Revision: Dec. 3, 2010, midnight
RULES OF THE SENATE
2011 – 2012
Part One
Duties Of The Senate President
1-1 Determination of quorum; correction of Journal.
1-2 Members, conduct when speaking.
1-3 Members not to speak more than twice.
1-4 President shall recognize whom.
1-5 Questions of order, appeal.
1-6 Galleries, clearing of.
1-7 President to sign bills, etc.
1-8 President may name member to chair.
Part Two
Decorum and Debate
2-1 Members, decorum of.
2-2 Member, absence from Session.
2-3 Motions, order of preference.
2-4 Questions postponed indefinitely not acted upon in same biennium.
2-5 Questions, when divided.
2-6 Objections to reading paper, how determined.
2-7 Roll Call, everyone must vote.
2-8 Reconsideration.
2-9 Petitions, introduction of.
2-10 Voting; division of Senate.
2-11 Visitors to Senate.
2-12 Hours of meeting.
2-13 Rules of Senate, how suspended.
2-14 Rules of Senate, how rescinded.
2-15 Conflict of Interest.
2-16 Committee of Conference reports.
2-17 Personal privilege.
2-18 Appeal, presiding officer ruling.
2-19 Motions, no substitution under color of amendment.
Part Three
Bills
3-1 Bills; shall be numbered and expressed clearly.
3-2 Bills, introduction of.
3-3 Bills, drafting of.
3-4 Resolutions to be treated as bills.
3-5 Bills shall have three readings; Progress of; time for second and third readings.
3-6 Bills, printing and distribution.
3-7 Bills amended only on second reading; filing of amendments.
3-8 Messages sent to House.
3-9 Messages, when received.
Part Four
Committees And Their Duties
4-1 Public hearings to be held and advertised.
4-2 Amended bills, printed distributed and disposed of.
4-3 Referral of Bills to Finance Committee.
4-4 Committees, appointment of.
4-5 Standing Committees.
4-6 Committees, reports and meetings.
4-7 Requests to the Legislative Budget Assistant.
Part Five
Committee Of Conference
5-1 Committees of Conference.
Part Six
Committee Of The Whole
6-1 Committee of the Whole.
Part Seven
Officers And Personnel
7-1 Senate staff, composition and duties.
7-2 Senate staff, days of employment.
7-3 Requisition Approval Required.
Part Eight
Deadlines
8-1 Deadlines.
Part One
DUTIES OF THE SENATE PRESIDENT
1-1 Determination of quorum; correction of Journal.
The President, having taken the chair, shall determine a quorum to be present. Any erroneous entry in the daily journal shall be corrected no later than the third succeeding legislative day, and the permanent journal corrected within one week after the permanent journal copy is placed in the hands of the Senate.
1-2 Members, conduct when speaking.
Any member, wishing to speak, shall notify the President. When the member is recognized to speak he shall rise and address the President, and when he has finished shall then sit down.
1-3 Members not to speak more than twice.
No member shall speak more than twice on the same question on the same day without leave of the Senate President.
1-4 President shall recognize whom.
When more than one member wishes to speak at the same time, the President shall decide who shall speak first.
1-5 Questions of order, appeal.
The President shall preserve decorum and order. If any member transgresses the rules of the Senate, the President shall, or any member may, call him to order in which case the member so called to order shall immediately cease and desist, and the Senate, if appealed to, shall decide the case. But if there is no appeal, the decision of the President shall be conclusive.
In case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the gallery, the President shall have the power to order the same to be cleared. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may restrict attendance to the duly elected Senators.
1-7 President to sign bills, etc.
All warrants, subpoenas and other processes issued by order of the Senate shall be under the hand and seal of the President attested by the Clerk.
1-8 President may name member to chair.
The President when performing the duties of the Chair may, at any time, name any member to perform the duties of the Chair.
Part Two
DECORUM AND DEBATE
No member shall hold conversation with another while a member is speaking in debate, or use electronic devices, including but not limited to personal computers, and telephonic devices, without leave of the Senate.
2-2 Member, absence from Session.
No member shall absent himself without permission from the Senate.
2-3 Motions, order of preference.
