SCR 15

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 15
Senator Lindsey
offered the following concurrent resolution:
A concurrent resolution for the adoption of the Joint Rules
of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That the following rules be and are hereby adopted as the Joint
Rules of the Senate and House of Representatives:
JOINT RULES OF THE
SENATE AND HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Transmission of Messages.
Rule 1.  All messages
necessary for conducting legislative business between the two houses shall be
communicated in writing and electronically by the Secretary of the Senate and
the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Amendments.
Rule 2.  It shall be in
the power of either house to amend an amendment made by the other to any bill
or resolution.
Conference Committees.
Rule 3.  (a)  The
house not concurring in the amendments of the other house shall appoint
conferees and notify the amending house of its action through written
communication.  The amending house shall request return of the bill
or resolution or appoint conferees.  The conference committee shall
consist of three Members from each house, to be appointed as each house may
determine.  The first named Member of the house in which the bill or
resolution originated shall be chairperson of the conference committee.  Upon
appointment of conferees by both houses, the bill or resolution shall be
referred to the conference committee.  When one house amends or
substitutes a bill that has been returned for concurrence from the other house,
but then non-concurs in that bill as amended or substituted, those amendments
or that substitute shall not be referred to the conference committee.  The
conference committee shall serve until the conference report has been adopted
by both houses or rejected by a house.
(b)  The conference
committee shall consist of committees of the two houses with those two
committees voting separately while in conference.  The adoption of a
conference report shall require concurring majorities of the Members of each
house.  The conference committees of the two houses shall vote
separately while in conference.  The majority of each committee shall
constitute a quorum of each committee and shall determine the position to be
taken toward the propositions of the conference committee.  If the
conferees agree, a report shall be made which shall be signed by at least a
majority of the conferees of each house who were present and voted in the
conference committee meeting to adopt the report.  The bill or
resolution, including the original signed conference report and three copies,
shall be filed in the house of origin where the question shall be on the
adoption of the conference report.  If the conference report is
adopted in the house of origin, the bill or resolution, including the original
signed conference report, and two copies of the conference report shall be
transmitted to the other house where the question shall be on the adoption of
the conference report.  If the conference report is adopted in the
other house, the bill or resolution and the original signed copy of the
conference report shall be returned to the house of origin and referred for
enrollment printing and presentation to the Governor, filing with the Secretary
of State, or filing for record with the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the
House of Representatives.
Conference Committee Clerk.
Rule 4.  The conference
committee clerk shall be from the house of origin, who shall notify the
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives of all
scheduled meetings for public posting and shall deliver written notice to each Member
of the conference committee and the Majority and Minority Leaders of each house
indicating the time and place of all scheduled meetings.  Conference
committees on appropriation bills may use fiscal agency personnel from the same
house as the Chairperson for clerks.
Conference Report: Rejection.
Rule 5.  If the conference
report is rejected by the house of origin, it shall appoint second conferees
and notify the other house of its action.  The procedure shall then
be the same as for an original conference.
If the conference report is rejected
by the other house, it shall appoint second conferees, notify the house of
origin of its action, and transmit the bill or resolution to the house of
origin.  Upon receipt of the bill or resolution, the house of origin
shall appoint second conferees and refer the bill or resolution to the second
conference committee.  The procedure shall then be the same as for an
original conference.
Disagreement of Conferees.
Rule 6.  If the conferees
are unable to agree, a report of that fact shall be made to both houses.  The
report, that the conferees were unable to agree, shall be signed by at least a
majority of the conferees of each house who were present and voted in the
conference committee meeting to adopt the report.  The bill or
resolution, including the original signed conference report that the conferees
were unable to agree, and three copies shall be filed in the house of origin.  Both
houses shall appoint second conferees, and the house of origin shall refer the
bill or resolution to the second conference committee.  The procedure
shall then be the same as for an original conference.
Second Conference: Failure.
Rule 7.  When a second
conference committee fails to reach agreement, or when a second conference
report is rejected by either house, no further conference is in order.
Power of Conferees.
Rule 8.  The conference
committee shall not consider any matters other than the matters of difference
between the two houses.
For all bills making appropriations,
adoption of a substitute by either house shall not open identical provisions
contained in the other house-passed version of the bill as a matter of
difference; nor shall the adoption of a substitute by either house open
provisions not contained in either house version of the bill as a matter of
difference.
When the conferees arrive at an
agreement on the matters of difference that affects other parts of the bill or
resolution, the conferees may recommend amendments to conform with the
agreement.  In addition, the conferees may also recommend technical
amendments to the other parts of the bill or resolution, such as, necessary
date revisions, adjusting totals, cross-references, misspelling and punctuation
corrections, conflict amendments for bills enacted into law, additional
anticipated federal or other flow through funding, and corrections to any
errors in the bill or resolution or the title.
