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General Assembly Senate Resolution No. 2
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 320
Referred to Committee on No Committee
Introduced by:
SEN. LOONEY, 11
th
Dist.
SEN. DUFF, 25
th
Dist.
RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE RULES OF THE SENATE.
Resolved by the Senate:
That the following are the Senate Rules for the 2023 and 2024 sessions: 1
1. The President shall take the chair on each session day, at the hour 2
to which the Senate stands adjourned. The President shall thereupon 3
call the Senate to order and after prayer and recitation of the pledge of 4
allegiance, if a quorum is present, proceed to business. 5
2. In the absence of a quorum, the President may adjourn the Senate 6
to a subsequent time on that day or to the next session day. At all other 7
times an adjournment shall be pronounced by the President on motion. 8
3. The President shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide 9
all questions of order, upon which no debate shall be allowed except at 10
the request of the President; but the decision shall be subject to an appeal 11
to the Senate which must be seconded and on which no member shall 12
speak more than once. No other business shall be in order until such 13
appeal is disposed of. 14
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4. The President shall rise to put a question or to address the Senate, 15
but may read sitting. 16
5. If there is any disturbance, disorderly conduct or other activity in 17
or about the chamber which, in the opinion of the presiding officer, may 18
impede the orderly transaction of the business of the Senate, the 19
presiding officer may take such action as is deemed necessary to 20
preserve and restore order. 21
6. If the President while presiding, wishes to leave the chair, the 22
President Pro Tempore shall preside, or, in the absence of the President 23
Pro Tempore, the President Pro Tempore's designee shall preside for a 24
period not exceeding one day. 25
7. Within one week after appointment, the President Pro Tempore 26
shall nominate a chaplain and up to three deputy chaplains, and if such 27
nominations are confirmed by the Senate by a majority vote, the 28
candidates so nominated and confirmed shall serve for the 2023 and 29
2024 sessions. 30
8. The clerk shall keep a journal of the Senate, and shall enter therein 31
a record of each day's proceedings and record any amendment that may 32
be offered to any bill or resolution. 33
9. (a) Upon acceptance of a Senate agenda, the clerk's office shall act 34
upon the items listed as indicated and shall incorporate the items by 35
reference in the Senate journal and Senate transcript. The clerk shall 36
keep a Calendar on which he or she shall enter daily (1) all bills and joint 37
resolutions received from the House for action except (a) bills and 38
resolutions which do not have a favorable or unfavorable report of a 39
joint committee which shall, upon being read by the clerk, be referred 40
without further action to the appropriate committee, (b) all bills and 41
joint resolutions received from the House for action by the Senate which 42
have not been referred by the Senate to any committee, and (2) all bills 43
and resolutions favorably reported to the Senate from any committee; 44
and these shall be entered on the Calendar in the order in which they 45
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are received. Each joint resolution proposing an amendment to the 46
constitution and each bill so entered shall be printed and in the files and 47
on the Calendar, with a file number for two session days and shall be 48
starred for action on the session day next succeeding, except that: 49
(A) A resolution may be acted on in accordance with Rule 17(b) of the 50
joint rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives, 51
(B) A bill or resolution certified in accordance with section 2-26 of the 52
general statutes, if filed in the House, may be transmitted to and acted 53
upon first by the Senate with the consent of the speaker; and if filed in 54
the Senate, may be transmitted to and acted upon first by the House 55
with the consent of the President Pro Tempore, 56
(C) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this rule, any 57
bill or resolution certified in accordance with section 2-26 of the general 58
statutes, may be acted upon immediately in the first house, may be 59
transmitted immediately to the second house and may be acted upon 60
immediately when received by the second house, 61
(D) If the Senate rejects an amendment adopted by the House, the bill 62
or resolution after final action by the Senate may be transmitted 63
immediately to the House, or if the House rejects an amendment 64
adopted by the Senate, the bill or resolution when received from the 65
House may be placed immediately on the Calendar, 66
(E) During the last five calendar days of the session, if the Senate 67
rejects an amendment adopted by the House, or adopts a Senate 68
amendment to a bill or resolution received from the House, or takes any 69
action on the bill or resolution requiring further action by the House, the 70
bill or resolution after final action by the Senate, may be transmitted 71
immediately to the House, or if the House rejects an amendment 72
adopted by the Senate or adopts a House amendment to a bill or 73
resolution received from the Senate, or takes any action on the bill or 74
resolution requiring further action by the Senate, the bill or resolution 75
when received from the House may be placed immediately on the 76
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calendar and may be acted upon immediately, 77
