Joint Rules of Order of the Senate and House of Representatives

A. The session shall be called to order and presided over by the president of the Senate, or, in the case of his absence, by the president pro tempore of the Senate; or by the senator who may be presiding over the Senate at the time of the entrance of the Senate into the House of Representatives.

B. A quorum of the legislature in joint session shall consist of a majority of the members of each house elected thereto.

C. The following shall be the order of business during a joint session of the two houses of the legislature:

(1) Roll call first of the Senate by the secretary, and then of the House by the clerk.

(2) Balloting for such officer or officers as are required to be elected by the legislature in joint session.

(3) The transaction of any other business which is required by the constitution or by the law to be done by the legislature in joint session.

(4) The transaction of the business for which the joint session was especially called.

D. The only motions which shall be entertained in the joint session are the following which shall have precedence in the order enumerated, and shall be decided without debate:

(1) That the roll call be dispensed with.

(2) That the Senate do withdraw to its own chamber until a time fixed.

(3) That the Senate do withdraw to its own chamber.

(4) That the legislature do proceed to the election of.

(5) That the legislature do proceed to another ballot in the matter under consideration.

(6) That the legislature do proceed to ballot for another or different officer.

(7) That the yeas and nays be taken, which shall be ordered at the desire of one-fifth vote.

(8) That the yeas and nays on any question be entered on the Journal, which shall be ordered at the desire of one-fifth of the members.

E. The proceedings of the joint session of the legislature shall be recorded and published in the journal of each house, by their respective clerk or secretary.

Joint Rule No. 2. Presentation of Bills to Governor After Sine Die Adjournment

A bill passed by both houses of the legislature shall be signed by the presiding officers and delivered by the chief clerical officer of the house of origin to the governor within three days after passage. The signature and date of delivery of any bill signed and delivered to the governor after sine die adjournment of the legislature shall be noticed by the chief clerical officers of each house in the official journals of the last day's proceedings, of the respective house, for which purpose said officers are authorized to make appropriate insertions therein.

A. Composition

There is hereby created a Legislative Bureau to be composed of two members of the legislature, one to be selected by each house and ex officio, the secretary of the Senate, the clerk of the House of Representatives, and the executive director of the legislative council.

B. Referral and Report

Each bill and joint resolution and each concurrent resolution proposing the suspension of a law, shall be referred to the Legislative Bureau prior to its advancement to third reading in the house where it did not originate for examination and report as to construction and duplication, which report shall be advisory only and may contain proposed amendments. Additionally, the Legislative Bureau shall similarly examine each such instrument upon its engrossment and passage to third reading in the house of origin and shall make such recommendations for floor amendments with respect thereto as may be deemed advisable.

C. Amendments

The Legislative Bureau report is privileged and may be received and acted upon at any time, and all of the amendments proposed to all bills or other legislative matter intended to have the effect of law included in said report may be adopted upon a single motion to that effect unless an objection is made thereto, and then all bills or other matter contained in said report may be advanced to third reading upon a single motion to that effect.

A.(1)(a) The legislative auditor shall be responsible for fiscal notes affecting either:

(i) The expenditures of any political subdivision of the state whose boundaries are not coterminous with the state.

(ii) The receipt, expenditure, allocation, or dedication of the funds of any state board, commission, or other entity which is not appropriated any funds in any appropriation bill.

(b) The legislative fiscal office shall be responsible for other fiscal notes under this Rule.

(2) Every bill and joint resolution which:

(a) Will affect the receipt, expenditure, allocation, or dedication, in an estimated amount, as determined by the legislative fiscal officer, of one hundred thousand dollars or more in any one fiscal year of either state funds or of the funds of any statewide political subdivision of the state whose boundaries are coterminous with the state;

(b) Will authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds or other general obligations of the state or such political subdivision;

(c) Concerns any program wholly or partially funded by federal monies and involves an expenditure in an amount of one hundred thousand dollars or more in any one fiscal year of state funds or funds of any such political subdivision; or

(d) Will affect the receipt, allocation, or dedication of the funds of any political subdivision of the state whose boundaries are not coterminous with the state,

shall have attached to it prior to its consideration by any committee of either house, unless the committee otherwise decides, and prior to its consideration on final passage in either house, if requested pursuant to Paragraph B, a fiscal note prepared by the Legislative Fiscal Office which shall include a reliable estimate of the fiscal effect of such measure. When the fiscal note is prepared on a measure covered by Item (A)(2)(c), it shall reflect the immediate and long-range fiscal effect on the state or the political subdivision of any such program and include the length of time federal funds are to be provided and the probable amount of state funds or funds of such political subdivision required to continue the program.