When any question is under debate, no motion shall be received but first, to adjourn; second, to lay upon the table; third, for the previous question; fourth, to postpone to a certain day; fifth, to commit; sixth, to amend; and seventh, to postpone indefinitely; which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are so arranged. Motions to adjourn, to lay upon the table, for the previous question, and to take from the table shall be decided without debate. Motions to postpone to a certain day shall be debatable both as to time and subject matter. No motion to postpone indefinitely, to postpone to a certain day, or to commit, being decided, shall be in order at the same stage of the bill or resolution, until after adjournment.
2-4 Questions postponed indefinitely not acted upon in same biennium.
A question which is postponed indefinitely shall not be acted upon during the biennium except whenever two-thirds of the whole number of elected Senators shall on division taken, vote in favor thereof. Any bill which is indefinitely postponed shall not be reintroduced under cover of an amendment, bill, resolution, order, or committee of conference report. No motion to suspend this rule shall be permitted.
2-5 Questions, when divided.
Any member may call for the division of the question when the sense will admit it. The question of whether two or more propositions are capable of division is to be determined by the Chair. Unless otherwise specifically provided for, each part of a divided question shall pass only upon majority vote of those members present and voting.
2-6 Objections to reading paper, how determined.
When the reading of a paper or document is objected to by a member, the question shall be determined by a vote of the Senate; and without debate.
2-7 Roll Call, everyone must vote.
When the nays and yeas have been moved by a member and duly seconded by another member, each member present shall declare his assent or dissent to the question, unless for special reason he be excused by the Senate. The names of the persons so making the motion and the second shall be recorded in the Journal. The President shall determine the order of the roll call. No member shall be required to vote in any case where he was not present when the question was put.
No vote shall be reconsidered, unless the motion for reconsideration is made by a member who voted with the prevailing side. The notice of such motion for reconsideration shall be given to the Senate in open session prior to adjournment on the same day on which the vote was passed, or to the clerk within two working business days of the vote. Any such notice of reconsideration shall be effective for three legislative days only and thereafter shall be null and void. Reconsideration of any bills subject to a deadline established by Senate rules must be acted upon on or before the Senate rule deadline, and thereafter shall be null and void.
2-9 Petitions, introduction of.
Before any petition shall be received and read, a brief statement of the contents thereof shall be made by the member introducing the same.
2-10 Voting; division of Senate.
All questions shall be put by the President, and each member of the Senate present shall signify his assent or dissent by voting yea or nay, or shall abstain from voting by reason of a conflict pursuant to Part Two, Senate Rule 2-15. If the President doubts, or a division is called for, the Senate shall divide. Those in the affirmative on the question shall first rise from their seats and stand until they be counted. The President shall rise and state the decision of the Senate.
No person except members of the Senate and its officers, the Governor, Council members, the Secretary of State, the Treasurer, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and its officers and clerks, shall be admitted to the floor of the Senate while the Senate is in session, except by the invitation of the President, or some member with the President’s consent.
The Senate shall adjourn to meet on the subsequent legislative day for the early session at the time mentioned in the adjournment motion. The late session shall immediately follow the early session unless the Senate shall otherwise order.
2-13 Rules of Senate, how suspended.
No standing rule of the Senate shall be suspended unless two-thirds of the members present and voting vote in favor thereof. This rule shall not apply to Part Two, Senate Rule 2-4.
2-14 Rules of Senate, how rescinded.
No rule shall be rescinded unless two days notice of the motion has been given and two-thirds of those present and voting vote therefore.
In all instances every member shall act in conformance with the duly adopted
Ethical Guidelines and Opinions of the New Hampshire General Court.
2-16 Committee of Conference reports.
Action on the floor of a report of the Committee on Finance or a Committee of Conference on either the general appropriations (budget) bill or the capital budget bill, shall not be taken by the Senate, until said report has been available from the Senate Clerk twenty-four hours in advance, in written form. Non-germane amendments and footnotes to such bills (except footnotes in explanation of the principal text of such bills or designating the use or restriction of any funds or portions thereof) are prohibited and shall not be allowed under any circumstances.
2-17 Personal privilege.
