RULES
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1. HOUR OF MEETING
1-1 The House shall meet each day of sitting at 10
o'clock a.m. unless another time was designated at the preceding adjournment.
2. ORDER OF BUSINESS
2-1 The following shall be the usual order of
business but the order may be changed as necessary for the efficient management
of business:
a. Roll call
b. Prayer by the chaplain
c. Journal committee report
d. Messages from the Governor or Senate
e. Unfinished business
f. Introduction, reading and reference of bills
g. Senate files on first reading
h. Reports from standing committees
i. Reports from select committees
j. Bills on second reading
k. Bills on third reading and final passage
l. Consideration of bills on general file
m. Special orders and committee announcements
n. Adjournment
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 200 to 210, 710 to 714]
3. ABSENT MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
3-1 No member or officer shall be absent from the
service of the House except:
a. In case of sickness;
b. With permission of the Speaker first
obtained; or
c. By a majority vote of the House first
obtained.
QUORUM
-- HOW MAINTAINED
3-2 In case fewer than a quorum of the House shall
convene, the Speaker is authorized to send the sergeant-at-arms, or any other
person for any or all members absent without leave. [Ref: Mason's §§ 191, 500 to 506]
4. HOUSE COMMITTEES
4-1 House standing committees shall be appointed
by the Speaker of the House, with the advice and consent of the rules and
procedure committee. House standing committees are as follows:
1. Judiciary
2. Appropriations
3. Revenue
4. Education
5. Agriculture, State and
6. Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural
Resources
7. Corporations, Elections and Political
Subdivisions
8. Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs
9. Minerals, Business and Economic Development
10. Labor, Health and Social Services
11. Journal
12. Rules and Procedure
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 600 to 602]
COMMITTEE
MEMBERSHIP
4-2 Membership on committees shall be apportioned
as nearly as possible to reflect the percentage of the elected membership of
the majority and minority parties of the House.
(a) Committees shall have nine members with these
exceptions:
Committee No. 2, Appropriations, seven
members;
Committee No. 11, Journal, two members; and
Committee No. 12, Rules and Procedure,
thirteen members.
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 600 to 602]
STANDING
COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS
4-3 (a) Standing committees shall take charge of and
report in writing on all matters referred to them respectively.
REPORTS AND RECORD OF VOTES
(b) When a standing committee has disposed of a
bill by adoption of a motion to "do pass," "amend and do
pass," "do not pass" or "no recommendation," the vote
on final disposition shall be included in the committee report, indicating how
each member voted, and the bill and the report shall be submitted to the chief
clerk.
(c) For bills other than those reported under
subsection (b) of this rule, the Committee shall return the bill together with
a record of Committee consideration to the chief clerk on the day after the
last day scheduled for consideration of house bills or senate files placed on
general file but not later than the last day of the session. Upon receipt of the bill and the record of Committee
consideration, the chief clerk shall ensure the required information contained
within the record is entered into the journal but shall not be required to read
the record to the House. The record of
Committee consideration shall include the following information which shall be
entered into the journal:
(1) When any motion referenced
under subsection (b) of this rule fails, the record of Committee consideration
shall include the vote of each member on the failed motion;
(2) When a motion referenced under
subsection (b) of this rule is not made on a bill, and a motion to postpone the
bill indefinitely or to a certain date has not been made by the Committee, the
record of Committee consideration shall indicate the bill died in Committee;
(3) When a Standing Committee adopts
a motion to postpone consideration of the bill until after expiration of the
established final date for regular consideration of the bill, the record of
Committee consideration shall include the vote of each member on the adopted
motion.
OPENING MEETINGS; EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
(d) All committee meetings will be open to the
public unless declared an executive session by the chairman.
OVERRULING THE CHAIRMAN
(e) The chairman may be overruled only by a
recorded majority vote of the committee membership. [Ref: Mason's §§ 611, 615 to 618, 663 to 678]
RECALLING BILLS FROM COMMITTEE
4-4 Any bill or other matter which has been
referred to any committee may be recalled after a reasonable time by a motion duly
made and seconded by five members and adopted by a majority of the elected
members.
CHANGES IN COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
4-5 The Speaker of the House may appoint a member
to fill any vacancy occurring on any house standing committee during the
interim providing the appointment is made with the advice of the respective
majority or minority leader, dependent upon the party in which the vacancy has
occurred.
CONFERENCE
COMMITTEES, MEMBERSHIP
4-6 (a) The Speaker shall appoint three members to a
conference committee following "Mason's Manual" Sections 769 and 770,
generally; and Section 769-6, specifically.
(b) When a majority of the conferees from each
house have reached an agreement as to the contents of a conference committee report
on a House Bill, the Chairman, as soon as is reasonably possible, shall have
the conference committee report drafted, signed by members of the committee,
and shall deliver the bill along with the signed copies of the report to the
House Chief Clerk as specified in Joint Rule 2-3.