(3) Every bill and joint resolution which:

(a) Will affect the receipt, expenditure, allocation, or dedication of the funds of any state board, commission, or other entity which is not appropriated any funds in any appropriation bill;

(b) Will affect the expenditure of the funds of any political subdivision of the state whose boundaries are included in and are not coterminous with the state; or

(c) Concerns any program wholly or partially funded by federal monies and which involves an expenditure or allocation of funds of any such political subdivision,

shall have attached to it prior to its consideration by any committee of either house, unless the committee otherwise decides, and prior to its consideration on final passage in either house, if requested pursuant to Paragraph B, a fiscal note prepared by the legislative auditor's office which shall include a reliable estimate of the fiscal effect of such measure. When the fiscal note is prepared on a measure covered by Item (A)(3)(c), it shall also reflect the immediate and long-range fiscal effect on the political subdivision of any such program and include the length of time federal funds are to be provided and the probable amount of funds of a political subdivision required to continue the program.

(4) A fiscal note shall not constitute a part of the law proposed by the measure to which it is attached.

(5) The chief clerical officer of either house, the author of the bill, joint resolution, or amendment, or the chairman of the respective committee may request a fiscal note from the appropriate legislative officer on a bill, joint resolution, or amendment with an expenditure, allocation, or dedication in an estimated amount, as determined by the legislative fiscal officer, of less than one hundred thousand dollars.

B.(1) Subject to Subparagraphs (B)(3) and (4), the author of a measure which has a fiscal effect shall be responsible for obtaining a fiscal note either directly or through the staff of the house in which the author serves.

(2) Within seven days after the transmittal to the author of a measure along with a memorandum indicating the measure may have a fiscal effect, the author may instruct, in writing addressed to the chief clerical officer of the house in which the member serves, that a fiscal note be obtained or that no fiscal note be obtained. If the author instructs that no fiscal note be obtained, no request for a fiscal note will be made prior to the prefiling or introduction of the measure, except as provided in Subparagraph (B)(3). Each written instruction received shall be recorded and preserved in the file maintained for the measure.

(3) If no written instruction is received within the time period set forth in Subparagraph (B)(2), the chief clerical officer of the house in which the author is a member may request a fiscal note for the measure at any time prior to prefiling or introduction. In determining whether a fiscal note should be requested, due consideration shall be given to the recommendation of the staff of the house in which the author is a member.

(4) In addition, at prefiling or introduction, the chief clerical officer may request a fiscal note and the chairman of the committee to which such measure is referred may request a fiscal note immediately upon referral of the measure.

(5) On the third business day following the receipt of a request for a fiscal note the appropriate legislative officer shall notify, in writing, the author, the member who made the request pursuant to this Rule, and the chief clerical officer of the appropriate house whether the measure has a fiscal effect as specified in either Subparagraph (A)(2) or (3). At prefiling or introduction of the measure or thereafter when notification is received by the chief clerical officer of the appropriate house, a copy of such notification shall be attached to the measure and a listing of all such determinations shall be distributed to the membership of the legislature.

(6) When a fiscal note is requested, the legislative officer to whom the request is made shall be responsible for obtaining, directly or through another agency or through a political subdivision or agency thereof, the information necessary to complete the fiscal note from the agency or political subdivision or agency thereof best suited to furnish the information in the judgment of the legislative officer. Such entity furnishing the information shall do so within forty-eight hours after the request is made, and within twenty-four hours thereafter the legislative officer shall prepare the fiscal note and transmit it to the author, the member who made the request pursuant to this Rule, and to the secretary or clerk. The member or chief clerical officer requesting the fiscal note may approve an extension of time within which the information is to be furnished to the legislative officer or within which the legislative officer is to furnish the fiscal note.

