HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 3

RELATING TO TEMPORARY RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 150TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 150th General Assembly of the State of Delaware that the Temporary Rules of the House of Representatives shall be as follows:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. RULES OF ORDER

1. - Convening of House

2. - Order of Business

3. - Messages

II. DUTIES OF THE SPEAKER

4. - Order and Decorum

5. - Questions of Order; Appeal

6. - Temporary Presiding Officer; Speaker Pro Tempore

7. - Signing of Bills, Resolutions and Other Documents

8. - Appointment of Committees

9. - Assignment of Bills and Resolutions to Committee

10. - Setting the Agenda

11. - Subpoena Issuance

III. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MEMBERS

12. - Attendance of Members

13. - Quorum

14. - Addressing the House

15. - Decorum of Members on Floor of House

16. - Rules of Legislative Conduct

IV. BILLS, RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER MEASURES

17. - Resolutions and Other Measures; Definitions

18. - Preparation and Custody

19. - Introduction of Bills and Resolutions; Filing with Chief Clerk

20. - Assignment to Appropriations Committee

21. - Fiscal Notes

22. - Final Readings and Consideration by House

23. - Amendments

24. - Substitute Bills

25. - Petition of Bill or Resolution Out of Committee

26. - Voting

27. - Striking a Bill or Resolution

V. COMMITTEES

28. - Standing Committees

29. - Appointment of Special Committees

30. - Ethics Committee

31. - Joint Committees

32. - Quorum on Committees

33. - Committee Meetings

34. - Deliberative Process and Procedures of Standing Committees

35. - Passage of Measures Out of Committee

36. - Committee Reports

37. - Committee Recommendations to Appropriations Committee

38. - Committee of the Whole

VI. MOTIONS

39. - Debate and Vote on Motions

40. - Precedence of Motions

41. - Motion for Reconsideration

42. - Motion to Take from the Table

43. - Suspension of Rules

VII. CALENDAR AND AGENDA

44. - House Calendar

45. - Agenda

46. - Consent Agenda

47. - Consent Calendar

48. - Announcement of Agenda; Delivery of Bills and Resolutions

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS

49. - Offices, Parking Spaces and Seats

50. - Authorized Manual of Parliamentary Procedure

51. - Chief Clerk, Chief Clerk Emeritus and Assistant Chief Clerk

52. - Supervision of Legislative Staff

53. - Registration of News Media

54. - Registration of Lobbyists

55. - Privilege of Floor

56. - Expedited Procedures

57. - Persons on the Floor of the House

58. - Non-member Invited Speakers or Guests

59. - Repeal or Amendment of Rules

60. - Rules to be Printed

61. - State Mail, Postage and Mailing Production or Distribution Limitations

62. - Distribution of Literature to Members' Desks or Mailboxes

63. - Freedom of Information Act.

I. RULES OF ORDER

RULE 1 - CONVENING OF HOUSE

The House of Representatives shall meet every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 2:00 P.M., unless otherwise ordered. The Speaker or his or her designee shall take the chair at that time and shall call the House to order. At the beginning of each legislative day, the Speaker or his or her designee shall cause the names of the members to be called in alphabetical order. If a quorum is present, he or she shall proceed with the opening prayer, the pledge to the flag, and the business of the day.

RULE 2 - ORDER OF BUSINESS

(a) After the convening of the House, the order of business shall include the following:

(1) The minutes of the previous day shall be made public and posted by the Chief Clerk prior to the next legislative day. With the consent of a majority of members, the reading of the minutes for the previous day may be omitted.

(2) Presentation of petitions, memorials, tributes, memoriams, citations or communications.

(3) Reports from standing and special committees.

(4) Introduction and first reading of bills and resolutions.

(5) Consideration of Agenda.

(6) Consent Calendar, or Consent Agenda, when available.

(7) Announcement of committee meetings.

(8) Announcement of Agenda for next legislative day.

(b) The order of business may be changed when necessary by the Speaker unless a majority of the members present object.

RULE 3     MESSAGES

Messages from the Senate or from the Governor may be received at any time except when the roll is being called.

II. DUTIES OF THE SPEAKER

RULE 4 - ORDER AND DECORUM

(a) The Speaker shall preside and have general direction over the House Chamber, and shall preserve order and decorum. In debate, the Speaker shall confine the members to the question under discussion. No member shall have the floor except when recognized by the Speaker, or when the Speaker grants open debate between members.

(b) Cameras, recording instruments, and similar equipment or electronic devices are permitted in the House Chamber only with the permission of the Speaker.

RULE 5 - QUESTIONS OF ORDER; APPEAL

The Speaker shall decide all questions of order. An appeal from his or her decision may be made by any member, if properly seconded. The appeal shall be upheld only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the elected members. The Speaker shall not vote on any such appeal.

RULE 6 - TEMPORARY PRESIDING OFFICER, SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

(a) The Speaker may appoint a member to serve as the Temporary Presiding Officer to perform the duties of Speaker; but such appointment shall not extend beyond an adjournment or recess except when the Speaker takes a leave of absence, in which case the Speaker Pro Tempore shall perform the duties of Speaker during such leave. The Temporary Presiding Officer or the Speaker Pro Tempore shall not have authority to reassign any measure to a committee unless specifically required to do so by Rule 20, or the Speaker has taken a leave of absence or pursuant to the direction of the Speaker.

(b) When neither the elected Speaker nor the appointed Presiding Officer is present, the House shall be called to order and presided over by the Senior Member of the majority party. The Speaker Pro Tempore shall be the Senior Member of the majority party. The Senior Member is the member who has served in the House the longest current consecutive period of time. In the event more than one member has served the same length of time, the member originally sworn first shall be the Senior Member. If two or more members were sworn in at the same time, then of those two or more members the member whose name would appear first in alphabetical order shall be the Senior Member.

RULE 7 - SIGNING OF BILLS, RESOLUTIONS, AND OT