S.R. 1
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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1–SENATORS CANNIZZARO
AND SEEVERS GANSERT
FEBRUARY 6, 2023
____________
Read and Adopted
SUMMARY—Adopts the Standing Rules of the Senate for the 82nd
Session of the Legislature. (BDR R-902)
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
SENATE RESOLUTION —Adopting the Standing Rules of the
Senate for the 82nd Session of the Legislature.
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, That the 1
Senate Standing Rules are hereby adopted for the 82nd Session of 2
the Legislature as follows: 3
4
I. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES 5
6
DUTIES OF OFFICERS 7
8
Rule No. 1. President. 9
The President shall take the chair and call the Senate to order 10
precisely at the hour appointed for meeting, and if a quorum is 11
present shall cause the Journal of the preceding day to be read. 12
The President shall preserve order and decorum, and in case of 13
any disturbance or disorderly conduct within the Senate Chamber, 14
shall order the Sergeant at Arms to suppress it, and may order the 15
arrest of any person creating any disturbance within the Senate 16
Chamber. The President may speak to points of order in 17
preference to members, rising from the President’s seat for that 18
purpose, and shall decide questions of order without debate, 19
subject to an appeal to the Senate by two members, on which 20
appeal no member may speak more than once without leave of the 21
Senate. The President shall sign all acts, addresses and joint 22
resolutions, and all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by order 23
of the Senate; all of which must be attested by the Secretary. The 24
President has general direction of the Senate Chamber. 25
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Rule No. 2. President pro Tempore and Other Presiding 1
Officers. 2
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2: 3
(a) The President pro Tempore has all the power and shall 4
discharge all the duties of the President during his or her absence 5
or inability to discharge the duties of his or her office. 6
(b) If the President is unwilling to discharge the duties of his 7
or her office, the Senate may, by majority vote of the Senate, call 8
upon the President pro Tempore to serve as the President. Upon 9
such call, the President pro Tempore has all the power and shall 10
discharge all the duties of the President during his or her 11
unwillingness to discharge the duties of his or her office. 12
(c) In the absence or inability of the President pro Tempore to 13
discharge the duties of the President’s office, the Chair of the 14
Standing Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections shall 15
serve as the presiding officer. In the absence or inability of the 16
Chair, the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislative 17
Operations and Elections shall serve as the presiding officer. In 18
the absence or inability of the Vice Chair of the Standing 19
Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, the Senate 20
shall elect one of its members to serve as the presiding officer. A 21
member who is serving as the presiding officer has all the power 22
and shall discharge all the duties of the President until the 23
absence or inability which resulted in the member serving as the 24
presiding officer has ended. 25
2. When the President pro Tempore or another member is 26
serving as the presiding officer, the President pro Tempore or 27
other member may vote on any question for which he or she is 28
otherwise qualified to vote as a member. If the Senate is equally 29
divided on the question, the President pro Tempore or other 30
member may not give an additional deciding vote or casting vote 31
pursuant to Senate Standing Rule No. 31 or Section 17 of Article 5 32
of the Nevada Constitution. 33
34
Rule No. 3. Secretary. 35
1. The Secretary of the Senate is elected by the Senate, and 36
shall: 37
(a) Recruit, interview, select, train and supervise all staff 38
employed to assist with the work of the Senate. 39
(b) See that these employees perform their respective duties. 40
(c) Administer the daily business of the Senate, including the 41
provision of staff to its committees. 42
(d) Adopt such administrative policies as the Secretary deems 43
necessary to carry out the business of the Senate. 44
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(e) Unless otherwise ordered by the Senate, transmit at the end 1
of each working day those bills and resolutions upon which the 2
next action is to be taken by the Assembly. 3
2. The Secretary is responsible to the Majority Leader. 4
3. The President and the Secretary are authorized to make 5
any necessary corrections and additions to the final Journal, Daily 6
History and committee minutes of the Senate. 7
4. In the absence of the Secretary and subject to the 8
discretion of the Majority Leader, the Assistant Secretary shall 9
attest all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by order of the 10
Senate and certify as to the passage of bills and resolutions; and in 11
the absence of both officers, the Majority Leader shall designate a 12
signatory. 13
14
Rule No. 4. Sergeant at Arms. 15
The Sergeant at Arms shall: 16
1. Attend the Senate during its sittings, and execute its 17
commands and all process issued by its authority. 18
2. Keep the secrets of the Senate. 19
3. Superintend the upkeep of the Senate’s Chamber, private 20
lounge and meeting rooms for committees. 21
22
Rule No. 5. Deputy Sergeant at Arms and Assistant Sergeants 23
at Arms. 24
The Deputy Sergeant at Arms and Assistant Sergeants at Arms 25
shall serve as doorkeepers and shall preserve order in the Senate 26
Chamber and shall assist the Sergeant at Arms. The Deputy 27
Sergeant at Arms and Assistant Sergeants at Arms shall keep the 28
secrets of the Senate. In the event that the Sergeant at Arms is 29
incapacitated or absent for any reason, the Deputy Sergeant at 30
Arms shall serve as the Sergeant at Arms until the incapacity or 31
absence has ended. 32
33
Rule No. 6. Continuation of Leadership and Standing Rules of 34
the Senate During the Interim Between Regular Sessions. 35
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2, 3 and 4, the 36
tenure of the President pro Tempore, Majority Leader and 37
Minority Leader extends during the interim between regular 38
sessions of the Legislature. 39
2. The President pro Tempore, Majority Leader and Minority 40
Leader for the next succeeding regular session shall perform any 41
duty that is required of that officer by the Standing Rules of 42
the Senate and the Nevada Revised Statutes in the period between 43
the time of their designation after the general election and the 44
organization of the next succeeding regular session. 45
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3. The Majority Leader and Minority Leader for the next 1
succeeding regular session shall appoint the regular and alternate 2
members to the Committee on Ethics as set forth in Senate 3
Standing Rule No. 23. 4
4. The Majority Leader shall: 5
(a) Determine the start time of the Senate’s organizational 6
session. 7
(b) Refer prefiled bills and resolutions to committee, subject to 8
ratification by a majority vote of the members of the Senate once 9
the Senate is organized and ready for business. 10
(c) Appoint committees during the interim between regular 11
sessions of the Legislature for any proper purpose, including, 12
without limitation, taking testimony, compelling the attendance of 13
witnesses, punishing persons or entities for contempt and 14
reporting findings to the next session of the Legislature. 15
5. The Standing Rules of the Senate set forth herein shall 16
remain in full force and effect throughout the interim between 17
regular sessions of the Legislature and until new Standing Rules 18
of the Senate are adopted as part of the organization of a newly-19
constituted Senate at the commencement of a session, unless a 20
conflict exists with a rule adopted by the Senate for a special 21
session occurring between regular sessions. 22
23
The next rule is 10. 24
25
II. SESSIONS AND MEETINGS 26
27
Rule No. 10. Time of Meeting. 28
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the President 29
shall call the Senate to order each day of sitting at 11:00 o’clock 30
a.m., unless the Senate has adjourned to some other hour. 31
2. In the event an emergency occurs during a regular or 32
special session of the Legislature which requires a meeting of the 33
Senate, the Majority Leader shall call the members back to order 34
before the hour to which the Senate has adjourned. 35
36
Rule No. 11. Call of Senate—Moved by Three Members. 37
A Call of the Senate may be moved by three Senators, and if 38
carried by a majority of all present, the Secretary shall call the roll 39
and note the absentees, after which the names of the absentees 40
shall again be called over. The doors shall then be closed and the 41
Sergeant at Arms directed to take into custody all who may be 42
absent without leave, and all Senators so taken into custody shall 43
be presented at the bar of the Senate for such action as to the 44