C.(1) Fiscal note forms, which shall consist of two parts, a work sheet and a fiscal effect form, shall be prepared and distributed by the appropriate legislative officer to the appropriate agencies and political subdivisions and agencies thereof.

(2) The fiscal effect form shall be factual, brief, and concise, and shall provide an estimate in dollars of the immediate and long-range fiscal effect of the measure. If no dollar estimate is possible, the fiscal note shall set forth the reasons therefor. The fiscal note shall not contain reference to the merits of the measure. If the measure imposes a fee or changes or removes an existing fee, the fiscal note shall include the actual cost in dollars of the service provided pursuant to the fee, as well as the estimate in dollars of the revenue that the measure would raise or for which it would remove authorization and an estimate as to the amount, if any, by which the revenue raised by the fee materially exceeds the cost of the service.

(3) The work sheet shall include a breakdown of the costs that the measure is expected to cause, such as personnel, materials, supplies, and capital outlay, the effect on expenditure or allocation or receipt of funds and such other pertinent information as may be appropriate.

(4) Where a bill authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds or other general obligations of the state, the work sheet shall include, where applicable, the following information with respect to each facility or project in said bill for which funds realized from the sale of said bonds or other general obligations are expended:

(a) Total cost of the facility or project, including interest and bond fees.

(b) The length of time the facility or project has been included in the capital budget.

(c) The agency, board, commission, or department recommending the project, if any.

(d) The size of the staff, if any, that will be required to operate the project or facility.

(e) If a staff is required, how many members thereof will be new employees.

(f) Estimated total personnel cost for the first full year of operation of the project or facility, which estimate shall include salaries, retirement contributions, overtime pay estimates, and fringe benefits.

(g) Whether or not the plans and specifications therefor are prepared.

(h) Projected maintenance budget for said project or facility for the next five years.

(i) Size of the estimated client or user population.

(j) Whether or not client or user fees will be charged; and, if so, the amount of such fees, the estimate of the avails thereof, and what percentage of the proposed operating budget such avails amount to.

(k) Whether or not federal or other or nonstate funds are available for operating expenses of the project or facility, and, if so, (the percentage of) what matching funds are required, if any, and the number of years for which said federal or other nonstate funds are available.

(l) If said funds are to be used for repairs to an existing project or facility, the estimated life of the repair, the time of the last major repair to said project or facility, and the present client or user population thereof.

(m) Whether or not the project or facility proposed is complete in itself or if the same is part of another project or facility.

(n) Who made the estimate of the cost of said project or facility, and on what basis.

(o) The anticipated date of commencement of construction, and the completion thereof.

(5) The fiscal note shall be prepared in quintuplicate, and the name of the agency or political subdivision or agency thereof furnishing the information required shall appear at the end of the fiscal note and the original of both the work sheet and the fiscal effect form shall be signed by the appropriate legislative officer or his designee. If a discrepancy exists between the fiscal note and the information provided by the agency pertaining to the fiscal note, then the information as submitted by the agency shall be included with the fiscal note.

D. Whenever any committee of either house reports any measure with any amendment which alters the fiscal effect of the measure, there shall be attached to the reported measure a fiscal note delineating the fiscal effect of the change proposed by the amendment. The committee chairman shall request such note from the appropriate legislative officer. In like manner, whenever a floor amendment which would alter the fiscal effect of the measure is proposed without a fiscal note of the fiscal effect of such amendment attached thereto, any member of the house in question may offer a motion that the amendment be withdrawn. The amendment may be proposed again at any time it would otherwise be in order, provided that the required fiscal note is attached. It shall be the responsibility of the member proposing such a floor amendment to secure any required fiscal note from the appropriate legislative officer either directly or through the staff of the house in which the member serves.

E. Whenever a measure requiring a fiscal note has been reported by any committee of either house of the legislature without a fiscal note any member may, on third reading of such measure, offer a motion that the measure be returned to the calendar.

F.(1) Prior to the prefiling or introduction of a measure for which a request for a fiscal note has been made, all communications and documents concerning the measure shall be confidential and may not be divulged to anyone other than the author, the chief clerical officer and the staff of the house in which the author serves, the legislative fiscal officer and his staff, and the legislative auditor and his staff.