Adoption of Conference Report.
Rule 9.  Conference
reports shall not be subject to amendments or division.  The vote on
conference reports shall be taken by “yeas” and “nays” and shall require the
same number of votes constitutionally required for passage of the bill or
adoption of the resolution.  Conference reports shall not be
considered until printed in the Journal and until 72 hours after the full text
of the conference report is made publicly available on the Michigan
Legislature’s website.  The Journal printing requirement may be suspended
by a house by a majority vote in that house, provided that a copy of the
conference report has been made available to each Member.  The
requirement that the full text of the conference report be made publicly
available on the Michigan Legislature’s website for at least 72 hours before
the conference report is considered may not be suspended.
Conference Reports: Points of Order.
Rule 10.  Points of order
regarding conference reports shall be decided by the presiding officer, subject
to an appeal, which appeal shall be determined by a majority vote.  When
a conference report is ruled out of order, the conference report is returned to
the originating conference committee with instructions to eliminate from the
report such matters as have been declared not within the powers of the
conferees to consider.
Either House May Recede.
Rule 11.  At any time
while in possession of the bill or resolution, either house may recede from its
position in whole or in part, and the bill or resolution upon request may be
returned to the other house for that purpose.  If this further action
is agreed to by both houses, the bill or resolution shall be referred for
enrollment printing and presentation to the Governor, filing with the Secretary
of State, or filing for record with the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the
House of Representatives.
Correction of Errors.
Rule 12.  If errors are
found in a bill or resolution which has been passed or adopted by both houses,
the house in which the bill or resolution originated may make amendments to
correct the errors and shall notify the other house of its action.  If
the corrective amendments are agreed to by the other house, the corrected bill
or resolution shall be referred for enrollment printing and presentation to the
Governor, filing with the Secretary of State, or filing for record with the
Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives.
In addition, the Secretary of the
Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall
correct obvious technical errors in the enrolled bill or resolution, including
adjusting totals, misspellings, the omission or redundancy of grammatical
articles, cross-references, punctuation, updating bill or resolution titles,
capitalization, citation formats, and plural or singular word forms.
Bills and Joint Resolutions.
Rule 13.  Upon
introduction, no bill shall include catch lines, a severing clause, or a
general repealing clause, as distinguished from a specific or an express
repealing clause.  The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives shall delete such catch lines and clauses from all
bills.
The same joint resolution shall not
propose an amendment to the Constitution on more than one subject matter.  However,
more than one section of the Constitution may be included in the same joint
resolution if the subject matter of each section is germane to the proposed
amendment.
Yeas and Nays.
Rule 14.  The yeas and
nays shall be taken and printed in the Journal of the house taking action upon
the passage or adoption of any bill, joint resolution, conference report, and
amendments made by the other house to a bill or joint resolution.
No Members Present.
Rule 15.  In the event the
presiding officer and all Members are absent on a day scheduled for meeting,
the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as
the case may be, shall call that house to order at the designated time and
announce the absence of a quorum.  That house shall be declared
adjourned until the succeeding legislative day and hour previously designated.
In any event where either or both
houses of the Legislature adjourns to a date certain for more than two days,
the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives may, by a unanimous agreement, convene either or both houses of
the Legislature at any time in case of emergency.
If a gubernatorial appointment that
is subject to the advice and consent process is made at a time such that 60
days would lapse during an extended recess of the Senate, the Senate Majority
Leader may schedule a session of the Senate for the sole purpose of carrying
out the Senate’s constitutional duties to advise and consent on gubernatorial
appointments.  No other action shall be taken by the Senate during
session convened under this provision.  The Senate Majority Leader
shall notify the Secretary of the Senate at least 10 calendar days prior to the
date of the scheduled session, and the Secretary of the Senate shall take all
reasonable steps to notify the Members of the Senate of the scheduled session.
Passage, Adoption, and Enrollment Printing.
Rule 16.  Every bill
passed or joint resolution adopted by both houses and returned to the house of
origin shall forthwith be enrolled and signed by the Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.  Enrolled bills shall
be presented to the Governor, and enrolled joint resolutions that propose an
amendment to the Constitution shall be filed with the Secretary of State with a
certificate attached to the effect that the joint resolution has been adopted
by the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, in accordance with
the provisions of the Constitution.  If the house having last passed
the bill or adopted the joint resolution requests its return and such request
is granted or a motion is made in the house of origin to amend errors in the
bill or joint resolution or to give the bill immediate effect, the enrollment
printing shall not occur.
Every bill, joint resolution, and
concurrent resolution passed or adopted by either house shall be transmitted to
the other house unless a motion for reconsideration is pending.
Immediate Effect.
Rule 17.  Whenever both
houses, by the constitutional vote, order that a bill take immediate effect, a
statement shall be added at the enrollment of the bill in words to this effect:
“This act is ordered to take immediate effect.”