[Ref: Mason's §§ 766 to 775]
JOURNAL
COMMITTEE DUTIES
4-7 The journal committee shall meet each day
prior to the opening of the session for the purpose of examining the House
journal and making recommendations thereto in the form of a written report to
the House. [Ref: Mason's §§ 694 to 703]
5. IDENTIFICATION OF BILLS
5-1 Each legislative bill presented to the chief
clerk for introduction to the House shall show on the cover its title and the
sponsor's signature. The name(s) of the
sponsors shall be shown on reproductions of each bill.
NO
CHANGE OF SPONSORS
5-2 After the first reading of a measure, no
change in its sponsorship shall be made.
DISTRIBUTION
OF PRINTED MATTER
5-3 No outside printed material shall be distributed
on the floor of the House unless it is identified as to its source and
authorized by a member of the house or by the chief clerk.
USE OF PROPS DURING DEBATE
5-4 No
chart, display, projected image, sample substance, prop or other demonstration aid
or device shall be employed during debate in committee of the whole, second or
third reading without the express approval of the Speaker of the House obtained
in advance of the commencement of committee of the whole or the applicable
reading. This provision shall not prevent reference during debate to printed
materials distributed in accordance with house rule 5-3.
6. FORMAT OF BILLS
6-1 In the preparation of each bill amending any
chapter, article, section, subsection or other portion of an existing
(a) LINE OUT DELETIONS Whenever any
word or combination of words in any existing statute is to be omitted in the
drafting of a bill therefor, the omission shall be indicated by showing the
words in full with a line through all material to be omitted;
(b) UNDERLINE ADDITIONS Whenever any
new word or combination of words appears in a bill, whether or not substituted
for any word or combination of words in any existing statute, the new words or
combinations of words, new numerals and alphabetical section identifications
shall be underlined.
7. THREE
7-1 Every bill shall receive three separate
readings, previous to its being passed, and the Speaker shall give notice
whether it be the first, second or third, which readings shall be on three
separate days, unless the House otherwise directs by a two-thirds vote. [Ref: Mason's §§ 720 to 722]
8. INTRODUCTION OF
BILLS
DEFINITION
8-1 Whenever the word "bill" is used in
these Rules, it shall include Senate files, House bills, Senate and House joint
memorials and resolutions unless otherwise specified. Also, the Wyoming Manual of Legislative
Procedures, Revised, shall be referred to as the "Manual".
INTRODUCTION
DEADLINE
8-2 No bill, other than general appropriations
bills, shall be introduced after noon of the 15th legislative working day of
the session, except by consent of
two-thirds of the elected members of the House. Bills that have been signed, submitted
and accepted by the Legislative Service Office prior to the twelve noon cutoff
date for consideration of bills but are still at the printer's office will be
considered as being within the cutoff deadline.
Such a list of bills will be delivered by the Legislative Service Office
to the Speaker at the cutoff hour. [Ref:
Mason's § 726]
PREPARATION
OF BILLS
8-3 Bills for consideration by the legislature
shall be prepared, jacketed, indexed and stored in the computer by the
Legislative Service Office before being introduced in the house designated by
the prime sponsor. [Ref: Mason's §§ 729,
730]
INTRODUCTION
METHOD
8-4 After signing the bill jacket, the sponsor or
sponsors ask the chief clerk to place the bill in that order of business
"Introduction,
REFERRAL OF BILLS REQUIRING AN APPROPRIATION
8-5 (a) A bill
containing an appropriation, or which requires an appropriation or
change in funds, may be assigned to a standing committee other than
appropriations, but if so, it shall be re-referred to the appropriations
committee upon being reported back from the committee to which first assigned.
The appropriations committee shall consider and may recommend:
(i) Modifications
to any appropriation contained in the bill, or the addition or deletion of an
appropriation, and any necessary related conforming amendments;
(ii) That a delayed
effective date or other limiting condition be added to any bill that requires,
but does not provide, an appropriation;
(iii)That the bill do not pass, provided that the
committee report may include a "do not pass" recommendation as an
alternative to any other recommendation made under this subsection.
(b) A re-referred
bill shall be given priority consideration by the appropriations
committee.
(c) Standing committee amendments
shall be considered in the same order as the bill was referred to committee and
for purposes of prioritization under House Rule 10-2 the recommendation of the
first standing committee to report on the bill shall apply.
9. FIRST
9-1 First reading shall be by title and sponsors'
names only. [Ref: Mason's § 733]
REFERENCE
TO COMMITTEE; MEETING NOTICES
9-2 (a) The Speaker shall refer each bill to the
appropriate committee but the House may, on motion, refer the bill to another
committee.