(2) Agencies or political subdivisions and agencies thereof involved in the preparation of the required information for a fiscal note shall keep in strict confidence the subject matter of the proposed measure and the information contained in the fiscal note prior to the filing or prefiling of such measure with the chief clerical officer of the respective house.

G. A fiscal note shall not be required for the General Appropriation Bill, the Capital Outlay Bill, any bill which appropriates funds and which will not require funding beyond the amount appropriated, nor for any measure affecting funds for retirement purposes. In lieu of a fiscal note, an actuarial note shall be attached to any retirement measure pursuant to R.S. 24:521.

H. Repealed by HCR No. 121 of 1998 RS

I. Repealed by HCR No. 121 of 1998 RS

A. In accordance with the provisions of Article III, Section 2(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the procedures herein shall apply to a bill which is determined to be a duplicate of a bill introduced in the other house. Prior to the designation of a bill as a duplicate of a bill introduced in the other house, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, with the agreement of the lead authors of the bills, shall jointly certify that the bill qualifies as a duplicate bill and shall present such certification as provided in this Joint Rule.

B. Upon introduction and upon joint certification of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate to the presiding officer of the appropriate house, a bill in either house may be designated as a duplicate of a bill introduced in the other house.

C. Upon being reported by a committee, a bill shall be designated as a duplicate of a bill which was introduced in the other house provided the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate have jointly certified such bill to be a duplicate to the chairman of the committee and the committee has adopted a separate motion to so designate the bill.

D. Upon the approval of a majority of the members present, a bill on second or third reading may be designated as a duplicate of a bill which was introduced in the other house provided the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate have jointly certified such bill to be a duplicate to the presiding officer of the appropriate house.

E.(1) Each duplicate bill which is certified as required herein and designated as a duplicate by the house of origin shall recite, after its number, the number of the bill that it duplicates, as follows: "Duplicate of _____ Bill No. _____".

(2) Each duplicate bill which is certified as required herein and designated as a duplicate by the house of origin shall recite, below the number of the bill that it duplicates, the name of the primary author of the bill from the house in which the bill is introduced immediately followed by the name of the primary author of the bill it duplicates from the other house which shall be followed by the name(s) of any coauthor(s) from the same house as the primary author of the bill and the name(s) of any coauthor(s) from the same house of the primary author of the bill that it duplicates. The form shall be as follows: "BY (title and name of primary author in house of origin) AND (title and name of primary author in other house) COAUTHORED BY (title and name(s) of coauthor(s) in house of origin) AND (title and name(s) of coauthor(s) in other house)".

F. A bill from the other house which is certified as required herein and which is designated a duplicate of or determined to be identical or substantially similar to a bill introduced in the receiving house may be conformed to the bill which it duplicates or which is substantially similar in the receiving house, if the bill introduced in the receiving house has been reported favorably, with amendments, or by substitute by a committee and has been ordered engrossed and passed to a third reading. At the second reading of the bill from the other house, it shall be in order to offer amendments, if necessary, to conform the bill to the bill introduced in the receiving house. If certified as required herein and amended to conform, the conformed bill, then designated a duplicate bill, shall be referred to the Legislative Bureau in lieu of being referred to committee. If no amendments were necessary to conform the bill or upon the approval of a majority of the elected members of the receiving house, it shall be in order to refer the bill to the Legislative Bureau in lieu of being referred to committee and if so referred to the Legislative Bureau, the bill shall be designated a duplicate bill. The bill of which it is a duplicate which was introduced in the receiving house shall be returned to the calendar subject to call in the order of business to which it had otherwise last advanced.

G. Except for the requirements of referral to and report by a committee in the second house, duplicate bills shall be enacted into law only by the same vote and according to the same procedures and formalities required for enactment of other bills and joint resolutions and duplicate concurrent resolutions shall be adopted by the same vote and according to the same procedures as otherwise required.

