Documents > Archives > 2005 Senate Rules of Order (April 15, 2005) > Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10. ORDER OF BUSINESS

Rule 10.1.  Convening in daily session; Morning Hour

The Senate shall convene at 1:30 p.m. on each successive legislative day, unless otherwise ordered on the preceding legislative day by a majority of the members. The President shall call the Senate to order and direct the Secretary to call the roll. If a quorum is in attendance, he shall proceed with the order of business for the Morning Hour, which shall be as follows:

1. Roll Call

2. Prayer

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Reading of Journal

5. Petitions, Memorials, and other communications

6. Introduction of Senate Bills and Joint Resolutions

7. Introduction of Resolutions, Senate and Senate Concurrent

8. Senate Bills on second reading, to be referred

9. Senate and Senate Concurrent Resolutions on second reading, to be referred

10. House Bills on first reading

11. House Concurrent Resolutions on first reading

12. House Bills on second reading, to be referred

13. House Concurrent Resolutions on second reading, to be referred

14. Reports of committees

15. Senate Bills on second reading reported by committees

16. House Bills on second reading reported by committees

Upon completion of the business of the Morning Hour the Senate shall proceed to the Regular Order of the Day, which shall be as follows:

REGULAR ORDER

1. Reconsideration

2. Special Order

3. Senate Concurrent Resolutions returned from House with amendments

4. Senate Bills returned from House with amendments

5. Senate and Senate Concurrent Resolutions reported by committees, to be adopted

6. Senate and Senate Concurrent Resolutions to be adopted, subject to call

a. Voluntarily subject to call

b. Ordered subject to call

7. Senate Bills on third reading and final passage

8. Senate Bills on third reading and final passage, subject to call

a. Voluntarily subject to call

b. Ordered subject to call

9. House Concurrent Resolutions reported by committees, to be adopted

10. House Concurrent Resolutions to be adopted, subject to call

a. Voluntarily subject to call

b. Ordered subject to call

11. House Bills on third reading and final passage

12. House Bills on third reading and final passage, subject to call

a. Voluntarily subject to call

b. Ordered subject to call

Messages from the governor, messages from the House, messages submitting appointments for confirmation, reports of the Legislative Bureau, and reports of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee on enrollments are privileged and are in order at any time.

All questions relating to the priority of business shall be decided without debate.

Rule 10.5.  Order of business; vote required to change

A. The order of business shall not be postponed or changed except by the favorable vote of at least a majority of the members.

B. A legislative instrument may be placed in Special Order for consideration on a succeeding day by a majority of the senators present and voting.

C. A motion to call up a bill out of its regular order shall require the consent of a majority of the senators.

Rule 10.6.  Three readings of bills required

No bill, including any joint resolutions, shall be finally passed by the Senate unless it has been read at least by title in open session of the Senate on three separate days. The President or Secretary shall announce at each reading whether it is the first, second, or third reading.

Rule 10.7.  Order of consideration of legislative instruments

A. Each legislative instrument shall be taken up and acted upon in the proper order of business in the order numbered until it has been reported on by committee. After being reported by a committee, each instrument shall take precedence in the order of its maturing, by day; that is, instruments shall take precedence in numerical order by day of report by committee and thereafter in the order otherwise advanced to further action by the Senate.

B. As each instrument is advanced to each successive order of business, it shall be placed on the calendar in the proper order of business in numerical order with other instruments advanced to the same order on the same day, and these numerically ordered listings of instruments shall in turn be arranged according to the day of advancement to said order. Each instrument then shall be considered during that order of business in the order listed.

C. On any legislative day on which at the time of adjournment the Senate is engaged in the consideration of legislative instruments on final passage, but has not finally acted upon all instruments listed for consideration in that order of business on that day, the Secretary shall enter on the calendar for the next legislative day under the same order of business each such instrument upon which final action has not been taken, in the same order in which said instruments have advanced.

A. Upon introduction, in the case of bills and joint resolutions originating in the Senate, and after receipt in the Senate, in the case of House instruments, each bill or joint resolution shall be read at least by title for the first time. This reading shall be for information. Each such bill or joint resolution then shall be placed on the calendar for its second reading in its regular order.

B. On the next legislative day, each such bill and joint resolution shall be read a second time and referred to committee.

Amended by SR 179 of 2006 RS.

Rule 10.9.  Resolutions; introduction and referral; suspension of laws

A. Each resolution shall be read by title upon introduction in the Senate and shall be referred to an appropriate committee on the next legislative day following the day of introduction. The requirement of referral to committee shall not apply to perfunctory resolutions, such as those pertaining to adjournment or to a resolution introduced for the purpose of calling an election for the election of the President pursuant to Rule 3.2, the election of the President Pro Tempore pursuant to Rule 3.4, for the election of the Secretary pursuant to Rule 3.6 or for the election of the Sergeant at Arms pursuant to Rule 3.8. Only a resolution pertaining to notifying the House of Representatives or the governor that the Senate has convened or is ready to adjourn or the holding of a joint session of the legislature may be taken up and acted upon immediately upon introduction. Otherwise, no resolution may be taken up and acted upon until it is listed on the order of the day for that legislative day.

B. A resolution suspending a law shall be adopted only in accordance with the same procedures and formalities provided by the constitution, by law, and by applicable Senate rules for the passage of instruments having the force and effect of law. Any such resolution shall fix the period of suspension, which shall not extend beyond the sixtieth day after adjournment sine die of the next regular session after adoption thereof.