Senate may seem proper. 45
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Rule No. 12. Absence—Leave Required. 1
No Senator shall absent himself or herself from the service of 2
the Senate without leave, except in case of accident or sickness, 3
and if any Senator or officer shall so absent himself or herself, the 4
per diem of the Senator shall not be allowed to him or her. 5
6
Rule No. 13. Open Meetings. 7
1. Except as provided in the Constitution of the State of 8
Nevada and in subsection 2, all meetings of the Senate and its 9
committees must be open to the public. 10
2. A Senate committee meeting may be closed to consider the 11
character, alleged misconduct, professional competence, or 12
physical or mental health of a person. 13
14
The next rule is 20. 15
16
III. DECORUM AND DEBATE 17
18
Rule No. 20. Points of Order. 19
1. If any Senator, in speaking or otherwise, transgresses the 20
rules of the Senate, the President shall, or any Senator may, call 21
him or her to order. If a Senator is so called to order, he or she 22
shall not proceed without leave of the Senate. If such leave is 23
granted, it must be upon the motion, “That he or she be allowed to 24
proceed in order,” and the Senator shall confine himself or herself 25
to the proposal under consideration and avoid personality. 26
2. Every ruling on points of order made by the President is 27
subject to appeal, and a discussion of a question of order may be 28
allowed only upon the appeal of two Senators. In all cases of 29
appeal, the question must be, “Shall the ruling of the Chair stand 30
as the judgment of the Senate?” 31
32
Rule No. 21. Breaches of Decorum. 33
1. In cases of breaches of decorum or propriety, any Senator, 34
officer or other person is liable to such censure or punishment as 35
the Senate may deem proper. 36
2. If any Senator is called to order for offensive or indecorous 37
language or conduct, the person calling the Senator to order shall 38
report the offensive or indecorous language or conduct to the 39
presiding officer. No member may be held to answer for any 40
language used on the floor of the Senate if business has 41
intervened before exception to the language was taken. 42
3. Indecorous conduct or boisterous or unbecoming language 43
is not permitted in the Senate Chamber. 44
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Rule No. 22. Reserved. 1
2
Rule No. 23. Committee on Ethics; Legislative Ethics. 3
1. The Committee on Ethics consists of: 4
(a) Two members of the Senate appointed by the Majority 5
Leader from the majority political party; 6
(b) One member of the Senate appointed by the Minority 7
Leader from the minority political party; and 8
(c) Three qualified electors of the State, two of whom are 9
appointed by the Majority Leader and one who is appointed by the 10
Minority Leader, and none of whom is a present member of the 11
Legislature or employed by the State of Nevada. 12
Not more than four members of the Committee may be 13
members of the same political party. 14
2. The Majority Leader shall appoint the Chair and Vice 15
Chair of the Committee. The Vice Chair shall serve as the acting 16
Chair if the Chair is unable to serve for any reason during the 17
consideration of a specific proposal. 18
3. The Majority Leader shall appoint an alternate member 19
with the qualifications set forth in paragraph (a) of subsection 1 20
and an alternate member with the qualifications set forth in 21
paragraph (c) of subsection 1. The Minority Leader shall appoint 22
an alternate member with the qualifications set forth in paragraph 23
(b) of subsection 1 and an alternate member with the 24
qualifications set forth in paragraph (c) of subsection 1. If a 25
member of the Committee is unable to serve for any reason during 26
the consideration of a specific proposal, the alternate appointed 27
with the qualifications from the same paragraph in subsection 1 28
shall serve as a member of the Committee during the 29
consideration of the specific proposal. 30
4. A member of the Committee is disqualified to serve during 31
the consideration of a specific proposal if: 32
(a) The member is the requester of advice concerning the 33
question of ethics or conflict of interest, or the member is the 34
subject of the complaint concerning the specific question; or 35
(b) A reasonable person in the member’s situation could not 36
exercise independent judgment on the matter in question. 37
5. The members of the Committee shall perform any duty 38
required in the period between the time of their appointment after 39
the general election and the organization of the next succeeding 40
regular session, or until the Majority Leader or the Minority 41
Leader appoint new members to the Committee, whichever occurs 42
first. 43
6. The tenure of the members of the Committee shall extend 44
during the interim between regular sessions of the Legislature. 45
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7. The Committee: 1
(a) May hear requests brought by Senators for advice on 2
specific questions of potential breaches of ethics and conflicts of 3
interest; and 4
(b) Shall hear complaints brought by Senators and others on 5
specific questions of alleged breaches of ethics and conflicts of 6
interest, including, without limitation, alleged breaches of the 7
Legislative Code of Ethical Standards in the Joint Standing Rules. 8
8. All proceedings held by the Committee to consider the 9
character, alleged misconduct, professional competence or 10
physical or mental health of any person on matters of ethics or 11
conflicts of interest and all materials related to those proceedings 12
are confidential, unless the person who is the subject of the 13
proceedings requests a public hearing or discloses the content of 14
the proceedings or materials. 15
9. An individual may file a complaint which alleges a breach 16
of ethics or a conflict of interest, including, without limitation, an 17
alleged breach of the Legislative Code of Ethical Standards in the 18
Joint Standing Rules. If the alleged breach of ethics or conflict of 19
interest involves the conduct of more than one person, separate 20
complaints must be filed regarding each person. A complaint must 21
be: 22
(a) Made in writing on a form provided by the Legislative 23
Counsel; 24
(b) Signed and verified under penalty of perjury by the 25
individual making the allegation; and 26
(c) Filed with the Legislative Counsel who shall review the 27
complaint and any other relevant information and consult with 28
the Chair of the Committee or, if the Chair is the subject of the 29
complaint, with the Vice Chair, to evaluate whether the Committee 30
has jurisdiction and whether an investigation is warranted in the 31
matter. If it is determined that the Committee: 32
(1) Does not have jurisdiction or that an investigation is not 33
warranted in the matter, the Legislative Counsel shall send written 34
notice of the determination to the individual who filed the 35
complaint. 36
(2) Has jurisdiction and an investigation is warranted in 37
the matter, the Legislative Counsel shall send written notice of the 38
determination and a copy of the complaint to the person who is the 39
subject of the complaint. 40
10. Each Legislator is subject, at all times, to the Legislative 41
Code of Ethical Standards in the Joint Standing Rules and, in 42
addition, must determine whether he or she has a conflict of 43
interest upon any matter in question before the Legislator. In 44
determining whether the Legislator has such a conflict of interest, 45
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the Legislator should consider whether the independence of 1
judgment of a reasonable person in his or her situation upon the 2
matter in question would be materially affected by the 3
Legislator’s: 4
(a) Acceptance of a gift or loan; 5
(b) Private economic interest; or 6
(c) Commitment to a member of his or her household or 7
immediate family. 8
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this subsection, it 9
must be presumed that the independence of judgment of a 10
reasonable person in the Legislator’s situation would not be 11
materially affected by the Legislator’s private economic interest or 12
the Legislator’s commitment to a member of his or her household 13
or immediate family where the resulting benefit or detriment 14
accruing to the Legislator, or if the Legislator has a commitment 15
to a member of his or her household or immediate family, 16
accruing to those other persons, is not greater than that accruing 17
to any other member of the general business, profession, 18
occupation or group that is affected by the matter. 19
11. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 12, if a 20
Legislator knows he or she has a conflict of interest pursuant to 21
subsection 10, the Legislator shall make a disclosure of the 22
conflict of interest on the record in a meeting of a committee or on 23
the floor of the Senate, as applicable. Such a disclosure must be 24
entered: 25
(a) If the Legislator makes the disclosure in a meeting of a 26
committee, in the minutes for that meeting. 27
(b) If the Legislator makes the disclosure on the floor of the 28
Senate, in the Journal. 29
