Youth Legislature Committee Rules

Committee Rules, part I

COMMITTEE PROCEDURES

When ready for consideration of the bill, the following procedure is used:

Step One: Introduction

CHAIR: "We are now ready for consideration of Senate (or House) Bill #_____: An Act to... (reads title). Is there a sponsor present?"

The bill's sponsor stands up and says:

SPONSOR:"Mr. (or Madam) Chair, and members of the committee, this is a bill (or resolution) toÉ" (explain the bill concisely, explaining why the committee should support it).

note: Sponsor must be a legislator, even if not the bill's actual author. Sponsors have three minutes to speak.

Step Two: Public Hearing&emdash;Proponents

The Chair follows the Sponsor's opening speech by saying:

CHAIR: "Will proponents of the bill now sign in and present their testimony?" CHAIR reminds all witnesses to be sure to sign in on the sheet provided so that accurate records are kept.

CHAIR gives members of the public* the opportunity to speak on the bill. They speak within the time established, usually two minutes.

* At Youth and Government, "public" means House and Senate members not on the committee, plus lobbyists, pages, reporters, attorneys or any other program participant.

Step Three: Public Hearing&emdash;Opponents

When the proponents have spoken, the Chair says:

CHAIR: "Will opponents of the bill now sign in and present their testimony?"

Members of the "public" may now speak against the bill as outlined above.

Step Four: Questions

When members of the public have finished speaking or when the time limit for testimony is reached, the Chair says:

CHAIR: "Are there questions by members of the committee regarding this bill?"

Questions are directed only to those witnesses who have testified above and are for purposes of clarification. This is not time for debate. Do not cross-examine witnesses.

No more than FIVE questions may be asked of any speaker, no more than two from any individual committee member.

Only members of the committee may ask questions. Only the speaker may answer unless they receive permission from the chair for another individual to answer on their behalf.

Step Five: Close

When questions are finished, the Chair says:

CHAIR: "The Sponsor of this bill may have (1 or 2) minute(s) to close."

SPONSOR will give a 1-2 minute closing speech on the bill. When finished, the Chair says:

CHAIR: "This hearing is now closed."

Step Six: Committee Debate

CHAIR: We will now begin debate. Do I hear a motion on this bill?"

COMMITTEE MEMBER: "I move this bill be reported 'do pass'." (or other appropriate motion) Only committee members may make motions.

CHAIR: "The committee is now open to discussion on this bill."

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Chair will recognize speakers and guide open discussion regarding this bill, respecting time limits.

Committee members may further question speakers for purposes of clarification and better understanding of the issue, but may not cross-examine or debate the issue with speakers that are not members of the committee. Only committee members may speak unless a member of the public is directly answering a question put to them by a committee member.

Appropriate motions, such as amendments, may be made any time during the discussion.

Step Seven: Vote

When the discussion ends, either by motion or end of allotted time, the Chair moves to a vote, saying:

CHAIR: "We have a motion before us by Senator/Representative ______, that (repeats the motion on the floor.)"

(Remember, if the bill was amended, the main motion needs to be changed to "do pass as amended.")

CHAIR: "All those in favor of (or "all opposed to") the motion please raise your hand." Vote is by show of hands.

CHAIR announces outcome of vote.

CHAIR then proceeds with subsequent bills.

Committee Rules, part II

GENERAL RULES

1. Issues not covered by these Committee rules shall be governed by the Joint Rules of the Montana YMCA Youth Legislature and the additional authorities listed there.
2. Members of the Committee are defined as those individuals listed in the current year's billbook for each committee as corrected by the main office. The Chair cannot alter the membership roster. All members vote on all motions unless a conflict of interest or deeply held moral conviction obligates a member to abstain on a particular issue. All vote counts on bills and amendments are recorded.
3. The Chair votes. However, the Chair is not to participate in debate on a bill while presiding. If the Chair wishes to debate, she or he must turn the chair over to the Vice Chair or another member of the committee for the duration of the bill hearing and debate.
4. The Presiding Officer of the Chamber (Speaker of the House or President of the Senate) is an ex-officio member of all committees, thus may speak as a committee member but cannot vote in the committee.
5. A Quorum (the number of people required to conduct business) is a simple majority of all members of the committee (excluding ex-officio members). In absence of a quorum, remaining members may vote to recess, adjourn, or to request the missing members to report to the committee room.
6. Nonmembers of the committee&emdash;including other legislators&emdash;may not speak during bill consideration except for the public hearing or to answer a direct question from a committee member. Nonmembers may not debate, cross-examine or vote in committee under any circumstances.
7. Under Mason's Rules of Legislative procedure, a motion does not require a second.
8. In order to pass in committee, all motions need only a simple majority. A motion dies if there is a tie vote. A simple majority means a favorable vote equal to one more than half the members of the committee present at the time of the vote as long as a quorum is present. (This includes votes on acts that will later require a supermajority vote by the full Chamber.)
9. If a committee member misses a vote, and a quorum was present, the vote will not be repeated, even if the missing member's vote would have changed the outcome. The only procedure that can be used to change the action on a bill in committee is a motion to reconsider.
10. All amendments must be in writing and if passed are attached to the bill report. Copies of long amendments may be made for committee members as needed.
11. Time limits not set by these rules may be set by the committee chair in advance and announced at the beginning each bill hearing. They are adjustable by the chair (without committee objection), or by a majority vote of the committee, but can only be changed between bills, and cannot be changed once a bill hearing has begun.
12. A bill receiving a vote of "do pass" or "do pass as amended" will go to the floor of the Chamber for full debate.
13. A bill receiving a unanimous vote of "do pass" or "do pass as amended" will go to the floor on the consent calendar as outlined in the joint rules.
14. If a motion to report a bill "do pass" or "do pass as amended" fails, then the report automatically becomes a "do not pass" report, not needing an additional motion.
15. If a "do not pass" motion fails, the bill simply remains under discussion.
16. A bill receiving a vote of "do not pass" goes to the floor and officially "dies" when the Chamber adopts the committee report, unless that bill was segregated from the report.
17. If any member of the Chamber (not just a committee member) wants to try and get such a bill onto the floor of the Chamber for debate, he or she may ask for the bill to be segregated from the committee report as outlined in the Joint Rules, section 10-30, under Order of Business #2.
18. If a bill was tabled or otherwise not acted on in committee, a member may attempt to bring it onto the floor under Order of Business #6.