H. Each duplicate bill which is finally passed by the legislature shall be enrolled to recite, after its number, the number of the bill that it duplicates, as follows: "Duplicate of _____ Bill No. _____". On the following line, the enrolled bill shall recite the name of the primary author of the bill from the house in which the bill is introduced immediately followed by the name of the primary author of the bill it duplicates from the other house which shall be followed by the name(s) of any coauthor(s) from the same house as the primary author of the bill and the name(s) of any coauthor(s) from the same house of the primary author of the bill that it duplicates as follows: "BY (title and name of primary author in house of origin) AND (title and name of primary author in other house) COAUTHORED BY (title and name(s) of coauthor(s) in house of origin) AND (title and name(s) of coauthor(s) in other house)".

I. For the purposes of this Joint Rule, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Bill" shall include a bill, a concurrent resolution, and a joint resolution, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(2) "Duplicate bill" shall mean a bill filed in one house which has been designated as being identical or substantially similar to a bill filed in the other house, a bill which has been determined to be identical to a bill in the receiving house, and a bill which has been conformed by amendments adopted by the receiving house to make the bill identical to a bill introduced in the receiving house.

(3) "Amendments to conform" shall mean amendments which are necessary to make a bill identical to a bill introduced in the receiving house as reported by committee.

A. The legislative council shall prepare and distribute to members of the house which shall next consider the bill:

(1) A redigest, as it was reported by committee in the house of origin, of each bill or joint resolution to which substantive committee amendments are adopted by committee in the house of origin.

(2) A redigest, as it was finally passed by the house of origin, of each bill or joint resolution to which substantive floor amendments are adopted by the house of origin.

(3) A redigest, as it was reported by committee in the second house, of each bill or joint resolution to which substantive committee amendments are adopted by committee in the second house.

B. Below each such redigest the legislative council shall include a statement summarizing the proposed committee amendments, in the case of the redigest of bills reported by committee, or the floor amendments adopted, in the case of the redigest of bills finally passed by the house of origin.

Joint Rule No. 7. Committee Meetings Prohibited during Orientation Conference

No legislative committee meeting shall be held during the time a meeting or session of the annual orientation conference for legislators, for which provision is made in R.S. 24:34(A), is being held.

A. No action shall be taken by a joint committee created under authority of Senate Rule 13.12 and House Rule 6.29, by concurrent resolution, or pursuant to study request, or by a joint subcommittee thereof, except by the favorable vote of a majority of the members thereof from each house present and voting, each house voting separately, a quorum of the joint committee or subcommittee being present.

B. A quorum of a joint committee or a joint subcommittee shall consist of a majority of the total membership thereof.

C. A joint committee meeting shall constitute a meeting of the respective House and Senate committees or subcommittees, and notice of the joint committee meeting shall constitute notice of the respective House and Senate committees or subcommittees, and the respective committees or subcommittees of each house may take independent action at such meeting.

D. The position of chairman, vice chairman, and any other officer for the Legislative Audit Advisory Council, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, or any joint subcommittee thereof, shall rotate in even-numbered years on the second Monday in January between the members of the House of Representatives and the members of the Senate who serve on each such joint legislative body. The members of each such joint legislative body shall, in selecting such officers as provided by law, take the action necessary to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this Paragraph.

A. Either or both houses may express tribute in the form of a printed certificate upon the request of one or more members of the legislature.

B. Requests for a congratulatory certificate shall be filed with the clerk or secretary of his respective house. The clerk and the secretary shall maintain the printed forms of the certificate and shall properly fill in such forms upon request. The clerk and secretary shall regularly distribute to the membership of the respective house a list of proposed recipients and the nature of the reason for the commendation. Following the lapse of three calendar days from the date of distribution of such list, the presiding officer shall cause the certificate of commendation to be issued and transmitted to the recipient if no objection thereto by any member has been filed in writing with the clerk or secretary. If objection has been filed, the member requesting the certificate may put the question of the issuance thereof to the full house by motion. Such motion shall be a nonprivileged, incidental motion, in order only during the morning hour, and shall be debatable. If such motion be adopted by the respective house, the presiding officer shall cause the certificate to be issued and transmitted. The presiding officer of either house, in his discretion, may waive the three-day period for objection when the person or persons to be commended or congratulated are present in the chamber or when the date of the occasion or event which is being recognized makes an expedited issuance of the certificate advisable.

A bill submitted on the recommendation of the Louisiana State Law Institute may be introduced and considered by the Senate and House of Representatives in pamphlet form and, whether in pamphlet form or not, may include introductory comments and explanatory comments following proposed sections or articles.

