Bill Summary for H 16 (2019-2020)

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Summary date: 

Jan 30 2019

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2019-2020 Session
House Bill 16 (Public) Filed Wednesday, January 30, 2019
A HOUSE RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE PERMANENT RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 2019 REGULAR SESSION.
Intro. by Lewis.

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Bill summary

Adopts the permanent rules of the House of Representatives, which are the same as the temporary rules adopted in H1, with the following changes.

Amends Rule 1, providing that no votes may be taken on April 22 through April 26 of 2019 or July 1 through July 6 of 2019, other than votes on motions to approve the journal or adjourn.

Amends Rule 4, removing language requiring the appearance of a quorum before the Speaker can call for the Journal report.

Modifies Rule 5, adding to the order of business of the day: reports of permanent subcommittees, reports of referral by standing committee chairs of bills to permanent subcommittees, and reports of referral by permanent subcommittee chairs of bills to the standing committee.

Makes organizational and clarifying changes to Rule 8.1. Modifies language to refer to points of personal privilege rather than statements of personal privilege and separates points of personal privilege from representative statements. Makes conforming changes throughout.

Amends Rule 9, specifying that questions of order are not debatable once raised. Removes language permitting the Speaker to speak to points of order in preference to other members arising from their seats for that purpose. 

Amends Rule 12, prohibiting male members and visitors from wearing any head covering in the Chamber while the House is in Session unless his religion requires his head to be covered. Specifies that cell phones are not permitted in the Chamber for the purpose of calls while the House is in session.

Amends Rule 13 concerning motions. Requires any complex, complicated, or otherwise not easily understood motion to be reduced to writing at the request of the Speaker or any other member (was, every motion must be reduced to writing if the Speaker or any two members request it).

Amends Rule 19, permitting the member in charge of the measure, so designated by the chair of the permanent subcommittee, to call the previous question.

Amends Rule 20, requiring votes to be taken electronically for all amendments to public bills (rather than all amendments to public bills offered after second reading).

Amends Rule 21, permitting (rather than requiring) all votes not required to be taken electronically to be taken by voice vote.

Amends Rule 24.1B, clarifying that the rules regarding motions for division of bills also apply to motions for division of amendments. Requires a motion for the division of an amendment to be in writing, submitted to the Principal Clerk at the time the motion is made, and clearly state how the question is to be divided. Requires a majority vote of members present and voting for adoption of the motion for division of the amendment, thereby requiring the body to debate and vote each amendment separately. Clarifies that any member can call for a bill to be divided into two or more propositions to be voted on separately so long as the bill is subject to division as previously described. Modifies existing language to require for debate and voting on each division (previously, further amendment or debate on any of the distinct propositions was prohibited after the motion for division of the bill is adopted). Makes conforming changes. 

Amends Rule 26, to require the Speaker to appoint chairs for permanent subcommittees and membership of permanent subcommittees. Requires that those chairs be a vice-chair of the standing committee. Makes the Chair of the Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of he House, the Speaker Pro Tempore, the Majority Leader, and the Deputy Majority Leader ex officio members of each standing committee (except the Committee on Ethics) and permanent subcommittee with the right to vote. Makes the chair of a standing committee a voting member of each of the committee's permanent subcommittees. Sets out provisions for establishing a permanent subcommittee's quorum. 

Amends Rule 27, adding standing Committees on Banking and on Homelessness, Foster Care, and Dependency, while removing the Baking Committee.

Amends Rule 28 to prohibit standing committees and permanent subcommittees from meting from April 22-26, or July 1-6 of 2019. 

Amends the following rules so that they are also applicable to permanent subcommittees: Rule 28 (standing Committee and Permanent Subcommittee meetings); Rule 29 (Notice of Standing Committee and Permanent Subcommittee Meetings and Hearings); Rule 29.1 (Public Hearings); and Rule 29.2 (Minutes to Legislative Library).

Amends Rule 32, allowing bills to be referred upon first reading to a permanent subcommittee or select committee. Also allows for serial referral to a permanent subcommittee. Make conforming changes throughout. Allows bills establishing Congressional or Legislative districts to be placed on the calendar without being referred to a committee or permanent subcommittee and allows those bills to be placed on the calendar on the same day as the bill was introduced or received from the Senate. Allows a standing committee chair to refer bills referred to the committee to the permanent subcommittee specifically charged with the subject matter of the bill. Requires a report of the referral to be made in writing and submitted to be the body. Requires the permanent subcommittee to report the bill back to the committee and requires that the report include one of the six specified recommendations. Sets out further action that may be taken by the committee once the bill has been referred back to it by the subcommittee. Sets out who must provide consent to and who may move for the re-referral of a bill to another standing committee; requires the bill then be re-referred upon vote of the majority present during a regular House session (this provision was previously found in Rule 39.1). Allows the Speaker to remove a bill from the assigned committee and re-refer the bill to another committee. Requires all public bills and resolutions reported by any standing committee or permanent subcommittee to also have been reported on by the Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House before it can be calendared for consideration by the House (allows this rule to be waived by leave of the House).

Amends Rule 35.1, deleting the requirement that a bill proposing to establish an occupational or professional licensing board or a study for the need of such a board to include an assessment report from the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations.

Amends Rules 36, allowing the chair of a permanent subcommittee to report a bill directly to the floor upon written approval of the chair of the standing committee and with the recommendation of the subcommittee. If the chair of the standing committee does not give such approval, the chair of the permanent subcommittee must refer the bill to the standing committee. Allows bills establishing Congressional or Legislative districts to be placed on the calendar on the same day as it is reported favorably by a committee or a permanent subcommittee. Makes additional clarifying changes. Moves the requirement that proposed committee substitutes be distributed to the specified entities by 9:00 pm of the preceding day from Rule 36 into new Rule 36.1A, makes clarifying changes, and adds an exception for proposed committee substitutes establishing Congressional or Legislative districts.

Moves the provisions on actuarial notes into new Rule 36.2. Makes conforming changes by referring to bills referred to permanent subcommittees.

Amends Rule 40, concerning calendars and schedules of business, to exclude bills establishing Congressional or Legislative districts.

Amends Rule 41, concerning the reading of bills, by making exceptions for bills establishing Congressional or Legislative districts. Makes organizational changes.

Amends Rule 43, providing that a House amendment deleting a previously adopted House amendment is not in order (no longer makes an exception for those amendments adopted under Rule 38(c)).

Amends Rule 44, requiring that no vote be taken on adopting a conference report on the Current Operations Appropriations Bill or a bill revising the Current Operations Appropriations Act until the second (was, third) legislative day following the report. Allows a conference report for a bill establishing Congressional or Legislative districts to be placed on the calendar for the legislative day the report is submitted.

Amends Rule 48, specifying that each permanent subcommittee is to have a committee assistant.

Amends Rule 53, prohibiting male visitors from wearing a head covering in the House gallery while the House is in session, unless his religion requires his head to be recovered.

Amends Rule 61.1 to also require that, when available, chairs of permanent subcommittees be assigned an office adjacent to the room in with the permanent subcommittee generally meets if desired by the chair.

Makes additional clarifying changes.