(b) No standing committee
shall meet to consider any bill referred to it unless notice of the date, time
and place of the meeting and the bills to be considered has been posted in the
State Capitol at the place designated for posting of meeting notices by 3:00
p.m. on the day before the meeting is to be held. For a meeting to be held on a Monday, the
notice shall be posted by 3:00 p.m. on the first legislative day preceding that
Monday. This subsection does not apply
to:
(1) Continued consideration of a bill by a committee
after the committee has begun consideration of that bill at a meeting for which
notice was posted in compliance with this subsection;
(2) A bill that has
been re-referred to another committee after another committee has submitted a
report on that bill;
(3) Meetings scheduled
on the first or second day of any session for the consideration of a joint
interim committee bill, provided:
(A) The Standing Committee took no votes on the
bill under consideration; or
(B) A notice was posted
by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the meeting is to be held. The notice may state the Committee intends to
consider the bill if it is referred to that Committee.
AMENDMENTS;
LAYING A BILL BACK
9-3 (a) No bill shall be amended until after it has
been considered in a standing committee or committee of the whole.
(b) Except as provided by House Rule 10-5(b), only
after a voice vote in which the ayes have prevailed, the ayes and noes shall be
taken on the motion to adopt any amendment to a mirror budget bill which
directly increases or decreases an appropriation by a specific dollar amount.
(c) Absent objection sustained by a majority of
those present, a bill scheduled for second or third reading may be laid back
for an additional day.
10. PLACED ON GENERAL FILE
10-1 After a bill has been reported back to the
House by its assigned committee and the standing committee report read to the
body and entered in the journal, it shall be placed on general file.
ORDER
OF GENERAL FILE
10-2 (a) Bills on the general file shall be considered
in the following order: first, "Do
Pass" bills; second, "Without Recommendation" bills; and third,
"Do Not Pass" bills.
APPROPRIATIONS BILL – 24 HOUR RULE
(b) The general appropriation bill for the major
expenses of the state government shall not be considered in committee of the
whole until printed copies of the bill shall have been distributed to the
members at least 24 hours prior to consideration. [Ref: Mason's §§ 1 to 29]
COMMITTEE
OF THE WHOLE PROCEDURE
10-3 After a bill has been read, it shall be in
order for the standing committee chairman, or in his absence, a member of the
standing committee:
(a) To move the committee recommendations on the
bill and any standing committee amendments.
He shall move for the adoption of these amendments and give an
explanation of them. After that motion
has been disposed of, the sponsor of the bill or any other member asked to do
so, shall be given an opportunity to explain the measure. He may yield the floor to others who may
offer further explanations, questions, or
(b) To move:
(listed here in the order of descending precedence)
(1)
To lay back on the general file without prejudice;
(2) To re-refer or recommit;
(3) To
amend.
[Ref: Mason's
§§ 155 to 161, 175 to 187, 683 to 691]
10-4 A motion to rise and report by the Majority
Floor Leader or his designee shall always be in order and shall take precedence
over any other motion.
HOUSE
RULES APPLY, EXCEPTIONS
10-5 The rules of the House shall be observed in the
committee of the whole, except that:
(a) There shall be no limit to the number of times
that a member may speak on the same question.
(b) The ayes and noes shall not be taken unless
the original motion made for passage of a given bill, following a vote by
division, has failed in the committee of the whole. At that time, the ayes and noes shall be
taken and entered in the committee of the whole report. The result of the roll call vote shall
determine the action of the committee of the whole. If, after a roll call vote, the bill fails to
pass Committee of the Whole, the bill is deemed to be indefinitely
postponed. Except as provided in this
subsection, the motion to indefinitely postpone shall not be in order during
Committee of the Whole.
(c) The following motions are not allowed:
(1) The previous question;
(2) Call of the house;
(3) Lay on the table;
(4) Adjourn;
(5) Reconsideration.
CHAIR
MAY VOTE
10-6 The chairman of the committee of the whole shall
be entitled to vote on any matter under consideration before the
committee. [Ref: Mason's § 582]
11. SECOND
11-1 After the committee of the whole consideration
and "Do Pass" recommendation has been adopted by the House, the bill
shall be read a second time on the next legislative day unless laid back under
House Rule 9‑3. [Ref: Mason's §
734]
11-2 Second
reading shall be by catch title only.
QUESTION
ON SECOND
11-3 The final question on the second reading of
every bill shall be: "Shall the
bill be read a third time?". Unless
objections are made, the Speaker shall so order. [Ref: Mason's § 734]
12. THIRD
12-1 The bill shall be read a third time on the next
legislative working day after passing the second reading unless laid back under
House Rule 9‑3. It shall be read
by bill number, catch title, sponsor and enacting clause only.
