Assembly Resolution No. 87

BY: M. of A. Peoples-Stokes

AMENDING subdivision a of section 6 of Rule III of
the Assembly rules, in relation to the amendment of
bills; amending subdivision b of section 5 of Rule
IV of the Assembly rules, in relation to requests of
a standing committee to formally vote upon a bill;
amending subdivision b of section 1 of Rule V of the
Assembly rules, in relation to extending the bar of
the house during a state of emergency; amending
subdivision c of section 2 of Rule V of the Assembly
rules, in relation to voting on the final passage of
a bill or any other question before the house

RESOLVED, That subdivision a of Section 6 of Rule III of the
Assembly Rules is amended to read as follows:

a. [No amendment] Amendments to a bill [may] shall be [offered unless]
made by the member proposing the amendment [delivers three copies of the
bill with the proposed amendment correctly marked thereon and six copies
of the detailed description of such amendment to] in the form prescribed
by the Clerk of the Assembly and delivered to the Index Clerk.

RESOLVED, That subdivision b of Section 5 of Rule IV of the Assembly
Rules is amended to read as follows:

b. The sponsor of a bill referred to a standing committee may require
the committee to formally vote upon such bill by filing a request
therefor on an appropriate written or electronic form to be furnished by
the Office of Journal Operations. With respect to such request for
consideration:

(1) The clerk of each standing committee, upon receiving such a
request must immediately issue a receipt therefor acknowledging the date
and time of filing;

(2) Requests for consideration may be submitted on bills that are
printed, as follows:

(a) no later than the [last] second Tuesday in [March] April of [the
second] each session year [of the term of the Assembly, except that
after the last Tuesday in March of such second year through the third
Tuesday in April each member may submit a total of five additional
requests for consideration with a committee of original jurisdiction,
and a copy of such additional request shall be filed by the Committee
Clerk with the Committee on Standing Committees] each member may file up
to four requests. Committees having original jurisdiction over bills
upon which a request for consideration has been filed shall schedule all
such bills for committee consideration by the first Tuesday in May of
[the second] each session year [of the term of the Assembly]; and

(b) in the case of a bill that is referred to a [subsequent] standing
committee having secondary reference, such request shall be [submitted]
considered within thirty days after such referral;

(3) Except with respect to bills referred to a standing committee
pursuant to the provisions of item (iii) of subparagraph two of
paragraph f of section two of Rule III, requests for consideration of
any bill introduced by or at the request of a member may be made only
once in any two-year term of the Assembly;

(4) Once a committee has acted pursuant to such request, such
committee shall not be required, during such two-year term, to again
consider such bill or to consider any substantially duplicative bill
introduced by, or at the request of such member subsequent to the
consideration of such bill by the committee; and

(5) With respect to a bill sponsored by the Committee on Rules at the
request of a member, either the Committee or the member at whose request
the bill has been introduced may file a request for consideration.

[(6) In addition to the foregoing provisions of this section, sponsors
may file requests for committee consideration for up to five individual
bills in the first year of the two year term as follows:
(a) no later than the second Tuesday in April of the first year of the
term of the Assembly, each member may submit a total of five bill
requests for consideration with a committee of original jurisdiction,
provided, however, that no member shall submit more than one of these
five bill requests with the same standing committee, and a copy of such
request shall be filed by the Committee Clerk with the Committee on
Standing Committees. Committees having original jurisdiction over bills
upon which a request for consideration has been filed shall schedule all
such bills for committee consideration by the first Tuesday in May of
the first year of the term of the Assembly; and
(b) in the case of a bill that is referred to a subsequent standing
committee, such request shall be submitted within thirty days after such
referral.]

RESOLVED, That subdivision b of Section 1 of Rule V of the Assembly
Rules is amended to read as follows:

b. The bar of the House shall be deemed to include the entire Assembly
Chamber and lobbies contiguous thereto as designated by the Speaker.
During a state of emergency, if authorized by law, the bar of the House
may be extended, at the discretion of the Speaker, to allow for members
to be in attendance in any proceeding of the House by remote means
including teleconference and videoconference and such members shall be
continuously recorded in attendance by the Clerk of the Assembly. Any
member deemed to be present remotely during a state of emergency, if
authorized by law, may submit requests for recognition to the presiding
officer by electronic means for participation in proceedings and no
technical failure on the part of an individual member or a group of
members that breaks their remote connection to the proceedings shall
invalidate any action taken by the majority of the Assembly.

RESOLVED, That subdivision c of Section 2 of Rule V of the Assembly
Rules is amended to read as follows:

c. In the event a slow roll call is not [required] requested pursuant
to subdivision b, the yeas and nays on the final passage of a bill or
any other question before the House shall be taken by a fast roll call
and a member desiring to vote in the negative on such a roll call shall

do so by entering a negative vote through the electronic voting system
or in such other manner as may be prescribed by the Speaker. All other
members shall be recorded in the affirmative. [On such a roll call the
Clerk of the Assembly shall call the names of the members who are
recorded in the negative.]