(F) During the last five calendar days of the session, any bill or 78
resolution after final action by the Senate may be transmitted 79
immediately to the House, or 80
(G) During the last five calendar days of the session, any bill or 81
resolution received by the Senate after final action by the House may be 82
placed on the Calendar immediately. 83
(b) All bills and resolutions starred for action shall be acted upon only 84
when reached in their regular order, and any bill or resolution passed 85
over when so reached shall retain its place on the Calendar unless it is 86
passed temporarily, put on the foot of the Calendar or its consideration 87
is made the order of the day for some specified time. 88
(c) The clerk shall immediately provide an electronic notice of the 89
filing, in either chamber, and number of any emergency certified bill 90
introduced by the President Pro Tempore and the speaker, certified in 91
accordance with section 2-26 of the general statutes, that is the biennial 92
budget bill or a bill that amends or implements the biennial budget bill 93
to the members of the Senate. No such emergency certified bill may be 94
marked ready for action or acted upon less than twelve hours following 95
the provision of such electronic notice. 96
(d) On any day that is not scheduled as a session day, there shall be a 97
pro forma session, with or without the presence of a senator, for 98
purposes of transacting business of a procedural nature. There shall be 99
a written motion to adopt the day's Senate agenda and act on all items 100
as indicated and incorporate the items by reference into the Senate 101
journal and Senate transcript. Said motion shall be read into the record 102
and shall have the same force and effect as if the Senate were convened 103
with a presiding officer and senator. 104
10. The clerk shall retain all bills, resolutions and other papers, in 105
reference to which any member has a right to move a reconsideration, 106
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until the right of reconsideration has expired, and no longer. 107
11. The clerk shall also keep a record of all petitions, resolutions, and 108
bills for all acts which are presented for the consideration of the Senate, 109
and said record shall be so kept as to show by a single reference the 110
action of the Senate on each of them to that date. 111
12. The assistant clerk shall have the same powers and perform the 112
same duties as the clerk, subject to the direction of the clerk. The bill 113
clerk and the journal clerk shall perform such duties as are assigned to 114
them by the clerk. 115
13. The clerk shall cause the journals and calendars to be distributed 116
on the desks of the members daily, before the opening of the session. 117
14. No member shall speak more than twice upon the same question 118
without leave of the Senate, except to explain. 119
15. No member who is interested in the decision of any question in 120
such manner that he or she cannot vote thereon may stay in the chamber 121
when such question is discussed or decided. 122
16. If a member, in speaking or otherwise, transgresses the rules and 123
order of the Senate, the President shall, or any member may, call such 124
member to order; and if speaking, such member shall sit down, unless 125
permitted to explain; and if a member is guilty of a breach of any of the 126
rules and orders, such member may be required by the Senate, on 127
motion, to make satisfaction therefor, and until satisfaction has been 128
made, shall not be allowed to vote or speak except by way of excuse. 129
17. If a candidate for the Senate notifies the clerk on or before the 130
opening day of the session that such candidate contests the results of the 131
election for his or her district, a committee of three shall be appointed 132
by the President Pro Tempore within the first two days of the session. If 133
a candidate for the Senate in a special election notifies the clerk no later 134
than fourteen days following such election that such candidate contests 135
the results of the election for his or her district, a committee of three shall 136
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be appointed by the President Pro Tempore no later than sixteen days 137
following such election. The committee shall take into consideration 138
such contested election and report the facts with its opinion thereon. 139
18. The majority leader shall be elected by the members of the 140
majority party in the Senate. The other leaders of the majority party in 141
the Senate and the chairperson and vice chairpersons of each standing 142
committee shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the 143
Senate. Chairpersons and vice chairpersons shall serve at the pleasure 144
of the President Pro Tempore and the majority leader. The clerks of the 145
standing committees and the chairpersons of the subcommittees thereof 146
shall be appointed by the chairpersons of the respective committees 147
with the approval of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The 148
minority leader shall be elected by the members of the minority party in 149
the Senate and the other leaders of the minority party in the Senate shall 150
be appointed by the minority leader. The minority leader shall appoint 151
ranking minority members to each standing committee. Such ranking 152
members shall serve at the pleasure of the minority leader. All standing 153
committee members shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore 154
by the fifth regular session day of the first year of the term, except to fill 155
a vacancy caused by death or incapacity or resignation from the Senate 156
