Bill Text: GA SR2 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Senate; Adopt Rules

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-01-10 - Senate Passed/Adopted [SR2 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-SR2-Enrolled.html

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11 LC 14 0369-2

Senate Resolution 2

By: Senators Williams of the 19th, Rogers of the 21st, Cowsert of the 46th, Staton of the 18th, Tolleson of the 20th and others

ADOPTED SENATE

A RESOLUTION

Adopting the Rules of the Senate; and for other purposes.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the Rules of the Senate in effect at the adjournment of the 2010 Regular Session of the General Assembly are hereby adopted as the Rules of the Senate for the 2011 Regular Session and for the duration of this General Assembly, with the following amendments:

SECTION 1.

Said rules are amended by striking in its entirety Rule 1-4.12 which reads as follows:

"1-4.12 Joint Legislative Ethics Committee Action

(a) Any report received from the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee summarizing its activities and recommending legislation shall be distributed to the Committee on Administrative Affairs and to the members of the Senate Ethics Committee.

(b) Any order or report of employment related sanctions issued by the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee against a Senate employee shall be distributed to the Committee on Administrative Affairs.

(c) Any recommendation issued by the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee concerning an investigation of a member of the Senate shall be given to the Committee on Administrative Affairs and to the Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee."

SECTION 2.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 2-1.1 as follows: "2-1.1 Committee on Assignments

(a) The Committee on Assignments shall be composed of the President of the Senate the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Majority Leader, the Majority Caucus Chairperson, the Majority Whip, the Majority Caucus Vice-Chair, and the Majority Caucus Secretary, and two three Senators appointed by the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate President Pro Tempore or his designee shall serve as Chair of the committee. The Chair shall vote only to break a tie. Actions of this committee shall be reported to the Senate by the President of the Senate committee chairperson as necessary. The meetings of this committee shall be closed to the public. The Committee on Assignments shall have such duties as the President of the Senate may assign to it at his or her discretion."

SECTION 3.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 2-1.3 by revising the introductory language of subsection (a) and subsection (b) as follows:

"The President of the Senate Committee on Assignments shall appoint standing committees and the maximum number of Senators which may serve on that committee as follows:"

"(b) The above limitations shall not apply when the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments appoints a Senator to committees if that Senator was duly elected in a special election."

SECTION 4.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 2-1.4 as follows:

"2-1.4 Subcommittees

The President of the Senate Committee on Assignments may create, in his or her discretion, within any standing committee, a subcommittee or subcommittees and appoint the membership and officers thereof, provided that the chairperson of a standing committee may appoint subcommittees in cases not provided by the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit the authority of the standing committees or the officers thereof."

SECTION 5.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 2-2.1 as follows:

"2-2.1 Appointment of Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary

The President of the Senate Committee on Assignments shall appoint as officers a Chairman, a Vice-chairman, and a Secretary for all standing committees and a Chairman of standing subcommittees. The President of the Senate Committee on Assignments may remove a Senator from any appointed Committee officer position at any time for any reason."

SECTION 6.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 2-3.1 by revising subsection (c) as follows:

"(c) Once a Senator is appointed to a standing committee, except for the Committee on Rules, he or she shall not be removed from that committee during that term of office to which he or she was most recently elected unless removed by the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments pursuant to Rule 2-3.3. Members of the Committee on Rules and appointed members of the Committee on Assignments and the Committee on Administrative Affairs may be removed at any time for any reason by the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments."

SECTION 7.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 2-3.2 as follows:

"2-3.2 Ex-officio Members

(a) In addition to the members otherwise provided for on any committee, the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments may add one or more ex-officio members to any committee. Ex-officio members shall count as a voting member for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at any given meeting and may vote on any matter before the committee. The limitations provided by Rules 2-1.3 and 2-3.1 shall not apply with respect to such ex-officio memberships.

(b) Ex-officio members may be removed from a standing committee at any time for any reason by the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments."

