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Introduced Version

House Resolution 1 History
 

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
HOUSE RESOLUTION 1(By Speaker Hanshaw)[Introduced January 8, 2025] Adopting the Rules of the House of DelegatesResolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:That the Rules of the House of Delegates for the 87th Legislature are hereby adopted and shall govern the proceedings of the Regular Session of the Legislature and any Extraordinary Sessions thereof insofar as applicable, subject to amendment as provided by Rule 133, to read as follows:Election and Duties of OfficersOfficers and Their Compensation1. The House, at the commencement of each Legislature, shall elect a Speaker, Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Doorkeeper. All officers, except the Speaker, shall receive such compensation as the House may determine.Vote to Elect Officers2. In the election of officers by the House, the vote shall be given by calling of the roll, and a majority of the whole number of votes given, a quorum being present, shall be necessary to elect. If, upon any vote, there be no election, the person having the lowest number of votes shall be dropped, and any votes thereafter given to such person shall not be taken into the counting to affect the result in any way. But if two or more have the lowest and equal number of votes, they may be voted for again. If there is only one nominee, the vote may be done by acclamation. A question before the House, or in committee of the whole, shall not be voted on by ballot. Duties and Rights of the SpeakerCall to Order3. The Speaker shall take the chair on each legislative day at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned; call the members to order and, after prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, if a quorum is present, proceed to the order of business. Preservation of Order4. The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum while the House is in session; enforce the rules and orders of the House; prescribe the order in which business shall come up for consideration, subject to the rules and orders of the House; announce the question of business before the House when properly requested by any member; receive all messages and communications; put to vote all questions which are properly moved; announce the result of all votes and authenticate, when necessary, the acts and proceedings of the House.Decorum in Debate5. In debate, the Speaker shall prevent personal reflections all personalities and confine members to the question under discussion, but he or she shall not engage in any debate, or propose his or her opinion on any question without first calling some other member to the chair, except as otherwise provided by these rules or other rules applicable to the proceedings of the House. When two or more members seek recognition at the same time, the Speaker shall name the one entitled to the floor. Questions of Order; Appeal the Decision of the Chair6. The Speaker shall decide all questions of order subject to an appeal to the House when demanded by any ten members, or, if in committee, ten percent of the members of the committee. The Speaker or Chair may speak to questions of order from the chair in preference to other members, and may make the concluding speech on any appeal from his or her decision, notwithstanding, he or she may have before spoken on the question; but no other members shall speak more than once on such appeal without leave of the House. If an appeal of the decision of the Chair is put before the House, the Speaker shall vacate the chair, and the Speaker Pro Tempore, as appointed by the Speaker, shall preside, and the question shall be "Shall the decision of the Chair be and remain the decision of the House?" And if a majority of the members present vote in the affirmative, the decision of the Chair shall stand. Preserving Order in Galleries7. The Speaker shall have general control of the House Chamber, lobbies, and rooms and of the corridors and passages in that part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House. In case of any disorderly conduct or disturbance in the corridors, passages or galleries; including but not limited to, signs, audible displays, flash photography or standing in the galleries; he or she shall have the power to order the same to be cleared, and may cause any person guilty of such disturbance or disorderly conduct to be brought before the bar of the House. In all such cases the members present may take such measures to prevent a repetition of such misconduct, either by the infliction of censure or such other penalty, as may be authorized by law, on the parties thus offending, as the House may deem best. Appointment of Speaker Pro Tempore, Presiding Officer in Absence of Speaker8. The Speaker shall appoint a Speaker pro tempore, who, during the absence of the Speaker, shall perform all duties of the Speaker: Provided, That the Speaker may designate any member, other than the Speaker pro tempore, who, during the absence of the Speaker, shall preside until the Speaker returns to the chair.  Appointment of House Employees9. For the performance of services required by the House, at the beginning of each regular session of the Legislature, the Speaker shall appoint such persons to various positions, in such number as deemed necessary to efficiently carry on the work of the House.At an extraordinary session of the Legislature only such persons designated for regular sessions as shall be necessary to perform the duties incident to the work of the session shall be appointed for the extraordinary session. Such persons as are appointed shall be selected with due regard to experience and qualifications.The compensation of all employees shall be fixed by resolution during each regular session. The Speaker may hire, discharge and adjust salaries of employees subsequent to the adoption of the resolution.Appointment of Committees and Subcommittees10. The Speaker shall appoint all committees, except when the House shall otherwise order. In appointing standing committees, the Speaker shall designate a Chair and may designate a Vice Chair. In the absence of the Chair of a committee having a Vice Chair, such Vice Chair shall preside, and if there be no Vice Chair, the Chair or Vice Chair shall appoint a temporary Chair or Vice Chair. When the House authorizes the appointment of a committee, the Speaker may wait until the next legislative day to appoint the same.The Speaker or Chair may also shall determine the membership, chair, vice chair and the subject matter jurisdiction of each standing committee and standing subcommittee.  