QUESTION
ON THIRD
12-2 Upon the conclusion of the third reading, the
Speaker shall put the question "The bill (naming it by number) having been
read three separate times, the question is shall the bill pass? Please call the
roll." The ayes and noes shall be taken.
After the question has been put no motion shall be in order until the
roll call is completed and the vote announced.
[Ref: Mason's §§ 130 to 133, 523, 530]
ENGROSSING AFTER THIRD
12-3 When a bill has passed third reading in the
House of Representatives with amendments, it shall first be delivered to the Legislative
Service Office to be engrossed with all adopted amendments before the bill is
forwarded to the Senate for action. A
bill delivered to and in the possession of the Legislative Service Office for
engrossing shall not be recalled for further action by the House without the
consent of the Senate.
13. VOTING
REQUIREMENTS
13-1 Every member within the bar of the House shall
vote when the question is put, unless he is excused according to House Rule 3‑1
or House Rule 17‑3. [Ref: Mason's
§§ 521, 522]
REFUSAL TO VOTE
13-2 Any member present within the bar of the House
who refuses to vote when the ayes and noes are called for entry in the journal
and who is not excused from voting on the question shall be placed on record as
an affirmative vote. [Ref: Mason's §
515]
CALL FOR AYES AND NOES
13-3 (a) When a question is about to be taken, it shall
be in order for any two members to call for the recording of the ayes and noes
for entry in the journal and the names of the members shall be called in alphabetical
order.
(b) Except
as provided by House Rule 10‑5(b), only after a voice vote in which the
ayes have prevailed, the ayes and noes shall be taken on the motion to adopt
any amendment to a mirror budget bill which directly increases or decreases an
appropriation by a specific dollar amount.
INTERRUPTION OF VOTING PROHIBITED
13-4 When the ayes and noes are being taken, the
call shall not be interrupted for any purpose whatsoever and members shall
answer the call from their seats, if possible.
[Ref: Mason's § 121.3]
VOTE CHANGING
13-5 Any member may change his vote on a roll call
of ayes and noes only after the call is completed and only before the
announcement that the vote is closed.
[Ref: Mason's § 535.6]
VOTE EXPLANATION
13-6 Immediately after the vote on any question has
been announced and at no other time, any member may explain his vote. [Ref: Mason's §528]
PRESIDING OFFICER MAY VOTE
13-7 The presiding officer shall be entitled to vote
on any matter under consideration.
14. SPEAKING LIMIT
14-1 Except as provided by House Rule 10-5(a), no
member shall speak more than once to the exclusion of other members who have
not spoken, nor more than twice to the same question on the same day without
leave of the House. [Ref: Mason's § 102]
15. POINT OF
ORDER, TIME LIMIT
15-1 Any member raising a point of order may be
allowed five minutes in which to state his opinion. [Ref: Mason's §§ 240 to 246]
16. CALL TO ORDER
WHILE SPEAKING
16-1 When a member is interrupted and called to order
by the presiding officer for digressing from the question, exceeding a time
limit, using improper language, speaking without recognition by the chair or
wrongfully excluding others who wish to speak, he shall cease speaking and be
seated at once until it is determined whether he is in order, except he may be
permitted to explain his position when asked to do so. [Ref: Mason's §§ 120 to 126]
17. PERSONAL
PRIVILEGES
OBTAINING THE FLOOR
17-1 Any member about to speak shall rise and
respectfully address the presiding officer.
When recognized, the member shall confine his comments to the question
under consideration and avoid personalities.
When finished, the member shall be seated. [Ref: Mason's §§ 90 to 96, 114]
EXPLAIN PERSONAL MATTER
17-2 Any member may rise and be recognized to
explain a personal matter but shall not discuss a question in such explanation
nor speak more than five minutes on the matter.
[Ref: Mason's §§ 222 to 226]
TIME OF DECLARING PERSONAL OR PRIVATE INTEREST
17-3 (a) A member who has a personal or private
interest in any bill proposed or pending before the legislature shall disclose
the fact to the house members at the time of initial consideration during
committee of the whole or at the first time the conflict becomes apparent to
the declarer, or at the time of introduction during the budget session and
shall not vote thereon.
(b) On general appropriation and recodification
bills a member who has declared a conflict of interest on a section or an amendment
to a section shall not vote on that section, but may vote on the entire bill.
(c) Disclosure of a conflict of interest shall be
entered in the journal at the time it is made.
If the member later makes a declaration of no conflict of interest in
the matter, prompt entry of that declaration shall be made in the journal.
(d) As used in this section "personal or
private interest" means the member shall receive or incur a direct
financial gain or loss if the measure or bill is enacted. "Personal or private interest" does
not include a financial gain or loss which shall be received or incurred by a
member if the gain or loss shall also be received or incurred by a substantial
class of persons.