Personal Privilege: A Senator may, as a matter of personal privilege, defend his/her position on a bill, his/her integrity, his/her record, or his/her conduct, against unfair or unwarranted criticism, or may speak of an issue which relates to his/her rights, privileges or conveniences as a Senator; provided, however, the matters raised under personal privilege shall not be subject to questioning, answer, or debate, by another Senator. Personal Privilege remarks may be included in the Daily Journal if requested by the Senator, and in the Permanent Journal by vote of the Senate. A Senator may speak on other matters of his/her choosing and in such cases may be subject to questioning and/or answer according to the Rules of the Senate.
2-18 Appeal, presiding officer ruling.
Any appeal from the ruling of the presiding officer shall be decided by majority vote of the members present and voting.
2-19 Motions, no substitution under color of amendment.
No new motion shall be admitted under color of amendment as a substitute for the motion under debate.
Part Three
BILLS
3-1 Bills; shall be numbered and expressed clearly.
All petitions, memorials and other papers addressed to the Senate and all bills and resolutions to be introduced in the Senate, shall be endorsed with the name of the Senator presenting them, and with the subject matter of the same. Every bill shall be marked on the first page “Senate Bill” and numbered serially; every joint resolution shall be marked “Senate Joint Resolution” and numbered serially; every concurrent resolution proposing a constitutional amendment shall be marked “Concurrent Resolution Proposing a Constitutional Amendment” and numbered serially; and every other concurrent resolution shall be marked “Senate Concurrent Resolution” and numbered serially, as each bill or resolution is introduced into the Senate.
3-2 Bills, introduction of.
All petitions, memorials and other papers addressed to the Senate and all bills and resolutions to be introduced into the Senate shall be delivered or caused to be delivered to the Office of Legislative Services, which in turn will submit it to the sponsor for his signature, and then to the Clerk by Legislative Services. If requested by the sponsor, a proposed bill, resolution or petition shall not be made public, except by the sponsor, until signed by the sponsor. During any adjournment the President may receive bills and resolutions for printing and for reference to committee, provided that no bill shall have a public hearing until it is formally introduced into the Senate, printed and available for distribution.
Drafting of Bills
(a) If a drafting request for a bill or resolution has been filed with the Office of Legislative Services requiring a fiscal note as provided in RSA 14:44-47, the substance or a draft of the proposal may be provided to the Legislative Budget Assistant for preparation of the required fiscal note without the specific consent of the sponsor of the proposal, provided that the identity of the sponsor shall not be disclosed.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Part Three, Senate Rule 3-2, a Senate bill, Senate joint resolution, or Senate concurrent resolution may be accepted by the Office of Legislative Services for drafting and introduced into the Senate at any time prior to the deadline established by Senate Rules for the transfer of bills out of the first body if approved by either a majority of the Senate Rules Committee or a two-thirds vote on the floor.
(c) No bill the subject matter of which has been indefinitely postponed or made inexpedient to legislate in the Senate in the first-year session shall be admitted into the second-year session whether as a bill, an amendment, a committee of conference report or in any other manner.
(d) Legislation returned from the non-originating body, with an amendment, shall not be re-referred to committee but shall have one of the following recommendations: Concur, Nonconcur, Nonconcur and Request a Committee of Conference. Adoption of a motion to Nonconcur kills the legislation.
3-4 Resolutions to be treated as bills.
All resolutions which may require the signature of the Governor shall be treated in the same manner as bills.
3-5 Bills shall have three readings; Progress of; time for second and third readings.
Every bill shall have three readings in the Senate previous to its passage. The first and second readings shall be by title only which may be accomplished by a conglomerate resolution, after which the bill shall be referred by the President to the appropriate committee and shall be printed as provided in Part Three, Senate Rule 3-6, unless otherwise ordered by the Senate. No bill after it has been read a second time shall have a third reading until after adjournment from the early session. The time assigned for the third reading of bills and resolutions shall be in the late session unless otherwise ordered by the Senate. The orders of the day for the reading of bills shall hold for every succeeding day until disposed of.
3-6 Bills, printing and distribution.
After every bill shall have been read a second time, and referred by the President to the appropriate committee, the Clerk shall procure a sufficient number of copies, printed on paper of uniform size, for the use of the legislature, and cause the same to be distributed to the members, and when printed the bill shall be immediately delivered to the committee to which it shall have been referred. Bills received from the House shall be printed at the same stage of their procedure unless they have been printed in the House and copies distributed in the Senate, in which case any amendment made by the House shall be duplicated and distributed in the Senate.