SECTION 8.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 2-3.3 by revising subsection (b) as follows:

"(b) Failure to attend three (3) consecutive meetings, unless excused from attendance in the Senate on those days as provided in these Rules or unless he or she has filed a statement pursuant to Rule 2-1.7(f), shall be cause for removal from the committee by the President of the Senate Committee on Assignments."

SECTION 9.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 3-1.2 by revising subsection (b) as follows:

"(b) No general Senate bill or resolution having the effect of law shall be introduced after the thirty-ninth (39th) day of any odd numbered regular session or after the thirtieth (30th) day of any even numbered regular session. The provisions of this paragraph shall in no case be suspended except by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members to which the Senate is entitled."

SECTION 10.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 3-3.1 by revising subsection (a) as follows:

"(a) Upon receiving nominations by the Governor that require Senate confirmation, the President of the Senate shall immediately refer such nominations to the Committee on Assignments without alteration. The Committee on Assignments shall consider such nominations and may refer such nominations to one or more standing Committees and shall instruct the Secretary of the Senate to notify the Senate that such nominations have been received. However, no nominations may be considered by the Senate until the expiration of seventy-two (72) hours after receipt thereof by the President of the Senate, or until the expiration of forty-eight (48) hours after being referred to the committee. The Secretary of the Senate shall make such nominations available for review by any Senator. The Chair of the standing Committee or Committees to which the nominations were may have been assigned shall cause such nomination or nominations to be considered by the Committee within a reasonable period of time after receiving the nomination or nominations. The Chair of the standing Committee or Committees to which the nominations were may have been assigned shall then report the Committee's recommendations to the Committee on Assignments which shall report its recommendations to the full Senate."

SECTION 11.

Said rules are further amended in Rule 4-2.1 by revising subsection (a) as follows:

"(a)1. Report of the Committee on the Journal.

2. Reading of the Journal.

3. Motions to Reconsider.

4. Confirmation of the Journal.

5. Introduction of Bills and Resolutions.

6. First Reading and Reference of Senate Bills and Resolutions.

7. First Reading and Reference of House Bills and Resolutions, which shall also be in order at any later time when no other business is pending.

8. Reports of Standing Committees.

9. Second Reading of General Bills and Resolutions.

10. Call of the Roll.

11. Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.

12. Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of Georgia.

1213. Prayer of the Chaplain.

1314. Unanimous Consents.

14. Points of Personal Privilege.

15. Adoption of Privileged Resolutions.

16. Motions to withdraw bills or resolutions from one committee and commit to another committee.

17. Passage of Local Uncontested Bills and Resolutions, which shall also be in order at any later time when no other business is pending.

18. Consideration of Local Contested Bills and Resolutions, which shall also be in order at any later time when no other business is pending.

19. General Consent Calendar for Commemorative Resolutions.

20. Motions to Engross.

21. Third Reading and Consideration of General Bills and Resolutions.

22. Points of Personal Privilege."

SECTION 12.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 6-6.2 as follows:

"6-6.2 Precedence

"A Unless otherwise provided by statute, a motion to commit to a standing committee takes precedence over a motion to commit to a special committee, and shall be voted on first. If a motion is made that a bill, resolution, or other measure be committed to the Committee of the Whole Senate, this motion shall be put before either of the above named motions."

SECTION 13.

Said rules are further amended by revising Rule 8-1.2 as follows:

"8-1.2 Presiding Officer’s Power of Recognition

When two or more Senators shall rise at the same time, the President shall name the Senator entitled to proceed; provided, however, the President shall recognize the President Pro Tempore, the Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader, in that order of precedence, should any of them rise to speak, prior to recognizing any other Senator."

SECTION 14.

Said rules are further amended by adding a new Rule 10-1.5 to read as follows:

"10-1.5 Consideration of legislation under Code Section 28-12-3.

Any legislation which is introduced pursuant to the requirements of Code Section 28-12-3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated shall be considered by the Senate under procedures specified in that Code section."