Senate Chamber Procedure Manual Flashcards
Session days and times
Mon at 3pm
Tues at 3pm
Wed at 11am
Presiding officer
Lieutenant governor, or temporary president appoints member (usually Bailey, Persaud)
First order of business
Pledge of allegiance and prayer
Steps after prayer
1). Journal of preceding session day
2). Assembly bills passed
3). Message from governor
4). Reports of committees
5). Resolutions
Resolution steps
1). Pick up reso from bill drafting (308 cap)
2). Reso sent to senate desk ops (323 Mz cap); need 3 copies
3). Reso usually referred to Finance Comm
First Report
Bills reported from committees go to calendar under order of first report
Second report
Bills on first report will automatically advance to second report on the following session day
Order of third reading
Bills on second report will automatically advance to order of third reading on the following session day. Bills on this order of third reading are eligible for consideration
Special report
Some bills may be reported directly out of committee to a special report without needing to wait an extra day
If bills on special report are not acted on that day, then they go to order of first report and follow normal process
Active bill list
Bills on third reading calendar that will be voted on. Active list is prepared by majority leader
Non-controversial list
Secretary calls up all bills on active list. If no request to lay aside is made, then a vote is taken.
Controversial active list
If there is a request to lay a bill aside, then it becomes controversial and is laid aside until all the noncontroversial bills are voted on that day. Then debate ensues on the controversial bills remaining
Starred bills on third reading
If a bill has a star, that means that the bill is stuck and no further action can be taken until the star is removed.
Once the star is removed, the bill will appear on third reading calendar next session day
Rapid roll call
Secretary names four or five names during roll call and assumes they all want to vote yea unless a senator raises their hand
Speeches during rapid roll call
Sponsor may speak on their own bill for 5 minutes. Other senators may speak for 2 minutes
Senators not in chamber during rapid roll call
If a senator is marked present for the day, but they are not in the chamber during rapid roll call vote, they are automatically recorded in affirmative
Senator not in chamber during controversial reading
If senator wants to vote, they must be in their seats (not automatic)
Triggering slow roll call
5 senators must stand up at their seats and request slow roll call vote. Then secretary calls name of each senator by name
Preparing bills for final passage
Senator should be prepared to explain, debate, defend bill. Necessary briefs should be prepared in advance
Introducing a bill
Introduced at Senate Intro and Revision in Rm 540 Mz Cap
Copies:
- 2 drafts of bill with member signatures
- 4 sponsors memos
Final date for bill introduction
Temporary president may decide to stop bill introduction. Even still, bills could then be introduced by message from Assembly or Rules Committee
Uni-bill
Includes BOTH Senate and Assembly sponsor
Copies:
- 4 drafts of bill with member signatures
- 8 sponsor’s memos
Companion bill
Identical bills by Senate and Assembly introduced separately
Multi-sponsored bills
Bill that is sponsored by multiple senators, but will not be amended later just to add or withdraw another sponsor (need additional forms for that)