SR 18 of 2004 RS; SR 4 of 2011 RS; SR 168 of 2014 RS.

Rule 10.10. Commitment or amendment; two prior readings required

No bill or joint resolution shall be committed or amended until it has been read by title in open session of the Senate on two separate days.

SR 168 of 2014 RS.

Rule 10.11. Committee report required

No bill or joint resolution shall be engrossed and passed to third reading unless a committee has held a public hearing thereon and has reported thereon.

Rule 10.12. Committee report; when considered

A. The report of each committee shall be read to the Senate for information. The legislative instruments and any accompanying proposed amendments then shall be placed on the calendar, in their proper order, for consideration on the day after the day on which the report is read. The report of the committee with respect to each legislative instrument shall again be read at the time each such instrument is considered by the Senate in the order of business of Senate and Senate Concurrent Resolutions reported by committees, House Concurrent Resolutions reported by committees, Senate Bills on second reading reported by committees, or House Bills on second reading reported by committees, as the case may be.

B. Committee amendments shall be printed in the Journal, with the committee report. No action shall be taken on such committee amendments or on the bill to which such amendments are proposed until the amendments are printed in the Journal.

A. The final question on the second reading of every legislative instrument originating in the Senate and requiring three readings prior to its final passage shall be whether it shall be engrossed and passed to a third reading. If it is ordered engrossed, it shall go on the calendar for third reading in its regular course.

B. At any time prior to its final passage it shall be in order to recommit a legislative instrument.

C. The general appropriations bill shall not be considered for final passage until twenty-four hours after the distribution to each member of the Senate of copies of each committee amendment adopted by the Senate to the general appropriations bill and a copy of the bill as it was introduced in the Senate.

Any bill or joint resolution which is recommitted and then is reported to the Senate shall take the course of a bill at its second reading.

All instruments intended to have the effect of law shall be examined by the Legislative Bureau as provided in Joint Rule No. 3. Any legislative instrument referred to the Legislative Bureau may be recalled at any time by the favorable vote of a majority of the members elected to the Senate.

A. Any legislative instrument which has been placed in Special Order shall be called by the President during that order of business on the day named. If it is not acted upon by the Senate on that day during the order of business of Special Order, the matter shall be returned to the calendar, subject to call, under the order of business to which it otherwise was last advanced, unless the Special Order is postponed by the vote of a majority of the members present and voting.

B. When two or more legislative instruments have been fixed as Special Orders for the same day, they shall take precedence according to the order established for their consideration by the Senate. However, if no order for consideration of such instruments has been established, the instrument first assigned for that day shall take precedence, and the other instruments fixed for the same day shall be called and acted upon in the order in which they were fixed as Special Order until disposition has been made of all instruments in Special Order for that day.

C. Any instrument fixed as Special Order which is returned to the calendar, subject to call, may be called from the calendar on the same day, while the Senate is in the order of business of Special Order, after disposition has been made of all other instruments fixed as Special Order for that day. If it is not called from the calendar on the same day while the Senate is in Special Order, it shall be returned to the calendar, subject to call, under the order of business to which it otherwise was last advanced.

A. A legislative instrument may be returned to the calendar, subject to call, upon motion by the member authoring the instrument, or the member handling the instrument if it originated in the House, or another member authorized by the author of a Senate instrument, or the member handling a House instrument, without objection. When a legislative instrument is so voluntarily returned to the calendar, it may be called from the calendar at any time the Senate is in that order.

B. A legislative instrument shall be returned to the calendar, subject to call, when ordered by a majority of the members present and voting. When a legislative instrument is ordered returned to the calendar, subject to call, it may be called from the calendar only upon a favorable vote of a majority of the members present and voting.

C. Only a member authoring the instrument, or the member handling the instrument if it originated in the House, or another member authorized by the author of a Senate instrument, or the member handling a House instrument may move to call it from the Subject to Call Calendar for further action or consideration.

SR 27 of 1992 RS.

Rule 10.17.1. Returning to the calendar; "Bagneris Rule"

A. On any legislative day in the regular order and upon third reading and final passage for any instrument, at the discretion of the President and upon the motion of any member, the Senate may pass over any instrument that any member objects to as controversial under the provisions of this rule, which shall be referred to as the "Bagneris Rule".

B. The motion to operate under the Bagneris Rule shall be a nondebatable motion and shall be approved by a majority of the members present and voting.

C. Any instrument so passed over under the Bagneris Rule shall remain on the regular calendar in the same numerical order on the next calendar day.

SR 168 of 2014 RS.

A. After the Secretary has read a veto message from the governor, the Senate shall reconsider the bill upon motion, duly adopted, of any member. The motion to take up the reconsideration of a vetoed bill shall be a privileged incidental motion, shall be in order during any order of business, unless another motion or instrument is pending, and shall be adopted by a majority of those present and voting.

B. The question upon reconsideration, unless a substitute or other main motion is made, shall be the question of the passage of the bill subsequent to the governor's veto. Upon reconsideration, the motion to sustain the governor's veto, as well as any subsidiary or main motion which is in order during the consideration of the final passage of a bill, shall be in order.

Rule 10.19. Repealed by SR 5 of 1988 R.S.

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