or from a committee; and except that the President Pro Tempore may 157
appoint any member elected after the fifth regular session day of the 158
first year of the term to any committee within five calendar days after 159
the member takes the oath of office. Not more than nine senators shall 160
be appointed to any standing committee, except that the joint standing 161
committee on Judiciary shall consist of not more than eleven senators 162
and the joint standing committees on Appropriations and Finance, 163
Revenue and Bonding shall consist of not more than thirteen senators. 164
The member first named shall be chairperson. The chairperson of each 165
committee may appoint one of the members of the committee as clerk 166
thereof. All Senate leaders, standing committee assignments, 167
chairpersons, vice chairpersons and clerks and subcommittee 168
chairpersons shall serve for both the 2023 and the 2024 sessions. 169
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19. The order of business shall be as follows: 170
1. Reception of petitions. 171
2. Reception of communications from the Governor, secretary of 172
the state, annual and biennial reports, interim committee 173
reports and reports. 174
3. Introduction of bills and resolutions. 175
4. Reports of committees. 176
5. Reception of business from the House. 177
6. Business on the Calendar. 178
7. Introduction of guests. 179
8. Miscellaneous business. 180
9. Resolutions removed from consent calendar. 181
20. Before any petition or resolution is received, a brief statement of 182
its object shall be made by the introducer. 183
21. When a motion is made, it shall be stated to the Senate by the 184
President before any debate is had thereon, and every motion shall be 185
reduced to writing if the President so directs or any member desires it. 186
22. When a motion is stated by the President, or read by the clerk, it 187
shall be deemed to be in the possession of the Senate. It may be 188
withdrawn by the mover at any time before decision or amendment, but 189
not after amendment, unless the Senate gives leave. 190
23. If the question under debate consists of two or more independent 191
propositions any member may move to have the question divided. The 192
President shall rule on the order of voting on the division of a question. 193
24. (a) The yeas and nays shall be cast on the roll call machine or 194
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through use of the electronic remote voting system on all final action on 195
bills on the regular calendar and on all other questions at the desire of 196
one-fifth of the members present, expressed at any time before a 197
declaration of the vote. A vote may only be cast using the electronic 198
remote voting system from the Legislative Office Building or State 199
Capitol. 200
(b) Exceptions to this rule shall be allowed as to how and where the 201
yeas and nays are cast and recorded as follows: 202
(1) In the case that the roll call machine or electronic remote voting 203
system is not functioning properly, the roll may be called by the clerk; 204
or 205
(2) If the electronic remote voting system is not functioning properly 206
and there is a member who is unwilling or unable to be in the chamber, 207
such member may vote remotely from the Legislative Office Building or 208
State Capitol in writing, citing the LCO number of the bill, resolution or 209
amendment or the number of the consent calendar upon which the vote 210
is cast and signed by the member's hand. Such written remote vote shall 211
be delivered by a runner selected by the member's caucus to the 212
presiding officer before the roll call is announced. The presiding officer 213
shall announce the result of any such vote by such member as indicated 214
in the member's written remote vote and such vote shall be included in 215
the roll call vote announced after the receipt of such vote. No voice vote 216
may be made by written remote vote. The clerk shall retain each written 217
remote vote until the end of the regular session in which the vote was 218
cast. 219
25. Whenever the result of a vote as stated by the presiding officer is 220
doubted, it shall be taken again by rising. 221
26. When a vote has been taken, it shall be in order for any senator on 222
the prevailing side to move for a reconsideration thereof on the day of 223
the vote or on the next succeeding session day, if the bill is still in the 224
possession of the Senate; provided also that there shall be no 225
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reconsideration of the following motions: To adjourn, for the previous 226
question or to reconsider, and no question shall be twice reconsidered. 227
27. Pairs may be made by senators whose votes if they were present 228
would be cast on opposite sides of any question, by filing with the clerk 229
of the Senate a memorandum, containing the names of the senators, and 230
their votes, who are thus paired and the subject matter or matters to 231
which such pairs apply. Senators making any such pairs shall be 232
excused from voting upon the merits of the matters involved while the 233
pair continues, but no pairs shall operate while both of the senators 234
paired are present. 235
28. Persons, other than members of the General Assembly, shall not 236
be permitted on the chamber floor while the Senate is in session. 237
Lobbyists shall be prohibited from the chamber floor on any day during 238
which the Senate is in session except during a public hearing in the 239
chamber. This rule shall not apply to the staff of the General Assembly, 240
to any state or municipal official or member of the media who has been 241
given permission to be on the chamber floor by the President of the 242