Committee Rules, part III

MOTIONS IN COMMITTEE

Motions that are acceptable in a committee at the Youth Legislature are:

1. To amend. To make a change in a submitted bill, the correct motion is:

PHRASING: "I move the following amendmentÉ" The member reads the proposed amendment, indicating the lines and words to be changed, and hands a copy of the written amendment to the Chair. If passed, the committee clerk will record the amendment in writing on the bill report form.

The amendment must be voted on before the bill itself is voted on by the committee. Remember: Amendments to bills may be drafted and proposed only in committees.

Consolidating several bills into one piece of legislation may be done by amendment. A supporter of the consolidated bills may present the bill re-draft as an amendment to one of the original bills by saying, "I move the following amendment..." then reading the redrafted legislation, preferably having written copies for all members to read.

2. Do pass. To pass a bill out of committee for debate in the House or Senate, as originally submitted, the motion is:

PHRASING: "I move this bill be reported 'Do Pass.'" If passed, the bill goes to the chamber as originally submitted.

3. Do not pass. If a member believes the bill should not pass, the motion is:

PHRASING: "I move this bill be reported 'Do not pass.'" If motion is carried, the bill goes to the chamber as originally submitted with an adverse recommendation.

4. Do pass as amended. Following adoption of an amendment, the committee then revises a "Do Pass" motion if one is one the floor.

PHRASING: "I move that this bill be reported, 'Do Pass as Amended'." If passed, the bill goes to the chamber with the amendments approved by the committee.

5. Be concurred in. This motion is used for a bill from the other house. It means the same thing as "Do pass."

PHRASING: "I move that this bill be reported, 'Be concurred in.'"

6. Be not concurred in. This motion is used for a bill from the other house in the same manner as "Do not pass."

PHRASING: "I move that this bill be reported,'Be not concurred in.'"

7. Be concurred in as amended. This motion is used in the same manner as 'Do pass as amended' for a bill from the other house for which this committee has adopted an amendment.

8. To Table. This motion is used to postpone discussion on a bill until a later time. It sometimes is also used to delay action on a bill. This motion is undebatable.

PHRASING:"I move that we table this bill."

9. To Take from the Table. To consider a previously tabled bill.

PHRASING: "I move that we take House/Senate Bill #____from the table."

10. To close or limit debate. Usually the chair will simply set a time limit without objection of the committee, but members may also move to do so. Time limits must be set either at the beginning of a committee hearing or before debate begins on a bill.

PHRASING: (example) "I move we limit debate on House/Senate Bill __to ___minutes."

PHRASING: "I move we close debate."

11. To Reconsider. This motion is used to resurrect a bill previously reported out "Do not pass."

PHRASING: "I move we reconsider our action on bill #____."

12. To Recess. The Chair may call a recess without a motion. But if appropriate, the motion is:

PHRASING: "I move we recess ('for X minutes' or 'until XX:XX')."

13. To Adjourn. The chair may entertain a motion to adjourn when ALL the business of the committee is finished. In most cases, a motion to adjourn is only in order when requested by the chair.

PHRASING: "I move we adjourn."

Committee Rules, part IV

COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. A committee report form will be filled out for all bills considered by the committee, then submitted to the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, as appropriate. The report must contain the actual number of votes for and against the bill.

2. Amendments to bills reported favorably from committee ("do pass as amended") must be in writing, either on or attached to the committee report, and submitted along with the bill when it goes from the Committee to the Clerk or Secretary.

3. The Committee Page is responsible for taking all passed bills, with the committee report for that bill, to the Clerk/Secretary as quickly as possible after passage. Bills that fail can be kept in a group and taken to the chambers after recess or adjournment. In fact, because bills can be reconsidered, it is best to keep failed bills in committee until business is concluded for the day.

4. In recording amendments, the Committee Clerk (a page) and the Chief Clerk/Secretary in the chamber notes the number of the bill, the amendment by section and line, and exact location of the amendment by what word or line it (i.e., the amendment) follows in the text.

5. When brief amendments to bills are read on the Floor, the Chief Clerk/Secretary will read the amendment from the lectern, instructing members on the floor whether to insert, strike out, or change material.

6. Amendments which are longer than (roughly) 10 words will be reproduced for distribution to all members of the chamber as needed. When an amendment needs to be duplicated, it is the responsibility of the Clerk/Secretary of the appropriate chamber to do so.

7. If a bill passes the chamber, it becomes the responsibility of the Secretary of State to copy the amendments and distribute them to members of the other house. (Amendments may be grouped by the Secretary of State in an overall amendment report.)