12. If, on one or more prior occasions during the current 30
session of the Legislature, a Legislator has made a general 31
disclosure of a conflict of interest on the record in a meeting of a 32
committee or on the floor of the Senate, the Legislator is not 33
required to make that general disclosure at length again regarding 34
the same conflict of interest if, when the matter in question arises 35
on subsequent occasions, the Legislator makes a reference on the 36
record to the previous disclosure. 37
13. In determining whether to abstain from voting upon, 38
advocating or opposing a matter concerning which a Legislator 39
has a conflict of interest pursuant to subsection 10, the Legislator 40
should consider whether: 41
(a) The conflict impedes his or her independence of judgment; 42
and 43
(b) His or her interest is greater than the interests of an entire 44
class of persons similarly situated. 45
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14. The provisions of this Rule do not under any 1
circumstances and regardless of any conflict of interest: 2
(a) Prohibit a Legislator from requesting or introducing a 3
legislative measure; or 4
(b) Require a Legislator to take any particular action before or 5
while requesting or introducing a legislative measure. 6
15. If a Legislator who is a member of a committee declares 7
on the record when a vote is to be taken by the committee that he 8
or she will abstain from voting because of the requirements of this 9
Rule, the necessary quorum to act upon and the number of votes 10
necessary to act upon the matter is reduced as though the 11
Legislator abstaining were not a member of the committee. 12
16. The standards and procedures set forth in this Rule which 13
govern whether and to what extent a Senator has a conflict of 14
interest, should disclose a conflict of interest or should abstain 15
from voting upon, advocating or opposing a matter concerning 16
which the Senator has a conflict of interest pursuant to 17
subsection 10: 18
(a) Are exclusive and are the only standards and procedures 19
that apply to Senators with regard to such matters; and 20
(b) Supersede and preempt all other standards and procedures 21
with regard to such matters, 22
except that this subsection does not exempt any Senators from 23
the Legislative Code of Ethical Standards in the Joint Standing 24
Rules. 25
17. For purposes of this Rule, “immediate family” means a 26
person who is related to the Legislator by blood, adoption or 27
marriage within the first degree of consanguinity or affinity. 28
29
The next rule is 30. 30
31
IV. QUORUM, VOTING, ELECTIONS 32
33
Rule No. 30. Recorded Vote—Three Required to Call For. 34
1. A recorded vote must be taken upon final passage of a bill 35
or joint resolution, and in any other case when called for by three 36
members. Every Senator within the bar of the Senate shall vote 37
“yea” or “nay” or record himself or herself as “not voting,” unless 38
excused by unanimous vote of the Senate. A Senator who records 39
himself or herself as “not voting” must make a full and complete 40
disclosure of a conflict of interest pursuant to Senate Standing 41
Rule No. 23. 42
2. The votes and names of those absent or recorded as “not 43
voting” and the names of Senators demanding the recorded vote 44
must be entered in the Journal. 45
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Rule No. 31. President to Decide—Tie Vote. 1
A question is lost by a tie vote, but when the Senate is equally 2
divided on any question except the passage of a bill or joint 3
resolution, the President may give the deciding vote. 4
5
Rule No. 32. Manner of Election—Voting. 6
1. In all cases of election by the Senate, the vote must be 7
taken viva voce. In other cases, if a vote is to be recorded, it may 8
be taken by oral roll-call or by electronic recording. 9
2. When a recorded vote is taken, no Senator may: 10
(a) Vote except when at his or her seat; 11
(b) Explain his or her vote or discuss the question while the 12
voting is in progress; or 13
(c) Change his or her vote after the result is announced. 14
3. The announcement of the result of any vote must not be 15
postponed. 16
17
The next rule is 40. 18
19
V. LEGISLATIVE BODIES 20
21
Rule No. 40. Standing and Select Committees. 22
1. Except as otherwise provided in Senate Standing Rule No. 23
23, the Majority Leader shall appoint all standing and select 24
committees and shall determine the majority-minority party 25
composition of all standing and select committees. Appointments 26
to committees shall be made by the Majority Leader for the 27
majority party members and by the Minority Leader for the 28
minority party members. The Majority Leader shall designate 29
the Chair and Vice Chair of all standing and select committees. 30
2. The Majority Leader shall refer prefiled bills and 31
resolutions to committee, subject to ratification by a majority vote 32
of the Senate once the Senate is organized and ready for business. 33
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the standing 34
and select committees of the Senate and their respective 35
jurisdiction for the reference of bills and resolutions are as 36
follows: 37
(a) Commerce and Labor, eight members, with jurisdiction 38
over measures affecting primarily titles 52-55 of NRS, and 39
chapters 97-100, 118-119, 119B, 461, 461A, 489, 678A, 678B, 40
678D, 679A-693A, 694A-697, 711 and 712 of NRS, except 41
measures affecting primarily state and local revenue. 42
(b) Education, seven members, with jurisdiction over measures 43
affecting primarily chapters 353B, 378-380A, 385-386 and 388-44
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399 of NRS, except measures affecting primarily state and local 1
revenue. 2
(c) Finance, eight members, with jurisdiction over measures 3
affecting primarily chapters 1A, 387 and 400 of NRS, 4
appropriations, operating and capital budgets, state and federal 5
budget issues and bonding, except measures affecting primarily 6
state and local revenue, and over any measures carrying or 7
requiring appropriations and favorably reported by any other 8
committee. 9
(d) Government Affairs, five members, with jurisdiction over 10
measures affecting primarily titles 20, 21, 25, 27, 28, 30, 36 and 37 11
of NRS, and chapters 223-228, 232-233I, 234-237, 238-242, 271, 12
277-280, 286-289, 353, 353A, 353C-358, 381, 384, 472, 474, 477, 13
693B, 709, 710 and 720 of NRS, except measures affecting 14
primarily the provisions of the Nevada Administrative Procedure 15
Act that govern the adjudication of contested cases, the Tahoe 16
Regional Planning Compact and the Tahoe Regional Planning 17
Agency, state and local revenue and state and federal budget 18
issues. 19
(e) Growth and Infrastructure, five members, with jurisdiction 20
over measures affecting primarily title 44 of NRS, and chapters 21
403-405, 408, 410, 459A, 476, 480-487, 490 and 701-708 of NRS, 22
except measures affecting primarily state and local revenue. 23
(f) Health and Human Services, five members, with 24
jurisdiction over measures affecting primarily titles 38 and 39 of 25
NRS, chapters 439-442 of NRS, NRS 444.002-444.430 and 26
chapters 446-453C, 454-458A, 460, 583-585 and 678C of NRS, 27
except measures affecting primarily state and local revenue. 28
(g) Judiciary, eight members, with jurisdiction over measures 29
affecting primarily the provisions of the Nevada Administrative 30
Procedure Act that govern the adjudication of contested cases, 31
titles 2-7, 9, 11-16 and 41 of NRS, and chapters 1, 2-7, 101-104A, 32
111-117, 119A, 120, 120A, 475, 719, 721 and 722 of NRS, except 33
measures affecting primarily state and local revenue. 34
(h) Legislative Operations and Elections, five members, with 35
jurisdiction over measures affecting primarily titles 17, 24 and 29 36
of NRS, chapters 281-285 of NRS, and the operation of the 37
legislative session, except measures affecting primarily state and 38
local revenue. 39
(i) Natural Resources, five members, with jurisdiction over 40
measures affecting primarily titles 26 and 45-50 of NRS, chapters 41
383, 407 and 407A of NRS, NRS 444.435-444.650, chapters 444A-42
445D, 459, 488, 581, 582 and 586-590 of NRS, and the Tahoe 43
Regional Planning Compact and the Tahoe Regional Planning 44
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Agency, except measures affecting primarily state and local 1
revenue. 2
(j) Revenue and Economic Development, five members, with 3
jurisdiction over measures affecting primarily title 32 of NRS, 4
chapters 231, 231A, 237A, 271A-274 and 453D of NRS, and state 5
and local revenue. 6
4. The Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance may 7
assign any portion of a proposed executive budget to any of the 8
other standing or select committees of the Senate for review. Upon 9
receiving such an assignment the standing or select committee 10
shall complete its review expeditiously and report its findings and 11
any recommendations to the Standing Committee on Finance for 12
its independent evaluation. 13
14
Rule No. 41. Appointment of Alternates. 15
If the Chair or any member of a committee is temporarily 16
unable to perform his or her duties, the Majority Leader shall 17