(e) If a member is uncertain whether his interest
in a bill is such as to require him to abstain from voting, he may request a
ruling from the rules committee. When a
request for a ruling is made, the rules committee shall make such inquiry as it
deems necessary and shall recommend by majority vote whether the member should
or should not vote on the bill in question.
[Ref:
Mason's § 522]
MAY CALL FOR
17-4 When the reading of a paper is called for, it
shall be read, unless the same is objected to by some member, in which case the
question shall be determined by a majority vote of the House and without debate
or amendment. [Ref: Mason's § 112]
PROTEST AGAINST ACTION OF HOUSE
17-5 It is in order for any member or members to
protest against the action of the House and have the protest entered briefly in
the journal. [Ref: Mason's §§ 293 to
300]
18. PARLIAMENTARY
PRACTICE
18-1 The rules of parliamentary practice comprised
in Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure shall govern the House in all cases to
which they can apply and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules and
orders of the House and Joint Rules.
[Ref: Mason's §§ 30 to 32]
19. SUSPENSION OF
RULES
19-1 No change, suspension, or addition to the rules
of the house shall be made except by a two-thirds vote of the elected
members. [Ref: Mason's §§ 279 to 287]
20. SECONDING
MOTIONS
20-1 Unless otherwise required in these rules, no
motion shall require a second. [Ref:
Mason's §§ 157, 162]
21. APPEALS
21-1 A vote of the majority of the members present
shall be sufficient to sustain an appeal from the decision of the presiding
officer. [Ref: Mason's §§ 230 to 235]
22. REMOVAL OF
OFFICERS
22-1 A vote of at least two-thirds of the elected
House members for the removal of any officer of the House shall be sufficient
to vacate the chair or office. [Ref:
Mason's § 581]
23. PERSONS
ADMITTED WITHIN BAR OF HOUSE
23-1 (a) No
person shall be admitted within the bar of the House except members or
ex-members of the House, members of the Senate, employees of the House and
Senate, state officers, those specifically invited by House members
individually and those authorized by a majority of the members elected to the
House. Members of the news media shall
be allowed at a table or area designated for them and shall obtain access
thereto through the nearest door. The Speaker shall have the House cleared of
all persons except members and employees when requested by a majority of the
members of the House. Except for members, no other person shall engage in
influencing the passage or defeat of legislation in the House chambers. [Ref: Mason's § 705]
(b) No
ex-member of the House who is currently registered as a lobbyist with the secretary
of state shall be granted privilege of the floor while the House is in session
to address members of the House on any issue.
23-2 The presiding officer shall direct any force
needed to remove any and all persons who are in the galleries, rooms, hallways,
stairways, entrances or grounds near the House chambers who in any way hinder
the orderly progress of the House of Representatives.
23-3 The House legislative lounge room is for
legislators, legislative staff and legislators' guests only.
24. MOTIONS AND
QUESTIONS
24-1 When a question is being debated, no motion
shall be received, except the following, which shall have precedence as listed:
Undebatable
1. To adjourn
2. To lay on the table
3. To call for previous question
Debatable
4. To postpone to a certain date
5. To commit or refer
6. To amend
7. To postpone indefinitely
8. The question, or main motion
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 155 to 165, 175 to 187, 578]
MOTION TO ADJOURN
24-2 The motion to adjourn is not debatable, cannot be
amended and is always in order except:
(a) When
another has the floor;
(b) During
a roll call;
(c) During
a call of the House;
(d) During
the committee of the whole.
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 200 to 210]
MOTION TO LAY ON THE TABLE
24-3 The motion to lay on the table is not
debatable, cannot be amended and is adopted by a majority vote of the members
present. A motion to table takes the question and everything subsidiary to it
to the table. A motion to table an amendment
does not take the bill. The motion to reconsider and the previous question
shall not be subject to a motion to lay on the table. [Ref: Mason's §§ 330 to 341]
THE PREVIOUS QUESTION
24-4 Any member may move the previous question, and
if it is seconded by three other members, the previous question shall be put in
this form: "The previous question
is demanded". The object of this
motion is to bring the House to a vote on the pending question without further
discussion. (The motion is carried with
an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the elected membership.) If the motion fails, the discussion may
proceed the same as if the motion had not been made; if carried, all debate on
the main question or on the amendment to the main question as may be specified
by the member offering the motion shall cease and the presiding officer shall
immediately put the question to vote without debate or further amendment. A
motion to adjourn and a call of the House shall each be in order after the
"previous question" has been sustained, and before the main question
is put. No other motion or call shall be in order, except to receive the report
of the Sergeant-at-Arms, or to dispense with the proceedings under the call and
all motions and proceedings authorized by this rule shall be decided without
debate whether on appeal or otherwise.