to the subcommittees of standing committees, prescribe their jurisdiction and designate the Chairs thereof. Legislative proposals and other business coming within the prescribed jurisdiction of any established subcommittee of a standing committee shall upon being committed to such standing committee be referred by the Chair thereof to the appropriate subcommittee. Reports of subcommittees shall be made to the committee and not to the House. Reference of bills 10a. The Speaker shall determine the subject matter of a bill or resolution and refer such, without printing, to the appropriate committee.Chair of the Committee on Rules; Majority Leader as Vice Chair11. The Speaker shall be an ex officio voting member and Chair of the Committee on Rules, and in the absence of the Speaker, the Majority Leader, as appointed by the Speaker, shall be the Vice Chair of the committee.Acts and Writs Signed by the Speaker12. All acts shall be signed by the Speaker; and all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by the order of the House or any committee having authority to issue same shall be under his or her hand and attested by the Clerk.Putting Questions13. The Speaker shall rise to put a question but may state it sitting.Vote of the Speaker14. In all cases of a call of the yeas and nays, the Speaker shall vote, unless excused; in other cases he or she shall not be required to vote unless the House is equally divided, or unless his or her vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal and in case of such equal division the question shall be lost. When the yeas and nays are taken, the Speaker's name shall be called last.CLERK, SERGEANT-AT-ARMS AND DOORKEEPERClerkExamination of Journal15. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to examine the Journal of the House, daily, before it is read and cause all errors and omissions therein to be corrected.Charge of Clerical Business of House16. The Clerk shall have charge and supervision of all the clerical business of the House, perform the duties imposed on the Clerk by law and the rules of the House and shall have charge of the Clerk's desk and shall see that no one is permitted therein except those assisting the Clerk.Duties of Clerk17. It shall be the Clerk's duty to read to the House all papers ordered to be read; to call the roll and note and report the absentees, when a call of the House is ordered; to call the roll and note the answers of members, when a question is taken by yeas and nays; to assist, under the direction of the Speaker, in taking the count when any vote of the House is taken; to notify committees of their appointment and the business referred to them; to superintend the execution of all printing ordered by the House. He or she shall attest all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by order of the House and shall certify to the passage of all bills, and to the adoption of all joint and concurrent resolutions by the Legislature. In addition to his or her other duties, the Clerk shall keep the accounts for pay and mileage of members, officers and employees, and for printing and other contingent expenses of the House, and prepare and sign warrants or requisitions for the same.The Clerk shall superintend the recording of the Journal of the proceedings, the engrossing and enrolling of bills, and shall cause to be kept and prepared for the printer the Daily Journal of the proceedings of the House.Clerk to Have Custody of All Records18. The Clerk shall have the custody of all official records and papers of the House. and shall not allow them to be taken from the table or out of his or her possession without the leave of the House. unless to be delivered to the Chair of a committee to which they may have been referred and then he or she shall take a proper receipt therefor. The Clerk shall endorse on bills and papers brief notes of proceedings had thereon by the House and preserve the same in convenient files for reference. Appointment of Assistants Deputy Clerk19. The Clerk may appoint such assistants and other personnel as is authorized by code, resolution or by the Rules of the House, and shall have the power to remove any appointee and appoint another in his or her stead. If the clerk is unavailable, a deputy clerk may attend to the proceedings of the House. Clerk to Have Charge of All Printing; Corrections20. The Clerk is authorized to correct errors and omissions and make stylistic and technical changes to legislative documents or publications, including the Acts of the Legislature and the official bound Journal of the House to conform to legislative action.The Clerk shall have supervision and charge of all printing done for the House and the printer shall print only such documents and other matter as the Clerk authorizes.Payment for Printing21. Printing of bills and daily journals will be done in the Legislative Print Shop. Bound material and other legislative printing which cannot be done with machines owned or leased by the House of Delegates or the Joint Committee on Government and Finance will be contracted in accordance with Section 34, Article 6 of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia.Sergeant- at-ArmsDuties22. It shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms to attend the House and the Committee of the Whole during their sittings and to maintain order under the direction of the Speaker. He or she shall execute the commands of the House from time to time, together with such process, issued by the authority thereof, as shall be directed by the Speaker.Under the direction of the Speaker, the Sergeant-at-Arms shall superintend the distribution of all documents and papers to be distributed to the members. He or she shall see that no person, except those authorized to do so, disturbs