appoint an alternate of the same political party to serve in the 18
Chair’s or the member’s place for such time as is determined by 19
the Majority Leader. 20
21
Rule No. 42. Committee Expenses. 22
No committee shall employ assistance or incur any expense, 23
except by permission of the Majority Leader previously obtained. 24
25
Rule No. 43. Duties of Committees. 26
The several committees shall acquaint themselves with the 27
interests of the State specially represented by the committee and 28
shall present such bills and reports as in their judgment will 29
advance the interests and promote the welfare of the people of the 30
State. 31
32
Rule No. 44. Reserved. 33
34
Rule No. 45. Reserved. 35
36
Rule No. 46. Forming Committee of the Whole. 37
In forming the Committee of the Whole, the Senator who has 38
so moved shall name a Chair to preside. All amendments proposed 39
by the Committee shall be reported by the Chair to the Senate. 40
41
Rule No. 47. Rules Applicable to Committee of the Whole. 42
The Rules of the Senate shall apply to proceedings in 43
Committee of the Whole, except that the previous question shall 44
not be ordered, nor the yeas and nays demanded, but the 45
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Committee may limit the number of times that any member may 1
speak, at any stage of proceedings, during its sitting. Messages 2
may be received by the President while the Committee is sitting; in 3
which case the President shall resume the chair and receive the 4
message. After receiving the message, the President shall vacate 5
the chair in favor of the Chair of the Committee. 6
7
Rule No. 48. Motion to Rise Committee of the Whole. 8
A motion that the Committee rise shall always be in order, and 9
shall be decided without debate. 10
11
Rule No. 49. Reference to Committee. 12
When a motion is made to refer any subject, and different 13
committees are proposed, the subject may be referred to the 14
committee with jurisdiction over the subject as set forth in Senate 15
Standing Rule No. 40, or to a different committee, upon a majority 16
vote of the members present. 17
18
Rule No. 50. Return From Committee. 19
1. Any bill or other matter referred to a committee of the 20
Senate must not be withdrawn or ordered taken from the 21
committee for consideration by the Senate, for re-referral, or for 22
any other reason without a majority vote of the Senate, and at 23
least one day’s notice of the motion therefor. 24
2. No such motion is in order: 25
(a) If the bill to be withdrawn or ordered taken from the 26
committee may no longer be considered by the Senate; or 27
(b) On the last day of the session, or on the day preceding the 28
last day of the session. 29
3. This Rule does not take from any committee the rights and 30
duties of committees provided for in Senate Standing Rule No. 43. 31
32
Rule No. 51. Reserved. 33
34
Rule No. 52. Reserved. 35
36
Rule No. 53. Committee Rules. 37
1. The rules of the Senate, as far as applicable, are the rules 38
of committees of the Senate. Procedure in committees, where not 39
otherwise provided in this Rule, must follow the procedure of the 40
Senate. For matters not included in the rules of the Senate or 41
these rules, Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure must be 42
followed. 43
2. A majority of any committee constitutes a quorum for the 44
transaction of business. 45
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3. A meeting of a committee may not be opened without a 1
quorum present. 2
4. In addition to regularly scheduled meetings of a committee 3
or those called by the Chair of the committee, meetings may be set 4
by a written petition of a majority of the committee and filed with 5
the Chair of the committee. 6
5. A bill may be passed from a committee only by a majority 7
of the committee membership. A simple majority of those present 8
and voting is sufficient to adopt committee amendments. 9
6. Subcommittees may be appointed by the Chair of a 10
committee to consider subjects specified by the Chair and shall 11
report back to the committee. If a member of a subcommittee is 12
not a member of the standing or select committee for which the 13
subcommittee is created, the approval of the Majority Leader is 14
required for that member’s appointment. If a subcommittee is so 15
appointed, the Chair of the committee shall determine whether the 16
subcommittee shall keep minutes of its meetings. Any minutes 17
required to be kept pursuant to this subsection must comply with 18
the provisions of subsection 12. 19
7. A committee shall act only when together, and all votes 20
must be taken in the presence of the committee. A member shall 21
not be recorded as voting unless the member was actually present 22
in the committee at the time of the vote. The Chair of the 23
committee must be present when the committee votes to take any 24
final actions on bills or resolutions, but the Chair is not required 25
to vote. In addition to the use of remote-technology systems 26
pursuant to Senate Standing Rule No. 136, upon approval of the 27
Majority Leader, a committee may meet together by video 28
conference or other appropriate remote-technology systems. A 29
member who is actually present in the committee at a posted video 30
conference or other remote location is present and in attendance 31
at the meeting for all purposes. A member who is participating in 32
a committee meeting with all committee members participating 33
through the use of a remote-technology system pursuant to the 34
direction of the Majority Leader shall participate in the committee 35
meeting from a location other than a committee meeting room. 36
The provisions of this subsection do not prohibit the prefiling of 37
legislative bills and resolutions on behalf of a committee in the 38
manner prescribed by the Legislative Commission. 39
8. All committee and subcommittee meetings are open to the 40
public, except as otherwise provided in Senate Standing 41
Rule No. 13. 42
9. Before a Chair of a committee reports a bill or resolution 43
to the Senate, the committee may reconsider its action. A motion to 44
reconsider must be made by any member who voted on the action. 45
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10. The Chair of a committee shall determine the agenda of 1
each meeting of the committee except that a member of the 2
committee may request an item for the agenda by communicating 3
with the Chair at least 4 days before the meeting. A majority of a 4
committee may, by vote, add an item to the agenda of the next 5
regularly scheduled meeting. 6
11. Secretaries to committees shall give notices of hearings 7
on bills to anyone requesting notices of particular bills. 8
12. All committees shall keep minutes of meetings. The 9
minutes must cover members present and absent, subjects under 10
discussion, witnesses who appear, committee members’ statements 11
concerning legislative intent, action taken by the committee, as 12
well as the vote of individual members on all matters on which a 13
vote is taken. Upon approval of the Chair, any member may 14
submit to the secretary additional remarks to be included in the 15
minutes and records of committee meetings. Upon completion of 16
the minutes, the Chair will review for approval. At the conclusion 17
of the legislative session, the Secretary of the Senate shall deliver 18
all minutes and records of committee meetings in his or her 19
possession to the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel 20
Bureau. 21
13. In addition to the minutes, the committee secretary shall 22
maintain a record of all bills, including: 23
(a) Date bill referred; 24
(b) Date bill received; 25
(c) Date set for hearing the bill; 26
(d) Date or dates bill heard and voted upon; and 27
(e) Date report prepared. 28
14. Each committee secretary shall file the minutes of each 29
meeting with the Secretary of the Senate as soon as practicable 30
after the meeting. 31
15. All committee minutes and any subcommittee minutes 32
required to be kept pursuant to subsection 6 are open to public 33
inspection upon request and during normal business hours. The 34
official record of the committee meeting is the minutes approved 35
by the Chair. 36
37
Rule No. 54. Review of State Agency Programs. 38
In addition to or concurrent with committee action taken on 39
specific bills and resolutions during a regular session of the 40
Legislature, each standing committee of the Senate is encouraged 41
to plan and conduct a general review of selected programs of state 42
agencies or other areas of public interest within the committee’s 43
jurisdiction. 44
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The next rule is 60. 1
2
VI. RULES GOVERNING MOTIONS 3
4
A. MOTIONS GENERALLY 5
6
Rule No. 60. Entertaining. 7
1. No motion may be debated until it is announced by the 8
President. 9
2. By consent of the Senate, a motion may be withdrawn 10
before amendment or decision. 11
12
Rule No. 61. Precedence of Motions. 13
When a proposal is under debate no motion shall be received 14
but the following, which shall have precedence in the order 15
named: 16
1. To adjourn. 17
2. For a call of the Senate. 18
3. To recess. 19
4. To lay on the table. 20
