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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
ADOPTED
April 13, 1999
S. 700
S. Printed 4/13/99--S.
Read the first time April 8, 1999.
TO AMEND RULE 19 RELATING TO THE SELECTION OF COMMITTEES SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE IS DESIGNATED TO ESTABLISH A TIME FOR COMMITTEE SELECTION AFTER A SPECIAL ELECTION AND TO CLARIFY THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO SELECTIONS MADE ON THE FIRST AND SECOND ROUND.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it resolved by the Senate:
That Rule 19 of the Senate shall be amended to read as follows:
The Standing Committees of the Senate shall be as follows and shall have jurisdiction over legislation, appointments and other matters which fall within the title or titles of the Code of Laws as are hereinbelow enumerated for each of the Committees:
Agriculture and Natural Resources - Titles 39, 46, 47, 48 (land resources, soil & water conservation, mining, oil & gas, and wetlands), and 49
Banking and Insurance - Titles 29, 34, 35, 37, and 38
Corrections and Penology - Titles 2 (community corrections), and 24
Education - Titles 51, 59, and 60 (school governance & structure at all levels)
Ethics
Finance - Titles 1 (matters relating to the State Budget and Control Board only), 4, 5, 6 (bonding authority, taxation, finances), 8 (employment standards, retirement, deferred compensation), 9, 10, 11, and 12
Fish, Game and Forestry - Titles 48 (forestry, fire protection, sea grants, soil & water conservation, and wetlands), 49, and 50, and 51
General Committee - Titles 25, 39, 43, and 52
Invitations
Judiciary - Constitution, Titles 1 (except for matters relating to the State Budget and Control Board), 2, 3, 4 (structure & powers), 5 through 8, 14 through 23, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 36, 39, 42, 44 (drug related offenses), 53, 56 (criminal offenses), 58, 61, and 62
Labor, Commerce and Industry - Titles 6, 13, 31, 39, 40, 41, and 45, and 51
Medical Affairs - Titles 39, 40 (health care professionals), 43, 44, and 48 (pollution control, waste management, water & sewer)
Rules - Senate Rules, Joint Rules
Transportation - Titles 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58 (Regional Transportation Authorities and railroads)
(1) The membership of the above listed committees shall be not less than five (5) nor more than eighteen (18), except as otherwise provided herein. The Committee on Ethics shall be composed of ten (10) members. Of the ten (10) members selecting a seat, five (5) shall be members of the majority party and five (5) shall be members of the minority party. The Committee on Invitations shall be limited to not more than ten (10) members. The several committees shall have such powers and duties as provided for in these rules.
(2) In addition to the above listed Standing Committees, there shall be two (2) Special Committees to be known as the Committee on Interstate Cooperation which shall be composed of five (5) members and the Chairmen's Committee to be composed of the Chairmen of the fourteen (14) Standing Committees. The Chairman of the Chairmen's Committee and Interstate Cooperation Committee shall in all cases be the President Pro Tempore or the most senior senator serving thereon.
(3) Members of the Senate shall be limited to serve on not more than five (5) Standing Committees. Membership on the Committee on Ethics, the Committee on Invitations, and the Committee on Interstate Cooperation are not included in limiting membership on Standing Committees. No member shall chair more than one (1) Standing Committee but may chair a Standing Committee and a Special Committee concurrently.
(4) Members of the Senate shall make their committee selections at the commencement of the session following the election of Senators(s) or in the case of a special election, at such session designated for that purpose by the President Pro Tempore. In the case of a special election, the President Pro Tempore must call a session for the purpose of committee selections within three statewide days after a Senator elected in a special election has taken the oath of office. called for that purpose. For the members to make their Standing Committee selections, the Clerk of the Senate (or if the Clerk has not been elected, the Clerk of the Senate during the preceding General Assembly or an assistant clerk) shall prepare a roll of the Senate listing the members in the order of length of continuous service, beginning with the longest continuous service. Where two or more members have equal continuous service they shall be listed in alphabetical order. The Clerk of the Senate shall then call the roll twice. Each member, upon his or her name being called during the first call of the roll, shall select four (4) unfilled Standing Committees on which he or she wishes to serve (and shall also select at this same time a seat on each or all of the Ethics, Invitations and Interstate Cooperation Committees so long as a vacancy exists). When the roll is called the second time, each member upon his or her name being called, shall select one additional unfilled Standing Committee on which he or she wishes to serve. In the event any member is unable to be present for selection of Standing Committees, that member may authorize in writing any member of the Senate to make selections in his or her behalf. This procedure shall be followed on the first day of the session following the election of Senators and at any other session where a newly elected member(s) is seated and the President Pro Tempore has made the designation within the timeframe hereinabove provided the Senate proceeds to fill vacancies on a committee by whatever reason caused. Any Senator who served on a Standing Committee in the session immediately past shall have the right to select serve on such committee, regardless of the Senator's seniority in the Senate, unless the Senator shall elect to be removed from such committee by the choices made by the member during the first round selection of committees.
(5) Membership on the Judiciary Committee excludes membership on the Finance Committee and vice versa.
(6) Except as otherwise provided herein, in the selection by members of a seat on a Senate Standing Committee, the seniority system shall be retained so as to become a part of these rules and shall be followed without regard to party affiliation.
(7) Committee seniority shall be determined by tenure within the committee rather than tenure within the Senate. When members with seniority transfer to a new committee, their seniority will be counted ahead of newly-elected Senators.
(8) Where two or more Standing Committees are combined, initial membership on such committees shall be based on tenure within the Senate.
(9) In the election of the Chairmen of the Standing Committees, the Senate shall proceed viva voce, severally, to elect the Chairman of each committee by a majority vote.
(10) Matters shall be referred to a committee in accordance with jurisdiction of the committee as hereinabove established, or to such other committee as the Senate may order by majority vote on the motion of any member at the time the matter is before the Senate and subject to referral.
(11) The membership on committees of conference and free conference between the two Houses shall be determined by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in consultation with the chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over the Bill which is the subject of the request for appointment of a conference committee.
(12) Time schedules for committee meetings. The following schedule shall be the regular meeting times for Standing Committees when the General Assembly is in session. The time and date may be changed by the Chairmen's Committee and any additional meeting may be called by individual Committee Chairmen.
Every Tuesday 3:00 p.m. -
Finance and Judiciary
1st and 3rd Wednesday 9:00 a.m. - Education
10:00 a.m. -
Fish, Game & Forestry
3:00 p.m. - Transportation
2nd and 4th Wednesday 9:00 a.m. -
Medical Affairs and General
3:00 p.m. -
Banking & Insurance
1st and 3rd Thursday 9:00 a.m. -
Corrections & Penology
Agriculture & Natural
Resources
2nd and 4th Thursday 9:00 a.m. -
Labor, Commerce & Industry
The Rules Committee, Ethics Committee, Chairmen's Committee, Interstate Cooperation Committee, and the Invitations Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair. Provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the Chairman of a Standing Committee from canceling a committee meeting.
The above listed dates refer to calendar weeks as opposed to session weeks. The date, time and place of any called meetings shall be reported to the Clerk of the Senate who shall post such information in the lobby of the Gressette Senate Office Building and the State House. Notice of regular scheduled meetings, as well as called meetings, shall be posted at least 24 hours in advance whenever feasible.
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