES. (a) Amendments to the |
|
rules of the house shall be proposed by house resolutions which |
|
shall be referred at once, without debate, to the Committee on Rules |
|
and Resolutions for study and recommendation. |
|
(b) A resolution proposing an amendment to the rules shall |
|
not be considered by the house until a printed copy of the |
|
resolution has been provided to each member of the house at least 48 |
|
hours before consideration. |
|
(c) Amendments to the rules shall require a majority vote of |
|
the house for adoption. |
|
Sec. 3. MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES. A motion to suspend |
|
the rules shall be in order at any time, except when motions to |
|
adjourn or recess are pending, even when the house is operating |
|
under the previous question. A motion to "suspend all rules" shall |
|
be sufficient to suspend every rule under which the house is |
|
operating for a particular purpose except the provisions of the |
|
constitution, the statutes, and the joint rules of the two houses. |
|
If the rules have been suspended on a main motion for a given |
|
purpose, no other motion to suspend the rules on a main motion shall |
|
be in order until the original purpose has been accomplished. |
|
Sec. 4. NOTICE OF PENDING MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES. It |
|
shall not be in order to move to suspend the rules or the regular |
|
order of business to take up a measure out of its regular order, and |
|
the speaker shall not recognize anyone for either purpose, unless |
|
the speaker has announced to the house in session that the speaker |
|
would recognize a member for that purpose at least one hour before |
|
the member is so recognized to make the motion. In making the |
|
announcement to the house, the speaker shall advise the house of the |
|
member's name and the bill number, and this information, together |
|
with the time that the announcement was made, shall be entered in |
|
the journal. This rule may be suspended only by unanimous consent. |
|
Sec. 5. VOTE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUSPENSION. A standing rule |
|
of the house may be suspended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds |
|
of the members present. However, if a rule contains a specific |
|
provision showing the vote by which that rule may be suspended, that |
|
vote shall be required for the suspension of the rule. The specific |
|
provision may not be suspended under the provisions of this |
|
section. |
|
Sec. 6. DISPOSAL OF MEASURES TAKEN UP UNDER SUSPENSION. Any |
|
measure taken up under suspension and not disposed of on the same |
|
day shall go over as pending or unfinished business to the next day |
|
that the house is in session, and shall be considered thereafter |
|
from day to day (except the days used for the consideration of |
|
senate bills) until disposed of. |
|
Sec. 7. COMMITTEE GIFTS. A member of the house may not |
|
offer, confer, or agree to confer to a committee member one or more |
|
gifts with a total value of more than $75 per year. |
|
|
Solomons |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Speaker of the House |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 3 was adopted by the House on January |
|
12, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 1 present, not |
|
voting. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
|