5. For the previous question. 21
6. To postpone to a day certain. 22
7. To refer to committee. 23
8. To amend. 24
9. To postpone indefinitely. 25
The first three motions shall be decided without debate, and a 26
motion to lay on the table without question or debate. 27
28
Rule No. 62. When Not Entertained. 29
1. When a motion to postpone indefinitely has been decided, 30
it must not be again entertained on the same day. 31
2. When a proposal has been postponed indefinitely, it must 32
not again be introduced during the session unless this Rule is 33
suspended by a majority vote of the Senate. 34
3. There must be no reconsideration or recission of a vote on 35
a motion to postpone indefinitely. 36
37
B. PARTICULAR MOTIONS 38
39
Rule No. 63. To Adjourn. 40
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order unless a motion to 41
reconsider a final vote on a bill or resolution or any other action is 42
pending. The name of the Senator moving to adjourn, and the 43
time when the motion was made, shall be entered in the Journal. 44
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Rule No. 64. Lay on the Table. 1
A motion to lay on or take from the table shall be carried by a 2
majority vote. 3
4
Rule No. 65. Reserved. 5
6
Rule No. 66. To Strike Enacting Clause. 7
A motion to strike out the enacting clause of a bill has 8
precedence over a motion to refer to committee or to amend. If a 9
motion to strike out the enacting clause of a bill is carried, the bill 10
is rejected. 11
12
Rule No. 67. Division of Proposal. 13
1. Any Senator may call for a division of a proposal. 14
2. A proposal must be divided if the Senate determines it 15
embraces subjects so distinct that if one subject is taken away, a 16
substantive proposal remains for the decision of the Senate. 17
3. A motion to strike out and insert must not be divided. 18
19
Rule No. 68. To Reconsider—Precedence of. 20
A motion to reconsider has precedence over every other 21
motion, including a motion to adjourn. A motion to reconsider a 22
final vote on a bill or resolution or any other action shall be in 23
order only on the day on which the final vote or action is taken 24
and the vote on such a motion to reconsider must be taken on the 25
same day. 26
27
Rule No. 69. Explanation of Motion. 28
Whenever a Senator moves to change the usual disposition of a 29
bill or resolution, he or she shall describe the subject of the bill or 30
resolution and state the reasons for requesting the change in the 31
processing of the bill or resolution. 32
33
The next rule is 80. 34
35
VII. DEBATE 36
37
Rule No. 80. Speaking on Proposal. 38
1. Every Senator who speaks shall, in his or her place, 39
address “Mr. or Madam President,” in a courteous manner, and 40
shall confine himself or herself to the proposal before the Senate. 41
2. No Senator may speak: 42
(a) More than twice during the consideration of any one 43
question on the same day, except for explanation. 44
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(b) A second time without leave when others who have not 1
spoken desire the floor. 2
3. Incidental and subsidiary proposals arising during debate 3
shall not be considered the same proposal. 4
5
Rule No. 81. Previous Question. 6
The previous question shall not be put unless demanded by 7
three Senators, and it shall be in this form: “Shall the main 8
question be put?” When sustained by a majority of Senators 9
present it shall put an end to all debate and bring the Senate to a 10
vote on the proposal or proposals before it, and all incidental 11
proposals arising after the motion was made shall be decided 12
without debate. A person who is speaking on a proposal shall not 13
while he or she has the floor move to put that question. 14
15
The next rule is 90. 16
17
VIII. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS 18
19
A. GENERALLY 20
21
Rule No. 90. Mason’s Manual. 22
The rules of parliamentary practice contained in Mason’s 23
Manual of Legislative Procedure shall govern the Senate in all 24
cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not 25
inconsistent with the standing rules and orders of the Senate, and 26
the Joint Standing Rules of the Senate and Assembly. 27
28
Rule No. 91. Suspension of Rule. 29
No standing rule or order of the Senate shall be rescinded or 30
changed without a majority vote of the Senate and one day’s 31
notice of the motion therefor; but a rule or order may be 32
temporarily suspended for a special purpose by a majority vote of 33
the members present. When the suspension of a rule is called for, 34
and after due notice from the President no objection is offered, the 35
President can announce the rule suspended and the Senate may 36
proceed accordingly; but this shall not apply to that portion of 37
Senate Standing Rule No. 109 relating to the third reading of bills, 38
which cannot be suspended. 39
40
Rule No. 92. Notices of Bills, Topics and Public Hearings. 41
Adequate notice shall be provided to the Legislators and the 42
public by posting information relative to the bills, topics and 43
public hearings which are to come before committees. Notices 44
shall include the date, time, place and agenda, and shall be posted 45
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conspicuously in the Legislative Building and shall be made 1
available to the news media. This requirement of notice may be 2
suspended for an emergency by the affirmative vote of a majority 3
of the committee members appointed. 4
5
Rule No. 93. Protest. 6
Any Senator, or Senators, may protest against the action of the 7
Senate upon any question, and have such protest entered in the 8
Journal. 9
10
Rule No. 94. Privilege of the Floor. 11
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, to preserve 12
decorum and facilitate the business of the Senate, only the 13
following persons may be present on the floor of the Senate during 14
formal sessions: 15
(a) State officers; 16
(b) Officers and members of the Senate; 17
(c) Employees of the Legislative Counsel Bureau; 18
(d) Staff of the Senate; and 19
(e) Members of the Assembly whose presence is required for 20
the transaction of business. 21
2. Guests of Senators must be seated in a section of the upper 22
or lower gallery of the Senate Chamber to be specially designated 23
by the Sergeant at Arms. The Majority Leader may specify special 24
occasions when guests may be seated on the floor of the Senate 25
with a Senator. 26
3. A majority of Senators may authorize the President to have 27
the Senate Chamber cleared of all persons except Senators and 28
officers of the Senate. 29
4. The Senate Chamber may not be used for any business 30
other than legislative business during a legislative session. 31
32
Rule No. 95. Material Placed on Legislators’ Desks. 33
1. Only the Sergeant at Arms and officers and employees of 34
the Senate may place papers, letters, notes, pamphlets and other 35
written material upon a Senator’s desk. Such material must 36
contain the name of the Legislator requesting the placement of the 37
material on the desk or a designation of the origin of the material. 38
2. This Rule does not apply to books containing the legislative 39
bills and resolutions, the daily histories and daily journals of the 40
Senate or Assembly, or Legislative Counsel Bureau material. 41
42
Rule No. 96. Reserved. 43
44
Rule No. 97. Petitions. 45
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The contents of any petition shall be briefly stated by the 1
President or any Senator presenting it. It shall then lie on the table 2
or be referred, as the President or Senate may direct. 3
4
Rule No. 98. Reserved. 5
6
Rule No. 99. Reserved. 7
8
Rule No. 100. Reserved. 9
10
Rule No. 101. Reserved. 11
12
Rule No. 102. Objection to Reading of Paper. 13
Where the reading of any paper is called for, and is objected to 14
by any Senator, it shall be determined by a vote of the Senate, and 15
without debate. 16
17
Rule No. 103. Questions Relating to Priority of Business. 18
All questions relating to the priority of business shall be 19
decided without debate. 20
21
B. BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS 22
23
Rule No. 104. Reserved. 24
25
Rule No. 105. Reserved. 26
27
Rule No. 106. Skeleton Bills. 28
Skeleton bills may be introduced after the beginning of a 29
session when, in the opinion of the sponsor and the Legislative 30
Counsel, the full drafting of the bill would entail extensive 31
research or be of considerable length. A skeleton bill will be a 32
presentation of ideas or statements of purpose, sufficient in style 33
and expression to enable the Legislature and the committee to 34
which the bill may be referred to consider the substantive merits of 35
the legislation proposed. 36
37
Rule No. 107. Information Concerning Bills. 38
1. Bills introduced may be accompanied by information 39
relative to witnesses and selected persons of departments and 40
agencies who should be considered for committee hearings on the 41
proposed legislation. At the time of or after introduction of a bill, a 42
list of witnesses who are proponents of the bill together with their 43
addresses and telephone numbers may be given to the secretary of 44