[Ref: Mason's §§ 345 to 361]
MOTION TO POSTPONE TO A CERTAIN DATE
24-5 The motion to postpone to a certain date or
time is debatable, can be amended and is adopted by a majority of the members
present. The motion can be applied only
to main motions. [Ref: Mason's §§ 365 to
374]
MOTION TO COMMIT OR REFER
24-6 The motion to commit or refer is debatable, can
be amended and is adopted by a majority of the members present. The motion can be applied to main motions
only. [Ref: Mason's §§ 378 to 390]
MOTION TO AMEND
24-7 (a) The motion to amend is debatable, can be
amended and is adopted by a majority of the members present. [Ref: Mason's §§ 395 to 421]
(b) The motion can be applied to any motion that could
be stated in a different form.
(c) "Amendment to an amendment" cannot
be amended. [Ref: Mason's § 409]
(d) An amendment which is defeated shall not again
be in order on the same day. [Ref:
Mason's § 161]
(e) Amendments to any bill shall be in written
form when submitted. [Ref: Mason's §
400]
(f) Amendments shall be filed with the chief clerk
who arranges them in order for consideration by the chair at the proper time.
(g) Amendments must be germane to the subject of
the main motion. [Ref: Mason's § 402]
MOTION TO POSTPONE INDEFINITELY
24-8 The motion to postpone indefinitely is
debatable, cannot be amended, takes precedence over nothing but the main
question which is then open to debate, and is adopted by a majority of the
elected members. Adoption of the motion
prevents further consideration of the main question again during the
session. [Ref: Mason's §§ 430 to 436]
THE MAIN MOTION
24-9 The main motion is debatable, can be amended
and usually takes precedence over nothing.
The usual form is to adopt, to pass, to approve, to concur, to elect or,
in the negative of the above, which then takes lower precedence. [Ref: Mason's §§ 440 to 443]
DIVISION OF THE QUESTION
24-10 Any member may call for a division of the question if a motion relating
to a certain subject contains several parts, each of which is capable of
standing as a complete proposition if the others are removed. It can be divided into two or more
propositions to be voted on as distinct questions. The member calling for a division of the
question shall clearly state how the question is to be divided. A motion to strike out and insert is
indivisible. [Ref: Mason's §§ 310 to
316]
CALL FOR DIVISION
24-11 It shall be in order for any member or the presiding officer to order
a vote by division to verify a voice vote. Should there be doubt about the
voice vote, the motion from the floor is simply to call "Division"
immediately before or after the announcement of the vote. When the call is made, the presiding officer
orders a standing vote, first the ayes and then the noes. [Ref: Mason's § 533]
RECONSIDERATION OF THE VOTE
24-12(a) When a roll call vote on an action (other than
on procedural motions and on introduction of other than budget bills during
budget sessions) has been taken, any member who voted on the prevailing side
may give notice of the intention to move for reconsideration of the vote. Procedural motions include: to adjourn, lay on the table, previous
question, postpone to a certain date, refer, suspend the rules, reconsider the
vote, recess and withdraw.
(b) The motion or the notice may be made only when
the subject of the vote is in the control of the House.
(c) Notice of intention to move for reconsideration
of the vote shall specify a time on the next legislative day for making the
motion. During the last 10 legislative
working days of the session, votes on motions to reconsider shall be taken no
later than the last item of business on the day of the original vote. When such notice is made, the bill shall not
be taken from the House. Once notice is
given, a motion for earlier reconsideration is out of order. The notice shall be entered in the journal
and shown on the calendar and action sheet.
(d) The motion to reconsider shall take precedence
over all motions except to adjourn.
(e) The motion cannot
be debated or amended and when disposed of, cannot be renewed. It is adopted or rejected by a simple
majority vote regardless of the vote required to pass the original question.
(f) On adoption of the motion, the original
question is in exactly the same condition as it was when the vote being
reconsidered was originally ordered which means no discussion, debate or
amendment is allowed on the question and the presiding officer shall put the
original question exactly as was done for the original vote.
(g) The motion shall not be made in committee of
the whole.
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 450 to 474]
CALL OF THE HOUSE
24-13
A call of the House shall be ordered only upon demand of five members, one
making the motion and four others seconding the same by rising. The motion shall state the purpose of the
call and the proceedings to be considered under the call. Upon a call of the House, the names of the members
shall be called and the absentees noted and the names of the absentees shall
again be called. The doors shall then be
shut and those not excused under the provisions of Rule 3-1 or not excused by
the member making the motion may, by order of those present, be taken into
custody as they appear, or may be sent for and taken into custody by the
sergeant-at-arms wherever to be found, or by a special messenger, to be
appointed for that purpose. A call shall
not be made in a committee. A call of
the House is terminated by completion of the proceedings under the call as
listed in the original motion or the motion to terminate a call of the House
which shall be made by the person who demanded the call. The motion to adjourn shall not be in order
during a call of the House. [Ref:
Mason's §§ 190 to 197]
WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION
24-14
If no member objects, any motion under consideration may be withdrawn by the
mover at any time before a decision, amendment or ordering of the ayes and
noes. [Ref: Mason's §§ 272 to 276]
25. JOURNAL
ENTRIES
25-1 Journal entries shall show:
(a) Each successive step relative to every bill,
shown by number and title only, from introduction into the House up to and including
final disposition including all proposed amendments and action on them except
in the committee of the whole.