Senate, President Pro Tempore, majority leader or minority leader, or to 243
persons invited to the chamber for purposes of recognition or ceremony. 244
Other persons who desire to speak with a member of the Senate while it 245
is in session shall communicate such desire through one of the 246
messengers and shall not converse with such member in the chamber 247
while the Senate is in session. 248
29. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received 249
except: 250
1. To adjourn. 251
2. To recess. 252
3. For the previous question. 253
4. To close the debate at a specified time. 254
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5. To pass temporarily. 255
6. To pass retain. 256
7. To postpone to a certain time. 257
8. To commit or recommit. 258
9. To divide the question. 259
10. To amend. 260
11. To refer to another committee. 261
12. To postpone indefinitely. 262
13. To place at foot of calendar. 263
These several motions shall have precedence in the order listed in this 264
rule, and no motion to commit or recommit, to continue to the next 265
General Assembly or to postpone indefinitely, having been once 266
decided, shall be again allowed at the same session and at the same state 267
of the bill or subject matter. 268
30. (a) Amendments shall be filed with the clerk of the Senate before 269
12 noon on the day the bill is acted upon. Exceptions to this rule shall be 270
allowed: (1) Upon approval of any two of the following: The President 271
Pro Tempore, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of 272
the Senate; or (2) in the case of bills or resolutions not starred for action 273
or bills or resolutions reported in accordance with subdivision (1) of 274
paragraph (d) of Rule 15 of the joint rules of the Senate and the House 275
of Representatives. 276
(b) Upon approval of an amendment pursuant to subdivision (1) of 277
subsection (a) of this section, the sponsor of the amendment shall cause 278
a copy of the signed approval to be provided electronically or by hand 279
to a designated leader or staff member of the other party. 280
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(c) Any member who offers an amendment, originating in the Senate 281
which, if adopted, would reduce state revenues or increase state 282
expenditures by a specified amount or which would involve a 283
significant fiscal impact, shall make available to the President, President 284
Pro Tempore, the majority leader of the Senate and the minority leader 285
of the Senate at the time the amendment is offered, in addition to a fiscal 286
note, a signed and typewritten explanation, of the decrease in 287
expenditures or the source of the increased revenues required to balance 288
the state budget. 289
(d) Whenever a bill or resolution is substantively amended, it may be 290
referred to the legislative commissioners to be re-examined for the 291
purposes set forth in Rule 13 of the joint rules of the Senate and the 292
House of Representatives and to be reprinted as amended. The 293
legislative commissioners' office shall complete its examination of any 294
such bill within three calendar days of its receipt. It shall then be printed 295
in the files with a file number and marked on the calendar starred for 296
action on the session day on which it appears. 297
31. There shall be a consent calendar on which shall be entered such 298
bills and resolutions as the majority and minority leaders of the 299
respective house shall designate. All bills and resolutions starred for 300
action on the consent calendar shall be passed on motion without 301
discussion unless, at any time before voting has commenced, a member 302
requests removal of a bill or resolution from the consent calendar in 303
which case such bill or resolution shall be so removed. 304
32. The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in the 2010 edition 305
of Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure shall govern the Senate 306
whenever applicable and whenever they are not inconsistent with the 307
standing rules and orders of the Senate or the joint rules of the Senate 308
and the House of Representatives. 309
33. The rules of the Senate shall take precedence over the joint rules 310
of the Senate and the House of Representatives or Mason's Manual of 311
Legislative Procedure in the event of conflict. 312
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34. No person shall smoke in the chamber or the gallery. 313
35. (a) These rules shall not be altered, amended or suspended except 314
by vote of at least two-thirds of the members present. 315
(b) Motions to suspend the rules shall be in order on any session day. 316
Suspension of a rule shall be for a specified purpose; after the 317
accomplishment of such purpose, the rule shall remain in force as 318
before. 319
36. Every member present in the chamber when a question is put by 320
the presiding officer shall vote, unless excused under Rule 15. 321
37. If deemed necessary in the opinion of the President Pro Tempore 322
due to public health concerns related to COVID-19, each member or 323
other person present in or about the chamber shall maintain a cloth face 324
covering or mask over the member's or person's nose and mouth. This 325
rule does not apply to a member who is in the chamber and is 326
addressing the chair and able to maintain a distance of at least six feet 327
from any other member or person. For purposes of this rule, "COVID-328
19" means the respiratory disease designated by the World Health 329
Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related 330
mutation thereof recognized by said organization as a communicable 331
respiratory disease. 332