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the committee to which the bill is referred. This information may 1
be provided by: 2
(a) The Senator introducing the bill; 3
(b) The person requesting a committee introduction of the bill; 4
or 5
(c) The Chair of the committee introducing the bill. 6
2. The secretary of the committee shall deliver this 7
information to the Chair of the committee to which the bill is 8
referred. Members of the committee may suggest additional names 9
for witnesses. 10
3. The Legislator may provide an analysis which may 11
describe the intent, purpose, justification and effects of the bill, or 12
any of them. 13
14
Rule No. 108. Reserved. 15
16
Rule No. 109. Reading of Bills. 17
1. Every bill must receive three readings before its passage, 18
unless, in case of emergency, this rule is suspended by a two-thirds 19
vote of the Senate. The reading of a bill is by number, sponsor and 20
summary. 21
2. The first reading of a bill is for information, and if there is 22
opposition to the bill, the question must be, “Shall this bill be 23
rejected?” If there is no opposition to the bill, or if the question to 24
reject is defeated, the bill must then take the usual course. 25
3. No bill may be referred to committee until once read, nor 26
amended until twice read. 27
4. The third reading of every bill must be by sections. 28
29
Rule No. 110. Second Reading File—Consent Calendar. 30
1. All bills reported by committee must be placed on a Second 31
Reading File unless recommended for placement on the Consent 32
Calendar. 33
2. A committee shall not recommend a bill for placement on 34
the Consent Calendar if: 35
(a) An amendment of the bill is recommended; 36
(b) It contains an appropriation; 37
(c) It requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate; or 38
(d) It is controversial in nature. 39
3. A bill recommended for placement on the Consent 40
Calendar must be included in the Daily File listed in the Daily 41
History of the Senate at least 1 calendar day before it may be 42
considered. 43
4. A bill must be removed from the Consent Calendar at the 44
request of any Senator, without question or debate. A bill so 45
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removed must be immediately placed on the Second Reading File 1
for consideration in the usual order of business. 2
5. When the Consent Calendar is called: 3
(a) The bills remaining on the Consent Calendar must be read 4
by number, sponsor and summary, and the vote must be taken on 5
their final passage as a group. 6
(b) No remarks or questions are in order and the bills 7
remaining on the Consent Calendar must be voted upon without 8
debate. 9
10
Rule No. 111. Publications. 11
1. An appropriate number of copies of all bills and 12
resolutions of general interest must be printed for the use of the 13
Senate and Assembly. Such other matter must be printed as may 14
be ordered by the Senate. 15
2. Bill books will not be prepared for legislators unless they 16
qualify for and request the service. The service, if approved, will 17
be limited to the provision of one full set of bills, journals, 18
histories and indexes for the Senator’s desk in the Senate 19
chamber. Bill books will not be prepared for a Senator for 20
individual committees. 21
3. A Senator may request the provision of bill book service 22
pursuant to subsection 1 if either: 23
(a) The Senator has served in the Senate for 10 or more years; 24
or 25
(b) A physical or medical condition requires the Senator to use 26
the bill books rather than viewing bills on a laptop computer. 27
4. A request for bill book service must be made to the 28
Majority Leader of the Senate. If the Majority Leader determines 29
that the Senator qualifies for the service, the Majority Leader shall 30
direct the Legislative Counsel Bureau to provide the service. 31
32
Rule No. 112. Sponsorship. 33
1. A Senator may request that his or her name be added as a 34
sponsor of a bill or resolution that is introduced in the Senate if 35
the Senator has submitted to the Secretary of the Senate a 36
statement approving the request signed by the Senator who 37
introduced the bill or resolution, including, without limitation, 38
submission by electronic means. A Senator may make a request to 39
have his or her name added as a sponsor of: 40
(a) A resolution of the Senate, at any time after the resolution 41
is introduced in the Senate and before the resolution is passed by 42
the Senate. 43
(b) A bill or a joint or concurrent resolution: 44
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(1) At any time after the bill or resolution is introduced in 1
the Senate and before the bill or resolution is passed out of the 2
Senate to the Assembly; and 3
(2) At any time after the bill or resolution is returned to the 4
Senate following passage by the Assembly and before the bill or 5
resolution is enrolled. 6
2. A Senator who is a sponsor of a bill or resolution that is 7
introduced in the Senate may request that his or her name be 8
removed as a sponsor of the bill or resolution. A Senator may 9
make a request to have his or her name removed as a sponsor of: 10
(a) A resolution of the Senate, at any time after the resolution 11
is introduced in the Senate and before the resolution is passed by 12
the Senate. 13
(b) A bill or a joint or concurrent resolution: 14
(1) At any time after the bill or resolution is introduced in 15
the Senate and before the bill or resolution is passed out of the 16
Senate to the Assembly; and 17
(2) At any time after the bill or resolution is returned to the 18
Senate following passage by the Assembly and before the bill or 19
resolution is enrolled. 20
In such case, if the Senator is the only sponsor of the bill or 21
resolution, another Senator may request that his or her name be 22
added to the bill or resolution as a sponsor without receiving the 23
approval from the original sponsor. 24
3. If a Senator makes a request to have his or her name 25
added or removed as a sponsor of a bill or resolution that was 26
introduced in the Senate, the request must be entered in the 27
Journal. 28
4. If a Senator who is the only sponsor of a bill or resolution 29
that was introduced in the Senate removes his or her name from 30
the bill or resolution while the bill is in the Senate and no other 31
Senator adds his or her name as the sponsor of the bill or 32
resolution at the time of the request for removal, no further action 33
on the bill or resolution is allowed for that legislative session. 34
5. Notwithstanding any provision of the Standing Rules of the 35
Senate or the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly, if all 36
Senators who are primary sponsors or cosponsors of a bill or 37
resolution remove their names as sponsors of the bill or resolution 38
while the bill or resolution is in the Senate and no other Senator 39
adds his or her name as a sponsor of the bill or resolution, the 40
names of the primary joint sponsor or sponsors and the non-41
primary joint sponsor or sponsors, if any, must be removed from 42
the bill or resolution without an amendment. 43
44
Rule No. 113. Reading of Bills—General File. 45
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1. Upon reading of bills on the Second Reading File, Senate 1
and Assembly bills reported without amendments must be ordered 2
to the General File. Committee amendments reported with bills 3
must be considered upon their second reading and such 4
amendments may be adopted by a majority vote of the members 5
present. Bills so amended must be reprinted, engrossed or 6
reengrossed, and ordered to the General File. The File must be 7
made available to members of the public each day by the 8
Secretary. 9
2. Any member may move to amend a bill during its reading 10
on the Second Reading File or during its third reading and the 11
motion to amend may be adopted by a majority vote of the 12
members present. Bills so amended on second reading must be 13
treated the same as bills with committee amendments. Any bill so 14
amended upon the General File must be reprinted and engrossed 15
or reengrossed. 16
3. Committee amendments and all other amendments must be 17
made available to members of the public after the amendments are 18
submitted to the Secretary for processing in order to be considered 19
on the Second Reading File or the General File. 20
4. An appropriate number of copies of all amended bills must 21
be printed. 22
23
Rule No. 114. Referral of Bill With Special Instructions. 24
A bill may be referred to committee with special instructions to 25
amend at any time before taking the final vote. 26
27
Rule No. 115. Reconsideration of Vote on Bill. 28
1. A vote may be reconsidered on motion of any member. 29
2. Motions to reconsider a vote upon amendments to any 30
pending proposal and upon a final vote on a bill or resolution may 31
be made and decided at once. 32
33
Rule No. 116. Vetoed Bills. 34
Bills which have passed the Legislature, and forwarded by 35
letter, to the Senate by the Secretary of State or the Governor and 36
which are accompanied by a message of the Governor’s 37
disapproval, or veto of the same, shall become a special order and, 38
at which time, the said message shall be read, together with the bill 39