(b) The full bill title shall be shown in the
journal at time of bill introduction and when the bill is next shown in the
journal after the title has been amended. All other reference to the bill shall
be shown by number and catch line title only.
(c) Messages from the
Governor and the Senate.
(d) A true and accurate account of the proceedings
and roll calls of the House.
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 694 to 697]
25-2 The journal shall be read in full or in
specific parts if so moved by one member and approved by a majority of members
present. [Ref: Mason's § 696]
EXPUNGE FROM THE JOURNAL
25-3 In the rare instance when it is desirable to
express strong disapproval of matter in the journal, a member may move that it
be expunged. The motion must be carried by the affirmative vote of two-thirds
of the elected membership. When matter
is ordered expunged from the record, the clerk shall have a line drawn through
the matter and writing across each line "Expunged by order of the House
membership". Each line must be
dated. The expunged matter must not be
blotted as to be unreadable as otherwise it would be impossible to determine
whether more was expunged than was ordered.
If the matter to be expunged relates to a bill or file, it must be
ordered while the bill or file is in the possession of the House and must relate
to action previously taken by the House on the bill or file. [Ref: Mason's § 444]
PROCEEDINGS TO BE RECORDED
25-4 (a) The proceedings of the House shall be
electronically recorded to the extent practicable. The legislative service office shall retain
all recordings made during the session and then transfer them to the secretary
of state not later than the beginning of the second business day for the office
of the secretary of state following the date on which the session
adjourned. Upon transfer to the
secretary of state, the recordings shall become a public record; however, the
contents of any recording made under this rule shall not be construed to
supersede the Journal.
(b) To the extent practicable, the proceedings of
the House shall be broadcast over the internet via RealAudio or similar
capability. Contents of any audio
broadcast of proceedings under this rule shall not be construed to supercede
the Journal. Failure of audio broadcast
capability under this rule shall not delay the proceedings of the House.
26. UNCONTESTED BILLS
26-1 (a) An uncontested bill is any bill passed by the
committee of the whole and endorsed as such by the floor leaders of both
majority and minority parties.
(b) The chief clerk
shall show such bills on the third reading calendar "Consent List".
(c) Any member may
request at any time prior to the question on third reading that a bill be
removed from the consent list and placed on regular third reading.
(d) At
that order of business "Third Reading", the majority floor leader shall
move for consideration of all consent list bills. A roll call vote shall be taken and the
results applied to each bill on the list except that opportunity shall be made
for any member to request a redesignation of his vote on any bill on the list
according to procedures shown in the Manual.
[Ref:
Mason's §§ 1 to 25, 257 to 269, 537]
ACCELERATION TO THIRD
(ONE DAY SAVING)
26-2 (a) The majority floor leader in consultation
with the minority floor leader may endorse a list of bills which have passed
the Committee of the Whole, are unlikely to be further amended and are likely
to pass the House, to be accelerated to Third Reading on the day the bills are
considered on Second Reading. The Chief
Clerk shall show those bills on the Second Reading calendar with an
"X" before the bill number or other designator determined by the
Chief Clerk.
(b) At the conclusion
of Second Reading, the majority floor leader shall move that the rules be
suspended with respect to those bills designated under paragraph (a) of this
rule and that those bills be immediately considered on Third Reading and final
passage.
(c) If any legislator
objects to the inclusion of a bill on the list for acceleration to Third
Reading prior to the vote on a motion under paragraph (b) of this rule, it
shall be removed.
(d) A motion made
under paragraph (b) of this rule requires the same affirmative vote as is
necessary to suspend the rules. If the
motion passes, the House shall immediately proceed to Third Reading and final
passage on each bill on the list with a separate roll call vote for each
bill. If the motion fails, the bills
shall be placed on Third Reading on the next legislative day.
27. SMOKING
PROHIBITED
27-1 Smoking shall not be permitted in the House chamber
or in the seating area on the floor of the House while the House is in
session. However, cuspidors shall be
provided for those members desiring same.