or interferes with the desks of the members, or with the books, papers, etc., thereat.DoorkeeperDuties23. It shall be the duty of the Doorkeeper to attend the House during its sessions, and to have all messages announced. He or she shall have charge of the main door of the House Chamber during the sittings of the House, and shall see that the other doors are properly attended; have general charge and oversight of the assistant doorkeepers; detail such assistant doorkeepers for such general or special duties as the Sergeant-at-Arms may deem proper; assist the Sergeant-at-Arms in seeing that the rules relating to admission to the floor are strictly enforced, and shall perform such other duties as the Speaker or the House may order.Rights and Duties of MembersAbsence From the House24. No member shall absent himself from the service of the House unless he or she have leave, or be sick and unable to attend, but any member who conscientiously believes that his or her absence is necessary to observe the Sabbath or other religious observance shall be excused from attending upon the House on that day.Every Member to Vote25. Every member present when a question is put, or when his or her name is called, shall vote unless he or she is immediately and particularly interested therein, or the House excuses him or her. A motion to excuse a member from voting must be made before the House divides, or before the call of the yeas and nays is commenced, and it shall be decided without debate, except that the member making the motion may briefly state the reason therefor.Members Shall Be in Places When Voting26. While the yeas and nays are being taken every member shall be in his or her seat, as designated by the Speaker, and during the session of the House no person other than a member shall occupy the chair of a member.Quorum27. A majority of all the members elected to the House shall be necessary to proceed to business; seven members may adjourn, and ten members may order a call of the House, send for absentees, and make any order for their censure or discharge. On a call of the House, the doors shall not be closed against any member until his name shall have been called twice.When Less Than Quorum Present28. In case a number less than a quorum of the House shall convene, they may send the Sergeant-at-Arms, or any other person or persons by them authorized, for any absent member as the majority of such members shall agree, at the expense of such absent members, respectively, unless such excuse for nonattendance shall be made as the House, when a quorum is convened, shall judge sufficient; and, in that case, the expense shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. This rule shall apply to the first meeting of the House, at the legal time of meeting, as well as to each day of the session after the hour has arrived to which the House stood adjourned.Taking Members into Custody29. No member of the House shall be taken into custody by the Sergeant-at-Arms, on any question of complaint of breach of privilege, until the matter is examined by the Committee on Rules, and reported to the House of Delegates, unless by order of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.Punishment of Members30. The House of Delegates may punish its own members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds of the members elected thereto, expel a member, but not twice for the same offense.Providing for Undisturbed Transaction of Business31. The House of Delegates may punish, by imprisonment, any person not a member, for disrespectful behavior in its presence; for obstructing any of its proceedings, or any of its officers in the discharge of his duties, or for any assault, threat or abuse of any member for words spoken in debate; but such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the termination of the session.Order and Decorum in DebateRecognition and Decorum32. When a member is about to speak in debate or deliver any matter to the House, he or she shall rise in his or her place and upon being recognized, respectfully address the presiding officer as "MR. SPEAKER" or "MADAM SPEAKER", as may be appropriate, and proceed, confining himself or herself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous or disrespectful language. Signs, banners, placards, and other similar demonstrative devices are not permitted in the House Chamber while in session.Recognition by the Chair33. When two or more members shall rise or request recognition, the Speaker shall name the one who is to speak first, and the decision shall be final and not open to debate or appeal.Mover of Question to Have Preference in Debate34. No question shall be debated until it has been propounded by the Speaker, and then the mover of the question shall have the right to open and close the debate thereon. When the question is the passage of a bill or adoption of a resolution, the Speaker may designate a member to explain the bill or resolution who shall have the right to open and close debate.Member Out of Order and Raising Points of Order or Inquiries of the Chair35. When a member transgresses the rules of the House, the Speaker shall, or any member may, by rising, announcing a point of order, and stating the specific rule and provision of addressing the rule being violated when called upon by the Speaker, call him or her to order; in which case the member so called to order shall immediately sit down, but may be permitted, with leave of the House, to explain; and the House shall, if appealed to, decide the case, but without debate. If there be no appeal, the decision of the Chair shall be submitted to; if the decision be in favor of the member so called to order, he or she is at liberty to proceed; if the decision be against him or her, and the case requires it, he or she shall be liable to the censure of the House, or such other punishment as the House may properly impose.Any member may at any time make an inquiry of the Chair by rising, announcing his or her inquiry and upon recognition by the Speaker, stating his or her point.Calling to Order for Words Spoken in Debate36. If a member be called to order for words spoken in debate, the person calling the member to order shall ask that the Clerk take