or bills so disposed or vetoed; and the message and bill shall be 40
read without interruption, consecutively, one following the other, 41
and not upon separate occasions; and no such bill or message 42
shall be referred to any committee, or otherwise acted upon, save 43
as provided by rule, custom and law; that is to say, that 44
immediately following such reading the only questions (except as 45
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hereinafter stated) which shall be put by the Chair is, “Shall the 1
bill pass, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor?” It shall 2
not be in order, at any time, to vote upon such vetoed bill without 3
the same having first been read; the merits of the bill itself may be 4
debated and the only motions entertained after the Chair has 5
stated the question are a motion for “The previous question,” or a 6
motion for “No further consideration” of the vetoed bill. 7
8
Rule No. 117. Different Subject Not Admitted as Amendment. 9
No subject different from that under consideration shall be 10
admitted as an amendment; and no bill or resolution shall be 11
amended by incorporating any irrelevant subject matter or by 12
association or annexing any other bill or resolution pending in the 13
Senate, but a substitute may be offered at any time so long as the 14
original is open to amendment. 15
16
Rule No. 118. Joint Resolutions. 17
1. Joint resolutions must be used to address Congress, or 18
either House thereof, or the President of the United States, or the 19
heads of any of the national departments, or to propose 20
amendments to the State Constitution. A roll call vote must be 21
taken upon final passage of a joint resolution and entered in the 22
Journal. 23
2. Upon introduction, the reading of a joint resolution is for 24
informational purposes and referral to committee, unless the joint 25
resolution is rejected or a member moves to immediately consider 26
the joint resolution for final passage. The motion to immediately 27
consider the joint resolution for final passage may be adopted by a 28
majority vote of the Senate. 29
3. Committee amendments reported with joint resolutions 30
may be adopted by a majority vote of the members present. Joint 31
resolutions so amended must be reprinted, engrossed or 32
reengrossed, and ordered to the Resolution File. 33
4. Any member may move to amend a joint resolution and the 34
motion to amend may be adopted by a majority vote of the 35
members present. Joint resolutions so amended must be treated 36
the same as joint resolutions with committee amendments. Any 37
joint resolution so amended must be reprinted and engrossed or 38
reengrossed, and ordered to the Resolution File. 39
5. Committee amendments and all other amendments must be 40
available to members of the public after the amendments are 41
submitted to the Secretary for processing in order to be considered 42
for the Resolution File. 43
6. The Secretary shall make the Resolution File available to 44
members of the public each day. 45
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7. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the State 1
Constitution must be entered in the Journal in its entirety. 2
8. An appropriate number of copies of all amended joint 3
resolutions must be printed. 4
5
Rule No. 118.2. Memorial Resolutions. 6
Once the sponsor has moved for the adoption of a memorial 7
resolution, not more than one member from each caucus, and, 8
upon request of a member of the body and the approval of the 9
Majority Leader, one additional member may speak on the 10
resolution. 11
12
Rule No. 119. Certain Resolutions Treated as Motions. 13
Except as otherwise provided in Senate Standing Rules Nos. 14
118 and 118.2, resolutions must be treated as motions in all 15
proceedings of the Senate. 16
17
Rule No. 119.2. Return From the Secretary of State. 18
A Senate resolution may be used to request the return from the 19
Secretary of State of an enrolled Senate resolution for further 20
consideration. 21
22
C. ORDER OF BUSINESS, SPECIAL ORDERS AND OTHER MATTERS 23
24
Rule No. 120. Order of Business. 25
1. Roll Call. 26
2. Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 27
3. Reading and Approval of the Journal. 28
4. Reports of Committees. 29
5. Messages from the Governor. 30
6. Messages from the Assembly. 31
7. Communications. 32
8. Waivers and Exemptions. 33
9. Motions, Resolutions and Notices. 34
10. Introduction, First Reading and Reference. 35
11. Consent Calendar. 36
12. Second Reading and Amendment. 37
13. General File and Third Reading. 38
14. Unfinished Business. 39
15. Special Orders of the Day. 40
16. Remarks from the Floor; Introduction of Guests. A 41
Senator may speak under this order of business for a period of not 42
more than 10 minutes. 43
44
Rule No. 121. Privilege. 45
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Any Senator may explain a matter personal to himself or 1
herself by leave of the President, but the Senator shall not discuss 2
any pending proposal in such explanation. 3
4
Rule No. 122. Reserved. 5
6
Rule No. 123. Reserved. 7
8
Rule No. 124. Preference to Speak. 9
When two or more Senators request to speak at the same time 10
the President shall name the one who may first speak—giving 11
preference, when practicable, to the mover or introducer of the 12
subject under consideration. 13
14
Rule No. 125. Special Order of Business. 15
The President shall call the Senate to order on the arrival of 16
the time fixed for the consideration of a special order, and 17
announce that the special order is before the Senate, which shall 18
be considered, unless it be postponed by a majority vote of the 19
Senate, and any business before the Senate at the time of the 20
announcement of the special order shall go to Unfinished 21
Business. 22
23
Rule No. 126. Reserved. 24
25
Rule No. 127. Reserved. 26
27
Rule No. 128. Seniority Among Senators. 28
1. The Senate shall determine seniority among the Senators 29
as follows: 30
(a) Credit total continuous service in the Senate first; 31
(b) Credit total noncontinuous service in the Senate second; 32
(c) Credit total continuous service in the Assembly third; and 33
(d) Credit total noncontinuous service in the Assembly fourth. 34
2. In every case where there are ties, those ties are broken by 35
alphabetical order. 36
37
Rule No. 129. Reserved. 38
39
D. CONTESTS OF ELECTIONS 40
41
Rule No. 130. Procedure. 42
1. The Senate shall not dismiss a statement of contest for 43
want of form if any ground of contest is alleged with sufficient 44
certainty to inform the defendant of the charges he or she is 45
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required to meet. The following grounds are sufficient, but are not 1
exclusive: 2
(a) That the election board or any member thereof was guilty 3
of malfeasance. 4
(b) That a person who has been declared elected to an office 5
was not at the time of election eligible to that office. 6
(c) That illegal votes were cast and counted for the defendant, 7
which, if taken from the defendant, will reduce the number of 8
legal votes below the number necessary to elect him or her. 9
(d) That the election board, in conducting the election or in 10
canvassing the returns, made errors sufficient to change the result 11
of the election as to any person who has been declared elected. 12
(e) That the defendant has given, or offered to give, to any 13
person a bribe for the purpose of procuring his or her election. 14
(f) That there was a possible malfunction of any voting or 15
counting device. 16
2. The contest must be submitted so far as may be possible 17
upon depositions or by written or oral arguments as the Senate 18
may order. Any party to a contest may take the deposition of any 19
witness at any time after the statement of contest is filed with the 20
Secretary of State and before the contest is finally decided. At least 21
5 days’ notice must be given to the prospective deponent and to the 22
other party. If oral statements are made at any hearing before the 23
Senate or a committee thereof which purport to establish matters 24
of fact, they must be made under oath. Strict rules of evidence do 25
not apply. 26
3. The contestant has the burden of proving that any 27
irregularities shown were of such nature as to establish the 28
probability that the result of the election was changed thereby. 29
After consideration of all the evidence, the Senate shall declare 30
the defendant elected unless the Senate finds from the evidence 31
that a person other than the defendant received the greatest 32
number of legal votes, in which case the Senate shall declare that 33
person elected. 34
35
E. REMOTE-TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS 36
37
Rule No. 131. Reserved. 38
39
Rule No. 132. Reserved. 40
41
Rule No. 133. Reserved. 42
43
Rule No. 134. Reserved. 44
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Rule No. 135. Reserved. 1
2
Rule No. 136. Authorized Use of Remote-Technology Systems 3
in Exceptional Circumstances. 4
1. As used in this Rule, “remote-technology system” means 5
any system or other means of communication that is: 6
(a) Approved by the Majority Leader and uses any electronic, 7