28. SPECIAL RULES
FOR THE BUDGET SESSION
28-1 For the introduction of any bill (other than
the budget bill or a bill to apportion the legislature), the following
procedure will be followed:
(a) All bills shall be printed and distributed to
all members at least 24 hours prior to consideration, except that bills
sponsored by the joint interim committees may be considered on the opening day
of the session;
(b) The prime sponsor, or his designee, will be
granted two minutes to address the body as to the need and timeliness of his
(or her) particular bill;
(c) A one minute rebuttal is allowed to a member
who is in opposition to introduction of the bill. The prime sponsor, or his designee, will have
thirty seconds to give the final response to the rebuttal;
(d) Upon approval of two-thirds of the elected
members by a roll call vote a bill will be accepted by the body and assigned by
the Speaker to the appropriate committee.
INTRODUCTION DEADLINE
28-2 (a) No bill will be accepted for consideration
except by consent of two-thirds of the house membership after twelve o'clock
noon of the third legislative day of the session. (Bills that have been signed, submitted and
accepted by the Legislative Service Office prior to the twelve noon cutoff date
for consideration of bills but are still at the printer's office will be
considered as being within the cutoff deadline.
Such a list of bills will be delivered by the Legislative Service Office
to the Speaker at the cutoff hour.)
(b) No bill shall be considered for introduction
after six o'clock p.m. (6:00 p.m.) the fifth legislative day of the session except
by consent of two-thirds of the membership.
LIMIT ON SPONSORSHIP
(c) No member shall sponsor more than five (5)
bills in any Budget Session. This
limitation shall not apply to joint interim committees, the Management Audit
Committee, the Management Council, the Select Water committee and any other
Committee designated by the Management Council.
BUDGET SESSION CONSENT LIST
28-3 Notwithstanding Rule 28-1, the Speaker in
consultation with the minority floor leader may propose a Consent List of bills
to be voted upon for introduction under the following procedure:
(a) The Speaker shall distribute the proposed
Consent List to all members at least 24 hours prior to consideration. No bill shall be included on the Consent List
unless the bill has been printed and distributed to all members before the
proposed Consent List is distributed. No
bill shall be added to the Consent List without the approval of the Speaker.
(b) Subject to paragraph (a) of this rule, and at
the appropriate order of business, the majority floor leader shall move the Consent List. No debate shall be had on the Consent List,
but any member may remove any bill from the Consent List upon request before the
vote. A roll call vote shall be taken
and the results applied to each bill on the list except that opportunity shall
be made for any member to request a redesignation of his vote on any bill on
the list before the Chief Clerk announces the vote.
29. MOTION TO CONCUR
29-1 With respect to consideration of requests by
the Senate for House concurrence with Senate amendments to House Bills and of
joint conference committee reports, only the motion to concur shall be in
order.
30. CONSTITUENT
SERVICE ALLOWANCE
30-1(a) Claims for constituent service
allowance submitted by members of the House pursuant to W.S. 28‑5‑106
shall be accompanied by an itemized listing of expenditures for which
reimbursement is requested including:
(1) The date, place and purpose
for which in-state travel reimbursement is requested from the constituent
service allowance account; and
(2) An itemization of all other
claimed expenditures for which reimbursement from the constituent service
allowance account is authorized by Management Council policy.
(b) Nothing in this rule shall
require the submission of receipts for claimed expenditures.
(c) Reimbursement disclosures
required by this rule shall be filed in the Legislative Service Office and
maintained as a public record.
31. ADMINISTERING BILL
SPONSORSHIP LIMIT
31-1 For the purpose of administering House Rule 28‑2(c)
which limits the number of bills which a member may sponsor, the following
shall apply:
(a) There shall be no limit on the number of bill
drafts which a member may request be drafted by the Legislative Service Office;
(b) The Legislative Service Office shall assign a
bill number and jacket for introduction bill drafts in the order that the
sponsor approves and submits the drafts for final processing;
(c) The Legislative Service Office shall immediately advise the member when that member has
approved and submitted bill drafts for introduction in an amount equal to the
limit prescribed by the applicable rule.
If the member thereafter submits an approval for an additional bill
draft for final processing so as to be assigned a bill number and jacketed, the
Legislative Service Office shall not process the bill further unless the member
withdraws a bill that the member previously approved and submitted for
sponsorship. For the purpose of this
paragraph, a member withdraws a bill previously approved and submitted for
sponsorship by:
(1) If the session has not convened, directing the
Legislative Service Office to cancel the previously approved bill;
(2) If the session has convened, submitting the
jacket of the bill to be cancelled to the Chief Clerk with a written and signed
notation on the jacket to cancel the bill.
(d) If
the legislator wishes to request that the rule on limits be suspended for the
purpose of introducing a bill in excess of the number authorized, the member
shall have the bill draft as prepared by the Legislative Service Office
distributed to the membership and then make the motion to suspend the
rules. If the motion passes, the
Legislative Service Office shall immediately jacket the bill, assign it a
number and submit it to the Chief Clerk.