Comments included in the bill shall not be enactments of the legislature, and shall be included only as explanatory language, and shall not be law, but may be printed in the official edition of the pertinent law with such changes to be made therein by the Louisiana State Law Institute as it may deem necessary to accurately reflect the sections or articles as enacted, or subsequently amended.

No vote shall be taken by the House of Representatives on final passage of the capital outlay bill after the fifty-fifth calendar day of any regular session of the Louisiana Legislature and no vote on final passage of any such bill shall be taken by the Senate after the eightieth day of any regular session.

Upon the written request of any member of the Legislature, on forms which shall be furnished by the clerk or secretary, any member or members shall be added or deleted as a co-author to any legislative instrument at any time prior to enrollment of the instrument. Such a request shall not constitute an amendment to the legislative instrument.

A. During a legislative session, to request that a study be conducted by a standing committee of either house or of both houses during the interim between sessions of the legislature, a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives shall file a written request therefor with the chief clerical officer of the house of which he is a member.

The request shall be styled "Senate Study Request No. ____", "Senate Concurrent Study Request No. ____", "House Study Request No. ____", or "House Concurrent Study Request No. ____"; the request shall state:

(1) The name of the member making the request.

(2) The subject matter of the study.

(3) Reasons for or information concerning the study as the requesting member deems necessary or expedient.

(4) The committee or committees requested to conduct the study.

B. The secretary or clerk, as the case may be, shall number each study request in the order in which received.

C. If a presiding officer determines that the subject matter of the requested study does not fall within the jurisdiction of the committee named in the study request in accordance with the rules of the house over which he presides, he may substitute the name of the appropriate committee.

D. The clerk or secretary shall periodically distribute to the members of the house a list of proposed interim study requests filed with him requesting studies to be conducted by standing committees of that house or by standing committees of both houses. The list shall indicate the request number, the member making the request, the committee or committees by which the study is to be conducted, and a brief description of the subject to be studied.

Objection to a study request may be raised by filing written objection with the clerk or secretary, as the case may be, within two days the day the list is distributed. If less than one-third of the total membership of the house file objection timely, the request shall be considered approved. If objection by at least one-third of the total membership of the house is filed timely, the request shall not be considered approved. However, the requesting member may make a motion for its approval and the question of approval shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present and voting. Such motion shall be a nonprivileged incidental motion, in order only during the Morning Hour and shall be debatable.

Upon approval of a request for a study by a standing committee of one house, the chief clerical officer shall transmit a copy of the study request to the author of the request and to the chairman of the committee named therein.

Upon approval in the house of origin of a request for a study by standing committees of the two houses, the chief clerical officer shall transmit a copy of the request to the chief clerical officer of the second house, and the procedure set forth above shall be followed. Upon approval in the second house, the request shall be returned to the house of origin, shall be prepared in final form, and the chief clerical officer shall transmit a copy thereof to the requesting member and to the chairman of the committees designated to conduct the study.

A. In accordance with R.S. 49:150.1, Building A of the Pentagon Barracks is allocated to the House of Representatives, Building D of the Pentagon Barracks is allocated to the Senate; the first floor of Building B of the Pentagon Barracks is allocated to the House of Representatives and the second floor of Building B is allocated to the Senate.

B. Building C of the Pentagon Barracks shall be allocated for the use of the governor, lieutenant governor and the office of tourism. The north one-half of Building C, both lower and upper floors, shall be for the exclusive use of the lieutenant governor. The upper floor of the south one-half of Building C shall be for the exclusive use of the governor. The lower floor of the south one-half of Building C shall be for the exclusive use of the office of tourism.

C. The House of Representatives, the Senate, or any officer or agency thereof shall not make or cause to be made any change in the exterior design, the exterior materials, or the exterior appearance of any building of the Pentagon Barracks or any change in the grounds of the Pentagon Barracks or any change in the grounds of the Pentagon Barracks other than appropriate plantings to enhance the structures and the grounds. This Rule shall not prevent ordinary maintenance or repairs to the buildings which do not involve a change of exterior design, of exterior materials, or in the outward appearance of the buildings.