digital or other similar technology to enable a member of the 8
Senate from a remote location to attend, participate, vote and take 9
any other action in any proceedings of the Senate or the 10
Committee of the Whole even though the member is not physically 11
present within the Senate Chambers or at a meeting of the 12
Committee of the Whole. 13
(b) Approved by the chair of a committee, other than the 14
Committee of the Whole, and uses any electronic, digital or other 15
similar technology to enable a member of the Senate from a 16
remote location to attend, participate, vote and take any other 17
action in any proceedings of the committee even though the 18
member is not physically present at a meeting of the committee. 19
2. Upon request by a member of the Senate: 20
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the 21
Majority Leader may authorize the member to use a remote-22
technology system to attend, participate, vote and take any other 23
action in any proceedings of the Senate or the Committee of the 24
Whole if the Majority Leader determines that exceptional 25
circumstances warrant such use by the member. If the Majority 26
Leader grants such authorization: 27
(1) It must be entered in the Journal of the Senate. 28
(2) A member who uses a remote-technology system to 29
attend or participate in a proceeding of the Senate may not vote on 30
any matter on which a vote is taken in that proceeding unless the 31
member is using the remote-technology system to attend or 32
participate in the proceeding from a location in this State. 33
(b) The chair of a committee, other than the Committee of the 34
Whole, with the approval of the Majority Leader, may authorize 35
the member to use a remote-technology system to attend, 36
participate, vote and take any other action in any proceedings of 37
the committee if the chair and the Majority Leader determine that 38
exceptional circumstances warrant such use by the member. If the 39
chair grants such authorization, it must be entered in the records 40
of the committee. 41
3. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2) of 42
paragraph (a) of subsection 2, if a member of the Senate uses a 43
remote-technology system to attend, participate, vote and take any 44
other action in any proceedings pursuant to this Rule, the member 45
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shall be deemed to be present and in attendance at the proceedings 1
for all purposes. 2
4. For the purposes of voting in proceedings of: 3
(a) The Committee of the Whole, the Secretary of the Senate, 4
or an authorized assistant, shall call the roll of each member who 5
is authorized to use a remote-technology system for the 6
proceedings and, in accordance with the procedures of the Senate, 7
cause the member’s vote to be entered into the record for the 8
purposes of the records of the Committee of the Whole. 9
(b) A committee, other than the Committee of the Whole, the 10
committee secretary shall call the roll of each member who is 11
authorized to use a remote-technology system for the proceedings 12
and, in accordance with the procedures of the committee, cause 13
the member’s vote to be entered into the record for the purposes of 14
the records of the committee. 15
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7 of Senate 16
Standing Rule No. 53, this Rule supersedes, takes precedence and 17
controls over any other rule, provision or principle of law to the 18
extent of any conflict with this Rule. 19
6. The Senate hereby finds and declares that: 20
(a) The Nevada Constitution invests each House of the 21
Legislature with certain plenary and exclusive constitutional 22
powers which may be exercised only by that House and which 23
cannot be usurped, infringed or impaired by the other House or by 24
any other branch of Nevada’s State Government. (Heller v. 25
Legislature, 120 Nev. 456 (2004); Commission on Ethics v. Hardy, 26
125 Nev. 285 (2009); Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure §§ 27
2-3 & 560-564 (2010) (Mason’s Manual)) 28
(b) Section 6 of Article 4 of the Nevada Constitution invests 29
each House with plenary and exclusive constitutional powers to 30
determine the rules of its proceedings and to govern, control and 31
regulate its membership and its internal organization, affairs and 32
management, expressly providing that: “Each House shall judge 33
of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members, 34
choose its own officers (except the President of the Senate), 35
determine the rules of its proceedings and may punish its members 36
for disorderly conduct, and with the concurrence of two thirds of 37
all the members elected, expel a member.” 38
(c) In addition to its plenary and exclusive constitutional 39
powers, each House possesses certain inherent powers of 40
institutional self-protection and self-preservation to govern, 41
control and regulate its membership and its internal organization, 42
affairs and management. (In re Chapman, 166 U.S. 661, 668 43
(1897); Mason’s Manual § 2; Luther S. Cushing, Elements of the 44
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Law & Practice of Legislative Assemblies § 533 (1856) (Cushing’s 1
Legislative Assemblies)) 2
(d) The inherent powers of each House are considered “so 3
essential to the authority of a legislative assembly, that it cannot 4
well exist without them; and they are consequently entitled to be 5
regarded as belonging to every such assembly as a necessary 6
incident.” (Cushing’s Legislative Assemblies § 533) 7
(e) The inherent powers of each House authorize it to take all 8
necessary and proper institutional actions that are “recognized by 9
the common parliamentary law.” (Cushing’s Legislative 10
Assemblies § 684) 11
(f) Thus, it is well established that each House is “vested with 12
all the powers and privileges which are necessary and incidental to 13
a free and unobstructed exercise of its appropriate functions. 14
These powers and privileges are derived not from the Constitution; 15
on the contrary, they arise from the very creation of a legislative 16
body, and are founded upon the principle of self-preservation.” 17
(Ex parte McCarthy, 29 Cal. 395, 403 (1866)) 18
(g) Under the Nevada Constitution, there are no constitutional 19
provisions establishing a particular method for determining 20
whether a member of either House is present at legislative 21
proceedings. 22
(h) The United States Supreme Court has held that when there 23
are no constitutional provisions establishing a particular method 24
for determining whether a member of a legislative house is present 25
at legislative proceedings, “it is therefore within the competency of 26
the house to prescribe any method which shall be reasonably 27
certain to ascertain the fact.” (United States v. Ballin, 144 U.S. 1, 28
6 (1892)) 29
(i) The United States Supreme Court has also held that when a 30
legislative house adopts a rule establishing a reasonable method 31
for determining whether a member is present at legislative 32
proceedings, that rule must be given great deference by the courts 33
because: 34
Neither do the advantages or disadvantages, the wisdom or 35
folly, of such a rule present any matters for judicial 36
consideration. With the courts the question is only one of 37
power. The constitution empowers each house to determine 38
its rules of proceedings. It may not by its rules ignore 39
constitutional restraints or violate fundamental rights, and 40
there should be a reasonable relation between the mode or 41
method of proceeding established by the rule and the result 42
which is sought to be attained. But within these limitations 43
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all matters of method are open to the determination of the 1
house, and it is no impeachment of the rule to say that some 2
other way would be better, more accurate, or even more just. 3
It is no objection to the validity of a rule that a different one 4
has been prescribed and in force for a length of time. The 5
power to make rules is not one which once exercised is 6
exhausted. It is a continuous power, always subject to be 7
exercised by the house, and, within the limitations 8
suggested, absolute and beyond the challenge of any other 9
body or tribunal. 10
11
(United States v. Ballin, 144 U.S. 1, 5 (1892)) 12
7. The Senate hereby exercises its constitutional and inherent 13
powers and privileges and adopts this Rule to: 14
(a) Govern, control and regulate its membership and its 15
internal organization, affairs and management; 16
(b) Ensure its institutional self-protection and self-17
preservation; and 18
(c) Establish a reasonable method for determining whether a 19
member of the Senate is present at legislative proceedings during 20
exceptional circumstances. 21
22
The next rule is 140. 23
24
IX. LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATIONS 25
26
Rule No. 140. Compensation of Witnesses. 27
Witnesses summoned to appear before the Senate, or any of its 28
committees, shall be compensated as provided by law for witnesses 29
required to attend in the courts of the State of Nevada. 30
31
And be it further 32
RESOLVED, That this resolution becomes effective upon 33
adoption. 34
H