3-7 Bills amended only on second reading; filing of amendments.
No amendment shall be made but upon the second reading of a bill; and all amendments to bills and resolutions shall be in writing, with the name of the Senator and the district he represents, or in the case of a committee amendment the name of the committee that recommended it, thereon. No amendment to any bill shall be proposed or allowed at any time or by any source, including a committee of conference, except it be germane. Amendments shall have been reviewed by the Office of Legislative Services for form, construction, statutory and chapter reference.
3-8 Messages sent to House.
Messages shall be sent to the House of Representatives by the Clerk of the Senate.
Messages from the Governor or House of Representatives may be received at all times, except when the Senate is engaged in putting the question, in calling the yeas and nays, or in counting the ballots.
Part Four
COMMITTEES AND THEIR DUTIES
4-1 Public hearings to be held and advertised.
A hearing shall be held upon each bill referred to a committee, and notice of such hearing shall be advertised at least 4 days before hearing in the Senate Calendar. The Senate Calendar shall be available on the Internet for viewing as soon as it has been released for printing.
(a) All bills in the possession of committees shall be reported out with one of the following recommendations: ought to pass, ought to pass with amendment, rerefer to committee, inexpedient to legislate, or refer for interim study. Re-refer to committee shall be a committee report only in the first-year session. All rereferred bills shall be acted on by the fourth legislative day of the second year session. Refer for interim study shall be a committee report only in the second year session.
(b) Any legislation creating a chapter study committee shall have membership limited to members of the General Court.
4-2 Amended bills, printed distributed and disposed of.
When a bill is reported favorably with an amendment, the report of the committee shall state the amendment, and then recite the section of the bill in full as amended. The amendment shall be printed in the senate calendar on the date that the report is listed for action. If no action is taken on that day, then the amendment shall be printed on the day to which the bill has been referred. All bills reported shall be retained by the clerk and shall not be finally acted upon until the following legislative day, and a list of such bills with the report of the committee thereon shall be published in the senate calendar for the day on which action shall be taken.
4-3 Referral of Bills to Finance Committee.
Referral of Bills to Finance Committee
(a). Every bill and joint resolution appropriating money, and every other bill which is accompanied by a fiscal note pursuant to RSA 14:44, which has been referred to another committee and favorably accepted by the Senate, shall be committed to the Finance Committee for review. All bills which are referred directly to the Finance Committee shall have a hearing.
(b). The chair of a standing committee may request the Chair of the Finance Committee to exempt from review a bill that is subject to a fiscal note pursuant to RSA 14:44, but which the Chair of the Finance Committee believes has an undetermined or insignificant fiscal impact. The Chair of the Finance Committee shall announce on the floor all such bills exempted from review as soon as practicable after receipt of the request.
4-4 Committees, appointment of.
All committees of the Senate, including Senate members on committees of conference, shall consist of members of both parties as nearly equal as possible, provided that on all committees, both parties shall be represented. The President shall appoint the members of all committees, after consulting with the minority leader.
The standing committees of the Senate shall be as follows: the Committee on Capital Budget, the Committee on Commerce, the Committee on Education, the Committee on Election Law and Veterans’ Affairs, the Committee on Energy, Environment and Economic Development, the Committee on Executive Departments and Administration, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Health and Human Services, the Committee on Judiciary, the Committee on Public and Municipal Affairs, the Committee on Rules and Enrolled Bills, the Committee on Transportation, the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Wildlife, Fish and Game and Agriculture.
4-6 Committees, reports and meetings.
The committees shall promptly consider and report on all matters referred to them. The President may authorize such committees having a heavy load of investigation, re-drafting, research or amendments to meet as needed on non legislative days during the legislative session. The Clerk of the Senate shall prepare a list by number, title and sponsor of all Senate bills and resolutions in committee which have not been acted upon within one week before the deadline established for the transfer of bills and resolutions from the Senate to the House of Representatives, and he/she shall distribute this list to every member of the Senate as soon as it is prepared.
4-7 Requests to the Legislative Budget Assistant.
Any Senate member may make a request of the Office of the Legislative Budget Assistant Budget Division, for technical staff assistance in the areas of finance, accounting and budgeting. The Budget Division may respond to that request when doing so will not interfere with the Budget Division’s principal responsibilities as outlined in RSA 14:31-b, as determined by the Legislative Budget Assistant.