D. Other than motor vehicles belonging to the Division of State Buildings, no motor vehicle shall be allowed on the courtyard grounds of Pentagon Barracks without the express written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Prior to the issuance of such authorization, the Speaker and President shall consider whether or not it is necessary for the vehicle to have access to the grounds and how much damage the vehicle may cause.

The specified floors of the State Capitol are allocated as follows:

(1) The seventh through twelfth floors, inclusive, are allocated to the House of Representatives.

(2) The thirteenth floor is allocated to the Legislative Budgetary Control Council for the purpose of housing the legislative library and the Huey P. Long Library collection.

(3) The fourteenth through the seventeenth floors, inclusive, are allocated to the Senate.

A. Each standing committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall conduct legislative oversight of the administration of laws and programs by agencies supported entirely or partially by state funds, including but not limited to those program evaluation functions authorized in R.S. 24:691- 693 to be performed by the Joint Committee on Legislative Oversight; and to that end each standing committee shall have the powers, authorities, privileges, and duties therein conferred upon the Joint Committee on Legislative Oversight to perform all such functions. The rules of procedure of each house for standing committees shall apply to the extent possible in the performance of these functions.

B. Each standing committee shall have responsibility for oversight of those statutory entities for which the committee has jurisdiction in accordance with the rules of the respective house.

A. Every legislative instrument which declares, adopts, or designates an object, animal, insect, verse, or any other animate or inanimate thing to be an official symbol of the state, shall have attached to it, prior to its consideration by any committee of either house of the legislature, unless the committee otherwise decides, a symbolic note, which shall include a feasibility study, a needs assessment, and a benefit statement. In matters concerning art and literature, the feasibility study shall include a statement of the consensus of opinion of at least two of the state's colleges of arts and humanities on the artistic and aesthetic value of the proposed symbol.

B. The author of a measure requiring a symbolic note shall be responsible for obtaining said note from the legislative fiscal officer either directly or through the staff of the house in which the author serves. The legislative fiscal officer shall be responsible for obtaining, directly or through another agency or through a political subdivision or agency thereof, the information necessary to complete the symbolic note from the agency or political subdivision or agency thereof best suited to furnish the information in the judgment of the legislative fiscal officer. Such entity furnishing information shall do so within forty-eight hours after the request is made, and within twenty- four hours thereafter the legislative fiscal officer shall prepare the symbolic note and transmit it to the author and shall submit to the chairman or the secretary or clerk notification of the preparation and transmittal of the symbolic note if the chairman or the secretary or clerk has requested the symbolic note. The author of the measure may approve an extension of time within which the information is to be furnished to the legislative fiscal officer or within which the fiscal officer is to furnish the symbolic note; if only the chairman has requested the symbolic note, he may approve such extensions of time.

The following bills shall not be counted against the five-bill limit on bill introductions after prefiling, as provided in Article III, Section 2(A) of the Louisiana Constitution, for the authors of these bills:

(1) The general appropriation bill.

(2) The bill appropriating funds for the judicial branch.

(3) The bill appropriating funds for the legislative branch.

(4) The capital outlay bill.

(5) The omnibus bond authorization bill.

(6) The appropriation bill supplementing the General Appropriation Act.

(7) The bill appropriating funds from the Revenue Sharing Fund pursuant to Article VII, Section 26.

(8) The bill establishing and reestablishing agency ancillary funds.

A. Prior to a vote on a report of a conference committee on the General Appropriation Bill, the report shall lie over for at least forty-eight hours in the house in which the vote occurs. The General Appropriation Bill shall be unofficially enrolled to include and reflect the conference committee report. The unofficial enrollment of the bill shall indicate or highlight in an appropriate manner any language being changed in or added to the bill by the conference committee report. The summary shall include and indicate any language being removed from the bill by the conference committee report. Copies of such unofficial enrollment and a summary thereof shall be available to members of the legislature at least twenty-four hours prior to a vote by either house of the legislature on such conference committee report.

B. Either house of the legislature may waive the requirements of Paragraph A of Joint Rule 19 as it applies to the procedures of such house of the legislature by a majority vote of the elected members of such house.

C. This Rule shall become effective at the convening of the 1996 Regular Session.

Questions and comments may be directed to websen@legis.state.la.us.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.