Joint Resolutions.
Rule 18.  Joint
resolutions shall be used for the following purposes:
1.  Amendments to the
Constitution of Michigan.
2.  Ratification of
amendments to the Constitution of the United States submitted by the Congress.
3.  Matters upon which
power is solely vested in the Legislatures of the several states by the
Constitution of the United States.
Joint resolutions proposing
amendments to the Constitution of Michigan shall require a two-thirds vote of
the Members elected to and serving in each house for adoption.  Other
joint resolutions shall require a majority of the Members elected to and
serving in each house for adoption.  All joint resolutions shall
require a record roll call vote.
Veto Override: Filing with Secretary of State.
Rule 19.  When a bill is
passed by both houses over the objections of the Governor or a bill is not
filed by the Governor with the Secretary of State within the constitutionally
mandated 14-day period, and the Legislature continues in session, an official
enrolled bill with a letter from the house of origin signed by the Secretary of
the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, shall
be filed with the Secretary of State for a public act number to be assigned.  The
letter shall certify that the Governor’s veto has been overridden by both
houses of the Legislature or that the bill has not been returned within the
specified time, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution.
Section Numbers of Compiled Laws - Amendments.
Rule 20.  The title of
every bill to amend or repeal existing laws shall be clear and explicit so as
to definitely fix what is proposed to be done.  Such title shall
refer to the act number and the year in which it was passed.  If the
bill was passed at an extra session of the Legislature, the title shall
designate which extra session.
Such title shall contain the last
title of the act it is proposed to amend.  However, the short title
(e.g., This act shall be known and may be cited as the “revised judicature act
of 1961”) shall be used in acts where it has been defined by legislative
enactment.  The title shall also contain the chapter, part numbers
and compiler’s section numbers, if any, and the year of the compilation
containing the same.
Following the passage of a bill with
a short title, the house other than the house of origin shall replace the short
title with the last full title of the act it is proposed to amend or repeal.  Other
corrective amendments to the title shall be made as may be necessary.  The
full title and amended title shall be agreed to by both houses.
When an amendment to a bill or a
bill to amend an existing law is printed, words proposed to be added to such
law shall be printed in bold type, and the words to be omitted shall be printed
in stricken-through type.  This style requirement also applies to
joint resolutions that amend the Constitution of Michigan.
All bills and joint resolutions
introduced, amendments to joint resolutions, substitute bills and joint
resolutions, and conference committee reports shall be approved as to form and
section numbers by the Legislative Service Bureau.
Tie-bars.
Rule 21.  A bill or
resolution that is tie-barred to a request number shall not be considered for
passage or adoption unless that tie-barred request item has been introduced.  No
bill or resolution shall be passed or adopted by either house until the
tie-barred item has been designated in the appropriate blank space provided.
Elections in Joint Convention.
Rule 22.  Whenever there
is an election of any officer in joint convention, the result shall be
certified by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.  The results shall be announced by the presiding
officers to their respective houses, printed in the Journal of each house, and
communicated to the Governor by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of
the House of Representatives.
Legislative Handbook.
Rule 23.  The initial
appointment of the standing committee members of the two houses shall be
printed in their respective Journals as soon as possible after the announcement.  The
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall
prepare and have printed a legislative handbook containing these appointments
and other information they deem appropriate.
Compensation.
Rule 24.  Compensation for
Members, officers, and employees of the Legislature shall be delivered to the
Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case
may be, and transmitted directly to the payee.
If the office of a Member of the
Legislature becomes vacant, the compensation for the elected successor shall
begin on the date of the successor’s oath of office.
Committee Expenses.
Rule 25.  No committee
created by concurrent resolution shall incur expenses in excess of $2,500.00
unless authorized in the resolution creating that committee.
Final Adjournment of Regular Sessions.
Rule 26.  In the regular
session in each year, this rule for adjournment shall govern.
The Majority Floor Leader of the
Senate and/or the Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives shall
introduce a concurrent resolution providing for an adjournment schedule for the
Legislature for that regular session.
Daily Adjournment.
Rule 27.  Neither house
shall remain in session on any legislative day beyond 12:00 midnight.  If
either house is in session at 12:00 midnight, the presiding officer shall
declare that house adjourned until a fixed hour for meeting on the next
legislative day.  That house shall stand adjourned until the next
fixed meeting time.
Pending Business.
Rule 28.  Any business,
bill, or joint resolution which has not been defeated by either house shall be
considered pending under the provisions of Article 4, Section 13 of the
Constitution.
It shall not be in order for either
house, by suspension of rules or any other means, to reconsider in a subsequent
year the vote by which any business, bill, joint resolution, or veto override
was defeated in a previous year unless there is a pending motion to reconsider
offered in the odd-numbered year.