Part Five
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
Committees of Conference.
(a) Whenever there be any disagreement between the Senate and the House on the content of any bill or resolution, and whenever both bodies, voting separately, have agreed to establish a committee of conference, the President of the Senate shall appoint three members to the Senate conference committee on the bill and the Speaker of the House shall appoint four members to the House conference committee. Exceptions: (1) the House committee of conference on the operating budget shall consist of five members; (2) the number of the members of the committees of conference on any bill may increase or decrease if the President and the Speaker both agree. The two committees of conference on a bill shall meet jointly but vote separately while in conference. A unanimous vote by both committees of conference shall be necessary for an agreed report to the Senate and the House by the committees of conference.
(b) The first-named person from the body where the bill or resolution in disagreement originated shall have the authority to call the time and place for the first meeting of the committees of conference on said bill.
(c) The first-named person on a committee of conference shall be the chairman of that conference. The chairman of the committee of conference of the body where the bill or resolution in disagreement originated shall chair the joint meeting of the committees of conference.
(d) No action shall be taken in either body on any committee of conference report earlier than some subsequent day, after the report has been delivered to the seats or placed on a member's desk. A committee of conference may neither change the title of any bill submitted to it nor add amendments which are not germane to the subject matter of the bill as originally submitted to it.
(e) Conference Committees on Budget Bills. The report of each committee of conference on either the general appropriation bill, or the capital improvements bill shall be printed in the journal or a supplement thereto of the appropriate body before action on said report is taken on the floor. Non-germane amendments, sections and footnotes to such bills (except footnotes in explanation of the principal text of such bills or designating the use or restriction of any funds or portions thereof) are prohibited and shall not be allowed under any circumstances. Notwithstanding the general provisions of paragraph (h) of this section, the Conference Committee on general appropriations bill may propose new items for inclusion in said bill but no such item may be so included unless and until it shall have been returned to both the Senate and the House and adopted in identical form by a majority vote in each body.
(f) When both committees of conference on a concurrent resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution have agreed, the committee of conference from the body which acceded to a request for committees of conference shall file its report with the clerk of that body who shall print it in full in the journal or supplement of that body. The report shall be made a special order of business at the late session of a subsequent day. After said report has been adopted by the first body, a message shall be transmitted to the second body which shall then act upon the report of its committee of conference.
(g) The sponsor of any bill or joint resolution referred to committees of conference shall, upon his request, be granted a hearing before said committees prior to action thereon.
(h) No member of a committee of conference shall sign any report that contains non-germane amendments or subject matter that has been indefinitely postponed in either body. For the purposes of this rule, a non-germane amendment would be any subject matter not contained in either the House or the Senate version of the bill.
Part Six
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
The Senate may resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole at any time on motion made for that purpose; and in forming a Committee of the Whole; the President shall leave the chair, and appoint a chairperson to preside in committee.
Part Seven
OFFICERS AND PERSONNEL
7-1 Senate staff, composition and duties.
The staff of the Senate shall be comprised of a clerk, an assistant clerk, a sergeant-at-arms, and a doorkeeper who are to be elected by the Senate, and such other personnel as the President shall appoint. The President shall define the duties of all members of the Senate staff which are not fixed by statute or otherwise ordered by the Senate.
7-2 Senate staff, days of employment.
Each member of the staff of the Senate shall be available on call to carry out the work of the Senate.
7-3 Requisition Approval Required.
No officer or employee of the Senate during the session or any adjournment thereof shall purchase or contract for the purchase, pay, or promise to pay any sum of money on behalf of the Senate or issue any requisition or manifest without the approval of the Senate President.
Part Eight
DEADLINES
8-1 Deadlines.
(a) Wednesday, October 13, 2010 – First day to file legislation for 2011 Senate Session.
(b) The Office of Legislative Services shall not draft a Senate Bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution, or Senate Joint Resolution, unless a request by a member for drafting with complete information has been received not later than 2:00 p.m., Friday, December 10, 2010, for the 2011 Session.
(c) Tuesday, January 18, 2011, at 12:00 p.m. - The Last Day to sign-off legislation for the above filing period.