Bill Text: NJ ACR191 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises Joint Rules concerning prefiling, district offices, and information technology system.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-01-08 - Resolution Passed Senate (36-0) [ACR191 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-ACR191-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 191
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED JANUARY 2, 2024
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman JOHN DIMAIO
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Revises Joint Rules of Legislature concerning prefiling, district offices, and information technology system.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution concerning prefiling and amending the Joint Rules of the Legislature, adopting Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices, and adopting Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System.
Whereas, Pursuant to Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 3 of the New Jersey Constitution, the Senate and General Assembly each have the authority to determine their own rules of procedure, and the Legislature may pass Joint Rules for operations that are implemented in both the Senate and General Assembly; and
Whereas, the Senate and General Assembly enact Joint Rules at the beginning of each two-year term to facilitate the efficient operation of the Legislature; and
Whereas, Section B of the Joint Rules of the Senate and General Assembly concerns the prefiling of bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and resolutions; and
Whereas, The Legislature wishes to modify the procedures concerning the prefiling process, the time period during which a member or member-elect may submit a prefile list to the Office of Legislative Services, and the number of bills or resolutions which may be submitted; and
Whereas, The Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices were last adopted by Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 260 of the 217th Legislature on December 7, 2017; and
Whereas, The Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices have been updated to reflect current needs and standards for the district office program, and have been signed by the Presiding Officers; and
Whereas, It is fitting and proper for the Houses to adopt the latest Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices to more effectively and efficiently serve the members of the Legislature and their constituents; and
Whereas, The Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System were last adopted in 2005; and
Whereas, The Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System have been updated to reflect current needs, standards, and management of the Legislative Information System, and have been signed by the Presiding Officers; and
Whereas, It is fitting and proper for the Houses to adopt the latest Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System to more effectively provide for the operation, maintenance, and utilization of the Legislature's information and communication technology; and
Whereas, It is appropriate that the Legislature periodically reexamine, update, and modernize its Joint Rules; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. Joint Rule 9 is amended to read as follows:
9. Any one or more members or members elect of the Senate or General Assembly may, between November 15 and [the first Tuesday in January] December 15 of the year prior to the commencement of a two-year Legislature, prefile a bill, joint resolution, concurrent resolution or resolution for introduction in their respective Houses of the Legislature to be convened on the succeeding second Tuesday in January as in these rules provided. In any year prior to the commencement of a two-year Legislature and in which no election is held for the election of all the members of the Senate, the President may fix a date earlier than November 15 for the commencement of the prefiling period.
2. Joint Rule 10 is amended to read as follows:
10. Bills and resolutions proposed for introduction by prefiling shall be forwarded [, in triplicate,] to the Office of Legislative Services, each copy thereof endorsed with the signature of the sponsor or sponsors or with written authorization by the sponsor or sponsors that the proposal be so endorsed.
3. Joint Rule 11 is amended to read as follows:
11. The Office of Legislative Services shall cause each prefiled proposal to be time stamped, listed and numbered in the order of receipt with an appropriate Senate or General Assembly bill or resolution number and its staff shall cause the same to be examined as to form and for compliance with the Rules of the Senate or General Assembly. Upon completion of such examination as to form and endorsement thereon of a release for introduction, [a copy shall be forwarded to the Legislative Printer for printing with the number assigned thereto and bearing] the bill or resolution shall be printed with the assigned number and the legend "Prefiled for introduction in the 20- session." [The House copy, bearing the date the copy was delivered to the Printer, shall be retained for delivery to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly upon the convening and organization of the Senate or the General Assembly, as the case may be.] One copy shall be made available to the public through the Office of Public Information in the Office of Legislative Services and the Office of Legislative Services' copy shall be retained for the files of the Office of Legislative Services.
4. Joint Rule 12 is amended to read as follows:
12. Upon the [release for printing] completion of processing of a prefiled bill, joint resolution, concurrent resolution or resolution, the same shall be in the public domain as in the case of bills introduced during a session. Copies of the prefiled bills or resolutions shall be made available to the public during the prefiling period by the Office of Legislative Services.
5. Joint Rule 13 is amended to read as follows:
13. a. No member or member-elect shall prefile for reintroduction a bill or resolution, the prime sponsor of which is a member or member-elect of the Legislature, except with the concurrence of such prior prime sponsor.
b. No member or member-elect shall request for reintroduction a bill or resolution, the prime sponsor of which is a member of the Legislature, until the day after the fourth Tuesday in February of even numbered years.
6. Joint Rule 15 is amended to read as follows:
15. On the day which the Senate or General Assembly organizes by the election of its President or Speaker, as the case may be, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly shall present [copies] a list of the prefiled bills and resolutions to the President or Speaker for [his] the President's or Speaker's endorsement thereon of the Committee, if any, to which each prefiled bill or resolution is to be referred and the delivery thereof to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly for introduction and first reading on the same day or on the next two days of actual meeting of the House thereafter.
7. That the Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices, as signed by the Presiding Officers with appendices A through E, be adopted as the current Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices for use by the Legislature.
8. That the Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System, as signed by the Presiding Officers, be adopted as the current Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System for use by the Legislature.
9. This concurrent resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This resolution modifies the time period during which a member or member-elect of the Legislature may submit a prefile list to the Office of Legislative Services (OLS). Under the resolution, a member would have until December 15 of the year prior to the start of the new two-year Legislature to submit a prefile list to OLS. The resolution would also provide that a member or member-elect could not request another member's bill or resolution for introduction in the new legislative session until after the fourth Tuesday in February of even numbered years.
The resolution updates the Joint Rules to conform with the current customs of the Legislature.
The resolution adopts the latest Joint Rules Governing Legislative District Offices signed by the current Presiding Officers, for current use by the Legislature.
Finally, the resolution adopts the latest Rules Concerning the Operation, Maintenance, and Utilization of the Legislative Information System signed by the current Presiding Officers, for current use by the Legislature.
